TMNT New Animated Adventures FCBD 2013 [Review]

Story: Erik Burnham
Art: Dario Brizuela
Colors: Ronda Pattison
Letters: Shawn Lee
Edits: Bobby Curnow
Cover by: Dario Brizuela
Published by: IDW
Cover Price: $0.00

I’ve been “expecting” this series for quite awhile. I recall thinking it’d be one of the first TMNT things put out by IDW, and precede the new animated series. Obviously I was wrong in that expectation, but that also made me all the more curious about this issue, having watched most of the episodes so far of the tv show serving as inspiration.

I was quite gratified to find that this issue totally fits–for me, anyway–within the continuity of the show. It was like an adaptation of an episode, yet even better–because it’s an original story, with some really good art, that simply captures the spirit of the show while doing its own thing.

We open with Mikey showing off some new moves and getting teased by his brothers. Splinter steps into things, and uses the brotherly rivalry as a teaching moment–the turtles are all quite good with their chosen weapons…but what’s their skill level with an unfamiliar weapon? Ordered to maintain a temporary weapon swap, the turtles head up out of the sewers, and wind up fighting some Purple Dragons before encountering an even larger menace, and learning the wisdom Splinter set forth.

The story has these characters nailed–the personalities from the nick tv show shine through on all involved characters, and some of the quips are highly true to the show. I was especially impressed at a moment with Raphael and Donatello where Raph grabs Donnie and instructs him “Don’t you EVER try and finish that sentence”–the context and hearing the voice from the cartoon in my head nearly made me laugh out loud in a way that so rarely happens.

Visually I really enjoyed the art. Brizuela‘s name is familiar to me from work on a number of issues of Tales of the TMNT from 2004-2009. It’s very cool to see another “veteran” of Mirage TMNT doing some new TMNT work for IDW…something I hope to see more of from creators with any interest in doing so. The characters all look like their animated counterparts (though admittedly CGI to 2D); but the art’s still got a certain uniqueness about it. It’s obviously based on the cartoon, but it’s not trying to BE the cartoon. It’s also quite a lot better-looking than stills taken from the cartoon itself.

This is easily my favorite Free Comic Book Day issue this year, and I’m really looking forward to the first issue of the actual ongoing series this summer.

If you can only grab one FCBD issue this year, I’d highly recommend this to fans of the TV show or fans of Burnham or Brizuela‘s other work, and general fans of the TMNT as a whole.

New Comics Outnumbered by Bargains This Week

Having decided not too long ago to let FF and X-Men: Legacy go when they were the ONLY new comics due out that week that I would buy, and neither was officially on my pull list. I found myself in a similar position this week, but this time, didn’t want to pass up the new TMNT issue, and the Hardbacks sale was incrementing to 80% off this week.

I totally forgot that I was going to stick with digital for Batman, Inc. (d’oh!), but still found several new hardcovers…and a vintage box of TMNT trading cards still in their original packaging.

All told, this week’s haul cost me less than the cover price of the Ultimate Comics Doomsday volume.

The local comic shop–Kenmore Komics–started off with these various hardbacks at 50% off cover, and the discount’s been increasing 10% each week. Next week–assuming anything other than Ultimate Human is left–I may snag a few other volumes.

But for now, I think this sudden huge influx of new hardcovers is about done, though I’ve got a short list of books I’m after that I’m probably going to have to pay a lot more for individually.

TMNT #50 Treasury Edition

I learned of this “treasury edition” a few weeks back, and asked about it at the comic shop, and was put down for an order. For the sheer physical size of the thing, and the price of usual comics, $9.99 seemed like a steal for this. Of course, now that it finally came in and I had a chance to look at it, it did not turn out to be exactly what I’d expected.

I’d expected this to simply be an over-sized reprint of the original issue–just the original issue in its entirety, blown up to this massive size. Instead, it turned out that this is basically a companion piece to the issue (blown up to this massive size).

We get a look at the original layouts to the issue, beautifully reproduced–so much so that I kept looking closer: the intro to the volume references the ballpoint pen, and darned if everything doesn’t look like Kevin Eastman himself actually drew on blank pages and handed the result to me! I also like the annotations throughout…

Once beyond the layouts for the entire issue, we get a look at many of the final pages in various states (pencils-then-inks, etc); again annotated, allowing quite a look at the process that went into the issue.

And then at the back of the volume, we get the original notes/outline to the entire City at War story, which proved interesting reading (and has bee all the more eager to dive into the story when my copy of the TMNT Ultimate Collection vol. 4 arrives in the next few days!)

As I said above…this is very much an oversized publication, as you can see here. While this wasn’t exactly what I expected, and I would have gladly paid $15-$20 for this plus the full-size pages of the original issue, it’s quite a worthwhile volume.

The original Eastman & Laird run, the Tales run, Return to New York, and City at War are my favorite of the original series. And the original printing of #50 back in 1992 or so was offhand THE first issue of the “real” TMNT that I ever bought/owned, so it has special significance for me.

I even have a City at War poster that’s hung in my living room for the last couple years since I acquired it that I fully intend to get framed one of these days.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #18 [Review]

Story: Kevin Eastman & Tom Waltz
Script: Tom Waltz
Art: Ben Bates
Colors: Ronda Pattison
Letters: Shawn Lee
Editor: Bobby Curnow
Cover: Ben Bates
Published by: IDW
Cover Price: $3.99

The bulk of this issue follows the turtles on planet Neutrino in Dimension X as they assess their situation and come to an understanding with the soldiers they encountered on Earth, native to this planet. They also learn what it is the soldiers were after as they realize all has not been as it seems. Meanwhile, back on Earth Splinter, April, and Casey deal with the sudden disappearance of the turtles. By issue’s end–18 issues into this new series–the turtles are introduced to General Krang, in a must more competent iteration than the ’80s cartoon that spawned the character.

Story-wise, this continues to be a great series that–on the whole–I am thoroughly enjoying. However, I’m growing a bit weary of 4-issue arcs, despite lingering subplots (and believe me, I am extremely grateful for subplots in an age where it seems stories are “written for the trade” and to be entirely self-contained). Eastman and Waltz continue to take core elements of the numerous iterations of these characters, and weave them together into a new tapestry that is at once familiar and yet new and interesting.

I particularly recognize Neutrinos Zak and Kala, and appreciate the turtles’ interactions with them; Mikey’s characterization with the princess is familiar as well. The turtles being suddenly, unexpectedly zapped to an alien planet in the middle of a war is a familiar “broad stroke” from the original Eastman/Laird series…though new in the specific details.

Visually, I’m liking Bates‘ art–it fits the characters well, and it just “works” for me. The only real weirdness is that the Neutrinos take on a very anime-like visual effect that contrasts a bit with the more sensible look of the other characters. Pattison‘s colors lend a real sense of continuity to the multiple artists on this series so far, where the linework’s changed, the colors have been consistent and certainly ease the transition between art styles.

This series has been on a relatively slow burn, steadily introducing characters and elements to the story, playing on past stories and expectations to build a strong continuity made up of the “best of” past versions of the TMNT. I’m truly appreciating the development, that things aren’t being rushed for the sake of getting characters in (especially characters whose original versions I find rather silly and off-putting as an adult). But I am increasingly anxious to see something a bit more major happen, something to truly shake up this continuity and define the characters–I’m not sure how, exactly–but it seems that other than the all-too-frustrating $3.99 price point this continuity would be ripe for a weekly series–or multiple series effectively making for weekly glimpses into the world.

With the typical 4-issue arcs, this is the 2nd chapter of this arc; so if you can find #17 along with this,  you can jump in and probably figure out for the most part what’s what, especially if you’re fairly familiar with the turtles anyway. Alternatively if you’re waiting for the collected volumes…this is shaping up to be another good mini-arc.

On the whole…the issue is good, and definitely leaves me quite interested in getting the next issue in-hand.

A New Wave of TMNT figures, but I’m not buyin’

Over the last few weeks, I’d actually begun to fear that the new line of TMNT figures had been dropped by BOTH Walmart AND Target…as both chains seemed to have no stock of the figures, and were filling the pegs previously marked for TMNT with Power Rangers and Ben10 and other lines.

I even did some digging online just to try to find some information, and found a couple discussions suggesting it was that the toys had sold exceedingly well during “the holidays” and neither chain had yet restocked…which makes sense (for the most part).

Also made sense that the stores would spread other stock out to avoid the constant empty pegs. It was just a wonder (to me) to consider that a chain would not be able to get something restocked more quickly.

Then a couple weeks ago I noticed a handful of figures again at a Walmart, and the other day spotted a restocked selection at a local Target (pictured to the left).

While it’s good to see the line back in stock with some numbers (rather than just an isolated single figure here or there) I continue to be rather disappointed at the selection. I bought the entirety of the first wave of figures, and bought the next three the first time I saw them, the third wave of figures seems to consist simply of “Ooze variants” of the four turtles.

While I am not a huge fan of endless variants, I was guilty of snagging several variants of a character from the 2003 line, and had a slew of Leonardos from the ’80s line. But for $9/figure I’m NOT buying into the variants…especially as stupid as these.

Maybe I’m still just in the mindset of the ’80s stuff, but to me, the turtles should want nothing to do with the ooze; that contact with it again could revert them to “normal” turtles.

Regardless…the fact that the figures themselves–made to utilize actual ooze–do not even come with a small “sample” of ooze puts me off all the more. I don’t mind that the ooze is sold separately in “bulk,” but if I’m buying a $9 figure I’m not exactly inclined to want to have to spend another $4-7 on a container of figure-compatible ooze product.

I also continue to be entirely unimpressed with the “vehicles,” save the Van, which I have the intention of snagging “eventually,” though kinda bummed that Target’s bumped their asking price from $29.99 to $32.99. Discounts’ll suck me in…making stuff more expensive than the “regular” price you started with is NOT going to entice me.

I believe there’s a Leatherhead figure coming soon, and I have no idea what else–I’ll probably snag that figure, but for the most part I’m not all that interested in the “oozed villain of the week” characters introduced on the tv show so far, and it’s going to take something more interesting than slinging ooze to get me to buy variants of core characters.

’80s TMNT toys: Sword Slicin’ Leonardo [card]

About a week ago, I came across a couple of old “cards” from my old TMNT toys from the late-1980s. These were from the “Wacky Action” turtles–motorized action figures that…well, gave them action. Nothing fancy, but quite a time capsule, and a reminder of how sorely disappointing most contemporary toy lines and card designs are to me.

Well, this card’s a bit worse for wear compared to the Mouser one I posted the other day.

While the mouser was fairly cool as a unique figure (despite being horribly out of scale) this is “just” another Leonardo variant. And from what I recall of the figure itself, unlike the Mouser’s walking action, this figure’s arm simply spun, giving the “slicing” action.

Though the front’s pretty torn up, the back’s just fine:

I can appreciate the alliteration of the accessories–Menacing Mace, Wacky Whip, Silly Sword–even if they seem ridiculous for this character–what possible reason would the character have for using any of these? All the more as rigid items…I guess that leaves plenty to the imagination, though.

Again, I appreciate the alliteration on the Portrait card, even if the phrasing all seems awkward and pointless. (Sorta gets me thinking and wondering about the GI Joe profiles on those toys back in the day).

Unlike the mouser, here we seem to have the FULL lineup of Wacky Action Turtles–with Leo, Shredder, and Splinter added to the mix. The figures are all terribly familiar, so I’m pretty sure that between what I had and what a friend had, we probably had the full subseries.

And there’s Napoleon Bonafrog. I think of the figures shown here, the only ones I never had were Wingnut & Screwloose, Genghis Frog and Usagi Yojimbo. I’d love to be able to re-acquire or simply acquire the Mutanimals characters (Mondo Gecko, Wingnut & Screwloose, Leatherhead, Ray Fillet (Man Ray) and whatever others there were (I don’t think there were ever figures for all the Mutanimals).

I don’t think I ever had Scumbug, General Traag (my friend had him, I believe), Leatherhead, or Rat King. I do have the Rat King from the 2003 line, though. It’s interesting to look at this version of Krang–I believe this was before the oversized Android Body was released, and I believe a later series shrunk the Krang-in-Android-Body to a standard size single-piece figure.

…and of course, the legalese. Looks like this one may’ve been from 1990, possibly meaning the mouser was a LATE 1989. I never knew anything about Panda Khan, but seeing the separate copyright notice (Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo I’m familiar with) led me to a quick search online; looks like a first issue of Panda Khan is available from the original creators here.

Secret History of the Foot Clan #1 [Review]

Story: Mateus Santolouco
Script: Mateus Santolouco & Erik Burnham
Art: Mateus Santolouco
Colors: Joao “Azeitona” Vieira
Letters: Shawn Lee
Edits: Bobby Curnow
Published by: IDW
Cover Price: $3.99

For me, the Foot Clan has simply always been. The Foot were robots in the ’80s cartoon–a fact I simply accepted. They were human in the live-action movies, and the Eastman/Laird comics, and the 2003 and 2012 animated series. And to be honest, I’ve never really given them much thought, as far as their history goes, how some “ancient clan” came to be what they are in the present. They’re just an element of the whole of the TMNT universe.

Until now.

This issue is part flashback, part stranger’s tale, part Splinter’s tale. We open with narration over flashback, and come to find April, Casey, and the turtles in a lecture hall listening to a history professor speak of the Yuu clan, and eventually pages from a book detailing a ninja order known as the foot Clan. This obviously grabs the attention of our heroes, though in different ways. Once the turtles bring this information to Splinter, he relays information of his own. Meanwhile, the Shredder’s forces also show interest in this professor who seems to be getting a bit too close to home, as we make an interesting discovery via yet another character and their involvement in the history of things.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of this mini-series. I guess I figured it would be something fairly typical, unearthing some singular secret or something that would turn the present understanding of the Foot on its side, maybe something for shock value. But the narrative style, the details of actual history not only interest me in the history of this fictional Foot Clan but also leave me wondering what’s actually real–recognizing much as essentially historical fiction, such that I could see doing some research of my own on Japanese history.

You kinda have to have the turtles present–after all, though this is a mini-series emphasizing the history of the Foot, the regular TMNT logo is more prominent on the cover, and if this weren’t #1 it would appear to be just another issue of the ongoing series. I quite like that there’s a lot of looks at the past while we have present-time development of things within the usual, still-developing continuity. I’d actually probably be perfectly happy if this series was set entirely in the past, simply following figures from the past, and not involve the present at all.

The visual style is interesting–I’m not sure what it reminds me of, but there’s something vaguely familiar, even while it’s got its own style that makes it fairly distinct from the current ongoing TMNT book. While the difference is noticeable and I’m definitely reminded of how varied the individual visual interpretations of these characters can be, there’s plenty familiar that doesn’t stray unrecognizeably far from the ongoing series, which I definitely appreciate.

From just this first issue, I’m not sure what the full story is going to be–whether it’ll overall fit into the “historical fiction” category or just in usual TMNT-type stuff. I do know that I enjoyed both the story and visuals and the way they worked together–we get a literal origin of the Foot from just a visual, for example–making for a very well-done comic.

I’m unfamiliar with Santoloucos and Vieira, but their story and visuals seem poised to be a highly welcome addition to IDW‘s TMNT continuity. While I’m a bit dismayed at IDW‘s standard high $3.99 price point and constant over-use of variant covers, for the story and (standard) cover alone, I definitely recommend this to anyone enjoying the ongoing IDW TMNT stuff, and cautiously recommend it even to those interested in Japanese history/historical fiction.

My replacement TMNT Ultimate Collection vol. 3 has arrived

A few weeks ago, I ordered the TMNT Ultimate Collection vol. 3. While it arrived quickly, I was highly disappointed to find that the spine was crushed at the top and bottom–nothing huge, but it looked weird with that damage when compared to the first two volumes side-by-side.

Thankfully, Amazon allows returns/exchanges, and will even provide a mailing label for you to ship damaged goods back to them.

My replacement copy of the book arrived tonight, and I’m quite satisfied with this copy…and really looking forward to the next two volumes in this series, as they’ll be collecting the entire City at War story.

These volumes have been very impressive. When I found out about them last year, I figured they’d be the same size as Marvel‘s oversized hardcovers, but these are bigger. They definitely dwarf regular-sized comics:

The oversized format makes the art significantly larger, and the double-page spreads make me much gladder that I missed out on the Mirage-published paperback a few years ago…the spine would have been destroyed trying to take in the full scope of the pages. Plus, this series is already past the issues in that volume and sounds like it’ll be 5 books total, reprinting the original Eastman/Laird material, what I consider the “core” TMNT continuity.

The volumes look great together…these are certainly a highlight of my collection.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual 2012 [Review]

Full review posted to cxPulp.com.

Story: 3/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 5/5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #15 [Review]

Full review posted to cxPulp.com.

Story: 4/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5