Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Jennika #3

Jennika #3 wraps up this three-issue mini-series. While the ending is no shocker, Brahm Revel did deliver a story we needed about Jennika. She needed her own space to delve into her head. A lot has happened to her, so this mini-series was desperately needed to flesh out her "new" self a bit more. The back-up stories also helped flesh out her character more, as well. While nothing happens that you won't expect, it was good to finally set her character on solid ground and now to move forward, with this behind us. Read Full Review

I Review Comics

Jun 29, 2020

I was so disappointed with Jennika #2 that I bumped #3 up in my review schedule to get it out of the way. Fortunately, this installment is a little better but not enough to recommend to anyone outside of completionists. In fact, if the second issue had been shorter or dropped and left the political stuff on the cutting room floor this could have been a solid mini-series or One-Shot. This issue resolves the sub-plot involving the mutant cure and introduces a somewhat surprising villain into the mix. The conclusion turns out to be a lot goofier than expected and further adds to my belief that a lot of this series was thrown together with little editorial oversight. The main problem with this issue and the last is that we spend way too much time reading about Jenny being manipulated into a sketchy situation she should have seen a mile away. The excuse given is that she wants the cure to become human again. I understand her wanting to be human but every character introduced in the series is either sketchy or dumb which makes Jennika come off as pretty stupid as well. I'm a fan of the art style chosen for the series. It's a unique take on these characters and although I like it, I can see a lot of readers being turned off. The linework isn't perfect. There are odd drawings of hands and feet all over the place. The storytelling however is effective and the odd panels never detracted enough to pull me out of the story. If there was ever a TMNT manga or anime I could see this style catching on. It's very energetic, expressive, and fluid despite the flaws I've pointed out. I can't get much deeper into the book without heavy spoilers. I think the reveal of the true villain is worth saving if you're invested to this point. The best way to sum up the title is that the mini-series has been a bit of a letdown. This is especially true when you consider that the cover price has been bumped up to tell a story that was paper-thin to start and never got much deeper. Jennika deserved better in her coming out party. more