Tales of the TMNT 53

[Raph's Girl]

Midtown is listing Tales 53 as coming out on Wednesday Dec 24th:

"The Alien Menace" - What happens when a motivated young toy collector discovers a rare "Lil' Orphan Alien" figure in Shadow's room? He takes it by whatever means possible, that's what! Some impromptu "aliens" show up at the farmhouse to help dissuade the young thief to return what is not his.

This giant-sized Christmas issue features 26 pages of bonus material! Including an 18-page backup by students from the Center for Cartoon Studies as well as an 8-page back-up by Dan Berger (script) and Chad Hurd (art) - all at the regular cover price

[trustno1]

actually this came out yesterday

[Raph's Girl]

actually this came out yesterday

No.. Michelangelo Third Kind 04 came out yesterday

[VaughnMichael]

No.. Michelangelo Third Kind 04 came out yesterday
Actully yes it did because I have it in my hands.:D;)

[trustno1]

me too and grahamcrackers had it on their weekly list last week

[Ninjinister]

Seems like another random "filler" issue, although it does have a link to Michaelangelo #1...

[trustno1]

i thought that was the idea behind tales? i know some tie in to bigger stories but most of the ones i have tracked down have been stand alone stories. as you said: this is a follow up to michelangelo one shot

[junkboy]

According to Diamonds it was coming this week with Mickey Third Kind 4. Sometimes Midtown lists some comics one week later espacially from smaller companies.
I remember the same thing happening to Usagi Yojimbo or Savage Dragon more than once.

[Andrew NDB]

Got it today. A cute little Christmas issue from Lawson for the main part, what can I say?

The big surprise was the mid story, from "The Center for Cartoon Studies." It seems pretty firmly entrenched in the middle of Volume 4, yet Dan says, "it's not canon" on the front page. Why is that, I wonder?

It closes with an awesome piece with Leonardo and Raphael written by Dan. It manages to combine old school TMNT ass-kickery with a nice, brotherly Christmas scene. The art by this Chad Hurd is very dynamic as well.

The whole issue is a nice gesture to fans, I think, and very poignantly timed.

[DrSpengler]

Just read through it.

The main story was a funny Christmas piece, not much else.

Like Andrew, I'm wondering why the middle segment was rendered "non-canon". It was a nice look at what's going on in the "current" storyline but didn't really do anything major to hinder Peter's arc. So why make it a "what if?" story at all? I dunno.

I dug the last segment the most. A nice look back at Leonardo #1 with some sweet ninja action. I was beginning to forget that this book as even about ninjas.

A big, thick issue and a nice gift for the fans. Thanks, Mirage!

[Roseangelo]

The big surprise was the mid story, from "The Center for Cartoon Studies." It seems pretty firmly entrenched in the middle of Volume 4, yet Dan says, "it's not canon" on the front page. Why is that, I wonder?

That story made me say, "See, I might actually have positive things to say about Volume 4 if it were more like this."

[Ninjinister]

Maybe I'm just an ass, but I really despised the main story. It's my least favourite one over the past year.

I really liked the two back-ups, though, especially the CSC one. How is that not canon? Where does it diverge even slightly from events previous, and how would it tamper with anything that may be set in the future?

[VaughnMichael]

Maybe I'm just an ass, but I really despised the main story. It's my least favourite one over the past year.

I really liked the two back-ups, though, especially the CSC one. How is that not canon? Where does it diverge even slightly from events previous, and how would it tamper with anything that may be set in the future?
You sum up how I felt about the issue.

[Andrew NDB]

If Laird were here right now, he'd probably say (and I'm not taking a jab at him, I'm just a student of his responses in the lettercol), "It didn't feel right."

re: the middle story.

[Ninjinister]

Sounds like something he'd say... :roll:

Oh, and I forgot to mention that despite my fondness for the latter two stories, my favorite part of the entire issue is Sakai's pin-up. That is just way too friggin' awesome.

[trustno1]

Maybe I'm just an ass, but I really despised the main story. It's my least favourite one over the past year.

why? i didn't really have any problems with it. it wasn't fantastic by any stretch but why would you despise it?

[VaughnMichael]

why? i didn't really have any problems with it. it wasn't fantastic by any stretch but why would you despise it?
I didn't despise it myself, but it just felt like a half @ssed rehash of an old story.

[cormano]

I enjoyed this issue overall. The main story was okay. The end was hilarious. The middle story was meh. I didn't like the art at all and the story was cool because I didn't expect it to take place in volume 4, but it didn't really do anything for me past that. The last story didn't really do much, but the art was fantastic. I hope this guy does more Tales work in the future, full issues, hopefully.

[Evenstar227]

FINALLY got this the other day. I thought the main story was entertaining; best part was the Turtles pretending to be aliens. ^_^

2nd story was interesting, but not my favorite.

3rd story was excellent. My favorite from this issue. Great art, as well.

And of course, the pinup was faboo. Anything by Sakai rocks!!

[Ninjinister]

I think my issue with the main story was that it was just an amalgamation of other stories we've already seen/read before. Although I do admit the Turtles threatening to anal probe the lad "without lubrication" was chuckleworthy.

Every time I see Sakai draw TMNT, though, I just yearn for another crossover v.v Make it happen, guys!

[funatic]

The big surprise was the mid story, from "The Center for Cartoon Studies." It seems pretty firmly entrenched in the middle of Volume 4, yet Dan says, "it's not canon" on the front page. Why is that, I wonder?


Maybe it has something to do with Don and Raph's 'transformations' - perhaps in Laird's mind, by the time April reunites with the turtles (remember she's off finding herself...) they have reverted to their original forms & sizes?

Regardless, I found this story top notch, and the issue as a whole was a great read.

[Chrissie Terrapin]

I want that issue

[DK2]

I liked this issue and all its stories. I forget it was a Xmas like issue since it came out in Dec. The 1rst story wasn't bad. A minor side story. Its nice to see Casey being a father taking Shadow out for a walk. It had a little mockery towards collector mentality for that toy. Its was nice to have that connection towards the old Mike solo comic from years ago. The mid story wasn't bad. I liked it entrenched in TMNT Vol. 4. Don't know why its not canon myself. The last one wasn't bad having that lil connection to the Leo special too. Great issue overall for the large page count, a samll nostalgia trip to a certain extant.