Review: Casey Jones #3
From IDW Publishing
After last issue’s cliffhanger, we return to the world of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Casey Jones #3 from IDW Publishing.
The elegant and deadly mutant known as Ludovic makes his grand entrance and gives Casey Jones the fight of his life! Who is this snow leopard mutant, and how did he come to be? What is his connection to the ooze derivative that is shaking up Casey’s world? And can Casey come back from the brink of another soul-crushing and body-breaking defeat? He’ll have to—otherwise Ludovic is going to set his sights on other targets in Mutant Town…
Writer: Alex Paknadel, Artist & Cover: Amancay Nahuelpan
Cunningly getting out of the creative corner from the previous issue’s cliffhanger, this was an all-action issue, which delivers more clues and more backstory for all characters involved.
Involving Raph in this early stage of the story was an excellent idea; with Casey being on the ropes, Raph comes to his aid. They may have been at blows, but they are friends and kindred spirits at their core, and the central part of this story allows us to delve deeper into that relationship while still building Ludovic into a credible (albeit flawed) threat.
That flawed aspect is also built upon here. His wanting to be accepted is one thing, but the way his sponsor is taking advantage of that through a form of coercive control and the promise of the mystery drug to allow him to join the high echelons of the society he sees as the best to be a member of. It’s sad in a way, and gives us a possible redeeming feature of the character who is putting on a brave front in his dealings with other mutants.
Ludovic’s self-loathing aside, and the rest has some excellent commentary and internal discoveries for Casey, and that links in nicely to the end of the issue, where there is some sense of closure for Casey and a way forward which may cause more trouble in the long run for the character - we shall see with this!
The artwork cleverly combines rooftop battles, the gentrified countryside, action, character expressions, and hospital elements. A good combination, and this adds to the whole feel of the comic.
This is an excellent series - linked to the main goings-on for the TMNT, but easy enough to pick up and read without too much backstory to fret about.
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The Ludovic characterization here is really interesting—treating him as a flawed antagonist rather than pure villain adds layers to the story. I've noticed in recent comics that this kind of coercive control angle (the sponsor manipulating through promises of acceptance) actually mirrors alot of real-world grooming tactics. The way he's positioned as both threat and victim makes the tension way more complex than a standard fight scene. It's kinda similar to how Sandman handled its morally ambiguous characters, where empathy doesn't equal redemption. The Casey-Raph dynamic benefts from that context too.