Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

[Cobblepot4Mayor]

I am trying to find the very first Turtles issues from 1984 and the storyline that served as inspiration for the 1990 movie.

I believe it was the following stories the filmmakers culled from: (Mirage #1-3/Me, Myself and I/What Goes Around... Comes Around!/Silent Partner, True Stories and Return to New York). If anybody could tell me where any of these stories are reprinted that would be great?

Surprise surprise, every other Turtles comic is available except this in my store. I could only find a large hardback book reprint at a very expensive price.

So just wondering if there are currently any inexpensive softcover reprints available anywhere? Black and white or colour.

[The Joker]

IDW reprinted some of these stories in color recently.

If you're looking for single issues, these are probably your best bet.

https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=22803897

https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=24852587

[thecolorsblend]

Did you ever pick up some Ninja Turtle trades? What did you think?

[The Laughing Fish]

I remember reading a couple of the original issues thirteen years ago. Surprisingly, the official TMNT website had a couple of them free to read online. I heard the comics were much darker than the cartoons and the films, but I was still surprised at how gritty they were. Particularly surprised to see Shredder getting killed off in the first issue. Of course, this must have been before Eastman and Laird realised this brand they were creating had potential to build a huge following beyond their niche audience, so they had to make the brand toyetic if they wanted to market to kids.

Still, I recognised that battle between the Turtles and the Shredder on the rooftop at the end of the first issue was the inspiration for the climax of the 1990 film, which was closer to those original comics than I thought. In fact that film, apart from perhaps the 2007 TMNT animated film, remains the grittiest Ninja Turtles film to date.

Perhaps the funniest moment while watching The Toys That Made Us episode on Netflix was Playmates Toys mentioned they removed the Turtles' tails (which the comics had) for the Eighties cartoon because they thought they looked too phallic. I honestly wouldn't have made that connection if they hadn't brought that up, haha.

[The Joker]

I remember reading a couple of the original issues thirteen years ago. Surprisingly, the official TMNT website had a couple of them free to read online. I heard the comics were much darker than the cartoons and the films, but I was still surprised at how gritty they were. Particularly surprised to see Shredder getting killed off in the first issue. Of course, this must have been before Eastman and Laird realised this brand they were creating had potential to build a huge following beyond their niche audience, so they had to make the brand toyetic if they wanted to market to kids.

Funnily enough, I was aware of the (of course) Fred Wolf cartoon, and Archie TMNT comics before I even knew of the Mirage comics. I still remember, as a kid, being on vacation with my parents (had to have been in the very early 1990s), and seeing a TPB collection of the Mirage material at a shopping mall (if memory serves). Flipping thru the book, I vividly remember seeing the Shredder being killed, and as a consequence, being VERY confused by this. Of course, I really didn't have any sort of frame of reference, and could only surmise that this wasn't really the Shredder, and that he must've been a clone (like how he would duplicate himself in his boss stage within the Arcade Game) or body double. 

As an aside, if I recall correctly, I believe the Shredder (and Krang) were also used very sparingly in the Archie Comics TMNT as well. Despite being influenced by the Fred Wolf toon, and using it as a springboard for it's own continuity.



Perhaps the funniest moment while watching The Toys That Made Us episode on Netflix was Playmates Toys mentioned they removed the Turtles' tails (which the comics had) for the Eighties cartoon because they thought they looked too phallic. I honestly wouldn't have made that connection if they hadn't brought that up, haha.
[/quote]

[thecolorsblend]

Funnily enough, I was aware of the (of course) Fred Wolf cartoon, and Archie TMNT comics before I even knew of the Mirage comics. I still remember, as a kid, being on vacation with my parents (had to have been in the very early 1990s), and seeing a TPB collection of the Mirage material at a shopping mall (if memory serves). Flipping thru the book, I vividly remember seeing the Shredder being killed, and as a consequence, being VERY confused by this. Of course, I really didn't have any sort of frame of reference, and could only surmise that this wasn't really the Shredder, and that he must've been a clone (like how he would duplicate himself in his boss stage within the Arcade Game) or body double. 

I was starting to think that the culture shock of the Mirage stuff was every young Turtle fan's rite of passage. I remember flipping through some trade or another of Mirage material, seeing Leonardo cleave a foot soldier's head clean off and being caught totally off-guard by the blood and violence.

As an aside, if I recall correctly, I believe the Shredder (and Krang) were also used very sparingly in the Archie Comics TMNT as well. Despite being influenced by the Fred Wolf toon, and using it as a springboard for it's own continuity.

That was my sense too. At the time, I simply enjoyed the Archie comics for what they were and didn't think too much about it.

But in retrospect, I'm actually very impressed that the TMNT concept was apparently powerful enough to sustain so many different continuities going on at the same time. By 1991, there was the og Mirage title, the Wolf animated series, the (supposedly related) Archieverse and the movie series. That's pretty remarkable. And now that I think about it, I'm unaware of any other IP that had so many spinoffs coming out simultaneously.

[The Joker]

I was starting to think that the culture shock of the Mirage stuff was every young Turtle fan's rite of passage. I remember flipping through some trade or another of Mirage material, seeing Leonardo cleave a foot soldier's head clean off and being caught totally off-guard by the blood and violence.

Right. For me, I just wish I could have been just a little bit cognizant of what I was looking at. I remember not being able to get it at the time, and didn't really become acquainted with Mirage TMNT until well after a decade later (and about the only reason I was able to sorta collect some of the Archie TMNT comics was because they were actually available in Wal-Marts and drug stores back then), but it remained a very vivid, and for a child, surprising memory.

That was my sense too. At the time, I simply enjoyed the Archie comics for what they were and didn't think too much about it.

But in retrospect, I'm actually very impressed that the TMNT concept was apparently powerful enough to sustain so many different continuities going on at the same time. By 1991, there was the og Mirage title, the Wolf animated series, the (supposedly related) Archieverse and the movie series. That's pretty remarkable. And now that I think about it, I'm unaware of any other IP that had so many spinoffs coming out simultaneously.

True. No arguing that. You literally couldn't go anywhere back then without seeing TMNT on something. But as you said, each iteration differentiated itself enough to be visually (and characterization as well) distinct from one another. I still remember how garish some of the toys were as opposed to how the characters (especially villains) were represented in the Fred Wolf toon. From the purple and black OG Shredder toy, to Leatherhead looking remarkably unlike his Fred Wolf counterpart, to Fly Baxter Stockman looking like something straight out of a horror movie, compared to his Fred Wolf Fly representation.

[The Laughing Fish]

I remember reading a couple of the original issues thirteen years ago. Surprisingly, the official TMNT website had a couple of them free to read online. I heard the comics were much darker than the cartoons and the films, but I was still surprised at how gritty they were. Particularly surprised to see Shredder getting killed off in the first issue. Of course, this must have been before Eastman and Laird realised this brand they were creating had potential to build a huge following beyond their niche audience, so they had to make the brand toyetic if they wanted to market to kids.

Funnily enough, I was aware of the (of course) Fred Wolf cartoon, and Archie TMNT comics before I even knew of the Mirage comics. I still remember, as a kid, being on vacation with my parents (had to have been in the very early 1990s), and seeing a TPB collection of the Mirage material at a shopping mall (if memory serves). Flipping thru the book, I vividly remember seeing the Shredder being killed, and as a consequence, being VERY confused by this. Of course, I really didn't have any sort of frame of reference, and could only surmise that this wasn't really the Shredder, and that he must've been a clone (like how he would duplicate himself in his boss stage within the Arcade Game) or body double. 

Haha, yeah it's odd looking at those comics if you grew up watching the Eighties cartoon. I didn't even know the show was based on comics until many years later. Such a massive contrast too. The show was a typical cartoon for its time, yet the comics it was based on were heavy on violence, angst-ridden monologues, vengeance, and a gloomy tone. If I remember correctly, even Baxter Stockman's Mousers were pretty deadly, whereas in the show, they're just cannon fodder.

[Silver Nemesis]

But in retrospect, I'm actually very impressed that the TMNT concept was apparently powerful enough to sustain so many different continuities going on at the same time. By 1991, there was the og Mirage title, the Wolf animated series, the (supposedly related) Archieverse and the movie series. That's pretty remarkable. And now that I think about it, I'm unaware of any other IP that had so many spinoffs coming out simultaneously.

It's always impressed me how the Turtles brand was successfully adapted to so many different mediums in such a short space of time. Other franchises have conquered multiple entertainment mediums, but it's hard to think of many that topped so many different mediums simultaneously the way the Turtles did. Back in the early nineties the Turtles had one of the best selling comic books, a top-rated TV show, an extremely lucrative toy line (I remember how desperate I was to get the toys back in 1990 and how thrilled I was to receive the Turtle van for Christmas that year), a hit video game series from Konami, and a blockbuster movie series (the first film was the highest-grossing independent film ever back in 1990, and it remained so until The Blair Witch Project in 1999).

The only major entertainment medium the Turtles didn't conquer was the music charts, and not for want of trying.

It's hard for people who weren't alive back then to appreciate just how huge the Turtles were during the early nineties.