Tales of the TMNT 46

[Raph's Girl]

Midtown is listing this as coming out on Thursday May 29th. Please remember that it's out on Thursday and not Wednesday. Comics are delayed next week due to Memorial Day on Monday.

Here's what ninjaturtles.com says it's about:

"Temps" is a tale that takes place during the "City At War" story line from TMNT Volume One. This issue offers a rare look inside the life of a Foot Clan initiate who comes face to face with the organization's most deadly foes - the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

[TristanHuwJones]

Got it, loved it. Both Dan and Jim are on top of their games with this one. I'm sucker for periphery stories though!

[Andrew NDB]

I'm embarrassed to say... I had my girlfriend go to the comic store to get Final Crisis #1 and Green Lantern #31 and she told me on the phone, "No, you've got THREE comics!" I argued with her until I realized, "Oh... Tales of the TMNT. Right."

Awesome issue. Dan knocks it out of the park. He seems to excel in character pieces, and here's a great one. I admit, I saw the end coming but it didn't make it any less poignant.

[discordiatookie]

I'm embarrassed to say... I had my girlfriend go to the comic store to get Final Crisis #1 and Green Lantern #31 and she told me on the phone, "No, you've got THREE comics!" I argued with her until I realized, "Oh... Tales of the TMNT. Right."


:lol: My ex used to hate picking up comics for me. She said my LCS smelled bad and they guys there were all weird. All true, but I love that place :lol:

I cant wait to pick this up. I just got paid and have about two and a half months worth of comics to buy, doubt i'll be able to afford them all, but the TMNT ones are first on the list! (then it be Invincible and Walking Dead - the rest can wait!)

[drasgow]

my comic shop didn't get it. hopefully next week.

[Andrew NDB]

Most comic stores don't. Set up a pull list.

[Roseangelo]

Finally got around to reading this tonight and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.

[odupianist]

Mine didn't have it on Friday. Maybe this week. I know they carry Tales though.

[drasgow]

Most comic stores don't. Set up a pull list.

i do have a pull list. but there are no good comic shops around here.

[jerome]

this was indeed the best issue since tales #36.

why don't the powers that be see that the issues actually dealing with the TMNT being ninjas get the best reaction and produce more gritty ninja stories set in the the city?

[Roseangelo]

this was indeed the best issue since tales #36.

why don't the powers that be see that the issues actually dealing with the TMNT being ninjas get the best reaction and produce more gritty ninja stories set in the the city?

Because TPTB are only concerned about selling crap to kids and/or telling stories about aliens and dinosaurs and motorcycles. Ninjas? We don't need no freakin' ninjas!

/snide remark

[VaughnMichael]

Meh I thought it was just ok, I think some differnt art would have helped me enjoy this a bit more, I hate Jim's humans.

[Andrew NDB]

Meh I thought it was just ok, I think some differnt art would have helped me enjoy this a bit more, I hate Jim's humans.

I don't want to jump on the Lawson lynch wagon, but I have to agree. Unless we throw a helping of duotones atop him or give him a solid inker... it pulls me out a bit.

He sticks to his guns, I have to give him that. And I don't begrudge him one iota of respect for being one of the forefathers of TMNT... not far behind Pete and Kev themselves.

[Roseangelo]

I don't want to jump on the Lawson lynch wagon, but I have to agree. Unless we throw a helping of duotones atop him or give him a solid inker... it pulls me out a bit.

He sticks to his guns, I have to give him that. And I don't begrudge him one iota of respect for being one of the forefathers of TMNT... not far behind Pete and Kev themselves.

Did you note that they did use a different inker (or two, I believe) this time?

What's interesting about this is that because this issue is set within CAW, you can actually go and make fair comparisons to Jim's CAW work. Despite the new inkers this issue, the lines are still far, far bolder than they ever were during CAW (or even volume 2). As for the humans... I don't even know what to say about it. It did stand out a bit here... awkward chins, long necks, square noses... nothing particularly new to Jim's recent work, but what happened to the detail and overall betterness we saw in CAW? :ohwell:

It's tough to be critical of his work, because I love what he's capable of and I love what he's contributed to the whole of the TMNT. Sometimes I think it's just not putting the same amount of time and effort into it as he used to. Sometimes I don't know if it's even that. The one thing I do know is that TMNT desperately needs people to be giving 100%, so I hope Jim can at least honestly say that he is.

[TristanHuwJones]

Trust me, when you see his workspace, you realise immediately that Jim is an extremely hard working dude. At the moment I think he's juggling something like 3 or 4 issues of Tales that I know of, along with the ongoing and all four issues of the Mike mini. Then he's also doing art at his con appearances and other commission jobs on the side...

Add to that, he does write the odd issue, and work inks, so the man's giving everything he's got. You've got to remember, back when he was working on CAW, that was it, it was just the one title he could give 100 percent to. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's not still giving 100 percent, because I know that he is, it's just spread across a lot more titles.

There were actually four inkers working on this issue too. Dan, Mike, Eric and Gary Fields. It's interesting seeing the slight differences in the different pages.

[Roseangelo]

Well then my question would be why is Jim carrying all of these books instead of other artists? I'd love to see him be able to give 100% to a single book again.

[TristanHuwJones]

Well, Jim's a full time artist. The Turtles are his thing, and when you've got a family to feed you gotta do what you can.

[Ninjinister]

Okay, it'll be a while before I get my hands on this issue, if at all, so someone please make with the spoilers!

[Venom]

OK, ready?

Set in the midst of "City at War", we get the story of a young man named Tomi going on his initiation trial to join the Foot. His mother disapproves, as his father was a Foot soldier killed in duty, and would rather him use his talents and pursue a career in music; however, young Tomi is eager to join the ranks of the Foot, since it is "family tradition."

He dons his fathers gear and sets off for his first adventure with the brotherhood. Once at the location he is briefed that tonight they will be ambushing their foes, whom they have been spying on.

Unbeknownst to the Foot, though, is the Turtles have been tracking them as well. Keeping one step ahead of the Foot, the guys set themselves up for confrontation on a rooftop. Raph gets antsy wanting to kick some ass -er, Foot, Leo and Don keep busy on reconaissance, while Mike keeps an eye out for danger.

The moment of truth for the new recruits occur as their leader commands them to strike! They pour over the rooftop's edges and the battle ensues. Leo tells the guys not to get too overconfident although they are up against rookies, while Don and Mike pop a few heads. The climax happens when Raph is up against two soldiers - Tomi and an unnamed sentry. Two others ambush Raph and hold him as one commands Tomi to kill the beast. Tomi is somewhat in a daze in awe and wonderment as to what these creatures are but quickly snaps to his senses and charges toward Raph with his sword held high. Raph throws the two Foot soldiers pinning him down over his head. Mike calls out for Raph to look behind him and he rolls to the side just in time to miss being sliced in half! The young Foot then takes another slice through the air as Raph ducks and comes up, delivering the fatal blow to Tomi's chest.

Afterward Leo sends out the command to scatter, and the Turtles disappear thanks to Mikey finally getting to use a smoke bomb. Later the Foot soldiers gather around Tomi's lifeless body, the only casualty in their latest skirmish with the "abominations". Two soldiers deliver his corpse, in a bodybag, to his mother's apartment and lie him on the floor. They tell her he died in battle with honor, like his father. Then the cycle begins anew as Tomi's little brother vows to his sobbing mom that he'll "get the guy that did this to Tomi."

[Venom]

Hey, I just thought - they way Raph dispatched that Foot soldier kid was very reminiscent of the cover to #36. Wonder if that was Tomi?

[Andrew NDB]

It's a little confusing as well why Jim is having to tackle Tales full-time -- and if the opportunity is there, I get that he should absolutely should lunge at it -- when... Volume 4 is full-steam ahead again?

I thought the idea behind him being given Tales core issues was because Volume 4 was on hiatus. It's not anymore.

And we were told (as well as the creators out there) that Tales was to be a showcase for new and up-and-coming talent. I mean, what is it? Is it a money issue? I have to imagine it is, but I can almost guarantee you, if a call was sent out about: "Hey, budding writers and artists, you want to be published? We won't pay you -- unless your work sells gangbusters and we want to bring you back for an encore -- but you'll get published and get your foot in the door" you'd get innundated with submissions.

If it literally just boils down to a march of dimes for Jim Lawson... I love the guy, I appreciate what he's brought to the Turtles (again, he has pencilled the single TMNT comic with art I love the absolute most, more than even K&P or Farley or Dooney issues), and he's absolutely the guy I want to see on Volume 4... but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater here, folks.

[TristanHuwJones]

Hey, I just thought - they way Raph dispatched that Foot soldier kid was very reminiscent of the cover to #36. Wonder if that was Tomi?

Hey Mich'83 - Sorry mate, while the link is cool, the stories are set at different times. The moment of the cover to issue 36 is "seen" in City at War, right after a clansman fires the rocket launcher at the car (I can't recall the issue off the top of my head), which occurs in both CAW and 36. Dan came up with this gem independently. If you have another look, this battle occurs on a rooftop too, whereas the one in 36 is on the streets - you'd also have to have a passed out cop lying nearby! :lol:

It's a little confusing as well why Jim is having to tackle Tales full-time -- and if the opportunity is there, I get that he should absolutely should lunge at it -- when... Volume 4 is full-steam ahead again?

I thought the idea behind him being given Tales core issues was because Volume 4 was on hiatus. It's not anymore.

And we were told (as well as the creators out there) that Tales was to be a showcase for new and up-and-coming talent. I mean, what is it? Is it a money issue? I have to imagine it is, but I can almost guarantee you, if a call was sent out about: "Hey, budding writers and artists, you want to be published? We won't pay you -- unless your work sells gangbusters and we want to bring you back for an encore -- but you'll get published and get your foot in the door" you'd get innundated with submissions.

If it literally just boils down to a march of dimes for Jim Lawson... I love the guy, I appreciate what he's brought to the Turtles (again, he has pencilled the single TMNT comic with art I love the absolute most, more than even K&P or Farley or Dooney issues), and he's absolutely the guy I want to see on Volume 4... but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater here, folks.

Andrew - If I recall correctly, there were three issues solicited at the time the flagship title went on hiatus - 29,30 and 31. Jim had already finished work on those issues (I'm prrrrretty sure...), but Pete hadn't finished the scripts. Now that he's come back to it, I think what the deal was was that now that Pete has worked out where he wants to go with it, he's reworking the scripts to go in that direction. That could be essentially the same as what it was originally going to be, but I'm sure that, having had time to think about it more, some things might have changed in some ways. So at the moment, Pete's working on (amongst a huge amount of other things) the scripts for Vol.4, and as he's doing that, Jim is working Tales.

I know that the next few months of Tales are a bit all over the place in terms of artists. Jim is doing 47,48,49, Paul is doing 50, Dario Brizuela is working 52 and I think Dan is on 51. Kennon James, who did the pinup on #45 is pencilling a back-up story I wrote for issue 48 too.

Beyond that, I have no idea, and as for the questions regarding pay and the like, I'm really not at liberty to say. I just write and hope everyone enjoys. I think questions regarding Tales and the flagship book would be better answered by Pete or Dan, as they're the guys in the know, and now that Pete's opened his blog, it's the best opportunity for you guys to interact and ask these things since the letter columns!

[Andrew NDB]

But isn't there like a big question mark over the future of Tales after this year?

[DrSpengler]

Okay, just finished it. I stuck it between Vol. 1 #56 and #57 in the timeline since that seemed the most appropriate place (unless someone knows a better one).

The issue was indeed pretty "meh" on story. It all lead up to Tomi getting stuck by Raph, which would have been an okay twist of irony if, you know, they hadn't plastered that climax all over the cover.

It honestly didn't really "feel" like a City at War story, but more of a random "TMNT fight Foot Soldiers" story which we get here and there.

And these bait and switches with the frontispieces are infuriating. We get a gorgeous, GORGEOUS frontispiece by quite possibly THE TMNT artist, Michael Dooney...and then the rest of the issue is the usual Lawson mess.

I know Lawson is gonna be the one and only Tales guy for the forseeable future, I've made piece with that, but damn the monotony.

On a side note, that back page pin-up, "The Hole", was pretty cool. Evil spiky Slash-like Turtles from another dimension? I'd read it.

[VaughnMichael]

On a side note, that back page pin-up, "The Hole", was pretty cool. Evil spiky Slash-like Turtles from another dimension? I'd read it.
Me also consider that artist Mark Martin has worked with Mirage in the past, and is long over due to do somehting new!

[discordiatookie]

Top notch issue! I liked! I've said before, and i'll keep saying - I love Lawson's art. And I must say that I preferred the inking in the last issue to this one... go figure.

The only thing I don't enjoy about Tales these days is the non-appearance of the letters page. Wish it would return, I love them letters! But I dig that Dan B is quite a busy individual...


And that pin-up. Awesomeness. Mark Martin's stuff is amazing - I love his vol 1 work...

[jerome]

Top notch issue! I liked! I've said before, and i'll keep saying - I love Lawson's art. And I must say that I preferred the inking in the last issue to this one... go figure.

The only thing I don't enjoy about Tales these days is the non-appearance of the letters page. Wish it would return, I love them letters! But I dig that Dan B is quite a busy individual...


And that pin-up. Awesomeness. Mark Martin's stuff is amazing - I love his vol 1 work...

I also miss the letters page...where and why did they go?

[VaughnMichael]

I also miss the letters page...where and why did they go?
Dan told no one was writting in or at least not enough people, so he told the artists to do more pages for the story since the letters page was not worth having in the comics.

[Raph's Girl]

Loved this issue! It seemed to be set near the end of CAW since April has returned from California. Tomi should have listened to his mother...just one vicious cycle after another. *shakes head*...

[Scandia]

I liked this one. Lawson's art style prevents it from getting too gritty and grim.

The cover was a major spoiler, though. They needed to have one that would result in the ending being more surprising and less predictable.

[Andrew NDB]

Lawson's art style prevents it from getting too gritty and grim.

Wasn't that, tonally, what the story was going for?

It's like watching a war movie about Omaha Beach, and saying, "I liked the movie, the cinematography prevented it from getting too bleak or dismal." I mean, what?

[Duke]

Okay, just finished it. I stuck it between Vol. 1 #56 and #57 in the timeline since that seemed the most appropriate place (unless someone knows a better one).Dan states it takes place around issue #51 in an interview.

[odupianist]

I got this issue today. Not too shabby. Nice to see some Foot vs TMNT action again. It wasn't a jump out at you issue, but still good none the less. Granted, as Spengs said, the cover did kind of give this issue away unfortunately. I hate to do this, but Dan's gotta be wrong. I just went thru the synopsi of the CAW arc on ninjaturtles.com (mainly cause I don't have my issues at work). April's nowhere close to being home in NYC by #51. Heck, according to the synopsis, April isn't back in NYC until #58. So DrSpengler, I'd even go as far as to say that Tales #46 goes between #58 and 59 or even later. Thoughts?

[Coola Yagami]

Finally got my hands on it while on vacation. One of my first (second possible vause I own one of the CAW issues) taste of REAL TMNT comics. Yeah, Lawson's art style takes time to get used to, especially with the humans, but it's still detailed enough to look sorta cool.

It was a nice little tale. Kinda like the life of a gang member just starting out. He might not be an all-out evil guy, just joining for kicks or whatever and BAM he gets shot down first night out. Same goes for the Foot. There are so many of them, we don't even know where they come from or why the join the Clan. We got to hear one guy's tale, and his tragic end. It was a cool story. Always interesting to see it from the other side, ya'know?