The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are leaving their 40th anniversary year in arguably the best, most consistent form they’ve ever been in. Their main comic has been relaunched and has just reunited the brothers, with a strong storyline in place for each of them, their Saturday Morning Adventures line provides more family friendly, fun stories and Mutant Nation is exploring even more of their world (did it have to do that by opening with a story focusing on Raphael though?).

And then we have Nightwatcher, Juni Ba and Fero Pe’s surprise resurrection of a character from the underrated, definitely underappreciated 2007 TMNT animated movie. In that movie, the character in the armour was Raphael, but with this new Nightwatcher series fitting into current continuity, a new mutant has taken up the mantle of the dark, nocturnal vigilante.

Their identity was exposed as being female turtle, Jennika, at the end of the first issue, but what’s been really refreshing in subsequent issues is that there hasn’t been a big deal made about this reveal, and the narrative has simply continued to focus on the vigilante’s assistance of mutants in dire need.

Ba has used the setting of a city filled with displaced, misunderstood and mistreated mutants to explore themes of bigotry, class and injustice. Though this is hardly a new trick, given how well utilised it was in, for just one example, the classic X-Men titles that I grew up reading in the 80s, it makes sense to apply it to the world of TMNT, and with the focus away from the action packed antics of the four central siblings, there’s much more opportunity for a closer look at the new, dysfunctional society in their city.

It’s potent stuff, and it’s definitely my kind of comic. Despite how strong the rest of the TMNT comics lineup is, Nightwatcher is currently my favourite of them all. Here’s to year 41, and many more TMNT comics to come!