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Current TMNT DVDs

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Walt

I’ve long since given up ‘hope’ of any “full season” DVD release, so I’ve tried to “keep up” with the partial-season releases for the current TMNT series.

So far, the latest Casey Jones one has been the best ‘bargain’ for something like $7.99 plus I got a free box of TMNT Kraft-brand mac ‘n cheese with it.

tmnt_dvds_so_far_july_2014_b

While I don’t like the partial-season releases, I have to say I prefer these ~6ish episode releases to the 3-4 episode releases of the 2003 series. Having missed a bunch of those a decade ago, I would be quite THRILLED for them to re-release that series, whether as a full series, in full seasons, or even in ~6 episode increments.

tmnt_dvds_so_far_july_2014_a

Still…now having five of these, they’re starting to look rather cool as a mini-collection within my larger dvd collection…

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Leonardos – July 2014

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Walt

Seems there’s a new TMNT movie (or should I say NT movie, based on the toys’ packaging) coming out soon…

leonardosjuly2014

And so while I don’t like variants on figures within the same line, I’m willing to get the same character from different lines.

The new 2014 Movie Leonardo is front ‘n center. Current (2012-) cartoon Leo on the right. 2003 cartoon Leo 2nd row left, “classic” Leo in the middle, and the oversized deluxe Leo in back.

While trailers make it seem that the movie turtles are huge, frankly, based on the toys, it looks like any of the other Leos could take this one, easily…

I’ve also got the Raphael, and will likely also go ahead and snag Donnie and Mikey at least; probably April and the Shredder, thoguh I don’t like the look of Splinter (movie unseen) and not sure I’m all that inclined to try to get multiple Foot, and one lone Foot hardly seems worth it to me.

Time will tell, though…

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TMNT: Turtles in Time #1 [Review]

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Walt

tmntturtlesintime001Turtles in Time (part 1)

Writer: Paul Allor
Artist: Ross Campbell
Colorist: Bill Crabtree
Letterer: Shawn Lee
Editor: Bobby Curnow
Published by: IDW
Cover Price: $3.99

Two TMNT comics in one week? I’m not a fan of the $3.99 being doubled-up in the single week, but it IS TMNT, and this is a fun issue, so I’m not about to complain about “more TMNT” than less!

We pick up with the turtles randomly running from dinosaurs and utroms–either on prehistoric Earth or a planet much like it. The group is quickly split, with Raph captured by utroms, and the others chased off by the dinosaurs. As Raph recruits a baby Triceratops (he’s named her “Pepperoni”), the others mount a rescue operation that doesn’t go too badly…until the utrom military arrives. The turtles get some clue as to what’s going on when Renet shows up, but she’s not as helpful as she could be. Finally, the utroms’ military leader sees potential in what’s to be found on this world.

Visually, the Peterson cover is awesome…even if it is a bit misleading. It was rather jarring to go from that beautiful cover to the interior, which is a much different style. That gave me a bit of pause, and it took several pages to “adjust” but once I did, I quite liked the interior art as well. Though This is presumably set within current IDW–TMNT-verse continuity, their was something to the look that struck me as being almost more like the current animated series than the ongoing IDW book.

There’s a blurb on the inside of the cover explaining that this series takes place after the 2014 Annual, but that Annual is not yet out. Perhaps that’d be a bigger deal to me on other stuff, but for the TMNT, it doesn’t bother me too much. The “spin” of it being a “time malfunction” is just cutesy enough to be amusing, and could loosely be seen as a bit of “augmented reality” or whatever buzzword folks want to use for trying to immerse a reader in stuff related to the issue.

Story-wise, this actually ALMOST functions as a sort of one-shot. We’re as readers already thrown off a bit by being tossed into the middle of a situation-in-progress, and we end on a similar note in such a way that it sort of brings things full circle, even though the story whole is continuing into the next issue.

I like the characterization, particularly Mikey and Raph in this issue. I “heard” the voice of the current animated series’ Mikey in this, and chuckled at an amusing bit where an utrom unknowingly repeats something Mikey did, allowing readers to make an assumption as to what happened off-panel.

I don’t recall seeing any solicitation info or any blurbs in the back of any TMNT issues I’ve read mentioning this series, so its appearance this week was a pleasant surprise and definite “treat.” While it seems this story will spin out of the upcoming TMNT 2014 Annual, there’s certainly enough in-story context to bring one up to speed on what matters to the current story. Really, other than involving utroms and a mention of Krang this seems to sit alone quite well, not contradicting anything in continuity but not drawing from any specific moment in the ongoing series…so it’s well worth jumping in on this mini-series at least, even if you’re not following the ongoing in particular. And if you do follow the ongoing, this is a fun side-adventure that’s an enjoyable read…whether or not it plays much into the ongoing book.

Highly recommended!

Filed under: 2014, IDW Publishing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW), Turtles in Time | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) #34 [Review]

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Walt

teenagemutantninjaturtlesidw034Story: Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, Tom Waltz
Script: Tom Waltz
Art: Mateus Santolouco
Colors: Ronda Pattison
Letters: Shawn Lee
Editor: Bobby Curnow
Cover: Mateus Santolouco
Published by: IDW
Cover Price: $3.99

While heading to Harold’s lab to seek his assistance, Donnie and April run across Casey and Angel. Angel accompanies the duo to the lab, while Casey heads off on his own, still dealing with recent events. Harold’s been busy, and whatever his intentions with a security robot, the thing predictably-ish loses control, forcing the turtle and his human allies into combat…which leads to the introduction of another familiar name to this series. Meanwhile, Leonardo and Splinter discuss priorities, and we leave off with the latest development with a couple of uneasy allies.

Story-wise, not a whole lot to say for this issue. This definitely feels like a developmental issue…not really “treading water” or anything, but definitely <b>A</b> “middle chapter” of a middle chapter, so to speak. We do get some good development in Harold’s place in things, though that sort of adds to this middle sense–after City Fall and the quieter Northampton, this issue (and arc) feels like it’s more laying the groundwork for a coming showdown with Krang and his Technodrome.

We have the introduction of a familiar turtle robot, which is ok–I’m not a particular fan overall, though I’ve owned the action figures and not had a terrible problem with the cartoon episodes. This take on the thing put me in mind of the current animated series’ version…perhaps simply because that’s the most recent I’ve seen. Whatever my feelings about the use of the character (which works well even if I’m not the biggest fan)…I really like the visual!

Which leads to the issue’s art: I continue to really dig Santolouco‘s visual style with these characters! As I’ve probably said previously, I don’t care for April’s hair style of late, but that isn’t necessarily a comment on the art as much as one guy’s preferences. The visual take Santolouco brings to the book is enjoyable, and a bit different (moreso for the turtles), but has come to be another favorite of mine.

All in all, another quite solid issue of a series that–nearly three years in–continues to have me looking forward to each new issue, and marveling at the excellent blend of all the previous iterations of the TMNT that this brings to the fore: a sort of mash-up, taking the best of all the past and giving us this present continuity…a continuity that I’m coming to regard as a favorite in itself.

Given IDW’s short 4-issue arcs / 4-issue-TPB pattern, this is the 2nd chapter of 4, so not in itself a jumping on point, though still a strong “episode” in itself, worthy of reading for a casual fan–particularly one of Donatello–if not essential.

I enjoyed the read; the look of Metalhead, and exclaimed out loud at the recognition of Nobody.

Filed under: 2014, IDW Publishing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

TMNT at 30

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Walt

While it’s just as likely that I’ve simply MISSED any such stuff already out there, it’s occurred to me that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Of course, half a decade ago at the 25th anniversary it was a huge deal for Mirage. Now just a handful of years into Viacom/Nickleodeon‘s tenure as the owners of the property, it may not seem a huge deal.

But to this fan of 25+ years…it is!tmntat30_02

I recall the 30th anniversary stuff for Spider-Man, X-Men, Avengers, etc. 35th Anniversary stuff, 40th, etc… but while those are significant milestones for THOSE characters…

The TMNT are a property created AFTER I was born. That I actually CAN reasonably fill in every last gap of the official comics and such, to have the entirety of the run (maybe not FIRST PRINTS, but I’m not concerned about which printing if I have the issue).

tmntat30_01

So, while I’ve had plans in the past to do more specific TMNT coverage in this blog, I’d like to think I’ll get into the swing of things with more this year, outside of spotting TMNT Toys in the WIld (Squirrelanoids, Kirby Bat and Casey Joines, etc) and get to more coverage of the various comics and such…and my own “history” with the characters through the years.

As always, time will tell.

Filed under: 2014, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Classic Collection Leonardo – Out of His Shell

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Walt

While it seems lately I have waaaaay too many figures that have remained in their packaging (I need to work on a shelving system to display ’em), the Classic Collection Leonardo is one that I almost immediately opened up (He’s currently on display at work above my cube).

classic_leo_01

One of the first things I noticed–and the MAJOR disappointment–is the shoulder joints on mine are STUCK, and do NOT move up and down–though they look like they’re supposed to. So the arms are stuck being held outward at a rather awkward pose, rather than being able to have them down closer to the character’s sides. I felt like I was going to break the arms off trying to get either joint to move, before giving up and settling (for now).

classic_leo_04

I do like the stand the figure comes with, as well as the hands’ ability to actually grip the swords. Not the best grip ever, but satisfactory, especially in the face of the shoulder-joints’ issue.

classic_leo_05

I like the coloring and shaping of the figure overall. While not a huge fan of the mask’s rigidity on some of the figures, the shaping on this figure is much more to my liking. This image also shows that shoulder-joint: it’ll swivel, but won’t actually move up/down.

classic_leo_02

I like the detail on the scabbards, though I don’t remember the character ever having the blue strap in the cartoon. It works well enough with the general color scheme here, though, emphasizing that this is indeed Leonardo. The scabbards are one piece, but “plug in” to the shell, and the piece is easily removed, though thankfully doesn’t seem QUITE “fall-out” easy to remove.

The shoulder issue really limits the playability and posability of the figure; I very quickly lost interest in playing with posing due to that, as the character is quite limited with arms stuck straight out perpendicular! I intend to “research” the issue before I’ll buy any more of these–if it’s a common issue, I probably will hold off. If it’s just a glitch on the figure I got, I might try to work it loose and see what I can do with it from there.

all_leonardos

While–again–I’m not a fan of variants on the figure within the same “line,” here are the “main” Leonardo figures from four different lines.

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) #26 [Review]

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Walt

teenagemutantninjaturtlesidw026City Fall, part five

Story: Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow & Tom Waltz
Script: Tom Waltz
Art: Mateus Santolouco, Charles Paul Wilson III
Colors: Ronda Pattison
Leters: Shawn Lee
Editor: Bobby Curnow
Published by: IDW
Cover Price: $3.99

Mikey reconnects with his pizza pal; Donatello and April seek assistance from an old, reluctant ally; Leonardo finds himself lonely within the Foot family; Raphael solidifies an alliance with Angel and visits Casey, and Splinter fulfills his end of a deal with Old Hob.

All in all, there’s a lot going on in this issue, as we see snippets of what’s going on for a number of different parties. I’m actually reminded tonight of some of Laird‘s issues from the mid-2000s Mirage Volume 4 series, where everyone was off on their own, so any given issue might not have much for a specific character/story but would touch base briefly on a number of characters and things going on. While I would certainly like to see “more,” as a single-issue of a monthly title in the midst of its largest arc yet, this is about as good as it gets. I grouse about other publishers double-shipping titles, and yet I would–on the level of quality the TMNT books have been carrying–gladly follow a weekly series even with the $3.99 cover price.

The art is consistent and overall quite good. There are times I’m a bit distracted at the turtles’ faces, but that’s just the shaping in this depiction…it’s a bit different and slightly cartooney, yet not bad, and other than momentary distraction I really do like this visual take on the characters. The humans–and I’m struck especially by April–look great in this issue, and I’m glad this mega-arc at least is maintaining the consistent visuals (with art variances coming with the Villains Micro-Series that ties in to “current events”).

This is part 5 of City Fall, so in and of itself isn’t the best jumping-on point: the issue’s action all comes from events previously established both throughout the first four chapters of the story and the IDW TMNT continuity as a whole. However, I do believe IDW‘s keeping to the 4-issue TPBs, so this should be the first single issue after the newest TPB volume, and in that regard this would be a handy jumping on point.

Despite being only one of about 10 issues I bought this week, this was top of the stack–ahead, even, of the one DC Villains Month issue I’ve most anticipated (Batman/Superman 3.1: Doomsday #1)–and despite my intent to save the issue to read later, found myself taking an extended lunch break (the bulk of the break having been spent going to the shop to purchase all these comics) to read this issue.

TMNT is consistently one of the most anticipated issues of the month for me, and seems to always leave me having enjoyed the given issue while anxiously looking forward to getting the next issue…something that is an unfortunate rarity in this day and age.

Filed under: IDW Publishing, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Classic TMNT Toys: Multiple Leos and Random Mutants

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Walt

Back in the early ’90s, I was often “suckered” by the many “variants” on the main turtles. While I don’t believe I did many “sets” of all 4, my favorite of the four turtles was Leonardo, so I wound up with a lot of those.

I recently came across some of the old figures, which provided a bit of a trip down memory lane, so to speak.

multiple_leonardos

 

The Leo with the tall neck comes plugged in to a gun/trigger thing to make the legs kick…sort of a rock ’em sock ’em TMNT. Then we had Hockey Leo and TD Tossin’ Leo. There was some sort of Talkin’ Leo that used to have some kind of strip that fed through a speaker/mechanism on the back to spout a copule phrases. Then there’s Sword Slicin’ Leo from the Wacky Action set. And in front, my favorite: Storage Shell Leo. Not so much for the ridiculousness of opening the turtle’s back and stuffing weapons, but because if you didn’t really know any better, the figure looks normal, just a different (and I think superior) sculpt from the original.

Then we have a couple random mutants-du-jour…Muckman and Pizzaface:

muckman_and_pizzaface

Muckman originally came with a trashcan that attached to the back, and a miniature “sidekick” figure Joe Eyeball. The banana peel on top of his head comes off like a lid and you can squish some “ooze” in to have it drool out the mouth and gut, I believe.

Pizzaface is just…I don’t know, absolutely ridiculous, stupid, and there’s no way in heck I’d ever choose to buy such a character now.

Finally, we have Panda Khan:

panda_khan

I recently learned that Panda Khan was an actual character in his own comic that I suppose must have been licensed for a toy. I originally took him as simply another random mutant made up to sell a toy. [ Panda Khan info ]

Fool me once, shame on you: all those many, many figures back in the day. Fool me twice, shame on me: refusing to buy variants within the same line of figures.

storage_shell_leo

…and a closeup on the Storage Shell Leonardo, just cuz I really, really dig the sculpt.

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TMNT Toys 2013: Leatherhead and Ninjas in Training (Leo & Don)

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Walt

I finally managed to find Leatherhead the other day. I think I might’ve been happier if I’d found him weeks ago, before learning of the existence of several other figures I actually do want, though.

Still, he’s a rather ugly (yet cool) figure…and makes me wish I had the original so I’d have all 3 versions.

leatherhead_front

The card back is much like other recent ones…nothing ‘new’ to this that I haven’t already shown on other posts, except of course the profile:

leatherhead_profile

I also came acrros the Ninjas in Trainin: Leonardo & Donatello, but due to budget didn’t feel comfortable picking them up at the time. I did, however, take a couple photos…if only as “proof” to myself that I’d actually found the things once, should they prove to be a massive pain in the butt to find later (much as Leatherhead did).

NinjasInTrainingLeoAndDon_front

Also, I wasn’t entirely enamored with the figures…they’re “cute,” but not nearly as much as the 2003 line’s version of the young TMNT (and that line crammed all 4 into one package!).

I don’t like the idea of splurging only to have 2 of the 4 turtles, so IDEALLY I’d like to find both 2-packs at the same time or have time/money to hunt several stores to find ’em in the same day.

NinjasInTrainingLeoAndDon_profile

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TMNT Villains Micro-Series #6: Hun [Review]

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Walt


Full review posted to cxPulp.com.

Story: 4.5/5
Art: 4/5
Overall: 4.5/5

Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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