IDW Publishing isn’t slowing down when expanding its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line of comics this year, and that’s continuing with the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher #1. If that last part sounds familiar, you’ve probably seen the supremely underrated TMNT animated movie from 2007. TMNT has Raphael taking up the armored identity of Nightwatcher to protect New York City, and it’s that premise that the creative team of Juni Ba (don’t miss our chat with Ba!), Fero Pe, Luis Antonio Delgado, and Nathan Widick run with – just with a few modifications.
For starters, Raph isn’t in the Nightwatcher armor – he’s currently in jail circa Jason Aaron and Joelle Jones’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I’m not going to divulge the Nightwatcher’s identity because that’s better left for readers to find out on their own, but it is a character with ties to the Turtles and who fits the mantle perfectly. It also narrows the Nightwatcher’s mission; instead of protecting all of New York, their goal is now to defend the inhabitants of Mutant Town – the section of NYC where other mutants have made home.
Ba and Pe even have a clever storytelling concept: most of the issue is dedicated to the Nightwatcher chasing down a thug who kidnapped an innocent mutant kid, but spliced in between are interviews with the inhabitants of New York – both mutant and human – about the Nightwatcher’s presence as well as what Mutant Town means. It’s never stated who’s interviewing them (though my money’s on April O’Neil), but it’s a clever way to show how people would react to the presence of talking mutant animals, as well as a vigilante defending those mutants. It reminds me of Ba’s work on The Boy Wonder, and how he took a unique approach to Batman’s world; the same could be said of the TMNT’s world here.
Credit: IDW
Pe also brings a new dimension to the TMNT with how he depicts the various mutants. There’s a bulldog in a cap, a pigeon with glasses, and even a little rhino kid in a baseball jersey. This wide variety of mutants makes Mutant Town feel like, well, an actual town, and sets its population apart from the humans they walk among. The Nightwatcher cuts an imposing figure, as well: their entire body is covered from head to toe in armor, and the only thing you can see of the face are two white pupils, baring angrily into your soul.
I also want to draw attention to the action sequences, which are carefully crafted. Being an artist himself, Ba knows how to telegraph each hit for maximum impact – and Pe knows how to make it truly impactful, narrowing panels as the Nightwatcher shrugs off a hit from their assailant then returns it in kind. Delgado’s moody colors, which were an essential part of making books like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin look so good, are a perfect fit for the gritty vibe that Nightwatcher is going for – so do Widick’s letters, which feel dark both in their shape and their red and black hue.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher #1 isn’t just a great addition to the world of TMNT, it’s a great expansion as well. I was already hooked after reading the Free Comic Book Day issue, but this issue solidifies Ba as one of the best talents in the modern comics world. It also shows that for IDW, nothing is off limits when it comes to building out the Turtles’ world, even if it’s an old movie only a few hardcore Turtles fans love.
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