More Galabunga Video

Tweet

As hoped, Neil has uploaded more video from the TMNT Galabunga last week - Check 'em out!

Video From Tonight's TMNT25 Galabunga

Tweet

Astute TMNT fans know that tonight was the TMNT25 Galabunga event that included a free screening of the first TMNT movie. The always reliable Neil gives us this video montage of the event. Hopefully there will be more in upcoming days!

New Live Action Ninja Turtles Movie Announced!

Tweet

Variety is reporting tonight the announcement of a new live action TMNT film to be produced with a target release date of sometime in 2011. Details on the project are few at this point, but the film will apparently focus on the characters' origins.

You can read the full release here.

Thanks to Will Tupper for the heads-up!

The Forever War: 5-Part Mini-Series Beginning August '09

Tweet

When the TMNT Adventures title from Archie was canceled in 1995, it was done abruptly and premature. A new story titled "The Forever War" had been already solicited for several months, but it didn't matter... the title went kaput. (For a little background on that story, check out these old posts from the 5th Turtle: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.)

In recent years Mirage has teased us, saying that they would publish this "lost" story... but still, it never came. Until now!! Using the 25th anniversary as a pretty good excuse, wheels are really turning and "The Forever War" will finally see print! There's been a lack of details as to when and how we'd see it, but the answers seem to have finally arrived.

Cap e-mailed in with the above picture, which is a full-page advertisement for "The Forever War," stating it will (still) be in five parts and the first will be shipping in August (I think the previous best guess had been September). To make sure that your comic shop orders the book (and saves you a copy!) just print out the ad and bring it in to them - The information at the bottom will help ensure that they get it for you!

This scan is from the back of the Free Comic Book Day reprint of TMNT Vol. 1 #1 - Don't forget to visit your local comic shop on May 2nd to pick up your copy of that book!!

Japanese TMNT Figures on eBay

Tweet

Shameless plug alert! Yes, all of the following are my own auctions. Click each picture to be taken to the corresponding auction.

Saint Turtle! This is possibly one of the coolest TMNT action figures ever, and it was only available in Japan - No US variation exists! Saint Turtle is the result of the TMNT being adapted for Japanese anime and manga audiences. All four Turtles use transformation crystals to become "Super Turtles," then when the situation becomes most dire they combine their forces (literally!) to deliver a finishing blow.


Super Turtles Michaelangelo! This is the pre-Saint Turtle transformation of Michaelangelo. A variation of this figure was released in the US, but it differed in size and detail.


Super Turtles Donatello! Like the Michaelangelo figure above, this is the pre-Saint Turtle transformation of Donatello. A variation of this figure was released in the US, but it differed in size and detail.

TMNT Classic Cartoon Season 7 DVDs Now Available for Pre-Order

Tweet

Promotional material for the May 12th release of Season 7 of the original TMNT cartoon on DVD has been made available including box art, trailer (commercial), and fact sheet.

Here's a snippet from the fact sheet:

COWABUNGA! It’s been 25 years since Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello, emerged from the sewers of Manhattan and were transformed into heroes-in-a-half-shell battling petty criminals, evil megalomaniacs, and alien invaders. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles®, Lionsgate Home Entertainment is presenting all 27 episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 7, available for the first-time ever on DVD. Fans can collect the commemorative set that will be sold as four separate DVDs, each featuring different episodes from Season 7 and a Mini-Classic Turtles Action Figure! All four DVDs feature a different turtle on the cover, and fit together to create one power-packed scene with all of the wise-cracking, pizza-obsessed superheroes aligned and ready for battling evil. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 7 DVDs will be available on May 12th, for the suggested retail price of $14.98 each.

And here's the trailer/commercial:



Click each slice below to pre-order at Amazon.com for the low price of $9.99/each.

     

     

And finally, you can download the full fact sheet here.

Tribeca Film Festival Movie Screening Details

Tweet


Here's the low-down on how to see the free screening of the first TMNT movie for free at the Tribeca Film Festival, courtesy of TMNT25.com.

Free TMNT Movie Screenings @ Tribeca Film Festival

Tweet

To celebrate the TMNT's 25th anniversary there will be free screenings of the debut Turtles film during the Tribeca Film Festival, April 23-25 in New York City. The screenings will be held as part of the Tribeca Drive-In at the World Financial Center.

How to acquire tickets is still unconfirmed, but it's probably a good idea to stay tuned to the official Tribeca Film Festival Web site. If any other news comes of the events I'll post the info here.

(I think this is the "Big News" TMNT25.com was planning on breaking tomorrow - Oops.)

First TMNT Movie Screenings in Oakland, April 3-5

Tweet

This upcoming weekend, April 3-5, the Piedmont Theater in Oakland, CA will be having screenings of the original TMNT movie. Friday and Saturday night the show starts at midnight, but if that's a wee bit too late for you, there's a 10am screening on Sunday.

You can check here for info on the screening (ignore the picture from TMNT2, it's the first movie they're playing).

And you can click here to purchase tickets.

To get you pumped for the screening, here's a look at the original theatrical trailer for the movie:

The Complete Failure of TMNT25

Tweet

I learned a very important lesson today: Pole-dancing Ninja Turtles are completely acceptable so long as the pole is the top of the Empire State Building.

But that lesson comes at the end of this long story, so let's start back at the beginning.

This afternoon I received a mass e-mail sent to me because I registered my e-mail address at TMNT25.com, the Web site (supposedly) dedicated to the 25th Anniversary of the TMNT. The complete contents of this email can be seen by clicking that bar thing on the left there. It's not unusual for me to see something from the TMNT25 team, anchored by some folks at Peppercom, and be disappointed by its pointlessness and consistant lack of professionalism. So far we've seen pajama TMNT "costumes" at Comic-Con last year (and they were sooooo proud of these), a pointless Twitter account that gives weather updates more than anything else, a crappy Web site still full of inaccurate information, an April with a Kill Bill jumpsuit, and now the e-mail that arrived today.

Considering the extremely low impression all of these things have left me with, I think I have shown great restraint in expressing how I really feel about this ridiculous anniversary campaign, or whatever you want to call it. I don't know exactly why I haven't been as vocal as I really feel... Maybe because I'm constantly accused of being unnecessarily negative. Maybe because I respect the fact that the people at Peppercom are people who need jobs, just like the rest of us. Maybe because, despite popular opinion, I actually have no desire to be the topic of Peter Laird's rants in the back of his comic book. Whatever the case may have been, this e-mail proved to be a breaking point for me. There's no stopping me on this one. I am tearing this piece of crap inside out. Oh, and apologies in advance; due to the nature of the subject of this email, this blog is going to break all conventional rules of blogs.

Let's start by looking at this as a single image. The dimensions of this image are 820 pixels wide by 8835 pixels high. For some perspective, consider that not too long ago the average computer monitor resolution was only 800 pixels wide, making 820 within an email a bit excessive, although not horrible. But what the hell kind of e-mail marketing is 8835 pixels high?!! 8835!! The whole thing is actually composed of 13 separate jpegs. This is more than just a little excessive! This is something I might tolerate receiving from my mom, but certainly not from a professional PR company actually trying to be taken seriously.

Then there's the actual quality of the image. If you think the image you see when you click on that bar above is a poorly compressed copy of the original, you would be sadly mistaken. That is exactly how the image appeared in the sent e-mail. Poor image compression is an instant red flag that points out people who either A) Are brand new to the Internets, or B) Have no freakin' clue how to properly use even a basic photo editing program. Jpegs are compressed image files. The more compression, the smaller the files size, but the crappier the picture. If you're trying to sell something, you should be going for presentation. This presentation is nothing but Fail.

Now let's look at what is actually in the image.


Here we have what I think is supposed to be the Turtle Van, a manhole cover, and a ladder. This would be ok... if a 7-year-old drew it.

---

Next we have the four Turtles, apparently dropping down into the sewer while frozen in poses that do not seem likely to accompany such an activity. And the text balloons were apparently done by the same 7-year-old who drew the top part.

---

Here's the next part. Leo and Mike are still frozen in the same poses while Don has exactly mirrored his previous pose. Raph seems to have managed to land on a ledge just in time to tell us they're going "Back to the sewers." If that was supposed to be a clever reference to the most recent season of the 4Kids cartoon, it fails.

---

Ok, taking the next part in smaller segments. The Turtles are still falling and both Mike and Don feel it's a good time to start kicking. Unfortunately, this means I see quite a bit more of Mike's butt than I'm comfortable with. And that 7-year-old kid tried to get fancy by suggesting a motion blur with the upper portion of Mike's entire body.

---

And here we have Leo and Raph, still falling. This is the perfect time to make mention of the clip art that is so abuntant here. If you haven't noticed yet, it all sucks. The majority of it was drawn by artists at 4Kids, who in most cases simply redrew poses from the original TMNT 2K3 style guide by Michael Dooney (which was also replicated by the team at Imagi for the 2007 movie). None of these poses are really fitting for the cartoony Turtles they are meant to represent and the actual style of the art doesn't match the cartoony Turtles being emulated (note the huge knee and elbow pads). And some of the pieces, particularly Donatello, appear to feature cleavage. Also, where is Leo's neck? It's my theory that the 4Kids artists only drew the bodies of the Turtles while a stock Turtle head was pasted onto the body.

---

FSSSSH!!

Wait, what?

---

Sadly, I don't think we can expect any Eisner awards for this, or even nominations.

Sorry, that was a lie. I'm not sad.

---

No, actually I wasn't asking...

Hey, shouldn't you guys have landed by now?

---

OMG WTF JUST HAPPENED?!!!!

Ok, calming down... sorta. Lemme get this straight. The Turtles just fell into the sewers and onto what appears to be the top of the Empire State Building. I might be willing to accept that, but they really seem to be getting a little too friendly with the antenna there!! Particularly Mike and Don. I'm not even sure how Raph and Leo are holding on (and I probably don't want to know).

Quick, it says to click to escape this overly-suggestive image!!

*click*

Oh, look, there's a video...



AHHHHHH!!!!! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!!!!

Calming down a bit (again), I think the completely rational thing to do at this point in time is to look at a few screen shots from this hellish 12-second video (hopefully created by the same 7-year-old who put together all the jpegs).


We start out the same as we left the e-mail. Hardly comforting. And apparently New York rains green ooze.

---

As the video gets going, the Turtles slide down the Empire State Building with the antenna between their legs. And we see that the building has a light switch at the top.

---

As the Turtles continue to slide down the building it becomes clear that Leo and Raph are only heads hovering in the back.

---

A bit farther down and the Turtles hit the light switch! Oooh, the Empire State Building now glows green! Impressive!! Luckily, the horror is now truly over.

---

Hmmm, I would say, "No thank you," but the truth is that I look forward to the "Next Episode" in that bad car crash kind of way. And Peppercom is being paid $1 million for all of this! (I seriously need a gig that pays an insane amount of money for crap.)

To wrap up: Poor production quality aside, how the hell is this acceptable for children, who are obviously the target audience? And I know it's not just me who's disturbed by this.

I forwarded the e-mail to a friend of mine who is mom to a 3-year-old. She replied expressing the same horror I felt when I saw it. I was so upset with the whole matter that I contacted Rob at Peppercom, who is in charge of the TMNT25 activities. This is the reply I got:

As always, we appreciate your input but want to clarify that the pole is the top of the Empire State Building.

Um, yeah, I got that. It doesn't make anything better though.

Fail, Peppercom. FAIL.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tweet

They're not Irish (I think...), but the TMNT can't get any greener than they already are!

Special thanks to Cap, who sent me a fantastic collection of scans from the old TMNT Sunday comic strip, from which the picture comes. I'll be sharing more over the course of the year, as many of them are tailored to specific days.

New Steve Murphy Interview

Tweet

Fan Vaughn Michael has conducted and made available a new interview with Creative Director of Licensing at Mirage Studios, Steve Murphy.

You can read the enlightening interview here.

Thanks, Vaughn!

TMNT Flashback: 1989 Comic Book Store Signing

Tweet

In a real testament to the idea that "You can buy anything on eBay," I recently acquired some photographs out of of someone's personal collection. The idea of buying someone's personal photos is a bit creepy, but these seemed interesting enough for me to get past that. And I'm glad I did, because in addition to being a truly fantastic blast from the past, there are some really interesting details hidden in the background. These pictures appear to be date stamped August 12, 1989 - nearly 20 years ago!

These first two pictures are pretty similar and feature Steve Lavigne behind the table. I think you can also see a piece of Peter Laird's head in the first picture. What is really great though is in the background there appears to be pictures of the Turtles and Splinter costumes for the then-upcoming movie. The movie filmed in September 1989, so this was even before then!

Here we have one more picture of Steve Lavigne, then a shot farther down the line looking back at both Steve and Peter. In the second photo you can get a slightly better look at one of the photos on the wall.

And here we have a better look at Peter, and finally Kevin Eastman as well. Now we can see a few more pictures on the back wall as well as some comic book covers (and cereal boxes!).

Last, but far from least, we see the end of the autograph line with Jim Lawson, Michael Dooney, and Steve Murphy.

Kevin Eastman Announces New TMNT Book

Tweet

Kevin Eastman has announced via his Heavy Metal Web site the publication of a new TMNT book to be released in time for San Diego Comic-Con in July! This new, 180-page book will collect a bunch of his favorite TMNT stories, many newly colored.




The contents of the book are scheduled to include:

• Jan Strnad & Richard Corben's "Turtles Take Time" in its original color (Vol. 1, #33)
• Mark Bode's "Shell of the Dragon" in its original black & white (Vol. 1, #18)
• "Me, Myself, and I," the first appearance of Casey Jones, in color for the first time thanks to Justin Norman (Raphael #1)
• "Fun With Guns," a TMNT short comic by Eastman with new colors by Blond (Raphael #1, second print; Shell Shock)
• "The Unmentionables" by Eastman and Talbot in its original duo shades/sepia tones (Vol. 1, #14)
• "49th Street Stompers" (First graphic novel Book III, Shell Shock)
• "Complete Carnage and Radical" (Shell Shock)
• "You Had to be There!" (Vol. 1, #7 back-up story)
  
• Plus intros, pin-ups, and more!
  

Check back for more information on this book as it becomes available!

Interviews with "Michaelangelo"

Tweet

European TMNT fan Rutger has posted brand new interviews he conducted with two men who can each claim to be Michaelangelo.

Check out his chats with Michelan Sisti (Michaelangelo body actor in the first two live-action films) and Robbie Rist (Michaelangelo voice actor in all three live-action films)!

And if you haven't already, be sure to check out Rutger's massive TMNT autograph collection!

T-Shirt: "Heroes In An Art Shell"

Tweet

Threadless has reprinted one of their classic T-shirts, featuring the design seen to the left. Yes, that'd be the namesakes of the Ninja Turtles playing Ninja Turtles.

You can score your T-shirt here.

TMNT Perform at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con Masquerade

Tweet

In 2006, after more than two years of pain in getting the Turtles costumes we commissioned delivered, and then wearable, four friends -- Dawnatello, Brinatello, GreenWillow, and Kimnardo -- and I braved the often brutal Comic-Con masquerade audience so that we could get jiggy to the original TMNT cartoon theme song and the ubiguetous Ninja Rap.

Despite a near-complete lack of vision, no one fell off the stage (there are actually catchers in case you do!) and, for the most part, we pulled off our small bit of choreographed dance during the Ninja Rap. Not only did the crowd love us, but much to our surprise, we actually won a prize! And let me tell you, the look on the face of the guys awarding the "Best Movie Costume Recreation" award as five short women came running on stage in their de-masked costumes was as priceless as any other moment during the night!

Here are some videos from several different angles:

Video Flashback: Gettin' Down in Your Town Tour

Tweet

The second entry into the "Video Flashback" series is a personal favorite of mine. After the wildly-successful "Comin' Out of Their Shells" tour, the TMNT hit the road again in a smaller follow-up tour. This tour played in venues at amusement parks and only featured four songs, three of which were new (although the fourth song, "Sing About It," was never actually played in full in the COOTS tour). And all things considered, the songs are quite good! Laugh if you must, but I'll stand by that statement even if Shredder appears at my front door threatening to steal all of the world's music. And even more-so if he breaks into "I Hate Music."

But I digress. Here is the "Gettin' Down in Your Town Tour," in three parts. Enjoy!

Video Flashback: Operation Blue Line

Tweet

After a rainy-day visit to Circuit City's store closing clearance sale, I now have the much-anticipated ability to capture video from my VHS collection onto my computer. With this useful new ability I am launching the Ninja Pizza YouTube Channel. The inaugural video for this new channel is called "Operation Blue Line" (and had I scanned the video cover earlier in the night than I did, it wouldn't have rabbit teeth marks in it).

"Operation Blue Line" is a promotional video that was produced to advertise a new light rail system that runs between Long Beach and Los Angeles. As incredibly cheesy as this 10-minute video is, it surprisingly holds some weight as all four Turtle voice actors from the original cartoon--Townsend Coleman, Barry Gordon, Rob Paulsen, and Cam Clarke--are featured in their respective roles.

So enjoy, and watch this space, 'cause there's lots more to come!




UPDATE! Edward Langer, who worked in the SCRTD marketing department and helped in the production of this video, has written in with some additional information.

I was the original project manager on this video. The SCRTD marketing dept. under Tony Fortuno and Alice Wiggins wanted to create a video to be distributed free through a local supermarket chain to all residents along the route. Additional copies were sent to large businesses, too. I assembled my team and we each contacted different companies to see if they would provide funding and some kind of theme or character for the video. One team member, Sherry, hit pay dirt at one of the local TV stations and got permission to use the Turtles. Since Sherry had made the contact, she took over the project. I was reassigned to the ride share program where I made use of the video to promote public transit. That is the USC Marching Band at the end of the video. The USC band has been most generous in allowing the SCRTD to use them in their promotion of public transit. Also, if you watch carefully, you will see Sherry in the film as a couple having a picnic.

We had borrowed the turtle costumes, but they had to have them back for a promotion. Sherry had picked them up and had to get them dry cleaned over a weekend. Not something easy to accomplish. I forget how she did it, but they were clean on Monday. All [of the] main actors were professionals: April, Gridlock, and the Turtles. Everyone else is an unpaid volunteer from the SCRTD. The little girl near the end of the film was some kind of spokesperson for the SCRTD, but I forget why. I think she was a model or actress who gave us support. I believe I had worked with her in a promotion in Long Beach, but that was a long time ago. As I was not the project manager of this program my name is way back in the credits. Basically, all employees of the marketing department are in the credits.

The story is kind of dumb, but it worked. Many of my ride share companies played it in their cafeterias to alert their employees. Ridership did take off.

NYCC: Sunday 4Kids 25th Anniversary Panel

Tweet

Mega fan Neil comes through once again, this time with video of the complete TMNT 4Kids panel that was on Sunday at New York Comic-Con. Hosted by Jake Black, this panel takes a look at 4Kids' TMNT series through the eyes of a table full of people who made it all happen.

Check it out in six parts below.

NYCC: Friday Night Mirage Panel

Tweet

Friday night at NYCC there was a panel featuring four long-time TMNT artists: Steve Lavigne, Michael Dooney, Jim Lawson, and Eric Talbot. Moderated by occasional TMNT writer Jake Black, the panel was meant to focus on the artistic evolution of the TMNT. I don't know if they hit that mark exactly, but it was still a good hour-long conversation with these guys who have had so much creative input into the TMNT throughout the years.

Mega TMNT fan (and reliable videographer) Neil came through with video of most of this panel for those of us stuck in parts of the world that are too far from NYC. You can check out the panel, in five parts, below.

NYCC: Playmates' Comic-Based Figures

Tweet

New York Comic-Con opened today, somewhat acting as the true kick-off of the TMNT 25th's anniversary "shell-abration." There is a handful of news and pictures being reported around the Interwebs, but I thought I'd start with a look at Playmates' new action figures that are supposedly based on the TMNT comics. Yes, I had to interject a "supposedly" in there.

Since I'm so often accused of being overly negative, let's start with the figure I can say positive things about. Splinter here is really quite nice looking. Does he at all resemble any artistic interpretation of Splinter in any of the comic books? Nope. But that's ok in this case; if the final product looks even a fraction as good as this picture, I'll likely be buying it.

Here's Raphael, who seems to be the only Turtle representing (perhaps Playmates didn't want to deal with any "Why are they all wearing red?" questions?). Again, this is a good looking figure, though not really based on any of the comics.




You'd think it'd be easy enough to get a Foot Soldier right, but this just seems to be a checklist of wrong. What's with the color choices? Why don't his knees bend? And what's with the pig nose? This figure is most unfortunate.






But alas, even more unfortunate is Shredder. I don't even know where to start with this one. Absolutely no part of this figure is proportional with another part, his sword looks like a toy, and that helmet couldn't shred cheese. Oh, and based on the comics? Hell no! Turtle fans need to super glue their fingers crossed that the second wave of NECA figures eventually come out, because, in the ever-wise words of Princess Leia, they're our "only hope."

Here's one more picture from the Playmates booth. I guess this is supposed to be April, but it doesn't take a genius to know that's Uma Thurman's outfit from Kill Bill. Here's a tip: Costume shops may not have generic yellow jumpsuits, but thrift stores do. But at least they have proper TMNT costumes, unlike what we saw at San Diego last summer.

All pictures were stolen from Toy News International. You can visit the link to see more of their pictures from the Playmates booth. I'll be posting more New York Comic-Con news throughout the weekend.