TMNT Best Of Alopex #1 Review

 

Writers: Brian Lynch, Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Juni Ba, Erik Burnham & Sophie Campbell

Artists: Sophie Campbell, Juni Ba, Roi Mercado & Gavin Smith

Colorists: Sophie Campbell, Heather Nunnelly, Ronda Pattison & William Soares

Letterers: Chris Mowry, Shawn Lee & Jake M. Wood

Cover Artist: James Biggie

Publisher: IDW

Price: $6.99

Release Date: April 10, 2024

 

Once, she ran with her pack in the Alaskan wilderness. Now, the Mutant Arctic Fox dispatches her opponents not with her teeth but with her martial arts prowess. What is Alopex’s story? Let’s grab a pizza, leap into the four stories in TMNT Best Of Alopex #1, and find out!

 

 

 

TMNT: Villains Micro-Series #4: Alopex

Story

For Alopex, the mission is everything. She fights for the Foot Clan and follows Master Shredder's orders without question. One assignment awakens old memories. Alopex returns to the land of her birth. Walking through the Alaskan snow reminds her of life hunting prey and avoiding bears before the scientists mutated her. In this first story in TMNT Best Of Alopex #1, Brian Lynch forces Alopex to compare her old life with her new identity. She leaves with a less naive view of her ninja master.

 

Art

Sophie Campbell brings an Old School sensibility to TMNT: Villains Micro-Series #4: Alopex. The Mutant Arctic Fox crashes through windows, fights rival ninjas, and remembers battling the turtles. While reds and blues dominate, Sophie Campbell and Heather Nunnelly use other colors sparingly to highlight killing blows, the mutation drug, and the purple surrounding Alopex’s eyes.

 

 

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #66

Story

Alopex fled New York City for Alaska. She thought she could escape Kitsune’s grasp. But the witch who controls the Foot Clan refuses to let her go. Raphael and Angel pursue her in this second story in TMNT Best Of Alopex #1. The mutant reptile lacks Alopex’s fur. Yet he braves the cold to save her. He's conflicted about his feelings for her. Raphael uses two methods he learned from his fellow turtles to find her. But in Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz’s story, Alopex must discover how to win her freedom from Kitsune before returning with Raphael to New York City.

 

Art

Campbell's art lends a softer, feminine appeal to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #66. Raphael's love for Alopex knocks his confidence for a loop, leaving him open and hesitant before Angel. Ronda Pattison paints the Alaskan land and sky in gray and white, while red dominates Kitsune's scenes. Campbell's atmospheric art and Pattison's limited colors bathe Alopex’s battle with Kitsune in mysticism.

 

 

 

TMNT: The Armageddon Game: The Alliance #3

Story

Alopex’s life grows more confusing when the turtles ally with Shredder to combat the Rat King. She now blames Shredder for experimenting on her and ripping her away from her home and family. Although it hurts, she turns her back on Raphael and the turtles in this story in TMNT Best Of Alopex #1. She helps Angel take on Ravenwood’s Earth Protection Force squad and entertains an offer from Oroku Karai. Juni Ba and Eric Burnham address how our circle of friendships and our concept of family adapts to changes life throws in our path.

 

Art

Juni Ba's art in the first story in TMNT: The Armageddon Game: The Alliance #3 features sharp angles and fraught action. Ronda Pattison's limited coloring electrifies scenes where characters often revert to silhouettes or negative silhouettes, visualize Alopex's scent, and limbs resemble lightning bolts. Roi Mercado's characters approach photorealism in the backup story, while backgrounds often fade. Ronda Pattison fills null backgrounds with brilliant colors that evoke the aurora borealis from the land of Alopex’s birth.

 

 

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #140

Story

After the Rat King's defeat, everything is different. Leonardo tries to keep the group together, but the turtles can't even agree on whether patrolling the neighborhood is necessary. Raphael glimpses Alopex and texts her. But the Mutant Arctic Fox doesn't answer. Alopex has left the turtles behind. She leads the Claw Clan in this final story in TMNT Best Of Alopex #1. Despite her pack’s enthusiasm, Alopex strives to find a purpose in their activities. Sophie Campbell’s story places the turtles front and center, with Alopex limited to one scene. But a series of mutant murders and a cliffhanger featuring Raphael suggest the Arctic Fox's return.

 

Art

Gavin Smith packs this final story in TMNT Best Of Alopex #1 Review with breathtaking reality. The turtles and other mutants convincingly (if not always harmoniously) interact with their Human neighbors. Ronda Pattison enhances Smith’s inked shading and illuminates her characters under the city lights and a full moon. Pattison's loaded palette and nuanced coloring portray a community rocked by change. 

 

Final Thoughts

From ferocious arctic fox to streetwise ninja leader, the mutant Alopex has endured the trials and hardships of modern life. She navigates a maze of twists and turns, pulling Raphael into her struggles before leaving the mutant turtle behind. TMNT Best Of Alopex #1 showcases her struggles with change and her unending search for a home.

 

Rating 9/10

 

To preview TMNT: Villains Micro-Series #4: Alopex, the first story in TMNT Best Of Alopex #1, see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.