Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #22 Reivew (IDW)

Story: Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, & Tom Waltz
Script: Tom Waltz
Art: Mateus Santolouco
Colors: Ronda Pattison
Letters: Shawn Lee
Editor: Bobby Cunrow

Spoilers!

City Fall has begun! I've been more excited for this arc of the IDW story than any other so far. The build up, length, and title all feel similar to the Vol. 1 arc,City at War. I trust what Eastman and Waltz when it comes to taking inspiration and referencing past stories. More than anything, I consider the IDW revival a celebration of all parts of TMNT of almost three decades, and bringing back hints from City at War is fine by me.

The issue starts out with Shredder talking to Kitsune about the Savate, who we haven't seen since the TMNT Annual #1. It's a nice way to start City Fall, because I think a lot of very long running plot threads are going to be wrapped up, or at least fleshed out over the arc. It's nice to see Mateus Santolouco continuing with art duties after the poorly titled The Secret History of the Foot Clan and I would like to see him stay on this title for a while. Ronda Pattison also deserves a lot of credit. I love the colors used on the title page where New York looks like it's glowing.

The story cuts over the Raph and Casey watching Casey's Dad get drunk at the bar from TMNT Annual #1 (I'm going to stop referencing that issue now). The alcohol story continues to be very real, and very dark. I'm willing to bet that Casey's problems with alcohol are going to resurface from Shades of Grey or the not really ending in Vol 4. Probably not in City Fall, but down the road. The next few pages are a pretty basic setup. The Foot capture Raph and Casey, Raph escapes and goes back to the church. Leo immediately realizes "IT'S A TRAP" and tells Raph to wait. The two almost come to blows. So far the IDW run has had Leo and Don butting heads the most, so it's nice to see a classic Leo and Raph argument.

April looks like a junkie that needs a fix

They go find Casey at the docks with the Shredder, Karai, and the generic henchwoman Alopex. What happens next came as a complete shock. The Shredder picks Casey up and brutally stabs him. He has never done anything like this before in any incarnation. Yeah, I know, he executed four kids in feudal Japan,but it wasn't this shocking. Again, the colors are amazing. This image is very bright and stands out greatly compared to the tones used throughout the rest of the issue. This moment is one of the most surprising in TMNT history. Casey's stabbing sets Raph off. He dives down promising he's going to kill the Shredder. So far, the Turtles have not killed as much as a Foot soldier in this series and a lot of weight has been put on what it means to take a life. This will be the arc where someone dies. Maybe not the Shredder, but someone.

While the Turtles are getting Casey,Karai captures Leonardo. This is continuing the story line that Shredder wants Leo to be his second in command. I've really enjoyed Eastman and Watlz use of the Shredder so far. The Turtles have only had one direct fight with him (with all four Turtles), and he's worked well as a character in the background manipulating different characters.

The issue ends with the Turtles being forced to leave Leo due to Casey's fatal injuries. Is he going to die? Probably not, but it will probably have long running effects for a lot of the characters. I highly recommend this issue. It's also probably the best jumping on point since the series began for new readers.
5/5