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TMNT Revisited: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #13

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Walt

tmnt_adventures_revisited

tmntadventures013The Final Conflict

Plot: Dean Clarrain & Ryan Brown
Script: Dean Clarrain
Pencils: Ken Mitchroney
Clean-Ups: Buz McKim
Inks: Dan Berger
Letters: Gary Fields
Colors: Barry Grossman
Cover: Steve Lavigne, Ken Mitchroney
Edits: Scott Fulop, Victor Gorelick
Published by: Archie Comics
Cover Date: August 1990
Cover Price: $1.00

Anymore, a thirteenth issue would seem a bit more special than it was even made out to be in the ’90s. Twelve issues is typically a single year, and a fairly standard-ish length for a “maxi-series” or such. Thirteen begins the second year of publishing, meaning a book has lasted past that first year. Of course, the TMNT Adventures book started out roughly bimonthly before eventually moving to a monthly schedule, so 13 isn’t all that significant…except that (sure, it’s a “stretch”) a lot of non-basic-network tv shows seem to be 13 episodes to a season/series, and I really like the analogy and have come to stick with the notion of looking at this comic series as a progression of “seasons.”

This is a “fun” issue…and certainly not the most standard of things the way it opens. Despite the cliffhanger of the previous issue–the turtles and their allies surrounded by Maligna’s insectoids–we spend the first several pages of this issue with Stump and Sling (the Intergalactic Wrestling promotors/hosts) going live with a broadcast, filling their viewers in on recent events (basically, TMNT Adventures #12), clarifying who the “players” are, and then throwing us (the reader/viewers) into the action.

While fighting the warrior children of Maligna, the turtles and allies realize that they’re being filmed…they’d agreed to another wrestling match for Stump, but rather than a repeat of the previous time it seems they’ve actually agreed to be filmed fighting for the Turnstone. Wingnut and Screwloose take off, though they wind up getting to make trouble for Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady. Leonardo and Trap find they have different notions of what works in battle, and Leatherhead finds himself hurled out of the arena in what turns out to be a fortuitous–if not predestined–turn of events. Maligna’s warriors are defeated, though Krang blasts the arena, scattering the victors before taking off. Meanwhile, Leatherhead finds the Turnstone, and manages to summon Cherubae. Seeking answers, he asks her WHY she transformed him, and she suggests that it was to ensure he’d be here, to be in the right place at the right time to get the Turnstone before Krang.

Leatherhead hands the Turnstone off to her, and she brings the conflict to an immediate end, banishing the villains and arranging for everyone to return to where they’re going…as well as ensuring the Turnstone will cause no further problems.

This is another Mitchroney-art issue, which I have no problem with. I definitely appreciate his designs for the characters, and I like the look. This also adds a consistency carrying over from the previous issue, giving a little bit more of a unified whole to the story than “just” a couple of single issues that happen to carry a continuation of story.

The story itself–the writing–for me is probably at its best so far, as we’ve gone from “mutant of the month” to a more unified continuity involving characters beyond just the four turtles. We wouldn’t have the characters we do here if there hadn’t been some of those “mutant of the month” issues and foundations put down, though. The previous issue suggested a difference in Bebop and Rocksteady from their cartoon counterparts (and even from the earlier issues of this series that adapted episodes from the cartoon). This issue does what it seemed the cartoon would never do (I know it sort of did eventually): resolve Krang, Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady’s story, taking them off the board.

Bebop and Rockstead are sent to a world of animals where they can “run free” amongst ’em…and their reaction seems to confirm that in this continuity, they ARE mutated animals rather than mutated humans. Shredder is sent to prison–presumably the Turnstone’s nudged reality to account for the logical process of having Oroku Saki behind bars and not cut loose the moment someone realizes there’s a random extra person amidst their prison population. And Krang is banished to a toxic waste dump world. Thus, without KILLING any of them, these primary antagonists known from the cartoon are effectively removed from their place of threat, leaving the board clear for the turtles to move on without constantly facing these four.

And that’s certainly another thing I enjoyed here–getting to see a resolution, much as a season finale, combined with the fact that I do know what’s to come, and that the turtles get plenty of adventures NOT involving Shredder being a problem.

This certainly could have served as a series finale, but thankfully the book continues, as we really get to see more development of these characters’ world while learning of the real world at the same time. Though this series is collected in primarily 4-issue chunks at present (and in the ’90s 3-issue chunks), it’d be great to see a larger collected volume with the 9 post-cartoon-adaptation issues thus far as a single piece.

Filed under: 2016 posts, 2016 Reviews, The '90s Revisited, TMNT Adventures Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

TMNT Revisited: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #12

Posted on December 6, 2016 by Walt

tmnt_adventures_revisited

tmntadventures012The Lost World

Script: Dean Clarrain
Pencils: Ken Mitchroney
Inks: Dan Berger
Letters: Gary Fields
Colors: Barry Grossman
Cover: Ken Mitchroney, Steve Lavigne
Editors: Scott Fulop, Victor Gorelick
Published by: Archie Comics
Cover Date: July 1990
Cover Price: $1.00

While this series has diverged from the cartoon continuity that started things off, this issue gives us a new change to Bebop and Rocksteady rather than a “mutant of the month.” Where in the cartoon, the two were human punks that Shredder mutated with the mutagen ooze…this issue opens with Rocksteady dreaming/remembering being a rhino in Africa…suggesting that he and Bebop are mutated animals rather than mutated humans.

The villains have arrived in Dimension X, seeking the turtles and their rescuer–Cherubae, the true form of the “swamp witch” Mary Bones. Planetside, Cherubae fills the turtles in on stuff over a campfire–her background, why she (and Krang) were on Earth, the Turnstone. Before long, Krang’s ship comes upon them, and things move into action. Krang blasts Cherubae, and she drops the Turnstone, though no one sees exactly where it lands. Realizing they can’t help her, the turtles set out to locate the fallen Turnstone. The Sons of Silence–seemingly allied with Krang–disappear and take Cherubae, leaving the others behind. Krang sends Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady to seek the Turnstone, while Krang himself zips off to enlist aid from a being named Maligna.

In exchange for the promise of being led to Earth to have her way with it, Krang is granted the aid he seeks. Still searching for the Turnstone, the turtles come across an old coliseum. Before they can really check it out, they’re met by Cudley, serving as middleman (middleCOW?) for Stump and Sling. If they’ll agree to wrestle again, they’ll be given immediate allies. Swallowing their pride, the turtles agree, and Cudley spits out Wingnut, Screwloose, Leatherhead, and a new face–Trap. As Cudley leaves, the group contemplates what to do from here, when they realize they’re surrounded by a number of bug-creatures: Maligna’s children.

I definitely like the story here. For one thing, it sets this series even further apart from the cartoon, while playing with the characters we’re used to. Krang continues to not use (or even have?) his android body, nor does he seem particularly concerned. Bebop and Rocksteady are given some new depth, though it’s possible I’m reading more into it in this issue, knowing what comes later. I’m quite glad that we’re not given long, drawn-out mysteries and such, other than the “prophecy” and buildup toward The Final Conflict. Mary Bones was Mary Bones until last issue, and just pages after we learn she’s actually someone else, that someone is explained to us (and the turtles). We’re also introduced to Maligna, who I’d totally forgotten appeared here. The character is rather generic in this issue…but this sets up some major story beats for coming issues, and Maligna’s impact on the series carries through the late #50s if I recall.

I really very much enjoy Mitchroney‘s art, and suppose at least for now as I reread these issues, he’s high on my list of preferred TMNT artists. There’s nothing I really need to comment on visually here that I haven’t touched on with previous issues.

While we’ve had some quasi-cliffhangers, I’d consider the end of this issue to be the first “major” such cliffhanger as the turtles and their allies are about to be forced into a fight sooner than they could’ve expected. And as I noted with the previous issue, this feels a bit like one of the final episodes of a tv season, getting to the big-stakes endgame and facing a “big bad” and all that with characters that could’ve been pretty much one-offs being brought back into play and a definite sense of continuity from things laid as foundation points over the prior run of episodes.

I’m definitely looking forward to reading the next issue, and totally enjoying getting back into these stories for the first time in close to two decades, and certainly more than half a lifetime.

Filed under: 2016 posts, 2016 Reviews, The '90s Revisited, TMNT Adventures Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

TMNT Revisited: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #11

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Walt

tmnt_adventures_revisited

tmntadventures011White Light

Script: Dean Clarrain
Pencils: Jim Lawson
Inks & Letters: Gary Fields
Colors: Barry Grossman
Cover: Ken Mitchroney, Steve Lavigne
Editors: Scott Fulop, Victor Gorelick
Published by: Archie Comics
Cover Date: June 1990
Cover Price: $1.00

The issue begins with Bebop and Rocksteady, who’ve been trapped in the rubble from the cave-in back in #9. While they contemplate hunger and a weird smell (that neither will claim credit for) a white light shines and several figures emerge, before the scene shifts to the turtles noticing the abundance of rats. They find themselves “herded”  to a figure named Ha’ntaan, who calls himself the Rat King and claims anywhere a rat is found as part of his kingdom. Getting by without particular conflict, the turtles continue their search for Shredder and soon find a trail of chemicals and wastes in the waterflow of the sewer, finding their way to a giant Foot Soldier robot guarding something. Said something turns out to be a trap as the turtles are captured by the figures that Bebop and Rocksteady saw at the beginning of the issue. These figures are a group of aliens called the Sons of Silence, and apparently are working with Krang (and by extension, Shredder). While the villains celebrate their pending victory over their enemies, the scene is observed through the Turnstone by Mary Bones…who decides her time on Earth is at an end and drops the disguise. She uses the Turnstone to rescue the turtles, while Krang & Co. head back to Dimension X in a modified-into-a-spaceship Technodrome.

There’s something a little bit “off” with this issue’s visuals. We’re on a Lawson issue, but there’s something to this issue that made me think it was someone else. I can’t really complain too much as the art’s far from bad, but as I’ve come to really like Mitchroney‘s art on this version of the turtles, I’m less impressed with Lawson‘s. There are a couple panels that I do really like, of Raph amidst the rats, where the rats themselves are quite expressive and I actually felt for the little critters. Despite being a bit “off,” the art isn’t bad, and everyone’s recognizable and everything is gotten across that needs to be for my enjoyment of the story.

The story itself is back to what I consider a bit more of the “mythology” of the series, with things coming together toward the “Final Conflict.” While I mention in my summary above Mary Bones “rescuing” the turtles, I suppose we don’t know for sure that that’s what she’s done, only that she’s removed them from Krang and the Sons of Silence. These Sons are not mutants–or don’t appear to be–and with Mary Bones’ reference to them, she knows of them and they seem thus to be aliens, perhaps from Dimension X.

I remember this issue being one of the hardest of the early issues for me to track down, though I can’t honestly remember WHEN I finally managed to do so, nor where I found it…whether it was an issue I found somewhere in-person or if it’s one of a handful I acquired via eBay in the early 2000s while I was in college. I’d known OF the Rat King from the action figure and cartoon, and thanks to stuff like Wizard and whatnot knew he’d been in this issue, #11…but even much as I remember other characters and what became of them in this series, this issue felt like a brand-new read, as if I hadn’t read it before. That, and a slight bit of deja vu in “memory” regarding a couple panels.

I’m a little disappointed there wasn’t MORE to the Rat King himself, what he’s about, an origin, etc., in this issue…but as I believe he’s a Mirage character that was carried over into this title, it’s a bit different than characters created by the guys working on this book. The character is a bit of a dim spot for me, knowing I’ve seen the character in the Mirage vol. 4 books and I believe also during City at War.

If I’m recalling correctly, this issue is sort of a “bridge” between the “development” issues and the issues where a number of these characters–the “mutants of the month”–come back into play. Reflecting at present, it’s occurred to me that it’s much like a tv season, with The Final Conflict serving as the end of this “first season” of TMNT Adventures.

Filed under: 2016 posts, 2016 Reviews, The '90s Revisited, TMNT Adventures Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

TMNT Revisited: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #10

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Walt

tmnt_adventures_revisited

tmntadventures010Going Down?

Plotted by: Dean Clarrain & Ryan Brown
Written by: Dean Clarrain
Penciled by: Ken Mitchroney
Inked by: Dan Berger
Lettered by: Gary Fields
Colored by: Barry Grossman
Cover: Ken Mitchroney, Steve Lavigne
Edited by: Scott Fulop and Victor Gorelick
Published by: Archie Comics
Cover Date: May 1990
Cover Price: $1.00

We open on a bit of ‘lecturing’ on the hazards of man-made pollution via waste-dumping, move to a flashback of Bebop and Rocksteady dumping waste into a sewer-stream, before joining the turtles and Splinter. The turtles talk with Splinter about recent events, piecing things together before setting off to chase down a lead on Krang’s whereabouts. Splinter had his own question–asking Raph why he continued to wear his black costume (from Stump Asteroid) unlike his brothers who are back to their traditional look. Meanwhile, Shredder has called an exterminator, and mentions Bebop and Rocksteady having been gone a few days (perhaps buried under rubble of a cave-in?).

The exterminator is bitten by a roach, then falls into a sewer opening. Meanwhile, the turtles have found nothing at Shredder’s old sub-dock, but realize he might be nearby based on where they bumped into Bebop and Rocksteady earlier. As they pursue this latest lead, Mikey realizes they’re being followed…as Leo realizes they’re being approached. The guys find themselves facing the exterminator (mutated into a giant cockroach) and a mutated planarian worm calling himself Wyrm. While both seek to harm the turtles, they turn on each other…and as they fight, a gas pipeline is ruptured along with some live wires, causing an explosion. As the turtles check on injuries, Raphael notices there’s suddenly a bunch of rodents around them.

I’m starting to get used to the alternating Mitchroney/Lawson art scheme on this title. Now that I’m consciously noticing it, it works, and while every single issue may not be entirely consistent, every-other-issue is (mostly). And as an expected thing, I’m cool with it and take no real issue with the matter. That said, I think I’m preferring Mitchroney‘s style for seeming a little more detailed, softer, and more expressive and (I hate to use the word) “cutesy.” There’s a tone to this that I like, and as an issue of TMNT Adventures, I have no real problem with the art; it fits the book, the story, and general nostalgia and certainly gets everything across that needs to be gotten across.

The story is the sixth issue of a “mutant of the month” (this time TWO of ’em!) in Wyrm and the exterminator, that I seem to recall as “Scumbug” though I don’t think he was named in this issue. I VAGUELY recall the character appearing in the cartoon…but that could just be some sort of deja vu or crossing of memories. I do remember the action figure at the least. I’m curious now to revisit the current animated series to see if Michelangelo calls the one cockroach character ‘scumbug” or “a scumbug” or such.

I mention above that this issue opens with “lecturing,” and while I noticed it twenty-some years ago reading this series (particularly around #17 and then some of the #30s to #40s) there’s a bit of a “message” being put out there, an element of putting some real-world thoughts and subject matter forth. Whether I’d presently see it as a bias or some other political/PC “buzzword” is something I’ll leave out…this puts subject matter out there for consideration by the reader, by kids, to be able to look into on their own, or to go back to later when/if the subject comes up in general. To “connect” it back to a comic they read.

There’s plenty of “convenience” to the story, and some parts of the plot have noticeable (to me as a 34-year-old) holes. But it’s the turtles, it’s new characters, it’s stuff being moved forward a bit, and while far from being a favorite issue, it’s not horrible.

Filed under: 2016 posts, 2016 Reviews, The '90s Revisited, TMNT Adventures Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

TMNT Revisited: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #9

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Walt

tmnt_adventures_revisited

tmntadventures009Codename: Chameleon

Plotted by: Steve Lavigne & Dean Clarrain
Written by: Dean Clarrain
Pencilled by: Jim Lawson
Inked & Lettered by: Gary Fields
Colored by: Barry Grossman
Cover: Steve Lavigne
Edited by: Scott Fulop
Managing Editor: Victor Gorelick
Published by: Archie Comics
Cover Date: March 1990
Cover Price: $1.00

raphael_mirage_micro_seriesThe cover of this issue has always been a bit distinctive to me…all the more in later years as I realized it was an homage piece to the cover of the Raphael one-issue Micro Series that originally introduced Casey Jones to the TMNT mythos in the Mirage-published books.

Five issues into this “new direction”–of all-new TMNT stories not rooted in the then-current cartoon or “original” Mirage continuity–and we again have our “Mutant of the Month” in a mostly standalone story. Knowing/remembering what these build to means that I say that in a positive light. It’s a bit formulaic, but it also means we’re getting a larger, expanded cast of characters to be involved as the series goes on, as well as said characters’ origins up-front and on-panel rather than having some mysterious figure that we’re left to wonder about until some later “big reveal” or such.

There’s also plenty of “meta knowledge” for me now, recognizing that these issues are from what would now be considered the “early days” of the TMNT property and what was going on behind the scenes at the time…like the creators on this book being given relatively free reign to do as they wanted and using characters they opted to use and so on…and to create/flesh out new characters both for the story and for the toy line, etc.

The story this issue focuses on a double-agent, code-named ‘Chameleon.’ He’s stolen some plans for for a secret super-weapon…and of course, that makes the news…which leads to Shredder wanting the plans, and sending Bebop and Rocksteady to find the agent. Said agent has conveniently decided to try hiding in/traveling via the sewers, so of course bumps into the turtles…while Bebop and Rocksteady have also taken to the sewers. Chameleon is taken when Shredder’s goons surprise the turtles with a Knucklehead robot (piloted by a Foot Soldier robot), and though he gives up the location of the plans, Shredder mutates him anyway…using mutagen and an actual chameleon. When he escapes and tries to retrieve the plans himself, he finds the turtles, Bebop, and Rocksteady in a standoff. Breaking it, he glows brightly and startling the goons, who shoot at him, causing a cave-in that allows Chameleon to escape with the plans, while trapping the mutants under the Knucklehead cutting off the turtles’ access to the room. We close on evidence that Chameleon has been changed internally as well as externally, setting him up for potential return appearances/adventures.

The writing on this issue continues with that certain “simplicity” I’ve been noting for awhile (and will probably quit touching on quite so blatantly moving forward). Yet it also includes quite a bit of depth when one really thinks about it. There’s plenty of room to wonder at the past adventures of the double agent, how it’s KNOWN he’s a DOUBLE-agent, and so on. Then there’s the fact he’s now a mutant, transformed against his will, and what that means for his ongoing life. Also delving into darker territory–we see the turtles contemplating that nemeses Bebop and Rocksteady might have been killed by the cave-in (or the unspoken notion of them suffocating while buried under the rubble). They’re obviously not HAPPY about it…though they don’t put any particular effort into looking for the bodies.

Lawson‘s back on the art for this issue, and it’s another one where I would not have recognized his art as his own were it not for the credits presented in the issue. I definitely like that, as the look is consistent ENOUGH that it doesn’t stand out here as radically different or anything. The overall linework seems fairly simple/minimal, which I notice in relation to plenty of other contemporary comics (TMNT and otherwise) but it works for the story, gets everything across, and there’s really no doubt what’s going on as everything is kept obvious.

This is far from being a favorite issue for me, though it’s not bad. If I didn’t know where the series was headed I might’ve enjoyed this more; as-is I’m eager to get to The Final Conflict and the Mutanimals and Invasion stuff.

Filed under: 2016 posts, 2016 Reviews, The '90s Revisited, TMNT Adventures Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

TMNT Revisited: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #8

Posted on November 24, 2016 by Walt

tmnt_adventures_revisited

tmntadventures008Wild Things

Plotted by: Dean Clarrain and Ryan Brown
Written by: Dean Clarrain
Penciled by: Ken Mitchroney
Inked by: Dan Berger
Colored by: Barry Grossman
Lettered by: Gary Fields
Cover: Steve Lavigne
Edits by: Scott Fulop, Victor Gorelick
Published by: Archie Comics
Cover Date: February 1990
Cover Price: $1.00

Returned to their proper time, Cudley the Cowlick has left the turtles on top of a building in the middle of a storm. Unbeknownst to any, his previous arrivals had opened a space/time hole that allowed a couple creatures from another dimension to Earth–a large humanoid bat-creature named Wingnut, and a giant mosquito creature named Screwloose. Together, the two have been hurling rocks at skylights, smashing them…and seeing the turtles, lob a rock at them as well. When they fly off, the turtles return to the sewers and home, only to learn that the trouble being stirred up by their new alien encounter.

Despite the storm, an Australian blimp was out and about, giving Wingnut something to pop on tv, prompting the turtles back into action with their own blimp. Which is also popped. Capturing the two, Wingnut cries and Screwloose pokes him, putting him to sleep for a moment. He explains to the turtles how the pair came to be like they are at present…including the fact that they have their own reason to be interested in battling Krang. Before much else can happen, Cudley reappears and takes the two, bound for Stump Asteroid despite the turtles’ questioning the (as they see it) kidnapping. With nothing else to do, the turtles again return home.

There’s something about this issue’s cover that really grabs me. And there’s almost a sense of deja vu or some such. This may have been one of the earliest covers I’d seen for the series, some time before I actually owned a copy myself. A friend had it, so I probably read it at his house, though it would have been a bit out of context. Whether this was before or after I actually “discovered” the series at all, I’m not sure. I don’t think I’ve seen any other covers done as homage to this, so it’s not iconic in that sense…it’s just an image I see that brings back fond memories and makes me smile, no matter how hokey the story itself seems.

I find myself reading the issue, this series, AS an adult. A 34-year-old re-reading comics possibly not read in 20 years, almost certainly not in the last 10-15, with an adult eye amidst reading contemporary TMNT comics from IDW and plenty of other comics certainly not AIMED AT a younger audience the way I believe these were.

So the stories seem rather simplistic and hokey, cheesey, and almost surfacey or shallow. I have no problem with four mutant turtles…but a huge space/time-travelling cow-head and giant humanoid bat with his giant mosquito-buddy give me pause…something’s not quite right with that.

And yet, despite all that…this works. Wingnut and Screwloose flying around breaking windows because surely Krang must be beneath one? That hardly makes sense except as some “out there” elevator pitch. But having recently seen the Turtle Power! documentary and that the entire (Mirage Studios) group was encouraged to contribute character ideas for the toys…this makes sense, and certainly works as a first appearance and initial foundation from which to build later characterization.

Also despite the hokiness, these characters’ background is actually rather deep. It’s glossed over and not particularly graphic, but Krang’s invasion of Huanu is full of potential for expanded story(ies) while working just fine here as a motivational factor for Wingnut and Screwloose, building Krang as that much more an interdimensional/intergalactic threat beyond simply some cliched villain on Earth.

For an 8-year-old, this seems well-paced and such…plenty of action and interaction with characters, giving and showing some detail while not delving terribly deep. “Reading between the lines” and thinking deeper on stuff as an adult, while the story itself is fairly silly, there’s a lot more depth just below the surface and begging for further development.

The art is good, and we’re back to Mitchroney. This issue has the appearance of an early TMNT Adventures issue, as it is, and the visuals get everything across that needs to be (even if not QUITE fitting the dialogue and gratuitous famous-buildings references).

I like the issue overall. Though the issue is #8, functionally it’s #4, and continues the seeming one-off stories throwing new characters into the mix and then being done with them by the end of the issue. As I came in with #25 and then the Winter 1992 collection of the Mighty Mutanimals mini, I never got to have the actual experience of reading these for the first time with no clue of where the characters would wind up…and that’s knowledge I can’t forget, so certainly colors my reading.

Filed under: 2016 posts, 2016 Reviews, The '90s Revisited, TMNT Adventures Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

TMNT Revisited: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #7

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Walt

tmnt_adventures_revisited

tmntadventures007Plotted by: Dean Clarrain and Ryan Brown
Written by: Dean Clarrain
Penciled by: Jim Lawson
Inked & Lettered by: Gary Fields
Colored by: Barry Grossman
Cover: Ryan Brown
Editors: Scott Fulop, Victor Gorelick
Published by: Archie Comics
Cover Date: December 1989
Cover Price: $1.00

Now, this is a trip down memory lane! Unlike contemporary comics that MIGHT have a “previously…” page or some kind of recap…this is absolutely from the days when any given issue might be someone’s first, and acknowledgement would be given to that with exposition catching one up, or some sort of recap. This issue takes a couple pages to recap recent events (TMNT Adventures #s 5 & 6 specifically) right to the final panel of the previous issue, picking up immediately from there.

The turtles are spit out by a cow head, in front of a couple of living tree-figures. We as readers (along with the turtles) are quickly introduced to Stump and Sling (the trees) and Cudley the Cowlick (the cow head). Cudley can travel through space and time, carrying others in his mouth. Stump and Sling run Intergalactic Wrestling from Sump Arena, and they’re presently on Stump Asteroid. The turtles are forced to wrestle an alien named Cryin’ Houn’, while learning that Leatherhead is still alive (also grabbed by Cudley) and he’s facing Ace Duck. The wrestling matches end with the turtles and Leatherhead victorious, and Stump and sling are forced to send the turtles home (Leatherhead elects to stay, feeling he has no place back on Earth). Cudley accidentally returns the turtles first to Earth 100 years in their future (giving them a glimpse of a world ravaged by environmental disaster. Interspersed through the issue we see Shredder getting yelled at by Krang for losing his one connection to the Turnstone, and then of Krang lamenting the situation and getting further frustrated that he tunes in too late to catch the day’s Intergalactic Wrestling match (and thus we as readers see that he just missed learning of the turtles’ and Leatherhead’s involvement).

The art here is pretty good…not exactly my ideal, but it works quite well. I doubt I would have recognized the work as Lawson‘s as it lacks the visual style I’ve gotten accustomed to from his work since the TMNT vol. 4 Mirage run through to present. There’s a definite simplicity to the visuals of the issue–linework as well as coloring–that gives this the definite look and feel of something aimed at kids. That’s not to say it’s bad, just that it differs greatly from the original Mirage series and does not come off as overly detailed. I do like the turtles’ wresting costumes, and offhand they remind me a bit of the “superhero turtles” seen in later Mirage stuff.

The story is also rather simple and straightforward even while introducing a cosmic element to this version of the turtles. Stump and Sling remind me quite a bit of the X-Men’s Mojo, except not nearly so dark/villainous. Cudley’s an interesting figure…weird, yet not a mutant; just an alien…and a bit of a deux ex machina on the space/time travel thing.

The issue continues to add to the world of this take on the turtles, moving yet further away from the cartoon, Mirage comics, and forging its own continuity with its own take on existing characters while introducing characters unique to this series.

I enjoyed the issue, and while a couple details stick with me, I’d forgotten other particulars. I was also very interested to note copyright information in the indicia, differentiating Man Ray, Cryin’ Houn, Turnstone, Mary Bones, Stump, Sling, and Cudley as being creator-owned characters and not Mirage stock. That’s mostly a topic for its own post, but my noticing it here definitely puts that at the forefront of my mind and I’ll be looking for such details in future issues with other characters I recall.

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TMNT Revisited: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #6

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Walt

tmnt_adventures_revisited

tmntadventures006Of Turtles and Stones and Mary Bones

Plot by: Ryan Brown and Dean Clarrain
Written by: Dean Clarrain
Pencils by: Ken Mitchroney
Inks by: Dave Garcia
Letters by: Gary Fields
Colors by: Barry Grossman
Edits by: Victor Gorelick
Published by: Archie Comics
Cover Date: November 1989
Cover Price: $1

I can’t remember for certain the first time I encountered the character of Mary Bones, but I suspect it was one of those “storybook” paperbacks put out ages back that adapted some comic stories…with a mix of memory and deja vu I feel like I learned of the Turnstone in one of those and noticed later that the comics seemed to be the source. I also have this voice of the character in my head that I can’t quite place…like I heard it as one of those comics on cassettes, and yet this was not part of either of the ones I was aware of prior to the latter part of 2014.

This issue continues the “new direction” for the TMNTA title and world-building by way of introducing new characters…this time, Leatherhead. For the timeframe I can’t imagine the character had not yet been introduced in the Mirage comics nor the cartoon. So this made for a third version of the character much different from the previous two.

We meet a man–Jess Harley–in New Orleans who sneaks into the home of an old witch named Mary Bones and steals a giant pearl. Making his way to New York to sell the object, he loses it into a sewer. On trying to retrieve it he’s confronted by the “mystical” Mary Bones herself who transforms him into a gator-man “…a Leatherhead.” Begging her to not leave him, Leatherhead falls into the latest of Shredder’s hideouts. Seizing the opportunity, Shredder lies and claims the turtles volunteered for transformation, and captured his accountant and real estate agent (Bebop and Rocksteady) and subjected them to Bones’ transformation. When they find and attack the turtles, the lie is revealed and in a rageful tantrum, Leatherhead accidentally destroys the bridge he’s on and plummets into the depths. Mary Bones appears to the turtles and informs them he’s ok, and that they’ll soon face The Final Conflict, before Raphael notices something shocking and the issue ends.

This done-in-one origin of Leatherhead works well for me though it’s a bit formulaic. Like Man Ray last issue, we’re briefly introduced to the human character, witness their transformation event, see them encounter Shredder and then by issue’s end leave, not actually joining up with or staying with the turtles.

The art’s nice and consistent with the last couple issues…I like the designs overall despite Leatherhead not looking QUITE as fearsome as he could if his teeth were drawn as pointed rather than rounded. Otherwise liked the visuals…especially the full-page premiere/establishing shot of Leatherhead.

Knowing what comes, I picked up immediately on some major foreshadowing and kinda enjoyed the “prophecy” with Mary Bones at the end, setting up a longer arc/plot point but not hijacking the core story for now.

There are still some elements of the story that are rather “convenient” and “plot-hole” like (Leatherhead falling into Shredder’s hideout, Jess going straight to New York, etc). But I’m willing to overlook them for having enjoyed this issue, and knowing there’s further development of Leatherhead imminent, and this being the start of a great run on the title and recalling how much I enjoyed later issues.

One could pretty easily pick this issue up without any prior experience with the series and enjoy it…the issue’s “cliffhanger” is hardly a cliffhanger and more a forced “hook” at the last second to try to interest one in coming back rather than closing off on an otherwise one-shot/single-issue story.

I believe next issue is where we’re introduced to the Intergalactic Wrestling and Stump Asteroid…and I look forward to getting into that.

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TMNT Revisited: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #5

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Walt

tmnt_adventures_revisited

tmntadventures005Something Fishy Goes Down

Plot by: Dean Clarrain & Ryan Brown
Written by: Dean Clarrain
Penciled by: Ken Mitchroney
Inked by: Dave Garcia
Lettered by: Gary Fields
Colored by: Barry Grossman
Edited by: Victor Gorelick
Published by: Archie Comics
Cover Date: October 1989
Cover Price: $1.00

Finally…while covering the original TMNT Adventures mini-series and the first few issues of this ongoing series, I’ve been eager to get to this issue–and beyond. This is where things truly start, in my mind, as this series diverges into its own continuity, away from the cartoon and Mirage comics and truly becomes its own thing.

We begin with the turtles at an aquarium, where they meet a worker who talks to them about the difference in rays and fish, before sending them out as the place is closing. Meanwhile we learn that Bebop and Rocksteady have lost a container of mutagen in the sewer. As Krang gives Shredder a dressing-down we shift scenes to find that the aquarium worker is doing some investigating on the side–disliking pollution and companies doing the polluting. He’s washed in a surge of mutagen-tainted water and disappears. The turtles decided to walk home along the shore and become targets for a torpedo from Shredder’s sub. However, they’re saved when something turns the torpedo around. The turtles find Shredder’s sub–parked for damages–end end up screwing up a mysterious figure’s plans to blow it up, as the figure doesn’t want to harm the turtles–only Shredder. While the turtles fight Bebop and Rocksteady and accidentally flood the sub, the creature–a large mutant ray calling himself Man Ray–confronts Shredder. Declining to kill the villain, Shredder gets away, and the wearied mutant returns to the water, wished well by the turtles. The day saved, the citizens of New York get their fireworks display unaware of Shredder’s plan to have destroyed the Statue of Liberty.

Man Ray (or “Ray Fillet” as the action figure was named) is probably my favorite Mutanimal character (oops, we don’t get that term for quite awhile yet)…certainly my favorite of the “new mutants” introduced in this series; if only because he was the first, and was part of the story in one of the earliest issues I’d read.

The story is solid enough if a bit “convenient” at points…but I enjoyed it a lot more than I did the adaptations of cartoon episodes. I’d totally forgotten about Man Ray having a brief appearance as a human, and would not picture the character like that otherwise. 

The art was a bit of a surprise to pay attention to–I was expecting a bigger change, but the art team’s mostly the same, which leads me to reconsider certain memories OF the art on this series, for better or worse (I think better).

The tone is “fun” yet a bit more heavy and serious than the cartoon and earlier issues…yet still far from the dark, gritty violence that could be found in the original Mirage comics.

As I recall, the next several issues also introduce new characters, as this creative team gets into some serious, fun world-building and differentiates this series from Mirage and the cartoon.

So long as one knows the “basics” of TMNT in general, this issue serves as a great #1 in my mind, and would recommend anyone interested in TMNT Adventures as a series start here rather than with anything earlier.

Filed under: 2016 posts, 2016 Reviews, The '90s Revisited, TMNT Adventures Revisited | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

The ’00s Revisited: Adventures of Superman #586

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Walt

adventtures_of_superman_0586Soul of the City!

Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Penciller: Mike Miller
Inkers: Armando Durruthy & Walden Wong
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colorist: Wildstorm FX
Assistant Editor: Tom Palmer Jr.
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Published by: DC Comics
Cover Date: January 2001
Cover Price: $2.25

Maybe it’s something about the paper quality, but this issue just feels thicker and sturdier than a modern comic book..!

We open on Superman overlooking the city, still flabbergasted that Luthor–Lex Luthor!–is President-Elect of the United States. He pulls himself together, puts on his public face, and flies in to greet the man, and congratulates him on his election. Elsewhere, we find several "minor" antagonists (Rose/Thorn, Kitty Faulkner/Rampage, Cary RIchards/Adversary, and Prankster) gathered before Lord Satanus, who proposes they assist him in claiming the actual soul of the city itself. Lois is spending time with her very pregnant sister Lucy, who goes into labor unexpectedly, prompting a rush to the hospital…though ultimately she’s sent home as it’ll be awhile yet. And Superman finds himself face to face with a gloating Satanus, claiming victory is already his–though Superman has several up-front allies and one seemingly missing in action, as we’re left with a to be continued.

Moving out from the election night issue (Superman #164) and the previous week’s Superman: Lex 2000 special, that story moves from primary focal point to subplot, as we seem to begin a new threat–the "return" of Lord Satanus and his latest bid for souls and such, going against what Superman himself stands for, etc. Re-reading this issue for the first time in nearly 15 years brought with it a bit of deja-vu, as my conscious mind recognizes the story as I read it, and yet my conscious primary guess at this issue–based on that cover–would have been that this was the issue where Superman discussed with someone that he’d be at the inauguration–hadn’t missed any yet–just that he’d do so without being seen, refusing to give a photo-op/endorsement that way.

Yet, seeing Superman–at least for the public face–graciously allow himself to be seen with Lex, to shake his hand, to say the words–seems an appropriate, totally classy thing…though it’s easy to relate to his inner conflict of having to appear cordial with a man who has been one of his life’s greatest antagonists and who he knows is beyond loads of crooked, corrupt stuff and yet it can’t be proven in such a way as to bring him down.

But rather than that being a long, drawn-out, done-to-death issue-long scene, life (and the story) continue to unfold, and we move into a new plot in which Lord Satanus is back on the scene. However, given I’d forgotten he even appeared here (mostly I remember the character from the Blaze/Satanus War in 1992 just before the Death of Superman, knew he’d had a couple "flare-ups" over the years, before apparently being destroyed during the Spectre’s rampage in the run-up to Infinite Crisis), it seems a foregone conclusion how this’ll turn out, and ultimately makes for a less-than-truly-threatening plot.

I also would not have been able to tell you that DeMatteis had done this issue or Miller provided the art…the the imagery is quite familiar.

Miller‘s art isn’t entirely to my liking…there’s something slightly "off" to the art, giving almost a "generic" Superman than one that seems as "familiar" as I prefer. However, I DO like the art, and this is not a bad version of Superman. And maybe it’s that I’ve had the cover looking at me for several days, but I really dig the cover!

All in all, this is a good issue, it deals with the emerging presidency of Luthor while bringing in a lesser-used antagonist in Satanus and even lesser-used allies, while addressing other ongoing facets of characters’ lives such that this really works as (in a good way) "just another chapter" in the ongoing Superman saga. Even having the issue in one of my few sorted longboxes where I know exactly where it is, I would be hard-pressed to NOT spend the 25 cents to snag an extra copy if I found it, if only to do something with the cover as an art piece. Given that, I certainly recommend this if you find it for a quarter; though the higher the price, the less enthusiastically I’ll recommend. To someone interested in this era of the Superman titles or picking up a small combined run of the titles for a true run of the "triangle numbers" (S-shields), this is certainly worthwhile.

I was gonna wrap up this collection of successive reviews, and may not actually write up the following issue…but this leaves me interested in at least reading the next chapter!

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