Early Mirage - Best Short Stories?

[Peter Palmer]

Hey All!

Early TMNT comic stories spread throughout a multitude of titles. I'm looking for the ones that people like the most that have that classic Mirage feel.

My go-to example is the short story Laird did in Plastron Café featuring Donatello near the end of his life. There's also the Eastman/Corben "You Had To Be There" story placed inexplicably in issue #7 for no good reason.

So which stories have that zany Mirage feel and where were they originally printed?

I sure I will have read most of these, but I want to see if there are any I've overlooked. Looking mostly for stories that seem to fit most closely into the main Mirage "canon".

Thanks!

[DrSpengler]

Some of my favorites:

The Professor Obligado serial (very fun, but delves into the minutia of the Utrom underworld that was seeded throughout Vol. 4 and Tales Vol. 2).

Casey Jones, Private Eye (acts as a good prologue to TMNT Vol. 1 #14)

Choices (cool Old Man Raph story)

A Christmas Carol and Ghosts of Christmas Past (not explicitly stated to be connected, but always felt like a two-parter to me, featuring Raph and Leo dealing with past failures in a different way on Christmas then coming together at the end)

Complete Carnage 'n Radical (introduction of two recurring characters, so important to continuity)

Turtle Soup and Rabbit Stew/The Crossing/The Treaty (original TMNT/Usagi Yojimbo crossover told through three back-ups)

Digital Webbing Presents TMNT (not vital in story, but I loved the art and coloring in this thing)

Fifteen Years Later (excellent epilogue to Chet's story; an important character no one realizes is important)

Fun With Guns (basically the Bodycount miniseries if it was short and not terrible)

Ghouls Night Out/The Howl (awesome for the Talbot art and horror vibe)

The Lesson: A Tale of the Triceraton Marines (damn good Laird art with focus on the Triceratons; earliest story that tries to humanize them in some way)

The Road Trip (fun pantomime story I've always liked, by Eastman)

Spinal Tapped (hard to come by, but an enjoyable comedy-centric Savanti Romero tale)

Terror by Transmat (first story to directly name the Utroms, feature the Turtles fighting the Triceraton Commandos)

Untitled Nobody Story (Nobody's second appearance, technically)

[DestronMirage22]

As soon as I saw this thread, my mind went to Old Times, which you already mentioned. A really emotional story that one, with great Laird art.

I've always liked the short story 49th Street Stompers from Book III. It's got a good amount of action despite its page number.

[Peter Palmer]

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

Some of my favorites:

The Professor Obligado serial (very fun, but delves into the minutia of the Utrom underworld that was seeded throughout Vol. 4 and Tales Vol. 2).

Casey Jones, Private Eye (acts as a good prologue to TMNT Vol. 1 #14)

Choices (cool Old Man Raph story)

A Christmas Carol and Ghosts of Christmas Past (not explicably stated to be connected, but always felt like a two-parter to me, featuring Raph and Leo dealing with past failures in a different way on Christmas then coming together at the end)

Complete Carnage 'n Radical (introduction of two recurring characters, so important to continuity)

Turtle Soup and Rabbit Stew/The Crossing/The Treaty (original TMNT/Usagi Yojimbo crossover told through three back-ups)

Digital Webbing Presents TMNT (not vital in story, but I loved the art and coloring in this thing)

Fifteen Years Later (excellent epilogue to Chet's story; an important character no one realizes is important)

Fun With Guns (basically the Bodycount miniseries if it was short and not terrible)

Ghouls Night Out/The Howl (awesome for the Talbot art and horror vibe)

The Lesson: A Tale of the Triceraton Marines (damn good Laird art with focus on the Triceratons; earliest story that tries to humanize them in some way)

The Road Trip (fun pantomime story I've always liked, by Eastman)

Spinal Tapped (hard to come by, but an enjoyable comedy-centric Savanti Romero tale)

Terror by Transmat (first story to directly name the Utroms, feature the Turtles fighting the Triceraton Commandos)

Untitled Nobody Story (Nobody's second appearance, technically)

Thanks for the GREAT start! I can use Google for a lot of these, but do you happen to know where many of these are originally printed?

[DrSpengler]

Originally Posted by Peter Palmer

Thanks for the GREAT start! I can use Google for a lot of these, but do you happen to know where many of these are originally printed?

Sorry; missed that request.

Here's an index of all the shorts; each article lists where they were originally published at the top:

http://tmntentity.blogspot.com/2014/...rt-comics.html

Hope that helps!

[Candy Kappa]

I really enjoy 49th Street Stompers, it's a great self contained story that teased something more to come (didn't happen, though). I'd love to see it adapted into animation.

[Peter Palmer]

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

Sorry; missed that request.

Here's an index of all the shorts; each article lists where they were originally published at the top:

http://tmntentity.blogspot.com/2014/...rt-comics.html

Hope that helps!

Thanks!

[CyberCubed]

I actually wish most of these short stories, a lot of them which are collected in Ultimate Collection #6 from IDW or Shell Shock from the old Mirage trade, were actually expanded into full comics.

It would have been a lot better seeing these stories made as full 30 page comics than all the guest writer stuff they did in Vol. 1. I realize many of these were designed to be shorts to begin with, but it would have been nice to see sequels made to them as full fledged issues.

[Sophie Campbell]

My faves are New York Ninja, The Survival Game, and Crack in a Hard Heart.

[Sabacooza]

Originally Posted by Sophie Campbell

My faves are New York Ninja, The Survival Game, and Crack in a Hard Heart.

Crack in Hard Heart was a good one. I actually turned that one into a motion comic and passed it onto Farley and he loved it.

[Roseangelo]

I came in here to say "Crack in a Hard Heart." So great.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Roseangelo

I came in here to say "Crack in a Hard Heart." So great.

Oh, yeah, and speaking of cracks... "Turtle Dreams" really made me hurt for injured Mikey!

It's a weird story, but Bissette nailed it with the art.

[Peter Palmer]

Thanks everyone for the input! And a big shout out to Spengler for the great resource that is TMNT Entity. There are a few books I need to hunt down as a result of this thread. I appreciate it!

[DrSpengler]

"Crack in a Hard Heart" is a good one; definitely overlooked it. Gorgeous AC Farley art.

One series of themed back-ups are the vignettes by Will Tupper, which were scattered about several issues and at a glance you wouldn't recognize them as an actual series. http://tmntentity.blogspot.com/2013/...ll-tupper.html

They're a bit uneven in art and introspection, but some of them provide some inspired insights into the characters.

[AquaParade]

I'd argue that the short stories are some of the very best of
Tmnt comics.

Can anyone give me a quick fix reminder on which issue contains the short story where the turtles sneak into the drive in theater to watch Aliens?

[DrSpengler]

Originally Posted by AquaParade

I'd argue that the short stories are some of the very best of
Tmnt comics.

Can anyone give me a quick fix reminder on which issue contains the short story where the turtles sneak into the drive in theater to watch Aliens?

That one ("The Road Trip") was in the Anything Goes #1 anthology, then reprinted in Shell Shock. Might be in one of the IDW reprint collections, too, but I don't own those.

[CyberCubed]

Almost everything that was in the Shell Shock trade from Mirage is in IDW's Ultimate Collections 6. I think the only story they left out was the Usagi story that PL drew.

[myconius]

if you don't mind digital, Ultimate Collection Vol. 6 has a ton of early Mirage short stories for $19.99

https://www.comixology.com/Teenage-M...l-comic/380207

otherwise you can get the hardcover for around $30 or more most places.

[pferreira]

I read The Unmentionables recently and I loved it! Great stuff!

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by pferreira

I read The Unmentionables recently and I loved it! Great stuff!

That's not a short story, it's a full issue.