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Social media and economic issues shine a bright light on Mutant Town! Nightwatcher makes use of this to find a mutant thought to be dangerous. Is this just a case of true nature mutating to the surface? Or is there something much more complicated at play here?
- Written by Juni Ba
- Art by Fero Peniche
- Colors by Luis Antonio Delgado
- Letters and Design by Nathan Widick
- Editor Thea Cheuk
- Publisher IDW Publishing
Nightwatcher Gets Real
Things get a little too real in Nightwatcher this week! Jennika is on the hunt for a dangerous mutant criminal causing havoc on the streets. Through the use of social media, in this case “The Tube”, we get a full on backstory of Eliza Leonetti.
Eliza Leonetti is a successful woman who seemed to have everything going for her before the events of the M Bomb. Now she’s roaming the streets as a mutated horned lizard, lashing out at humans and selling drugs. The exposé gives a thorough breakdown before we catch up with Nightwatcher searching through Eliza’s old office. What Nightwatcher finds is Eliza herself and when cornered, she lashes out, proceeding the two of them to have a chase throughout the city!
The origins of Nightwatcher is here!
The City Carries the Action of Nightwatcher
As the chase ensues we get more beackground information via the news. A corrupt insurance company is denying cancer treatments and hiking up medical expenses causing more poverty for those effected by the M Bomb.
What we end up with is a beautiful swan song that leaves readers with an all too familiar feeling. Nightwatcher as series thus far has been a fantastic way of relating current events to the TMNT universe. Juni Ba is using characters, very real in circumstance, to tell this story that highlights the plight of the poor and the meek. It’s so very relatable and is easy to comprehend. He does all of this with seeming preachy or withour hitting you over the head with a blunt subject. It flows and weaves together what we see in real life with what the TMNT universe is experiencing in real time.
Fero Peniche’s artwork stays true to form. The dark and dirty streets of a mutant inhabited New York feels like it goes the way the mutants go. There’s a sadness to it, but it still lights a path of hope and awe. Eliza’s mutant form is so well executed. The horns of her lizard form seem prickly and dangerous, yet her eyes still hold humanity. The tell us everything about her: Sadness, anger, and regret.
Everything Points to 9/10
It can be hard to find the words at times while reading Nightwatcher. In a fantasy world, everything feels so real. That’s kudos to Juni Ba. Characters shine so well and carrie the action, pacing, and plot with purpose. The art stays gritty and based in harsh reality, using certain aspects of nature to convey characteristics and purpose. All in all Nightwatcher continues to shine in a dark world. This one is relevant and can’t miss!
