Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #3 Review

 

Writer: Alex Paknadel

Artist: Amancay Nahuelpan

Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado

Letterer: Darran Robinson

Cover Artists: Amancay Nahuelpan & Max Dunbar

Editor: Dave Wielgosz

Publisher: IDW

Price: $4.99

Release Date: December 17, 2025

 

Casey Jones wants to keep moving toward something that matters. So he seeks to prove that people still need him. Everyone in his life wants him to sit still. But as Raphael told April, that means his memories can catch up with him.

 

April thinks Casey needs to remember that he almost died when Hieronymous Hale shot him. Raphael believes Casey can't exercise sound judgment until the doctor gives him a clean bill of health. Is Casey seeking suicide by defending Mutant children and searching for Annabel's father? And can he still discern heroes from villains? Let's grab our masks and clubs, leap into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #3, and see!

 

Story

Ludovic is a snow leopard. His specialty is breaking opponents’ ribs. He works hard to earn his employer’s respect. But unlike Casey, Jack Marlin knows where to draw the line. Humans stand atop the evolutionary pyramid. Mutants and animals can never be his equal.

 

April and Raphael don't see eye to eye with Casey. Still, they want to help him. So after April shares her concerns, Raphael agrees to seek out his friend. When Raphael finds him, Casey is working with one of Leo Ban's enforcers. Just as Annabel lost her father, some of the underworld boss's underlings have gone missing. But when Ludovic attacks Casey, Raphael defends him, while Leo Ban's people flee.

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #3 takes us into the heart of a dark operation. We see who Jack Marlin works with and the market niche he targets. Alex Paknadel draws on folklore motifs and HG Wells' classic novel about the evolution of the species as he contemplates what it means to be Human. Yet his story compares a man who believes he is superior to Mutants with a vigilante who knows his reptilian friends will always be his superiors.

 

Art

As Geena Gets sits before a lighted mirror, she erases crow’s feet with an applicator pad. Shimmering in her black sequin dress, Geena studies her reflection as Jack Marlin studies her in his suit and broad-brimmed hat. Amancay Nahuelpan shows Jack’s weathered hand placing a container of moisturizer next to her empty one. An inset panel shows his pearly whites gleaming beneath his black handlebar mustache. As a talk show host's face swells beyond the TV screen, Geena's smiling face shrinks into the lens of a video camera in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #3.

 

Heaven weeps as Ludovic picks up a fallen mutant and heaves him atop his shoulder. Luis Antonio Delgado paints the night red, orange, and pink as Casey and Ludovic fight. Yet the rainy night turns scarlet when Ludovic attacks Casey in a way that belies his self-image. Then pink-edged lightning bolts fill the sky, highlighting Raphael's muscular development. White, glowing eyes showcase his determination.

 

Darran Robinson fills white dialogue balloons with uppercase letters that grow bold for intonation and shrink for lowered voices. Colored narrative boxes reveal thoughts and offscreen dialogue. Raised voices swell letters and make balloons spiky. Sound effects help us hear fighting on a dark and stormy night, a talk show guest’s ire, and a master rebuking his subordinate in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #3. Thanks to IDW and Comic Book Dispatch for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Skills and physical size make a difference. But Casey knows that determination matters most. So, he throws everything he has into his fights, never backing down despite the odds against him. As villains step on the weak as they climb toward godhood, Casey's having none of it in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #3.

 

Rating 9.6/10

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #2 Review

 

Writer: Alex Paknadel

Artist: Amancay Nahuelpan

Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado

Letterer: Darran Robinson

Cover Artists: Amancay Nahuelpan & Louis Antonio Delgado; Nikola Čižmešija; Jared Cullum

Editor: Dave Wielgosz

Publisher: IDW

Price: $4.99

Release Date: November 19, 2025

 

Casey Jones is tired of being coddled. So what if he nearly died? He wants to resume his patrols, protect people, and combat crime. But April O’Neil won’t let him. So, one hot night, while she sleeps on his couch, Casey slips his shirt over his bandaged waist and heads out to prove he still has what it takes. Unfortunately, when Casey runs into Link and Chun from the Purple Dragons, he needs his friends to rescue him.

 

Like April, Raphael worries that Casey is trying to run before he can walk. And when Casey asks little Annabel why Chun and Link attacked her, he shouts and demands. How will April react to his defiance? And can Casey find Annabel's father? Let's grab our masks and clubs, leap into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #2, and see!

 

Story

When April awakens, she follows a trail of blood to the bathroom. There she finds her worst fear realized. Casey is stitching up his side. He is so traumatized by the shooting that he is going out and finishing the job that District Attorney Hieronymus Hale started. Casey begs for her to understand he needs this. But April can’t face another vigil in the ICU, let alone a worse eventuality.

 

Unfortunately, walking out of his life frees Casey to pursue his investigation. When Casey doesn't return her calls, April turns to Raphael. Casey gave the Turtle a piece of his mind when Raph tried to help him see sense. Perhaps more than April, Raphael understands the powerlessness Casey feels, and his desperation to reclaim his self-confidence.

 

As Casey searches for Annabel’s father, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #2 explains events surrounding the night hunt at Bear Mountain State Park. While revealing the fate of Annabel's father, it also shows how Becky and Yuri fare following their abduction. Alex Paknadel’s story reinforces April and the Turtles’ belief that Casey is trying too hard. But Casey senses a greater danger underlying the missing mutants. And after Chun used a new drug to slam him into a tree, Casey knows that such wonders come with a heavy price.

 

Art

April’s eyes widen when she finds Casey on the blood-splattered tile floor. The cotton balls near a bottle of isopropyl alcohol evoke dislodged eyeballs. Electricity surges through Yuri as the Avian Mutant gets the forked end of his captor’s cattle prod. The metal enclosure in the larger warehouse reinforces how their abductor views his captives. A three-piece suit and wide-brimmed hat complete the image of a gentleman hunter.

 

Luis Antonio Delgado lavishes a nuanced palette on Amancay Nahuelpan’s art in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #2. Casey’s orange sleeveless hoodie links him with April’s yellow-orange hair. A yellow glow fills the background as Casey searches for answers, while sepia spectators cheer him on. The red sky over an abandoned church presages the red soda can and pepperoni pizza as green fingers clutch a red mask. While a white informant with rainbow hair responds to Casey's questions, another furry white Mutant preys on his community to gain the acceptance of his Human peers.

 

Darran Robinson fills white balloons and colored narrative boxes with uppercase letters that grow bold for intonation and shrink for lowered voices. Raised voices swell letters and make balloons spiky. Sound effects highlight April’s concern, Casey giving as good as he gets, and a Mutant crushing his master’s gift in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #2. Thanks to IDW for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

When police fail to protect endangered Mutants, the lines between right and wrong blur. Raphael believes he knows where to stand. But Casey senses a danger threatening the community he strives to protect. So, he ignores conventional boundaries and aligns himself with specters of his past in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #2.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

 

For how this series began see my review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #1.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #1 Review

 

Writer: Alex Paknadel

Artist: Amancay Nahuelpan

Colorist: Luis Antonio Delgado

Letterer: Darran Robinson

Cover Artists: Amancay Nahuelpan & Louis Antonio Delgado; Danny Earls & Jão Canola; Mike Henderson & Adam Guzowski

Editors: Andy Khouri & Dave Wielgosz

Publisher: IDW

Price: $4.99

Release Date: September 10, 2025

 

As the moon shines down on Bear Mountain State Park, a man whistles, and his dogs charge. Each dog races to reach their target first. But when they find it and sink their teeth into its scaly hide, another whistle calls them off. The dogs move aside as their masters approach. As he instructs Simon to kill their quarry, the man assures the boy that there's nothing wrong with ending another person's life. What does this man have against mutants? And why does he equate murder with mercy? Let's grab our masks and clubs, leap into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #1, and see!

 

Story

Every time Casey goes to sleep, the nightmare returns. District Attorney Hieronymus Hale smiles as he shoots him. Tonight, Casey awakens in a sweat. But it’s not just the recurring dream. The temperature has risen in the city. Even at night, it doesn’t cool down. And as temperatures rise, tempers fray. The heat wave gives Casey the determination to do what he’s yearned to do for the last few weeks. His city needs him. So, Casey grabs his gear and heads out to protect people from aggressors in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #1.

 

Alex Paknadel switches perspectives amid scenes as he relates his story about a “merciful” hunter. But like the full moon, the spotlight shines on Casey through most of the debut issue. Members of Casey's former gang recognize his mask. Casey feels good enough to patrol. But he hasn’t recovered physically or psychologically from being shot. Now, as Casey seeks to protect a mutant from members of the Purple Dragons, he must also deal with their anger for abandoning them.

 

While Casey fights to protect a young mutant from the gang, he must once again decide where he belongs. Casey has found a new family with the Turtles and April O'Neil. But April has been mothering him while he recovers. He only escaped her clutches because she had fallen asleep on his couch. Casey wants to be with Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael. But he doesn't want his friends to limit him. Hieronymus Hale's attack has wounded and traumatized him. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #1, Casey needs to prove to himself that he can get past that and resume the life he loves.

 

Art

Spindly, scaly fingers stretch for the shore amid white streaks. Silhouettes of hounds watch with glowing white eyes beneath the stars in the green night sky. The hounds bare their teeth as they race toward their muzzled prey.

 

When Amancay Nahuelpan transports us to an apartment, pigeons scatter outside as Casey rises. A grid of pink squares behind Casey suggests a skylight. Buildings glow yellow beyond his window. Casey clutches the white tape circling his torso as he perches on the edge of his bed. He eyes his clubs and mask leaning against the grey-blue wall. Then, Casey switches off a TV reporter interviewing a woman in a black dress attending a red-carpet premiere.

 

Luis Antonio Delgado shows Casey battling villains in the green and blue park beneath a starry black sky. Yellow, orange, and red overtake panels as weapons slash and crash, and Casey delivers flying kicks. Lights glow behind Casey as he kneels before a young mutant. She has large yellow eyes like the mutant hunted in Bear Mountain State Park. Her jaw opens wide, and her ears stand erect, as a villain delivers a savage blow that creates an orange starburst in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #1.

 

Darran Robinson fills balloons and colored narrative boxes with uppercase letters of varying sizes. Sound effects heighten every moment of the chase, Casey’s awakening, his battle in the park, and weapons hooking chains and spilling blood. Yet the repeated scene of Hieronimus Hale smiling and pointing a pistol between Casey's gloved, upraised hands requires no words to communicate its intent. Thanks to IDW for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Casey Jones has taken a beating. But he wants to prove that he's not broken. As Casey attempts a comeback by promising to help a young mutant, he faces gangs with enhanced abilities, and The Most Dangerous Game: Mutant Edition in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #1.

 

Rating 9/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.