From modern comics all-star Jason Aaron (Thor, Scalped) and artistic phenom Joelle Jones (Catwoman, Lady Killer) comes an awesome, ass-kicking new start for the heroes in a half-shell with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1. Featuring color art from Ronda Pattison and lettering by Shawn Lee, this opening chapter is a grimy, gritty, and rad as hell issue that starts this new series off with a bare-knuckled right hook. With a gripping script and outstanding visual work, the new TMNT is off to one hell of a fine start.
“The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have all left New York to pursue their own interests, but there are forces gathering that will pull them back together—whether the bad guys like it or not. First up: Raphael! But why is everyone’s favorite brawler in prison?! When a surprise attack behind bars puts Raph’s position in jeopardy, he needs to figure out how to get out of jail and warn his brothers that trouble is coming.”
Writing & Plot
Jason Aaron comes out swinging with his absurdly cool script in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1. This first chapter focuses on Raphael spending time in a prison, playing convict while helping the Warden out with some loose ends. Of course, some kinds of hell break loose, and Raph realizes he needs to get the brothers back together to face the coming threat. Aaron really leans into the grittiness of the early Eastman and Laird TMNT comics, as well as the likes of Frank Miller’s Daredevil and the Marvel Knights era of grimy, more brutal vigilante comics. This is Aaron at his best, with dialogue that hits like a hammer and a plot the stays gripping from start to finish – the fact that it stars a mutated ninja turtle is just pure comics magic. Crime comics angle aside, this also feels like the kind of standalone issue that Raph fans have no doubt been craving, and Aaron undoubtedly knows the character. Raphael is the perfect fit for a writer of Aaron’s credentials, and it admittedly makes starting with the red bandana-wearing rage turtle a given for opening the series. It will be interesting to see how Aaron approaches the other brothers in the coming issues – with Mikey starring in issue #2. Overall, TMNT #1 is a phenomenally written start, with an issue that takes inspiration from the franchise’s earliest chapters and their influences.
Art Direction
When a preview for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 came out in the Alpha one-shot, I was a bit sad that Chris Burnham wouldn’t be the artist on the actual main series. Now that the series has started and we get to see Joelle Jones’s TMNT work, I am beyond stoked that she’s the artist on this run. Jones takes a departure from her earlier work for a comic that is visually very different from anything she has worked on prior. Her thick lines and heavy inks are replaced by thinner pencils and hatching to achieve a style more akin to the early days of Turtles comics. As such, Jones has created the perfect aesthetic for a gritty, martial arts-heavy and character-focused Turtles comic book. The combination of her animation and sequential direction makes for perfect story pacing, as well as making the big action sequences really stand out. The major fight scene is a wordless page of cut up, fragmented panels of Raph delivering a bloody smackdown against a classic returning enemy. It’s one of the best action scenes in comics this year, and really flexes Jones’s skill at drawing these kinds of stories. Even the quieter moments are constructed with a sense of tension, carrying the story forward with a constant tension. Returning TMNT color artist Ronda Pattison rounds out the visual experience with the signature series aesthetic. Her dense color palette accentuates the grey concrete of the prison and the mucky brown of the sewers, letting it reflect off of every panel. Pattison perfects this comic’s atmosphere with her work, pairing with Jones’s pencils for one of the finest-looking TMNT comics in recent memory. Even Shawn Lee’s stellar lettering mostly stays out of the action. His dialogue bubbles punctuate every moment, but his SFX work is sparing, letting the art and the reader’s imagination do the legwork for sound.
Verdict
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 is an outrageously badass start to this new era for the iconic franchise. Jason Aaron’s script is compelling and hard hitting, with the veteran writer doing what he does best with the angriest of the brothers set in a brawl behind bars. The visuals from Joelle Jones and Ronda Pattison are some of the best in the series, with gritty atmosphere and bloody martial arts action sucking the reader into the harsh new circumstances the brothers now face. Be sure to grab this issue when it hits shelves on July 24th!
