"Origin"

[CyberCubed]

So I got this and read it, I really love how the book is produced/printed. Great cover, high quality pages, it really looks like an official production. Good job to everyone who made this happen. Now as for the story, I'm going to post thoughts openly and leave some of the bigger story details behind spoiler tags. For those who haven't read this yet if you don't want to know any details of the story skip over my post or lest be spoiled, because this is how I roll. But I'll leave the bigger stuff behind spoiler tags to be safe.

- I liked all the callbacks to the Mirage stuff, like one-shot stuff like Junkman and the J'gels. As far as I remember they only ever appeared in one short story and one Tales issue and never again. Having stuff like this return really makes Mirage feel like one big cohesive universe rather than the "one and done" format almost all old Mirage stories had, and most characters would never appear again. I really like stuff like this and it's only stuff hardcore Mirage fans would even recognize.

- Also liked how this tied into April discovering she was a drawing in Vol. 4. It fits the narrative well too because we see why April returns to Casey/Shadow after and is a good aftermath of her subplot.

- Those weird looking Utroms, they were the offspring of Utroms that mated with J'gel, right? I really liked them, and am surprised they were only in the beginning of the book. Was there a bigger role planned for them that didn't work out? Seems like a concept worth revisiting.

- April bonding with Jhanna was nice to see, I almost thought something was going to happen there after they poured out the wine, but then I remember who wrote this and thought better of it. No LGBT representation here! Although April "going gay" for one day would have been fine with me. Everyone knows 90% of all women are bisexual anyway.

- Don sleeping with Jhanna was...ok. I know she's an alien and not a human, but still weird to think she would want "green turtle dick" and rub her chest against a slimy yellow turtle plastron. I don't even want to think of how this worked, did she look under Don's shell or plastron or does he mount her from behind? Dear holy hell I don't want to think of this, I feel like one of those furries from devianart and tumblr. Also was the part where her nipple/ass showing part of the script or something Lawson put in?

- The Triceratons didn't really add too much to the story, IMO, but I can see why they were there.

- Of course I liked seeing Fugitoid, Dr. X and Leatherhead again. And how Fugitoid ties into the crossover with Gizmo. I swear in some panels Leatherhead was drawn looking like gamera Raph from, Vol. 4. I don't know if Jim Lawson's art has changed over time, but I think he has no idea how to draw Leatherhead anymore. He looked like Gamera Raph in some panels and a dinosaur in others.

As for the bigger stuff:

Spoiler:

Very cool to see Ch'rell make his Mirage debut, and not just as a random cameo but something that fit the story well. We see him get killed already but it was great and I loved his design here.

I'm not too keen on this being Leatherhead's grand finale, are we sure he never showed up in the Mirage timeline after early 2007? I cannot recall, but seeing him sacrifice himself instead of April fit his character so it worked.

In the end this all ties back into Twilight of the Ring. So are we to believe the giant turtles true form was that alien looking thing? Was that another character I'm forgetting or something new?

Donatello being blinded as early as 2007 also doesn't quite sit well with me, always assumed it was something that happened far in the future either due to old age or something else. I'm not sure if his blindness is temporary or not, but it feels far too early in the timeline for it to happen knowing he's still around in 2100 or whatever it is.

And as I said above, loved how the book handled April, assuming having a child with Casey. It was heartwarming and a great character ending for her.

The Shogun short was fine, reminded me of the old Mirage shorts.


As for TMNT Vs. Predator I actually daresay I liked it a bit more than Origin. It was short but sweet and the art was fantastic. I also liked the "plot twist" of how Leonardo wasn't the one who defeated the predator but rather Donatello. Would have loved to see a bit more of the other Turtles fights but what we got was fantastic. Any chance of a sequel to this, maybe around 50 pages or so? The ending seemed to open up to TMNT and the Predator meeting again, there's definitely a lot of potential here for a longer story.

Lastly, the amount of cursing in Origin really let you know Andrew wrote the thing. April dropped, "Assholes" like 5+ times in the book, let alone how many times ****er was said. Given Mirage had little to no cursing besides "Holy hippo spit!" it does feel a bit jarring, but we know who the writer is.


Overall it was well worth the $58 I paid for it and it will sit on my shelf permanently next to my Mirage collections. I really do love how it does feel exactly like a Mirage story, and not just trying to imitate one, but the tone and writing style was near identical to most Mirage stuff. It was well written and fit the universe well.

It's just too bad this couldn't be officially published.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

- Those weird looking Utroms, they were the offspring of Utroms that mated with J'gel, right? I really liked them, and am surprised they were only in the beginning of the book. Was there a bigger role planned for them that didn't work out? Seems like a concept worth revisiting.

The Havelsh 'Oid Builders were actually first "seen" in the "TMNT: Guide to the Universe" Palladium book. It was mentioned there that they shared an ancestry with the Utroms, so I figured this was a nice opportunity to, #1, meet them, and #2, show us how this came to be. In a story about ancient Utrom conspiracies, it seemed the place for it.

April bonding with Jhanna was nice to see, I almost thought something was going to happen there after they poured out the wine, but then I remember who wrote this and thought better of it. No LGBT representation here!

I had lots of lesbians in "Odyssey." But it was somewhat subtle.

Also was the part where her nipple/ass showing part of the script or something Lawson put in?

Absolutely wasn't in the script. I saw the bare nipple and buttocks and did a doubletake! Arseniy actually covered it with dialogue bubbles all on his own but I told him to leave it alone. If Jim wanted to push the envelope there, who are we to stop him?

In the end this all ties back into Twilight of the Ring. So are we to believe the giant turtles true form was that alien looking thing?

Spoiler:

Yeah. It's what the Creator looks like when nobody is around/looking at him. It's Yahweh, basically.

As for TMNT Vs. Predator I actually daresay I liked it a bit more than Origin. It was short but sweet and the art was fantastic. I also liked the "plot twist" of how Leonardo wasn't the one who defeated the predator but rather Donatello. Would have loved to see a bit more of the other Turtles fights but what we got was fantastic. Any chance of a sequel to this, maybe around 50 pages or so?

I wish. The script was actually going to be a lot longer, but for a variety of factors... I had to cut it back to 20.

The ending seemed to open up to TMNT and the Predator meeting again, there's definitely a lot of potential here for a longer story.

There is that story I wrote as a kid that might be fertile ground...

Spoiler:

... but I don't think I'd do that at all. Aliens next, if anything. I don't know that we'd see another Predator but Donatello does have their gear now.

Lastly, the amount of cursing in Origin really let you know Andrew wrote the thing. April dropped, "Assholes" like 5+ times in the book, let alone how many times ****er was said. Given Mirage had little to no cursing besides "Holy hippo spit!" it does feel a bit jarring, but we know who the writer is.

Hey, there's been actual "sh**"s in Mirage. I actually went through and had Arseniy take out a lot of additional swearing late into things.

Overall it was well worth the $58 I paid for it and it will sit on my shelf permanently next to my Mirage collections. I really do love how it does feel exactly like a Mirage story, and not just trying to imitate one, but the tone and writing style was near identical to most Mirage stuff. It was well written and fit the universe well.

Glad you enjoyed it, man!

[Sewer Turd]

Any News on when you may be thinking of ré-publishing Origin in Hardback Ultimate format like you did with Odyssey?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Sewer Turd

Any News on when you may be thinking of ré-publishing Origin in Hardback Ultimate format like you did with Odyssey?

None, but it is definitely planned.

[Sewer Turd]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

None, but it is definitely planned.

Good to hear it is still in the Sewer pipeline

[Andrew NDB]

Printing 10 more copies. 3 of which are already spoken for. If anyone wants "in," lemme know.

[Sewer Turd]

Hey Andrew..
I am interested in one of those copies..
how do I go about purchasing?
(Last time I picked up Odyssey from a linked eBay store.)

[Princess Anri]

Is it still possible to get the physical version of this anywhere?

[liugeaux]

Hey Andrew, I have the trade and its wonderful. I was wondering if a digital copy of the comic exists. Most of my TMNT collection is in boxes and I rely of digital copies to be my readers. I would love to add this one to the archives. Does it exist and how can I get it?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by liugeaux

Hey Andrew, I have the trade and its wonderful. I was wondering if a digital copy of the comic exists. Most of my TMNT collection is in boxes and I rely of digital copies to be my readers. I would love to add this one to the archives. Does it exist and how can I get it?

It does, but only for for those who ordered it at this point.

[Andrew NDB]

If I were to run up more, would there be any interest? There is literally 0 available now.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by schickler

A run of trades, or a run in the hardcover format?

I'd be up for a hardcover or digital-only purchase.

I don't print hardcovers. Never have.

[Wingnut II]

So what happened to the digital download?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Wingnut II

So what happened to the digital download?

It was never a thing for those who didn't buy one. Nothing happened to it.

[Sewer Turd]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

If I were to run up more, would there be any interest? There is literally 0 available now.

I originally was gonna wait for an ultimate edition hardcover release.. but considering the economic climate and restrictions around Covid if you have a Paperback copy of Origin available or are planning to print some more copies let me know as I will happily purchase a copy ASAP $

[Andrew NDB]

It's been a good enough while, I think. And as I prepare to get "THE SHREDDER" going, I figure it's time for the "digital release" of Origin:

Read it here.

[Sewer Turd]

Do we have any news on a future hardcover ultimate edition release of Origin in the pipeline ? or another print run of the Original paperback edition ?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Sewer Turd

Do we have any news on a future hardcover ultimate edition release of Origin in the pipeline ?

A little. We may do more pages and content in the midst of the main story.

or another print run of the Original paperback edition ?

If there is a demand. I already ran a small one a little less than a year ago.

[slashpieturtlemix]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

If I were to run up more, would there be any interest? There is literally 0 available now.

I am interested in a copy. I have been waiting to see if it even showed on ebay silly me

[Sewer Turd]

Same.
Keen for a copy.