TMNT Flashback: Albedo #3 Ad

Tweet

One of the most sought-after (and expensive) independent comics around is Albedo #2, because it features the first ever appearance of Usagi Yojimbo. Imagine flipping through a box of $.10 comics at a convention and finding Albedo #3 and #4, hoping that maybe, just maybe, there's a #2 stuck somewhere in the box, too. I never did find a #2 in there, but I purchased #s 3 & 4 with the hope that maybe their value would be a decent fraction of #2. Unfortunately, they're really not. But it worked out because I still got some cool Usagi content and, big bonus, an old ad for the original Eastman and Laird comics. Not too shabby for $.10.

TMNT Flashback: New Age Comics #1 Ad

Tweet

This is a new feature of the blog: TMNT Flashback. Hopefully on a semi-regular basis I will be posting scans of TMNT items of old, with the expectation that there are a lot of people who may not have seen these before and those who have might not have seen them in a long while.

This first submission is from New Age Comics #1 (1985) and is an ad for the original Eastman and Laird comic books.

New Comic Book Day

Tweet

Tales of the TMNT #39, featuring art by Andy Tong and a story by Dan Berger, is now available in comic shops and directly from Mirage Studios at NinjaTurtles.com.

Bigfoot Promo Figure Now Shipping

Tweet

Playmates Toys' Bigfoot promo figure has been arriving at homes for about the last week.

If you haven't yet sent away for yours, be sure to visit PlaymatesToys.com for the details.

TMNT Movie Prequel Color Art

Tweet

Dario Brizuela has updated his blog with some colored pages from the Leonardo movie prequel comic, which was previously published in black and white.

I'm guessing this is for the UK TMNT Comic magazine publication that has been printing segments of the prequel comics in color for each issue.

TMNT Retro Merchandise

Tweet

KidScreen.com brings us some news of the upcoming TMNT Retro merchandising push:

Time flies. Or in this case, we should say it does roundhouse kicks, wields nunchakus and eats a lot of pizza. 4Kids Entertainment's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are turning 25 in 2009, but the IP owner is getting the celebration off the ground early with a new retro-inspired licensing program debuting at US retailer Hot Topic in November.

Building upon the success of the retro apparel program from licensee Giant Merchandising, 4Kids andMirage Licensing have developed a comprehensive TMNT retro campaign based on the art from the original late-80's TV series. TMNT retro boutiques will roll into 700 Hot Topic stores next month, accompanied by a feature page on the retailer's website (www.hottopic.com). Along with apparel, the boutiques will proffer caps, beanies and belt buckles from Bioworld. Other licensees onboard the TMNT retro program include NECA (collectible figures), Etchstar (laser etchings on iPods and laptops) and Disguise (Halloween costumes for TMNT's lead characters), and product will continue to rollout during 2008 and into the 25th anniversary year.

Tales of the TMNT #38 - Cover Sketches & Greytones

Tweet

Dario Brizuela has posted some art from Tales of the TMNT #38 on his blog.

You can checkout the making of the cover and some sample grey-tone pages.

Tales of the TMNT #38 is currently available in comic shops, or directly from Mirage Studios at NinjaTurtles.com.

Tales of the TMNT: Collected Book 5

Tweet

From NinjaTurtles.com:

Tales of the TMNT The Collected Books Volume Five
Ship Date: February, 2008
Format: 152 B&W pages, full color cover, standard size comic
Retail Price: $13

Cover art by Diego Jourdan and Eric Talbot; stories by Jim Lawson and Murphy
Volume Five collects "Tales of the TMNT" issues 2, 9, 15, 17 and 25. Mystic battles, the fate of Klunk the cat, hot-rodding ghosts from the desert of doom, giant bugs of the apocalypse, a battle royale with the Foot Clan and more await you in this classic tome from Mirage Studios' monster creators, Jim Lawson and Murphy!

Tales of the TMNT #43

Tweet

From NinjaTurtles.com:

Tales of the TMNT #43
Ship Date: February, 2008
Format: 32 B&W pages, full color cover, standard size comic
Retail Price: $3.25 US $3.95 Canada

Cover art by Jim Lawson and Steve Lavigne; plot by Peter Laird, script by Dan Berger, art by Jim Lawson
“The Proposal” - Love is in the air with this special Valentine's Day issue that features the story of how April O'Neil and Casey Jones become engaged! Unfortunately for our heroes, it's not all romance when Casey's no-good cousin Sid (from Tales of the TMNT Vol. 1 #1) turns up with the Foot Clan to spoil the fun and break a few hearts along the way! !

New Art From Eric Talbot

Tweet

Eric Talbot has updated his blog with a new piece of Leo art.

Tales of the TMNT Collected Book #4 Bookplate

Tweet

Here's a look at the bookplate you'll receive if you purchase Tales of the TMNT the Collected Books Volume 4 from PanelToPanel.net.

More Halloween

Tweet

A while ago on NinjaTurtles.com, Dan Berger made mention of an adult TMNT costume that would be available this Halloween. Fan Dorkfish found a picture of this costume a month or so ago, but I was hoping to quietly forget that it existed.

Fan tOkKa asked about the costume, so I'm posting the stock photo that was found. I haven't actually seen this in a store, but it's supposed to run around $150. I would recommend finding a better use for $150.

TMNT UK: Create Your Own Bad Guy Competition

Tweet

For our friends in the UK:

London, September 2007 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Comic have launched a fantastic competition with ITV.com/citv, inviting children to create a villain who will get to battle the TMNT in the comic next year! The winner, as chosen by Titan, will also get a framed picture of their villain, drawn by an official comic artist.

There’s also a TMNT Fast Forward DVD for the winner and 3 runners-up, and copies of the comic for all.

ENTRY DETAILS:

Shredder, Jammerhead and the Foot Clan have all tried, and failed, to beat the awesome foursome…under 16s who think they can do better can visit ITV.com/citv and download the official entry form. Closing date for entries is October 15, 2007. Terms and conditions are available on CITV.co.uk.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Comic is out every four weeks, priced £2.60. Each issue has a cool free gift, plus all-new comic strips, puzzles and features and news on TV programmes and DVD releases. Issue 6 is out now with a free inflatable fighting staff.

Subscribe today, visit www.titanmagazines.co.uk/tmntcomic.

About Titan Publishing

Titan Publishing Group is one of the world's largest publishers of licensed Film and Television publications and Graphic Novels, with two main divisions, Titan Magazines and Titan Books. The portfolio of Titan Magazines, the largest and most experienced publisher of licensed entertainment magazines in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand, includes the #1 children’s comic in the UK, The Simpsons, Lost Magazine, 24 Magazine, SpongeBob SquarePants, Star Wars Magazine, and many others. For further details see www.titanmagazines.co.uk

Halloween Approaches

Tweet

Halloween is less than a month away and stores are stocked full of costumes and other goodies. Amongst them you should be able to find some TMNT costumes. It seems that this year there is only the choice of Fast Forward-themed costumes. There is a basic version and a "deluxe" muscle version. Below are camera phone pics of a basic Leo costume and a muscle Raph costume.

First NECA Figure Sculpt

Tweet

Today on his blog, Steve Murphy released an image of NECA's preliminary sculpt for their upcoming TMNT series of figures.

Here's a glimpse of NECA's first TMNT sculpt submission. As you can see, it is totally right on with regards to the way the TMNT looked in the first Mirage comic. PL was thrilled too, and had only one minor change to suggest with regards to the neck (not entirely visible here), asking that it be either shortened or thickened by about 20%.

The big picture can be found at The 5th Turtle.

New Comic Book Day

Tweet

It's new comic book day and today in shops you can find Tales of the TMNT #38, Raphael: Bad Moon Rising #3, and Tales of the TMNT: The Collected Books Volume 4.

If your shop doesn't carry these titles, all three are available from NinjaTurtles.com. And don't forget that you can get Tales of the TMNT: The Collected Books Volume 4 with an exclusive bookplate drawn by Jim Lawson and signed by the Mirage staff at PanelToPanel.net.

TMNT: Overload

Tweet

Steve Murphy has updated his TMNT blog with some details of what almost became next season's TMNT series.

The basic idea behind Overload is that the Turtles, while traveling through time on their return home from the Fast Forward future, briefly get stuck in the past alongside their "kid" selves, and then, thanks to the quantum mechanics of villainous plot shenanigans, all 8 turtles arrive in the year 2008 ("home").

This premise was pitched by 4Kids, approved (apparently with a few minor revisions) by Mirage, but shot down by Playmates Toys, who funds 1/3rd of the show.

Playmates then apparently pitched a show that "reached back deeply into the universes of both the original cartoon series and the Archie comics." This was soundly rejected by both Mirage and 4Kids.

Which leaves us less than a year out from the '08 Fall season and with no TMNT show in development/production. The three involved parties all seem to have different agendas. Hopefully they can all work together to come up with a concept that appeals to everyone, including fans.

Here's a crazy concept: Four giant mutant turtles who study ninjitsu with their giant rat sensei live in New York City and fight various kinds of evil. Usually in the shadows. 'Cause they're ninjas. And they do ninja stuff.

New Japanese OP and ED Songs

Tweet

New opening and ending theme songs for the Japanese dub of the 4Kids cartoon have now aired on TV Tokyo.

OP3: "EVERYBODY" by Turtles4


ED3: "Fighting Spirit" by Mirai Drive


CD single information will be posted when more concrete information is available.

Thanks to Mendinso for the videos!

Tales of the TMNT Collected Book #4 Now Available For Pre-Sale

Tweet

Tales of the TMNT Collected Book Volume 4 is now available for pre-sale at PanelToPanel.net.

All copies of this book sold through Panel To Panel feature an exclusive bookplate with a new image of Raphael drawn by Jim Lawson and signed by Peter Laird, Jim Lawson, Steve Murphy, Dan Berger and Eric Talbot.

The book is due to ship in mid-October.

More Sketches From Eric Talbot

Tweet

More pages from Eric Talbot's sketchbook.

Check 'em out here.

New Sketches From Eric Talbot

Tweet

Eric Talbot has updated his blog with a series of new sketches, many of which contain Turtles.

You can check out the sketches here, here, and here.

4Kids TMNT Season 1, Part 2 Available Today

Tweet

Season 1, Part 2 of 4Kids' TMNT series is available on DVD today.

New Fast Forward Comic Art

Tweet

Artist Andres Ponce shares with us a new page of pencils for a UK-exclusive TMNT Fast Forward comic story. You can check out this new art on Andres's blog.

Thanks Andres!

Tales of the TMNT #40 Preview Pages

Tweet

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

A Few More NECA Details

Tweet

NinjaTurtles.com today posted this information about the recently announced deal with NECA.

NECA, National Entertainment Collectible Association, has signed a license to produce and distribute collector's market TMNT action figures, statues, busts, weapon prop replicas and bobbleheads based on the TMNT comic books from Mirage Studios. These items will be avaialble to small independent retailers, independent toy stores, comic and hobby shops, and specialty chains. The design and development process has just gotten started, so prduct won't be available for awhile. We'll post news from the folks at NECA as soon as possible!

Earlier this week, Steve Murphy posted to his blog NECA's first design sketch for these new action figures. Due to its lack of resemblance to any of the Mirage comic books, this design was rejected.

TMNT Nominated For SpikeTV's Scream Award

Tweet

TMNT has been nominated for SpikeTV's Scream award in the category of "Best Comic-To-Screen Adaptation."

You can vote here. It looks like you can vote as many times as you want!

Thanks to raphaelprime for the link.

Tales of the TMNT #42

Tweet

From NinjaTurtles.com:

Tales of the TMNT #42
Ship Date: January, 2008
Format: 32 B&W pages, full color cover, standard size comic
Retail Price: $3.25 US $3.95 Canada

Cover art by Dan Berger; story by Dan Berger, art by Jim Lawson
“The Curious Case of Mr. Jones” - Casey Jones is interrogated by "Men in Black" after he and Raphael battled an alien robot that crash landed on Earth. Will Casey reveal who Raphael is to the secret agents? How was the mechanical menace from the stars defeated? And just who are these men of mystery asking all of these questions? All this will be solved and more in Tales of the TMNT #42!

TMNT Volume 4 to Return - Sorta

Tweet

NinjaTurtles.com delivered this message from Peter Laird today addressing the return of Volume 4 of the TMNT comic book:

Welcome back to TMNT Volume 4!

Well, not quite yet... but soon. Volume 4 is going to return this year, but in a slightly different form -- or forms, to be more precise. There will be an inexpensive -- or possibly free -- online form, as well as a more expensive limited edition collectible printed version.

There are a few reasons for this new approach, mostly related to my work habits. For quite some time, before I took most of the last year off from doing the Vol. 4 comics, I had been getting more and more
frustrated by what was required of me, with every issue, to meet the requirements of Diamond Comics, the major comics distributor. This included preparing solicitation material three months in advance for the "Diamond Previews" catalog, along with ads and such. For whatever reason, preparing these materials on this schedule, along with actually getting the book ready to go to the printer by a set deadline, was just really starting to get to me. (Don't get me wrong -- Diamond's system is a fine, reasonable, businesslike approach to distributing comics, and works very well. I just can't deal with it anymore.)

I was also getting frustrated with the time lag between finishing the book and actually seeing it appear before the eyes of the fans, on comic store shelves. It would very often be up to four or five weeks from the time we sent the materials to our printer. Again, not uncommon and completely reasonable -- it takes time to print, bind, trim and ship a comic book.

So, while I was on hiatus, I started thinking about it, and came up with a new scheme. It may turn out to be harebrained, or it might be really good... or maybe just okay. We'll see.

Here's the plan:

1.) Digital Distribution: Each issue will be posted online at the ninjaturtles.com official TMNT website, within a few days (or maybe even hours) of being completed. Access to each issue will very likely be free to anyone with an internet connection and a decent browser, though I am looking into possibly charging a small fee... haven't figured that one out quite yet.

In addition, if feasible technically, I may try something new for TMNT -- a somewhat interactive online letters page. I'm not completely sure how or even if this will work, but I'm mulling it over.

2.) Limited-Edition Printed Distribution: Each issue will also be printed in a "collectible" limited edition, very likely somewhere between 1000 and 3000 copies. These will be available via mail order from Mirage, and will probably cost $10.00 each, shipping included. The first hundred books ordered per issue will have an original black and white TMNT head sketch drawn and signed by me on the inside front or back cover.

These print versions will almost certainly not appear at the same time that the online version is posted, but probably several weeks later.

I'm hoping that these changes will work, and will allow me to continue doing Volume 4 with the same sense of fun which has sustained the book from its inception in 2001 up until the beginning of my hiatus in June of 2006. I think it's worth a shot... and I hope you do too!

-- Peter Laird

Tales of the TMNT #38 - Preview Pages

Tweet

Artist Dario Brizuela has posted some preview pages from the upcoming Tales of the TMNT #38 to his blog.

You can check out all of the pages here, here, and here.

Tales of the TMNT #38 will be in stores later this month.

TMNT FF Trading Card @ KB Toys

Tweet

KB Toy stores are giving away a pack of 4Kids trading cards free with any purchase. Each pack is the same and contains a card from most of the shows in their Fall lineup. The TMNT card features this art.

TMNT Mini Mutants Action Figures

Tweet

Toy News International has released pictures of new TMNT "Mini Mutants" toys and figures that will be hitting shelves in 2008. These figures are similar in design and scale to the Star Wars "Galactic Heroes" and Marvel "Superhero Squad" toys.

You can view the entire gallery here.

Thanks to IBNXuFasch for the link.

Kevin Eastman Interview: Part 2

Tweet

The second half of Newsarama's interview with Kevin Eastman is now available for reading on their website here. This part deals mostly with Heavy Metal.

Convention Sketches From Eric Talbot

Tweet

Eric talbot has posted some scans of sketches from last weekend's Comic Expo in Toronto.

You can check all of them out at his blog.

Raphael: Bad Moon Rising #2

Tweet

Raphael: Bad Moon Rising #2 is now in comic shops.

Go get it!

New Interview With Kevin Eastman

Tweet

Newsarama has posted a new interview with TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman. Apparently there's a part two that we'll see on Monday.

This one's a good read - Check it out here.

Thanks to xmen510 for the link.

NECA to Produce Comic-Based TMNT Action Figures!

Tweet

Now this is some exciting news.

In an interview with Action Figure Times, Randy Falk of NECA reports that the company will be releasing comic book-based TMNT figures.

RoAR: Will this be oriented toward the animated series or the original Eastman/Laird comics or a different source?
RF: Starting with the Eastman/Laird comics and we’ll go from there. Expect more detail and texture and loads of articulation on these.

That's the extent of details so far, but as soon as more is known, you'll find the info here!

Thanks to mattmanw54301 for the link.

TMNT Alien Hunter Action Figures

Tweet

Toy News International has posted pictures of eight new TMNT figures from Playmates for 2008. This Alien Hunter series features each of the four Turtles and four new alien characters.

Visit TNI for pics of each figure.

Thanks to Ectocooler for the link!

New Fast Forward Comic Art

Tweet

Writer Jake Black shares with us three new pages of pencils for a UK-exclusive TMNT Fast Forward comic story. You can check out these pages on Jake's blog.

Thanks Jake!

Auto Attack Action Figures Now In Stores

Tweet

The new Auto Attack action figures are now being sighted in stores. Below are pics of the Leonardo and Raphael figures.

Tales of the TMNT #41

Tweet

From NinjaTurtles.com:

Tales of the TMNT #41
Ship Date: December, 2007
Format: 32 B&W pages, full color cover, standard size comic
Retail Price: $3.25 US $3.95 Canada

Cover art by Steph Dumais; story by Murphy, art by Steph Dumais
“The Sword.” In the far-flung future an aging Leonardo battles a familiar foe from the past… one final blood-soaked time. Picking up a plot thread from Tales #13, this issue features the wild art of Zombie Commandoes from Hell creator Steph Dumais! With a frontispiece by alphagodz.com!

New Playmates TMNT Web Site

Tweet

Playmates has launched a new TMNT section to their Web site. You can check it out here.

Don't miss the details to get the exclusive Bigfoot figure!

Thanks to Hellboy for the link.

Donatello Sketch From Eric Talbot

Tweet

Eric Talbot has posted a new Donatello sketch in his blog.

Jagwar In Action

Tweet

Fans of the old Archie comics may remember Jagwar, who ended up as part of the Mutanimal team. He never did get an action figure back then, but it seems that his day has come.

Murphy announced today that Jagwar will be part of the TMNT action figure line next year. And then later he gave us pictures.

Fantastic!

Tales of the TMNT #37 Now Available

Tweet

Tales of the TMNT #37, "Casey in Point," is now available at comic shops. If your shop doesn't have it, pester them to order it for you. If they tell you they can't, they're lying.

New Action Figures Now Available

Tweet

New TMNT movie action figures have started appearing in stores.

Available in this wave are:
Jungle Leo (pictured)
Monster Capture Raph
Surveillance Don
Extreme Sports Mikey
Sloth Monster

and yes....
The Shredder!!

Tales of the TMNT #40, Pages 14-15

Tweet

The 5th Turtle has posted this preview of pages 14 & 15 from Tales of the TMNT #40.

TMNT on DVD This Tuesday

Tweet

TMNT comes to DVD this Tuesday, August 7. Here's a rundown of special deals at some major retailers.

Target

• Exclusive 2-disc Deluxe Edition DVD for $22.99.
• Regular Edition DVD for $16.99.

Circuit City

• DVD for $16.99 + free action figure (the free action figure looks to be one of the mini figures that were available at Toys R Us earlier this year).

WalMart

• I thought I had read WalMart would have the movie packaged with the PC game for $19.99, but now I can't find confirmation on this.

BestBuy

• DVD for $16.99, no special bonus.

Based on this information, it would seem that Target is the place to go for the "Deluxe Edition."

Don't forget that Season 5 of the original cartoon and Volume 2 of Fast Forward are also available on the same day. There are reports that some stores have already put these on the shelf, so you might get lucky and find them early if you look.

Tales of the TMNT #41, Cover

Tweet

The 5th Turtle has a preview of December's Tales of the TMNT issue.

New Comic Book Day

Tweet

Both "Tales of the TMNT" #36 and "Raphael: Bad Moon Rising" #1 are available in comic shops today. Go check them out!