Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 9 delivers another must-read

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 9 is another thrilling installment of this incredibly creative reimagining of the four warriors.

The Way of The Rotted Rat arc continues this week with a spotlight on Michaelangelo. While he’s normally the more fun-loving of the four brothers, he hasn’t had much to smile and laugh about lately.

Donatello decided his best course of action was to turn himself in to District Attorney Hale, who promptly claimed Donnie’s selfless act as a big victory for his anti-mutant campaign. Hale has leaked word that Donatello is being held at the Foot Patrol Precinct Headquarters — a clear invitation to the turtles to come spring his trap.

While Leonardo, who now claims to hear from the same long dead rat that Donatello referred to as Splinter, opts to sit the trap out while Michaelangelo and Raphael spring into action with predictable results.

Writer Jason Aaron has focused on a different brother with each installment of the arc so far. At various points of this storyline, Aaron has raised some interesting questions about the brothers’ sanity. Are they all starting to lose it over their separation, the death of Splinter or something far more sinister? If so, how are the brothers all facing this mentally challenging ordeal at different points of this journey?

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 9 benefits from Michaelangelo’s perspective as he isn’t nearly as broody as Raphael or as locked-in on being the leader like Leonardo. He’s more even keeled, which allows him to make some mistakes while also leading with his heart.

Artist Juan Ferreyra once again dazzles in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 9. Ferreyra keeps tackling some inspired layouts to show the turtles in action. Mikey’s battle through the Foot Precinct is really creatively laid out with clear action choreography and imaginative perspectives.

Like Aaron, Ferreyra is making each chapter stand out visually from the other with some more playful, dynamic perspectives that leans into Michaelangelo seeing himself as more of a TV star. Aaron spends some time on Michaelangelo’s career as TV star on a Japanese series, which does seem like it could make for a fun standalone story once the series reaches a place where that kind of lighthearted tale wouldn’t be out of place.

Ferreyra’s bold color choices also offer a major boost to the storytelling. He uses deep reds, oranges and yellows against vibrant shades of greens for the turtles. This makes the artwork in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 9, like the other issues so far in this run, really pops. If you’re able to set aside the awesome writing aside for a moment, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a title that would be a must-read just based on the artwork alone.

The only slight downside to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 9 is there isn’t much progression on some of the other subplots like Kairi’s agenda while Hale enacts his plans, the status of Casey Jones and April O’Neil’s newfound vigilante pursuits.

There is a strong moment with Hale confronting Donatello that does not end the way he envisions. That could either work for or against the Turtles in the future. Aaron does a terrific job of ending this encounter in a vague fashion suggesting it could take some more time before revealing the outcome, which could drastically impact Hale’s position on mutants going forward.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 9 keeps the heat coming with one of comic’s best monthly reads.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Photo Credit: IDW

Enjoyed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 9? Check out Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Complete Classic Series Collection on DVD now at Amazon. 

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