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Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American comic book published on and off by Mirage Studios since May 1984. Originally conceived by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird as a one-off parody, the comic's popularity has gone on to inspire a major pop culture franchise, including television series, four feature films, numerous video games and a wide range of toys and merchandise.

The concept originated from an evening of casual brainstorming. Kevin Eastman drew a picture of a turtle with nunchaku strapped to his arms. Peter Laird thought a slow turtle as ninja was very funny. Eventually, they created a team of four turtles, each specializing in a different weapon.

Using a tax refund and a loan from Eastman's uncle, they formed Mirage Studios and published a single-issue comic book that would parody Daredevil, Cerebus, Ronin and X-Men/The New Mutants. The traffic accident and truck carrying radioactive waste that caused the turtles mutation was an allusion to Daredevil's origin. The name "Splinter" is a parody of Daredevil's master, "Stick". Also, The Foot is a parody of a ninja clan in Daredevil called "The Hand".

Also in this series rather than having unique mask colors all bandannas were red.

Over the years, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would cross over with other successful independent comic books, including Dave Sim's Cerebus, Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon, Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot, and Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo.

Contents

Origin of the concept

Originalturtles
Original concepts by Eastman and Laird
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The concept originated from a comical drawing sketched out by Kevin Eastman during a casual evening of brainstorming with his friend Peter Laird. The drawing of a short, squat turtle wearing a mask with nunchakus strapped to its arms was incredibly funny to the young artists, as it played upon the inherent contradiction of a slow, cold-blooded reptile with the speed and agility of the Japanese martial arts. At Laird's suggestion, they created a team of four such turtles, each specializing in a different weapon. Eastman and Laird often cite the work of Frank Miller and Jack Kirby as their major artistic influences.

Using money from a tax refund together with a loan from Eastman's uncle, they formed Mirage Studios and self-published a single-issue comic book that would parody four popular comics of the early 1980s: Marvel Comics The New Mutants, which featured teenage mutants, Cerebus, Ronin, and Daredevil, which featured ninja clans dueling for control of the New York City underworld.[1]

In fact, many comics fans will recognize in the Turtles' origin several direct allusions to Daredevil: The traffic accident, involving a blind man and a truck carrying radioactive ooze, is a reference to Daredevil's own origin story (Indeed in the version told in the first issue Splinter sees the canister strike a boy's face, though in this world it does not split until it reaches the turtles).. The name "Splinter" is a parody on Daredevil's mentor, a man known as "Stick." The Foot, a clan of evil ninja who became the Turtles' arch-enemies, is a parody of the Hand, who were themselves a mysterious and deadly ninja clan in the pages of Daredevil.

Publication History

Volume 1: 1984 - 1993thumb

The first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was advertised in issues #1 and #2 of Eastman and Laird's comic book, Gobbledygook, as well as in the Comic Buyers' Guide. The book premiered in May of 1984 at a comic book convetion in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The comic book was in an oversized magazine format with black-and-white art. It was printed on cheap newsprint and only 3,000 copies were produced. It was extremely popular and soon it sold for 50 times it's original price.

Others, wanting a piece of the action, produced parodies of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These included the Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters, the Cold-Blooded Chameleon Commandos, and the Pre-Teen Dirty-Gene Kung Fu Kangaroos. None of them caught on.

By 1989, the series had found it's way to other media. Eastman and Laird were busy with licensing and fending off lawsuits, so they weren't very involved with the actual writing and illustrations of the comic. Guest artists were invited to work on it. Because of this, the comic had a disjointed, anthology-like feeling. Some guest artists continued to draw for Mirage Studios. These include Michael Dooney, Eric Talbot, A.C. Farley, Ryan Brown, Steve Lavigne, Steve Murphy, and Jim Lawson.

Issue #45 was a major turning point because Mirage attempted to return to a continuity. Issue #50 began the City at War story arc and was the first issue completely written and illustrated by Eastman and Laird since issue #11. The story arc ran for 13 issues and ended Volume 1. The last issue, issue #62, was published in August 1993.

Volume 2: 1993 - 1995

Volume 2 started in October 1993, was fully colored, and maintained the continuity established in Volume 1. Written and illustrated by Jim Lawson, the series lasted 13 issues and ceased publication in October 1995. The ended production was due to waning popularity and lagging sales.

Volume 3: 1996 - 1999

In June 1996, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 3 was published under the Image Comics label, thanks to Erik Larsen. A total of 23 monthly issues were written by Gary Carlson and illustrated by Frank Fosco. The comics returned to their black-and-white format,albeit without toning,but had a faster pace, more intense action, and surprising plot twists.Many of the turtles were injured and/or mutilated,this caused Donatello to become a cyborg,Raphael to wear an eye-patch due to loss of his left eye,and Leonardo to place his katana in place of his severed hand. Because the comic was being published by Image Comics, the Turtles crossed over to Savage Dragon a few times. The series ceased production in 1999 and is no longer considered "canon."

Volume 4: 2001 - Present

Peter Laird and Jim Lawson brought the Turtles back to their roots with Volume 4. First published in December 2001, the series is published bi-monthly and contains carefully-woven story threads as well as social commentary. The authors took this opportunity to correct the spelling of Michelangelo's name (it had sometimes been misspelled Michaelangelo).

The Plot centers around Utroms,amongst other alien species,who have landed on earth and are living out a one year probation period,in which at the end if they are asked to leave,they claim they will peacefully.This leads to the TMNT being able to live normal lives for the first time under the guise of aliens

After issue 28 was published in June 2006, the series went on a 2 year hiatus as Peter Laird worked on the new TMNT movie. However, Tales of TMNT remained unaffected. Volume 4 returned from hiatus in April 2008, right where issue 28 left off. The first issue numbered #29. However, distribution was extraordinarily different. Due to lacking sales before the hiatus, the new issues were created primarily for the internet. They could be legally downloaded for free in the United States at www.wowio.com. If one feels inclined to buy the new issues in traditional paper form, they now have a price cover costing $10.00.

Currently all Volume 4 issues from #1-current can be read for free at www.wowio.com, they can no longer be downloaded. Previously they could not be read online but were downloadable for free, in the US only. After WOWIO went global this was removed due to rights restrictions issues and being impracticable to have local sponsor sales in every country.[2]

Plot Summary

Volume 1

Origin

The first issue relates the origin of the Turtles. As the story goes, the four Turtles were exposed to the mutagen when after a traffic accident with their young owner as a bystander. The mutagen mutated them into a more human form and more developed intellect. Splinter, a rat once owned by Ninjutsu master Hamato Yoshi, was also exposed. Splinter was fantastically smart and learned Ninjutsu by mimicking his master. Hamato Yoshi moved from Japan to New York in order to escape the bitter love triangle between him and Oroku Nagi, another member of his ninja clan. However, Yoshi was found and killed by Nagi's younger brother Oroku Saki. Saki was the leader of the New York branch of the Foot Clan and had taken the identity The Shredder. Yoshi's death had left Splinter homeless.

Splinter happens to see the Turtles after the accident and adopts them. Within days, both Splinter and the Turtles grow to human size and develop speech. Splinter trained them in Ninjutsu, so they could avenge the murder of Hamato Yoshi. Splinter choose their names from a book about Renaissance artists: Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael. The Turtles challenge Shredder and the Foot Clan on a roof top and defeat them. Shredder falls off the roof, holding a bomb that blows up.

The Fugitoid

Looking further at their origin, the Turtles discover that the mutagen is a by-product of research done by a group of aliens called the Utrom. During their research, the Turtles accidentally teleport themselves across the galaxy. They meet Professor Honeycutt, a brilliant scientist whose mind is trapped in the body of a robot. They must save the professor from the Triceraton, a race of aliens who would use his transmat to conquer the universe.

Silent Partner

Shredder, returned from the dead, seeks his revenge on the Turtles. In an ambush on Christmas Eve, the Turtles, Splinter, April O'Neil, and Casey Jones are forced to retreat to Casey's grandmother's farmhouse in Northhampton, Massachusetts. Leonardo is badly hurt in the battle.

Return to New York

A year later, the Turtles return to defeat the Shredder. In a dramatic conflict, Shredder reveals to Leonardo how he was brought back to life. After the first conflict, the Foot recovered his remains. Using a combination of mysticism and science, his body was revived as a colony of worms. Leonardo decapitates the Shredder and they cremate his body to prevent his return.

City at War

New York is the site of the battle between the factions of the leaderless Foot Clan battle each other for dominance. In response to the chaos, the Japanese Foot Clan sends Karai to be the new leader. Karai enlists the help of the Turtles to restore order. In exchange for the help, the Foot Clan must never bother the Turtles again. Meanwhile, Splinter duels the Rat King, April reconnects with her sister Robyn, and Casey falls in love with a woman named Gabrielle.

Volume 2

The Turtles decide to go their separate ways. They have lost their purpose without the threat of the Foot Clan. Meanwhile, Baxter Stockman constructs a robotic body while imprisoned at DARPA. He places his brain in it and starts his mission to get revenge on April. Raphael encounters Stockman and they battle. Raphael is thrown from the roof and captured by DARPA.

The three other Turtles reunite and defeat Stockman. Having defeated him, they turn their attention to their lost brother. With the help of Casey and Nobody, they infiltrate DARPA and find several alien species, including Triceraton, being experimented on. The Turtles battle DARPA. A freed Triceraton threatens a planetary invasion from his colony. The Turtles escape with the help of another test subject.

Volume 3

The Turtles' birthday party is interrupted by cyborg assassins, Pimiko, and her 'ninja babies'. Donatello and Raphael are both badly injured during the fight. Both Donatello and Splinter are kidnapped. The remaining Turtles relocate to a graveyard while Donatello and Splinter are taken to upstate New York by helicopter. Donatello wakes on the way and a fight ensues. Donatello and a cyborg fall from the helicopter, still fighting. Donatello kills the assassin with its own gun, but breaks his shell and is paralyzed. Donatello fuses with the cyborg. Being cyborg, Donatello gains many new ability, but loses his shell.

Raphael and Michelangelo are ambushed by Pimiko and her ninja babies at the graveyard while Leonardo is in a trance. They fend them off and trace their employer, Lord Komodo. Meanwhile, Splinter awakes and fins himself captive of Lord Komodo. He interacts with Mako. Meanwhile, Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo find the spot where Donatello fell. Seeing only his shell, they believe him dead. They set off on a rescue/revenge mission. The three Turtles accidentally fight Mako and find that Donatello is alive, though he is a cyborg. Reunited, they break into Lord Komodo's lair. Lord Komodo turns himself into a Komodo Dragon and Splinter into a giant bat. Pimiko escapes. The Turtles try to track Splinter.

Volume 4

Picking up fifteen years after the conclusion of Volume 2 (and omitting the events of Volume 3), the Turtles, now in their early thirties, are living together in their sewer lair beneath New York City. April and Casey have been married for some time and remain in contact with the Turtles from their nearby apartment. Splinter continues to live at the Northampton farmhouse, where he has become a "grandfather" of sorts to Casey's teenage daughter, Shadow. The Utroms return to Earth in a very public arrival, subsequently establishing a peaceful base in Upper New York Bay. Since the arrival, aliens—and other bizarre life-forms, like the Turtles—have become more accepted within society. No longer forced to live in hiding, the Turtles now roam freely among the world of humans, albeit under the guise of aliens.

Creators

Listed chronologically

Collected books

There are few trade paperback collections of the series, and there do not appear to be any forthcoming collections in the future. As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations, a new trade paperback Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Collected Book Volume 1 was released in July 2009.

Mirage Publishing

First Publishing

Image Comics

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TPB (ISBN 1-887279-56-3) -collecting Vol. 3 #1-5
  • Bodycount TPB (ISBN 1-887279-36-9) -collecting Bodycount #1-4 miniseries by Kevin Eastman & Simon Bisley

Heavy Metal

  • Bodycount TPB (2008 rerelease, ISBN 978-193241399-1) -collecting Bodycount #1-4 miniseries by Kevin Eastman & Simon Bisley -This reprint edition is in magazine sized dimension not comics sized.
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 25th Anniversary: A Quarter Century Celebration (ISBN 193535115X) -selected reprints with some stories colored.

References

  1. ↑ I Was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (2007-01-26).
  2. ↑ WOWIO: Help. Retrieved on October 1, 2008.

See also

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