Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #15: Ujigami Pt. 3

The return of a lost loved one can be an emotional experience. But what is the cost for their return? How will the Ninja Turtles move forward after this…?

Catch up with this story with my previous review: TMNT #14: Ujigami Pt. 2

Creative Team

Gene Luen Yang (Writer), Freddie E. Williams II (Artist), Andrew Dalhouse (Colorist), Shawn Lee (Letterer)

Nathan Widick (Designer), Jake Thomas (Editor), Tommy Stella (Assistant Editor),
Ben Bates (Ujigami Designer)

Publisher: IDW Publishing

Ujigami Pt. 3

Issue fifteen of TMNT comes to us following a jaw dropping ending of issue fourteen. Gene Luen Yang continues to amaze me with this story line. Ujigami part three starts off with a “vision” of Raphael’s potential future. Continuing with the “theme” of the ending of issue fourteen, this vision is “jaw dropping!”

After the vision, you are taken to the sewer where the Turtles are enjoying a pizza with their father, Master Splinter. Donnie and Raph are quiet and struggling inside with the idea of Splinter really being back from the dead. The only brother not fazed by Splinter’s return is Mikey. He is just so over-joyed with Splinter’s return.

Family dinner is soon interrupted by a witch who is hunting down Splinter. A fight ensues. The witch ends up using some of her parlor tricks to mind control two of the brothers. Naturally, it is not the two who question Splinter’s return. Splinter uses weapons during the fight that bring to life even more questions about his return and if he is who he claims to be.

Once the fight is over, things do not return back to normal quite yet. The elephant in the room is finally addressed and Splinter shares how he was able to return to the land of the living. Mikey is not accepting of this news and argues amongst his brothers, mainly Raph.

Raph notices his father sneaking off and gives ninja like chase. Raph confronts Splinter and shares with him that he believes Splinter’s story regarding his return. Meanwhile, Splinter is stalking his next person of interest. This individual is supposed to bring Raph to his end in the future…

Writing

Gene Luen Yang is proving to be one of my new favorite writers! This man is taking readers on one emotional ride after another. This issue toys with various emotions that I firmly believe majority of the population can relate to. The dialogue between the brothers dealing with the harsh reality of Splinter’s presence is par for the course! The writing displayed in this issue is a hole-in-one!

Artwork

Freddie E. Williams II and Andrew Dalhouse continue to show why they were selected to work on this project. The grittiness of the details and colors used help to bring this story off the panels. The accents they use to bring forth the emotional factor of some panels is simply astonishing. I hope these gentlemen stay on for more TMNT projects, because they are doing a fantastic job!

Final Thoughts

This issue is the very definition of what a continuation should be. You also have very powerful plays on emotion that you sometimes will not get with other writers. The dialogue is also used in a manner that if you were to start collecting this arc with this issue, you would not be completely confused about what is taking place. Love how this story is moving, pace wise. I am thrilled to see where Gene leads readers from here. Go snag a copy of TMNT #15 from your local comic shop today!

Grade: 9.5/10

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