Have you read the Archie TMNT Adventure series?
 

Just curious. As popular as this series is with fans, its very old now and some people here have probably never read it.

I sometimes wish they made a cartoon adaption of TMNT Adventures, it was really good. We got some of the best villains in TMNT history out of this series, such as Null, Armaggon, Malinga, Verminator-X and a few others. As well as some of the best storylines.

I recently re-visited the series to see if the stories still hold up, and aside from the eco-preaching and some one-off bad issues, this series is actually still a fun read.

I missed a few issues (I think like, mid fifties up until FST, and the seventies) but I have read most of it. Love it.

I'm starting to wonder if there are some issues that I just never read. I honestly can't remember anything about the end of the run.

Own it all but I still haven't read the Specials. Working my way toward them, though.

The last couple of arcs were the Cyber Turtles in the future dealing with Verminator X, the Mooneyes saga where Ninjara and Raphael break-up, a couple of Turtle toddler stories, and then Year of the Turtle where Shredder tries to become immortal and Splinter and Mike de-mutate.

I found it slightly ironic that Dean Clarrain was kicked off the Archie series for injecting a mature tone when what immediately followed with Year of the Turtle certainly felt like a more mature tone. Surprisingly I actually did enjoy Year of the Turtle, despite the very 90's superheroey feel to it.

I own almost all of it and have read it all except for a few of the side mini-series'. When it was good, it was very good. It really hit it's stride, and that lasted for a good number of issues.

Speaking of that, has Murphy officially given up on the "Forever War?"

I remember hearing something was supposed to be done with it after the Nick buy-out...even if it was only fan-made.

I have never read any of this...after finding out about it I was a little afraid the stories may be better suited for a younger audience...but from what I have read all over this forum here it might be worth checking them out(maybe even very much so)...anyone knows if the future tense book can be read without any knowledge fo the rest of the series?....I understand it collects later issues....
a thing comes to my mind now, I have read teenage mutant hero turtles comics of course when the ot was around and still have three issues of that one at home...any chance that these were part of the archie series in original form?....

Read a decent chuck of it from the Norwegian print, which I think had some of the UK hero stories as well.

It is an awesome read. Great characters other than the Turtles!

I haven't read all of the specials and some of the other mini-series from Archie... I am waiting on the last 10 comics to come in to finish off my reading of the main series...

-ms

Yes, have most of it and have read most of it. Missing a few issues. My favorite arc was by far the Future stories with Donnie and Raph, although my favorite issues were #49 and #52. Michelangelo: Blind Sight was pretty cool, too.

Its not really aimed at younger audiences. While it isn't "adult" its pretty much aimed at something everyone can enjoy.

There's also lots of action, and even some violence and deaths.

The best way to describe TMNTA is that it aged with the audience. It started out as cartoon episode adaptations and when it began new material it was good stuff but nothing shocking or controversial and there are a few early arcs that I cannot stand.

But the series gets very cerebral and even dark toward the end and it has the most solid ongoing narrative of any TMNT comic; it flows very well.

It isn't blood and nudity and cursing; not that kind of "mature". But the stories are very smartly written, the characterization is strong and the arcs are suitably epic. It's a very well-rounded series suitable for all ages, but that doesn't mean it is insipidly kiddy, either.

I dunno if I can recommend the "Future Tense" trade. It was a very poorly put together book, collecting random issues around a "theme", but the arcs lose their strength without any of the build up or context from the preceding issues. Its also in black and white, but more importantly, it's missing a page of content. Again, a very poorly put together trade. The missing page was posted on TMNT.com for a while, but when Viacom took the site over they removed it. So yeah.

It's vertainly better than nothing, and it collects some of the later issues that can be hard/expensive to track down. So if there's no other alternative, then go for it. But I honestly think TMNTA is a series best read from beginning to end to get the full impact.

The Technodrome's own Demon Alucard made This very hand guide to the Fleetway series, detailing which issues contained reprints and which contained original material.

So if you can recall the covers, that should tell you what you got.

I've read all of it and it only got better as it went on. A great series.
Now release the forever war!

And don't forget, the sense of continuity is amazing. Nothing is forgotten, old characters and arcs are constantly brought back and expanded on. It really was an amazing universe and Muprhy kept digging back to old things thought to be forgotten.

Funnily enough, the only character who never made a return or got any follow-up is Vid Vicious, who just flies off after Shredder releases him from the computer when he captures Donatello and is never seen again.

My guess is Muprhy realized what a terrible character Vid Vicious was and decided to just forget about him. LOL.

And don't forget about those three mutants that took over Innsmouth, Massachussets in #26! They were still alive at the end of their issue though never heard from again.

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/7...uretensetp.jpg

Never heard from again in an issue that was printed-- as seen in Coney Island Days (paid for/unpublished Archie story by Milton Knight): http://www.miltonknight.net/cid.html

Do you (or anyone for that matter) have that page? I have the Future Tense trade and I don't remember ever saving that page.

-ms

Woah! I didn't know about that, thanks for the post dude!

Wilddiverse has you covered int he post just above yours.

Just track down the individual Archie issues, the Future tense book isn't really worth it as its in black and white, missing a page, and is pretty rare.

Mycomicsshop.com still has many old Archie issues available, as does ninjaturtles.com and some other places.

The Archie series deserves to be reprinted. Its hard to believe something as big as the cartoons is becoming rather obscure nowadays.

I read them all as a kid. I had a subscription, and my mailman used to roll them up to put them in my mailbox. I don't have them all anymore.

I always found it sad how Raph still lost Ninjara despite the warnings from his future self... hell, Future Raph even asked her that when the time came, to give him another chance. Lot of good that did them.

Sadly, knowledge alone cannot change the heart.

Wait, what? There was an unpublished story about Future Raph and Present Raph about Ninjara?

You have my attention, Andrew.

Are you suggesting you've got some inside info?

I think he might be confusing the scene from the end of the Future Shark Trilogy, where Future-Raph talks to regular Raph and Ninjara about staying together (and they end up splitting anyway).

yes, exactly. And before they left, Future Raph hugged Ninjara and asked her to give them another chance, when the time came. And like I said... alot of good that did, lol.

Ughhh. The one thing I really didn't like were the two Milton Knight specials. I own them just for completion's sake.

One thing about the specials I like is they gave Krang and Shredder 2 more appearances. Since some of the early specials were set to take place between #4 and #5....before it went to its own material.

We get to see a less competent Shredder, Krang in his Android body, and the Foot in that special where the Turtles go on vacation to Scotland.

So for anyone who didn't know Krang appeared again after #25....you'd be wrong, even if its a "flashback" story.

Yeah, like that caveman story... it was weird that after all the different jazz they went through, they were back to Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady in the Technodrome creating mutants. And the character returned in the main series so that means that story happened...

That story was published in the "TMNT meet Archie" special though, I am talking about the 64-page specials that went from #1-11.

The caveman that thawed out of the ice? I could have sworn I originally read that in the TMNT Magazine, too.

The Prehistoric Manmoth story was in TMNT Meet Archie #1, yeah (dunno about the magazine). They did a sequel after the Future Shark Trilogy, then reprinted the original Manmoth story in TMNTA #71 or 72, I think.

Personall, I just slotted that one inbetween TMNTA #4 and 5, chronologically.

To be honest I kinda wish they retconned more "Shredder and Krang" stories prior to #5.

Its kind of shocking when you realize just how little the Archie Turtles actually went up against Shredder and Krang. Only a handful of times really.

Even less with Bebop and Rocksteady. While the were with Shredder during the Final Conflict, they were flying around on Footskis, and never actually confronted the Turtles personally. And when they returned from that Edenworld, they went off to free zoo animals while the Turtles were fighting with Slash and Bellybomb. So basically they fought them in the cartoon adaptation issues, and the Leatherhead and Chameleon issues. I don't recall if they actually faced them in the Man Ray issue or not. Even in the caveman issue they just randomly flew in and blasted everything to bits and then flew off, never actually facing the Turtles.

There is more or less "infinite potential" for stories to take place between #4 and #5, since there's already a major narrative disconnect between the two (Krang refusing aid to Shredder, Krang suddenlt giving Shredder aid).

Not that we'll ever see stories there, but whatever.


Shredder is kind of a let down in TMNT Adventures. He's more or less at his most competent in The Future Shark Trilogy, but that arc is hardly about him at all (it's about Armaggon... the future shark!). Year of the Turtle is really his primary time to shine.

I own a run of #1-#50 and have read a few of that batch, and definitely read the mini-series online just to compare to the pilot of the Fred Wolf version. I've also read adoptions of the second and third movies (at least with that, you can understand the story of movie III a bit better, even if it's a watered down Mirage Vol. 1 #42).

But I should spend a weekend re-reading those issues. Since those later issues are more difficult to find, I'll have to keep being content to the earlier issues until I can find them (feel free to post issues #51-#72 on eBay or on the Buying/Selling/Trading forum if anybody has them).