Teenage Mutant gosh darn Ninja Turtles. These anthropomorphic amphibians have gone on to become a pop culture phenomenon far greater than anyone could ever imagine. From movies, to TV shows, to Archie Comics, even a Power Rangers crossover, the fat four have had many incarnations and reinterpretations throughout the decades, some portraying them as rebellious juveniles who eat pizza and chill out on the skateboard, some portraying them as dark, solemn menaces of the night who fight any adversaries the Shred Head throws at them. But most people are unfamiliar with the green teens' actual origins, a series of comics released by Eastman and Laird in 1984. These comics, laying the groundwork for future interpretations to follow, more or less parodied the dark and gritty atmosphere of comic book literature at the time, from the jawing essence of the Batman comics, to the hazardous, mechanism and villain dominance displayed in the classic X-Men series. But the series, none the less, is still entertaining to death, and in my opinion, is just as fascinating and suspenseful as any recent Batman or Spider-Man comic book, displaying the heroes as peace keepers, hungry for justice and order.
As you can tell by the covers featured above, there was no real diversity between each one of the turtles other than their use of signature weapons. They all brand the same red headbands and seem to fight in the same style as one another, but that doesn't mean their personality and iconic traits all aren't there. Donatello is still the smarty pants of the quad and Michelangelo is still the fun loving party animal. Leonardo is still the gallant leader of the group and Raphael is still the turtle who's often at odds with Leonardo and wants to go in his own direction, very reminiscent of the most recent TMNT animated film. And like most adaptations of the classic story of good versus evil, the wise smelly rodent master of the turtles, Splinter, is still just as wise and resourceful in this comic series as he is in the well proclaimed 80s TV show and movies, even pulling off a bit of humor once in a while like he did at the end of each of the movies. I like the way they tie in Splinter's back story with Shredder's. Splinter was the pet rat to a famous ninja warrior named Hamato Yoshi. Ironically, the rat was able to learn the martial arts moves my mimicking what Yoshi did, which as we all know is what would allow Splinter to teach the turtles the ways of the ninja.
Eventually, Yoshi gets involved in a feud with a ninja named Oroku Nagi, and these leads to Yoshi being murdered by Nagi's brother, Oroku Saki, who would one day go by the name of the Shredder. It's a common story of how the enemy ruined the life of the master, and the master and his pons must work together to overthrow the forces of evil and bring them to justice. The Shredder in this story, is not far from his more famous counterparts. He is more of a bland of the whiny, arrogant child-like Shredder from the 80s TV show, and the dark, solemn, doesn't take any crap Shredder from the 2003 TV show. And any Ninja turtles nut knows how the story goes on how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became, well, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. A canister of radioactive ooze dripped down into the sewers of New York, and mutated four baby turtles and Splinter as well. Splinter would go and name the turtles after famous Renaissance painters and give them their signature weaponry. Leonardo gets the two katanas, Raphael gets the two sai, Michelangelo gets the nunchaku, and Donatello gets the bo staff. Of course they had to ruin that concept in the live action TMNT television series from the late 90s, giving them entirely different weapons and revealing that the turtles are not really blood brothers. Talk about respect the groundwork.
And fascinating enough, a lot of the concepts and characters would inspire a lot of the characters and material that appeared in the 80s TV show, is is undeniable what made TMNT famous to begin with. The Utroms, the weird alien lifeforms often featured in the comics, would be the inspiration for Krang, the bone headed brain ruler of Dimension X that was made famous through the classic television series and Archie comics. A lot of the shadowy and dark imagery displayed in the comics would often be featured on the 80s TV show, particularly in fighting scenes or when the turtles are in their sewer base. And even though Splinter does later in the comics, he would be a pivotal character in all other adaptations of the fat four. It's interesting that the classic 80s television series had all these distinct mutants characters that fought the turtles, like Bebop and Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman,and Tokka and Rahzar, but it's also interesting what the turtles go up against in the comics, fighting the most gruesome of creatures Shredder and his minions alter to "PUNISH THOSE TURTLES!"
The artwork of the comics is also very unique. Originally released in black and white, these comics started a BOOM in black and white comic book literature soon after release, reissues coming out later down the road that added color and new issues with a new form of artwork, very abstract from Eastman and Laird's original concepts for the turtles. And the Mirage Turtles would go on to inspire other forms of the turtles, like the turtles on the 2003 TV show and the original action figures released for classic show. By the way, action figures were actually released of turtles based off their original Mirage appearances, variants even depicting the turtles in solid black and white. How awesome is that? And if rumors are true, we will be seeing another live action Ninja Turtles movie sometime in 2012, some sources saying that Iron Man director Jon Favreau is writing the script for the movie and that the turtles will actual look like real turtles. How interesting would it by for someone to take something cheesy like Ninja Turtles and make it into a realistic motion picture with a darker tone and more obsidian atmosphere and more shrewd and swift fighting sequences. I bet Eastman and Laird would be proud to see their original idea of the turtles hit the big screen in a hit blockbuster movie.
But nevertheless, I love these comics. They are just as obsessive and iconic as the classic TV shows and movies, and unlike other interpretations, it was meant to be taken in a serious direction and fully develop the turtles into individuals who have to except themselves for who they are, not what they're supposed to be. That's what Splinter taught them, and they would take these concepts and philosophy with them each time went up against Shredder's forces. The Mirage TMNT comics prove that mutated reptiles could have attitude and meaning, and become fully developed characters trying to find their place in the world, though society is against them and all they stand for. I enjoy these comics because they would set the groundwork for other takes on the turtles to follow in it's footsteps, and not only entertain, but make the story more whole and intriguing. The style was unique and a lot of the morals and concepts would inspire many other comics in the coming years, like Bucky O'Hare and the later TMNT comics. Now if only Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was rebooted in a more serious, adult-oriented sense, I would be as happy as a clown. Just think of THAT! If they could do it with the turtles, they could surely do it with Power Rangers.
As you can tell by the covers featured above, there was no real diversity between each one of the turtles other than their use of signature weapons. They all brand the same red headbands and seem to fight in the same style as one another, but that doesn't mean their personality and iconic traits all aren't there. Donatello is still the smarty pants of the quad and Michelangelo is still the fun loving party animal. Leonardo is still the gallant leader of the group and Raphael is still the turtle who's often at odds with Leonardo and wants to go in his own direction, very reminiscent of the most recent TMNT animated film. And like most adaptations of the classic story of good versus evil, the wise smelly rodent master of the turtles, Splinter, is still just as wise and resourceful in this comic series as he is in the well proclaimed 80s TV show and movies, even pulling off a bit of humor once in a while like he did at the end of each of the movies. I like the way they tie in Splinter's back story with Shredder's. Splinter was the pet rat to a famous ninja warrior named Hamato Yoshi. Ironically, the rat was able to learn the martial arts moves my mimicking what Yoshi did, which as we all know is what would allow Splinter to teach the turtles the ways of the ninja.
Eventually, Yoshi gets involved in a feud with a ninja named Oroku Nagi, and these leads to Yoshi being murdered by Nagi's brother, Oroku Saki, who would one day go by the name of the Shredder. It's a common story of how the enemy ruined the life of the master, and the master and his pons must work together to overthrow the forces of evil and bring them to justice. The Shredder in this story, is not far from his more famous counterparts. He is more of a bland of the whiny, arrogant child-like Shredder from the 80s TV show, and the dark, solemn, doesn't take any crap Shredder from the 2003 TV show. And any Ninja turtles nut knows how the story goes on how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became, well, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. A canister of radioactive ooze dripped down into the sewers of New York, and mutated four baby turtles and Splinter as well. Splinter would go and name the turtles after famous Renaissance painters and give them their signature weaponry. Leonardo gets the two katanas, Raphael gets the two sai, Michelangelo gets the nunchaku, and Donatello gets the bo staff. Of course they had to ruin that concept in the live action TMNT television series from the late 90s, giving them entirely different weapons and revealing that the turtles are not really blood brothers. Talk about respect the groundwork.
And fascinating enough, a lot of the concepts and characters would inspire a lot of the characters and material that appeared in the 80s TV show, is is undeniable what made TMNT famous to begin with. The Utroms, the weird alien lifeforms often featured in the comics, would be the inspiration for Krang, the bone headed brain ruler of Dimension X that was made famous through the classic television series and Archie comics. A lot of the shadowy and dark imagery displayed in the comics would often be featured on the 80s TV show, particularly in fighting scenes or when the turtles are in their sewer base. And even though Splinter does later in the comics, he would be a pivotal character in all other adaptations of the fat four. It's interesting that the classic 80s television series had all these distinct mutants characters that fought the turtles, like Bebop and Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman,and Tokka and Rahzar, but it's also interesting what the turtles go up against in the comics, fighting the most gruesome of creatures Shredder and his minions alter to "PUNISH THOSE TURTLES!"
The artwork of the comics is also very unique. Originally released in black and white, these comics started a BOOM in black and white comic book literature soon after release, reissues coming out later down the road that added color and new issues with a new form of artwork, very abstract from Eastman and Laird's original concepts for the turtles. And the Mirage Turtles would go on to inspire other forms of the turtles, like the turtles on the 2003 TV show and the original action figures released for classic show. By the way, action figures were actually released of turtles based off their original Mirage appearances, variants even depicting the turtles in solid black and white. How awesome is that? And if rumors are true, we will be seeing another live action Ninja Turtles movie sometime in 2012, some sources saying that Iron Man director Jon Favreau is writing the script for the movie and that the turtles will actual look like real turtles. How interesting would it by for someone to take something cheesy like Ninja Turtles and make it into a realistic motion picture with a darker tone and more obsidian atmosphere and more shrewd and swift fighting sequences. I bet Eastman and Laird would be proud to see their original idea of the turtles hit the big screen in a hit blockbuster movie.
But nevertheless, I love these comics. They are just as obsessive and iconic as the classic TV shows and movies, and unlike other interpretations, it was meant to be taken in a serious direction and fully develop the turtles into individuals who have to except themselves for who they are, not what they're supposed to be. That's what Splinter taught them, and they would take these concepts and philosophy with them each time went up against Shredder's forces. The Mirage TMNT comics prove that mutated reptiles could have attitude and meaning, and become fully developed characters trying to find their place in the world, though society is against them and all they stand for. I enjoy these comics because they would set the groundwork for other takes on the turtles to follow in it's footsteps, and not only entertain, but make the story more whole and intriguing. The style was unique and a lot of the morals and concepts would inspire many other comics in the coming years, like Bucky O'Hare and the later TMNT comics. Now if only Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was rebooted in a more serious, adult-oriented sense, I would be as happy as a clown. Just think of THAT! If they could do it with the turtles, they could surely do it with Power Rangers.
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