The Armageddon Game marches on, and most of the Turtles are reunited after months apart in IDW Publishing’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #137 from writer Sophie Campbell, artist Fero Pe, colorist Ronda Pattison and letterer Shawn Lee. This issue, along with this week’s simultaneous release in Armageddon Game #5, marks a significant turning point in the ongoing event with substantial consequences.
As the rest of the Ninja Turtles travel across the galaxy, Donatello and Jennika try to keep things under control in Mutant Town and protect Triceraton, Regenta Seri, from alien Utrom assassins. Following the shocking events of Armageddon Game #5, the evil Utrom warlord, Ch’rell, has taken command of his rebel forces, and he is out to ensure nothing stands in the way of conquering Earth and building a new throneworld.
This has been an exciting event with lots of moving parts and enough ongoing plots to be occasionally confusing. But the main TMNT series has focused primarily on events in Mutant Town in keeping with Sophie Campbell’s more introspective, character-focused approach to the series. While the event miniseries crosses dimensions, Campbell and artist Fero Pe keep things on Earth focused on political and interpersonal intrigue. Things come to a head in the ongoing Utrom/Triceraton Cold War, resulting in an emotionally charged confrontation for one of the book’s newest characters. Campbell has been committed to adding new ideas to the TMNT mythos, and even though it has been a sometimes slow burn, it inevitably pays off. While Armageddon Game has been a celebration of the various elements of the larger franchise, it is nice to see Campbell continuing to expand the TMNT universe.
That character-first approach and the smaller scale of the plotlines throughout the main Turtles book have helped to ground and balance the more outlandish mystical and dimension-hopping plots in the Armageddon Game miniseries. The tighter focus makes the heartbreak more powerful and moments of catharsis, like the reunion of the Turtles, all the more exciting.
Fero Pe’s art is well suited for action and emotion, with cartoony and expressive characters who stretch and bend to accentuate the movements. Characters feel alive and are always in motion or interacting with one another. Pe uses shadows in a calculated, expressionist manner, adding heavy inks to heighten dramatic moments. Longtime TMNT colorist Ronda Pattison’s bold colors act as a mood ring, changing to reflect and communicate the story’s tone. Shawn Lee’s letters are inventive and work with the layouts and art in a variety of ways. Explosion sound effects bend with the arc of the blasts, and the sound of an earthquake rumbles and shatters off the panels above. How much of that is Lee and how much is Pe is hard to say, but wherever the boundaries lie, the art and letters work together seamlessly and creatively.
The Armageddon Game has been a thrilling event, and this issue is another strong chapter. It offers momentum for several subplots while reuniting much of the core cast. If the rest of the event retains this quality, it should make for an all-time classic Ninja Turtles story.
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