A mutant army and family problems.
Last review I did for this series! (#34) Hob wants a mutant army, and so does Splinter, but at what cost? Plus, Casey Jones is still dealing with his dad wanting to kill him!
This was an good issue! Moving past the isolated feeling of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #34, and how its story didn't necessarily add to the bigger picture; the writers make up for lost time, and give us a good issue that adds to the larger story! In this issue, we find out what Hob and Slash has been up to while the Turtles and Splinter have been away; and how Casey is dealing with his dad allying himself with The Shredder [again] and choosing a job over family [again]. This is an issue that should NOT be passed up!
I really enjoyed what the writers did with both, Casey's family problems and Hob's mission at building a Mutant Army. Casey's family problems are really interesting, because we see the character get really emotional with his father trying to kill him. It adds to Casey's tough guy characteristics, and shows that deep down all he wants is a somewhat normal life. However, the writers should really be credited for the level of commitment they paid attention to when making Casey come to the ultimate decision that his dad [Hun] will never change and do the right thing. The fight between him and his father was really brief, but it allowed Casey to move on to the next point in his life. Great job writers on Casey's character!
The second half of the story, Hob's mutant army, made a big step in this issue and added to the larger story! I really enjoyed seeing the mutant army story progress to a really good place, and even show Slash becoming more like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; in the sense that he can now talk and think for himself. Hob is a tricky character, and the writers know it! I like how they play with his tricky character traits and make the reader questions as to whether or not he's a hero or villain. Because Hob is a complex character and has both, hero and villain, character traits. I'm looking forward to seeing what he'll do with the mutant army he's building, and how that will aid [or complicate things] for the Turtles.
While this was a good issue, I do feel it could've been great. Both Casey and Hob's stories were great, I never thought they had a weak point; however I do feel like this issue was missing something to be a great issue, instead of a good one. I am sure that it was missing just one more story to tip this over and make it great! That one story could've definitely been Leonardo and Splinter, or even a status update on The Shredder and the Foot. However, there was only a tease at the end of this issue with Leo and Splinter; and Shredder was completely absent from this issue. That is my only complaint, that it only needed one more story to become a great issue, but other than that; it was a solid issue!
This issue, and series, should definitely be picked up by all TMNT fans! 4 out of 5, until the next one!