Review of TMNT Casey & April #2

TMNT Casey & April #2

Yes I know I’m late with my review of TMNT Casey & April #2, but here it is…… with lots of Spoilers, you have been warned! What does The Rat King have in store for these two…. let us find out!

Well I’m completely lost. Seriously folks….. all I know about the plot-line of this adventure with Casey & April is that The Rat King is playing mind games with them. As of this writing, Issue #3 has been released, but I have not read it yet. Because I needed to go back and reread issue #2 in order to bring you this review. All I really know after issue #2 here is that The Rat King’s goal was to separate Casey & April as much as he could. He has succeeded in doing that. I have no clue what The Rat King’s plot is here, and I’m not sure HOW this will all end up with just 4 issues in the series here.

Writing: 

What the heck is going on with this story?? Mariko Tamaki really hooked me into her writing style in issue #1. It set everything up nicely, with a suspenseful ending. However here in issue #2 I’m not sure what kinda story she is trying to write now. I’m not even trying to over think this, but it seems like nothing happens… Other than Rat King setting the trap for April. I should say springing his trap on April. It is even clear from the main cover of this issue that Casey and April are forcibly being separated. I’m not too confident in Tamaki’s style and storytelling after reading this issue. This felt like a giant episode of Seinfeld… NOTHING HAPPENS!!!!!

OK the one thing that does happen is we get Casey & April starring in a new Verizon ad…. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW…… CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW…????? You’re breaking up…. breaking up????? That image and exchange is in the image below here. I really just didn’t care for the writing in this issue at all. April meets up with a mother and 2 daughters, but it’s The Rat King in disguise!!! April gets to unburden all her thoughts and feelings to the disguised Rat King, but that is almost back story for readers who have been reading TMNT since the beginning. Or am I wrong? Is it new material that we haven’t seen in an inner monologue bubble of April’s? I did enjoy the scene, but other than that I am just at a loss for words here. Then there’s Casey finding the mens healing camp or whatever that was. That was just strange.

Art:

Irene Koh is the artist once again, and Brittany Peer is on the colors. I really dig the art in the book, its top notch in my book. The character designs are emotionally charged, and the shadowing that is used is superb! The backgrounds are well-lit, and dark in the places that they need to be. The colors… oh man Brittany Peer does an amazing job with the colors!!! Casey and April’s designs are good, but what the heck is going on with The Rat King? I know it’s the IDW design that has been used before, but I dunno there’s something about it here that just unnerves me. Other than that one thing, the rest of the issue’s art was a wondrous thing to visually engulf. I really could just eat this art up. It’s that damn good looking.

Final Thoughts:

Casey & April #2 is … it’s a comic that sets up a trap for April, yet at the same tells no real story. I’m just not so sure about where this is going now. You can get TMNT Casey & April #2 now at your local comic shop, or digitally on Comixology. I’m diving into issue #3 right now to see what happens next.