• Archives
  • Contact
  • Drawings
  • Meteor Mags
  • Music Albums
  • Paintings
  • PBN
  • Sea Monkeys
  • Secret Origin

Mars Will Send No More

~ Comic books, art, poetry, and other obsessions

Mars Will Send No More

Tag Archives: TMNT

Big Box of Comics Part 3: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

21 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in dinosaur, indie, science fiction

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

big box of comics, comic books, eric talbot, Jim Lawson, Kevin Eastman, Mirage Studios, Peter Laird, steve lavigne, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT, triceraton

This post is part of a series about what was inside this month’s big box of free comics.

teenage mutant ninja turtles 6 wraparound cover.PNG

The Return to New York story in the original TMNT series #19–21 is even better than I remember. I think I was in turtle overload when I read it years ago, and I’d forgotten much of it. Visually, it’s one of the greatest TMNT stories of all time, with stunningly detailed artwork, creative layouts, extensively choreographed fight scenes, and incredible double-splash pages.

The black & white artwork creatively uses both black and white ink in addition to detailed screentone shading (sometimes called by the brand name Zip-A-Tone). The result is some of my favorite artwork in any TMNT story, and it’s a joy to watch the Turtles hack and slash their way through sewers full of enemies while their new Triceraton friend destroys everything in sight with his blaster.

But I was in for a shock when I read issue #6. It wasn’t just the wraparound cover that’s even more awesome than I remember. It wasn’t just the visual splendor of Turtles and Triceratons in combat. No, the shock was the discovery of just how many ideas I apparently stole from this single issue for my fiction series, The Adventures of Meteor Mags and Patches.

Issue #6 has asteroids, dinosaur-type aliens in a combat ring fighting to the death, a ruling body referred to only as the High Council, silly satire, aliens who dislike mammals (“Shut your face, you puny piece of mammal droppings!”), heroes who insult the dino-aliens (“Where I come from, bozos like you know their place — in museums, displayed as skeletons of long-dead ancient freaks!”), fight scenes that last for several pages with scant dialogue, and a shoot-out while attempting to board a spaceship. Somehow, this mid-1980s masterpiece burrowed so deeply into my brain that I was unconsciously drawing on it for inspiration decades later.

I wasn’t planning on picking up the original ten issues of the series, but after reading #6, I want to read the whole storyline again!

Collector’s Guide: From Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6. Reprinted in: Ultimate Collection Hardcover #1. Also from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #19-21, Return to New York. Reprinted in Ultimate Collection Hardcover #3.

620961

teenage mutant ninja turtles 50 treasury edition

08 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in indie

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

city at war, IDW Publishing, Mirage Studios, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT, treasury edition

teenage mutant ninja turtles 50 treasury (2)

Okay, this was a cool idea: reprinting the original pencil art and layouts for the fiftieth issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. IDW has been printing over-sized “artists” version for a few years, volumes which feature original unfinished artwork.

But I must admit I would have preferred seeing the published art at this impressive size. The book rivals the old Marvel Treasury Editions in size, but it sort of feels like an “extras” DVD that came without the original movie. I sold it to a TMNT collector who could truly appreciate it. Here are some photos so you can peek inside.

teenage mutant ninja turtles 50 treasury (3)
teenage mutant ninja turtles 50 treasury (4)
teenage mutant ninja turtles 50 treasury (5)
teenage mutant ninja turtles 50 treasury (6)
teenage mutant ninja turtles 50 treasury (7)
teenage mutant ninja turtles 50 treasury (8)
teenage mutant ninja turtles 50 treasury (9)
teenage mutant ninja turtles 50 treasury (10)
teenage mutant ninja turtles 50 treasury (11)
teenage mutant ninja turtles 50 treasury (12)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Graphic Novel Collection by First

26 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in first issue, indie

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

collection, color reprints, first issue, First Publishing, graphic novel, Indie Comics, Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT

teenage mutant ninja turtles graphic novel set (2)

IDW has lately been reprinting the earliest and original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics from the 1980s. Back in the 80s, prices of first prints of the original comics skyrocketed, and they still retain a fairly high collector’s value. In response to their limited availability to all but the wealthiest collectors, First Publishing produced four, full-color, oversized graphic novels from the original black-and-white stories.

teenage mutant ninja turtles graphic novel set (20)
teenage mutant ninja turtles graphic novel set (21)

The unique and gritty visual style of Eastman and Laird’s reptilian martial artists comes through even in color. First did a wonderfully professional job on this production. They wisely included the Leonardo one-shot, since its story leads right up to the events of issue #10. And, First thoughtfully preserved the dramatic three-page fold out from issue #10. We have scans of the original black and white pages in our archives for comparison.

teenage mutant ninja turtles graphic novel set (10)
teenage mutant ninja turtles graphic novel set (11)
teenage mutant ninja turtles graphic novel set (12)

All of the splash pages look great, and the binding and paper quality of these turtle tomes remains evident decades later. From the first issue to the battle with Triceratons in space to the hilarious Cerebus crossover, all of the Turtles earliest adventures rock hard in this graphic novel format.

teenage mutant ninja turtles graphic novel set (13)
teenage mutant ninja turtles graphic novel set (14)

Let us offer a few suggestions for those seeking some high-quality Turtles reprints. You can still find copies of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TPB by First in stock at reasonable prices ($10-$15 for a Fine copy,) though you may need to go to eBay to get a complete set all at once! IDW printed the stories in single issues in full color as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics, but it seems they left out the Leonardo one-shot to include issue #11 which more or less wraps up Eastman & Laird’s original plot line.

teenage mutant ninja turtles graphic novel set (16)

A second volume of color classics reprints some excellent adventures from the subsequent stories, including a reprint of the glorious Return to New York storyline this spring. Those who want these stories in black and white should get the excellent seven-volume Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collected Book produced by Mirage in the 1990s. IDW more recently gave us The Ultimate Collection in hardcover which wisely includes the one-shots from the 80s as well as the original title.

teenage mutant ninja turtles graphic novel set (17)

Despite the availability of recent reprints, the old ones have held onto their collector’s value due to their limited runs and high production values. The First Publishing collection also gives you a much larger page size than, say, Mirage’s normal-zized Collected Book reprints.

teenage mutant ninja turtles graphic novel set (18)

IDW has much to gain by reprinting these collectible issues, but they also do readers a great service by keeping these classics in print. We sold both the First TPB set and the Collected Book set on eBay last year, but you can bet we would like another copy of Return to New York in our hands before all this is over!

teenage mutant ninja turtles graphic novel set (19)
teenage mutant ninja turtles graphic novel set (3)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #10

27 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in indie

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Casey Jones, Indie Comics, Jim Lawson, Kevin Eastman, Ninja Turtles, Peter Laird, Shredder, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT

teenage mutant ninja turtles 10 -001

With its wraparound cover and multi-page foldout of a dramatic scene, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #10 anticipated the 1990s by half a decade. It presages covers like 1991’s X-Men #1, and the dramatic foldouts by Jim Lee for Image’s WidC.A.T.s. We see these in more modern comics, too: Jim Lee’s huge foldout in All Star Batman and Robin, Bryan Hitch’s massive battle tableau for Ultimates 2, and the wraparound covers produced for Avatar.

teenage mutant ninja turtles 10 -003

This particlular TMNT issue may well be our favorite. Eastman and Laird had refined and perfected the visual style they roughly began in the first issue. Their mixture of silly and serious achieved a perfect blend they would maintain through the Return to New York storyline. Soon, Jim Lawson, Rick Veitch, Michael Zulli, Steve Bissette, and many more independent artists would all do incredible things with these unlikely characters. Here, however, the Turtles’ creators enjoy one of their finest collaborative moments.

teenage mutant ninja turtles 10 -006

Collector’s Guide:
– From Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #10; Mirage, 1987.
– Reprinted in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics #10; IDW, 2013.
– Reprinted in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics: The Works #2; Mirage, 2013.
– Reprinted in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimate Collection #2; IDW, 2011.
– Reprinted in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collected Book TPB #1; Mirage, 1990.
– Reprinted in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TPB #4; Mirage, 1988.

teenage mutant ninja turtles 10 -007

The issue includes an ad for Tales of the TMNT, which would feature the work of Jim Lawson. Lawson became the Turtles’ longest-running artist.

teenage mutant ninja turtles 10 -008

Steve Bissette’s Ninja Turtles: Turtle Dreams!

06 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in first issue, indie

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

dreams, first issue, Indie Comics, Mirage Studios, Steve Bissette, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT, Turtle Dreams, Turtle Soup

Turtle Soup #1 brought together a ton of indie comic artists to do short stories about everybody’s favorite teenage mutants. Steve Bissette contributed a horrifying turtle nightmare which only the meditative skills of Master Splinter can turn to a healing dream.

Collector’s Guide: From Turtle Soup #1; Mirage Studios, 1987.




Michael Zulli’s Ninja Turtles!

28 Sunday Aug 2011

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in occult

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

art, dreams, indie box, Indie Comics, Michael Zulli, Puma Blues, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT

Michael Zulli produced three frankly disturbing issues of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, right about the same time a Turtle craze swept the nation.

While soccer moms drove minivans full of seven-year-olds to movie theaters to enjoy Secret of The Ooze, artists like Rick Veitch, Michael Zulli, and Jim Lawson subversively created dark and violent stories in the comic book. Originally created by Eastman & Laird to parody Frank Miller and “grim and gritty” comics in general, Ninja Turtles became a showcase for indie comics talents to tell tales they could tell nowhere else.

In the gallery below, you’ll find most of the splash and double-splash pages from Zulli’s Ninja Turtles story. Zulli also co-produced The Puma Blues at nearly the same time. We really love the wildlife artwork in Puma Blues. Problem is, we have no clue what’s going on — even with 2/3 the complete series at hand! The mystical elements of Soul’s Winter similarly require some effort to grasp, but the darkly totemic artwork speaks for itself.

Collector’s Guide: Zulli’s tale appears in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #31, #35, and #36. These three issues plus some additional Ninja Turtles work by Michael Zulli are collected in Soul’s Winter: The Collected TMNT Work of Michael Zulli.






It’s Time For Us To Grow Up!

12 Thursday May 2011

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in indie

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Indie Comics, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT

Yeah, right. Let’s just go kick some ninja butt like we used to.

You Used to Throw Alligators Like This Back in Germany!

04 Friday Mar 2011

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in indie

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Indie Comics, Man-Thing, Pre Teen Dirty Gene Kung Fu Kangaroos, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, TMNT

Here is a guest appearance of one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in an issue of Pre-Teen Dirty Gene Kung Fu Kangaroos! Did you get all that? And to top it off, a guest (parody) appearance of the Man-Thing in Adolescent Radioactive BlackBelt Hamsters. That’s a lot of freakin’ mutants. Have fun!

Mars Will Search No More!

Mars Will Stat No More!

  • 6,586,659 minds warped since 2011
Follow Mars Will Send No More on WordPress.com

Mars Will Advertise No More!

My Comic Shop banner

Mars Will Categorize No More!

  • art studio (98)
  • crime (42)
  • dinosaur (222)
  • educational (139)
  • first issue (110)
  • golden age (133)
  • humor (28)
  • indie (187)
  • jungle (57)
  • MeteorMags (18)
  • music (43)
  • occult (80)
  • pirates (17)
  • poetry (64)
  • postcards (44)
  • quarterly report (35)
  • science fiction (407)
  • superhero (435)
  • war (45)
  • western (10)
  • writing (22)

Mars Will Tag No More!

2000AD abstract acrylic advertising Alan Moore Alex Nino alien Al Williamson Amazing Spider-man animal inside you animals art Avengers Batman big box of comics Bill Mantlo birth black and white Black Panther book review books brains Brave and the Bold Captain America Carmine Infantino cats Charles Yates Chris Claremont Classics Illustrated collage collection comic book collage comic books crime Dark Horse Comics DC Comics dinosaur dinosaur books dinosaur comics Dinosaurs an Illustrated Guide Dr. Doom drawing Dreadstar dreams EC Comics EC Comics reprints Fantagraphics Fantastic Four first issue Flesh Flesh the Dino Files Galactus George Perez Gilberton Gil Kane Godzilla golden age guitar Harvey Comics Image Comics indie box Indie Comics Inhumans Jack Kirby Jack Kirby art Jim Lee Jim Starlin Joe Simon John Buscema John Byrne jungle Ka-zar Kevin O'Neill Last Gasp library of female pirates Life on Other Worlds lizard Man-Thing Mark Millar Marvel Comics Marvelman memoir meteor mags Micronauts MiracleMan monsters music nature occult OMAC origin painting pastel Patches Pat Mills pen and ink pirates Planet Comics planets poems poetry postcards prehistoric mammals Prehistoric World Prize quarterly report Race for the Moon racism Ray Bradbury Robert Kanigher robot Roy Thomas Satans Tears Savage Land science fiction self publishing Silver Surfer sketchbook sundays Smilodon Spider-man Stan Lee Steve Bissette Steve Ditko Steve Rude Strange Sports Strange Tales Superman Swamp Thing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Teen Titans Thor time travel Triceratops Turok Turok Son of Stone tyrannosaurus rex underground comix Vertigo Comics war war comics Warren Ellis Warrior Weird Fantasy Weird War Tales Wolverine writing X-men X-men covers Young Earth Zabu

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Mars Will Send No More
    • Join 797 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Mars Will Send No More
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...