Return to the Sewers: Comparing the Mirage and IDW TMNT

[thelouisguy]

I really like the new story but have always loved the original Mirage comics. I am writting comparison pieces where I will show similarities between the two versions of the Turtles. My first one will be out very soon. It will be posted to http://crossovercomics.ca along with the rest of my reviews. I am a guest writer for this blog which has not really covered TMNT. I will be giving the Turtles the love they need on this site. Please stay tuned.

EDIT: My first comparison piece is up at http://www.crossovercomics.ca/frontp...-and-new-tmnt/ comparing the original Mirage series to the new IDW series. I will be comparing the two timelines after each TPB is released.

Enjoy!

Spoiler:

Return to the Sewers: Comparing the Old and New TMNT
Posted on Sunday, 15 April 2012 - Written by Louis

This is the first in a series of comparison pieces following IDW’s new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles timeline and how it differs from the original Mirage timeline. These reviews will reference IDW’s TPBs as well as original issues that are being re-released by IDW in TPB format. IDW’s Change is Constant was released on February 2nd, 2012 and collects the first 4 issues of this new series. IDW also released The Ultimate Collection Vol 1 on January 11th, 2012 which contains issues 1 to 7 from the original series as well as Raphael #1, a micro-series print. These reviews will also contain spoilers to the plot lines so ***SPOILER ALERT*** to everyone who wanted to read these issues first.

The story starts out the same as we find the Turtles in the middle of a gang fight. Where the original series saw the Turtles fighting with the Purple Dragons, the new series sees them fighting a gang lead by Old Hob, an anthropomorphic cat, similar to the Turtles. I like the fact that we are introduced to a new character right away; it differentiates the two from the start. The reason we do not meet the Purple Dragons, and subsequently The Shredder, first is because the first Mirage issue was a self-contained story that the creators, Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, did not expect to serialize. The IDW comics, written by Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz, are going to have multi-book story arcs that will fit nicely into TPBs.

Where the two stories start to drift apart is in the origin story. The Mirage comics’ origin began 20 years ago in Japan. Splinter, who was Hamato Yoshi’s pet rat, mimicked his owner and learned ninjutsu. Hamato Yoshi was a member of the Foot Clan and competed with his rival, Oroku Nagi, for the love of Tang Shen. Yoshi discovered Nagi beating on Shen one night and killed him. He then fled to New York with Shen to get away from the Foot Clan. Oroku Saki, Nagi’s younger brother, vowed revenge on Yoshi for the death of his brother. He trained and became the leader of the Foot Clan and became The Shredder. Saki tracked both Yoshi and Shen to New York and killed them both. In the struggle, Splinter gets freed from his cage and wanders the streets of New York. A TCRI, Techno Cosmic Research Institute, truck swerves in the street, jarring a canister of ooze loose and flinging it out of the truck. It crashes into a fish bowl containing 4 turtles. The owner drops everything into a sewer drain. Splinter follows to collect the turtles, who are covered in ooze, and brings them to safety. Splinter names and trains the turtles.

The IDW origin is very different and has two distinct parts. The first occurs 15 months prior in the Stockgen Research Lab. Baxter Stockman, who we will see later on in a famous Mirage storyline, is in the lab with April O’Neil. The reason for the short time frame is to justify the inclusion of April in the origin story. Stockman has been performing tests on 4 turtles and 1 rat for General Krang (who will return in issue #7). April names the turtles and Splinter and notices that he is very smart, for a rat. Stockman and Krang have been trying to develop super soldiers and have developed a super soldier mutagen ooze. A ninja breaks into the lab and steals the turtles, rat, and test tubes containing the mutagen. Splinter attacks the ninja in the face forcing him to drop everything in the streets of New York. A cat (later Old Hob) happens to be there and picks up Raphael in his mouth and tries to walk away. Splinter scratches him in the face as well. Raphael has been separated from the rest and the cat, who was covered in ooze as well, runs away. The next morning, the 3 remaining turtles and Splinter are in an anthropomorphic and intelligent state. They also know ninjutsu right away since the ooze was developed for Krang’s army.

The second part of this new origin story takes place in another time, in issue #5. I will recap it here since it relates to the origin story. Back in feudal Japan, Hamato Yoshi was a member of the Foot Clan with Oroku Saki. The Foot Clan killed Yoshi’s wife Tang Shen, but not his four sons. Yoshi took his four sons away from the Foot. Saki finds Yoshi later on and forces Yoshi to watch as he kills his four sons. Yoshi prays to Buddha that he will have his revenge on Saki. Saki kills Yoshi. This story implies reincarnation and the fact the Splinter is the biological father of the Turtles. We will see how the story plays out, but this origin story is very different, with similarities, to the original.

Next we are introduced to Casey Jones. The Mirage issues do not provide as much back story to Casey Jones right away. They develop his character over time. The IDW comics have taken the time to give a back story to Casey Jones. Where Raphael was out on his own in the originals and ran into Casey on the streets of New York, this version has Raphael separated from the group from “birth”. Raphael is wandering the streets and sees someone being beat up. Turns out it’s Casey’s drunken father beating on him. Raphael breaks into his house and splits up the fight. Casey’s father leaves, presumably to go to the bar. Casey and Raphael go out to get a bite to eat and intercept a mugging. They chase the hoodlums and run into Old Hob. Old Hob has made a deal with Stockman to retrieve Splinter for him. Stockman wants to re-synthesize the mutagen from Splinter’s blood. The Turtles have been looking for Raphael since they were split up and have finally found him. They defeat Old Hob and are reunited with Raphael.

All in all, I am liking this new TMNT timeline. The story is being told very slowly which has advantages and disadvantages. On the one side, most Mirage stories were told in one issue and were not developed as thoroughly. This resulted in many stories that made no sense in terms of continuity and introduced many stories that could have been told over multiple issues, but weren’t. On the other side, it took 4 (and a half) issues to get the entire origin story. At $4 an issue, that’s $16 – $20 to get the full story, not making it easy for new readers to jump in ($18 for the TPB). The next story arc looks to be very interesting and leads us to the first appearance of the Shredder.

Stay tuned for my next reviews, IDW’s TPB collecting the first 4 Micro-Series issues, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Leonardo. The TPB will be released on July 4th, 2012 and all the Mirage one-shots will be re-released on April 11th, 2012. IDW’s Enemies Old, Enemies New will be released on July 18th, 2012 collecting issues 5 to 8.

[thelouisguy]

My second "Return to the Sewers" review of the Micro-Series Volume 1 trade.
http://www.crossovercomics.ca/frontp...y-brian-lynch/

Spoiler:

TMNT Micro-Series v.1, by Brian Lynch
Posted on Wednesday, 13 June 2012 - Written by Louis

This is the second in a series of comparison pieces following IDW’s new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles timeline and how it differs from the original Mirage timeline. These reviews will reference IDW’s TPBs as well as original issues that are being re-released by IDW in TPB format. IDW’s Micro-Series Vol 1 will be released in June 2012 and collects the first 4 micro-series issues of this new series, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Leonardo. IDW also released The Ultimate Collection Vol 1 in November 2011 which contains Raphael #1 and released The Ultimate Collection Vol 2 in March 2012 which contains Michelangelo #1, Donatello #1, and Leonardo #1. These reviews will also contain spoilers to the plot lines so ***SPOILER ALERT*** to everyone who wanted to read these issues first.

The first four IDW issues are released in the same order as the Mirage originals with Raphael being the first Turtle to be featured in his own story. Both issues are about Raphael fighting crime on his own. In the IDW version, we have Casey Jones accompanying Raphael. They fight with the human forms of Bebop and Rocksteady, implying that they will eventually be mutated. They are not in any Mirage comics and were original to the Fred Wolf cartoon. I am glad that they are reintroducing existing characters. We also meet Alopex, a mutant arctic fox, who turns out to be working with Bebop, Rocksteady, and a ninja who seems like a number two to The Shredder. I would like him to play a role like Tatsu did in the first two live-action TMNT movies. Tatsu was never in the original Mirage comics, but according to Tristan Jones’ Facebook page, was going to be brought in at the end of the Gang Wars story arc, which never saw a conclusion. In the Mirage book, Raphael is confronted by Casey Jones while fighting crime. The entire issue is about Casey Jones and Raphael meeting and fighting and it takes until the very last page for them to actually work together. I like both issues for different reasons. Bebop and Rocksteady will be very interesting additions to the story. Also, Casey Jones’ involvement in the Mirage issue is great just because I like Casey Jones, period.

The second issue stars Michelangelo during the holidays. Both issues involve a crime taking place. The IDW story takes place at a New Year’s Eve party and Michelangelo is mistakenly included in a heist. He ends up foiling it and this entire issue showcases Michelangelo’s “party dude” persona. The Mirage story takes place at Christmas time at a toy store. Michelangelo follows his new friend, Klunk the cat, to the back of a toy store and discovers that the store is being robbed. The cat jumps into the back of the truck that the burglars drive off in and Michelangelo follows. He ends up hijacking the truck, being chased by the police, and returns the toys to the orphanage with the help of April and the other Turtles. I am glad that we had this IDW issue to define Michelangelo’s personality, but from what I can tell, there is nothing tying it into the main story arc. Since Raphael’s, Donatello’s and Leonardo’s issues have tie-ins to the main story, my feeling is that we will find significance in this issue once we get to the Shadows of the Past issues 9 – 12 (or later).

The third issue features Donatello in a tribute to Jack Kirby. In the IDW story, Donatello, browsing web forums late at night with the username “duz_machines_84”, accepts an invitation from “prof_J_perry” (a nod to the second live-action TMNT movie) to attend the New World Expo. There he meets another member of the forums Harold Lillja “kirby_fan01”, who is brought to see Baxter Stockman. Lillja is asked to help him track the Turtles , which he accepts. In the Mirage story, Kirby is renting office space in April’s building. Donatello sees Kirby’s drawings come to life and rise off the page. They go through a portal to another world and in the end, Kirby decides to stay behind with all his creations. I prefer the IDW issue to the Mirage issue. The IDW issue ties Baxter Stockman into its story which adds to the timeline. The Mirage issue feels really out of place with the early Mirage issues (not so much with all the stuff that came later).

The fourth issue follows Leonardo as he battles the Foot Clan by himself. Both issues are very similar. The IDW comic ends with the ninja with the scar from issue #2, who will eventually become The Shredder, confronting Leonardo and dropping him off a building. This issue is more significant in the IDW timeline than the Mirage issue because this is the first time we encounter the Foot Clan in this way. We have seen them in the past, but they have either been in pairs, or it was not clear which faction they belong to. In the Mirage book, they meet The Shredder for the second time as Leonardo crashes through April’s apartment window saying “…He’s…back…the…Shredder!”. The seriousness of the Mirage issue is broken up by checking into the other Turtles preparing for Christmas eve. We see Michelangelo’s cat Klunk which we met from his original issue. The Mirage issue is my favorite in the series. The IDW issue would have been my favorite also, but the art really takes away from my enjoyment of the story. The fact that Leonardo looks like a ragdoll most of the time detracts from the seriousness the story is supposed to be conveying.

I am really enjoying the micro-series. They serve to establish the individual Turtles’ personalities. Running alongside the main storyline, I am glad that they are taking the time to give some back story and release these as separate issues. The only downside to the micro-series issues is the art. They have different artists doing each issue. I really like what Dan Duncan is going with the ongoing series. I am not too fond of the guest artists. I was also not fond of the Mirage issues that were not done by Kevin Eastman or Peter Laird. I feel that this is why I just can’t get into some of the original comics, and why I have so much trouble with Mirage’s Tales of the TMNT series. The fifth issue of the Mirage series focused on The Fugitoid, a fugitive android. He has yet to be introduced in the IDW timeline and so we should not see a micro-series issue dedicated to him until they decide to bring him in. Something that I am really looking forward to is the fact that the micro-series will continue past issue #4. It was announced by IDW editor Bobby Curnow via IDW forums that there will be at least four more issues in this series focusing on Splinter, Casey Jones, and April O’Neil.

Stay tuned for my next review which will feature the Mousers from Mirage’s issue #2. IDW’s Enemies Old, Enemies New TPB will be released in July 2012 collecting issues 5 to 8.

[Andy Christ]

Its really cool that theres a comparison.

[thelouisguy]

I know. They are not rewriting the story exactly, but the are influenced by it. It is really neat to have that déjà-vu feeling and have the story be different.

[thelouisguy]

My third "Return to the Sewers" review of the Enemies Old, Enemies New trade.
http://www.crossovercomics.ca/uncate...kevin-eastman/

Spoiler:

TMNT V. 2: Enemies Old, Enemies New, by Tom Waltz & Kevin Eastman
Posted on Wednesday, 11 July 2012 - Written by Louis

This is the third in a series of comparison pieces following IDW’s new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles timeline and how it differs from the original Mirage timeline. These reviews will reference IDW’s TPBs as well as original issues that are being re-released by IDW in TPB format. IDW’s Enemies Old, Enemies New was released in July 2012 and collects issues 5 to 8 of this new series. These reviews will also contain spoilers to the plot lines so ***SPOILER ALERT*** to everyone who wanted to read these issues first.

The fifth issue is a stand-alone story which acts as a prologue to the Enemies Old, Enemies New story arc. This issue starts by going into detail about Splinter and the Turtles’ origin. I wrote about it in my last review but will summarize it here. In a previous life, back in Japan, the Turtles were Splinter’s children. All 5 of them were murdered by Oroku Saki. They make a point of mentioning that Oroku Saki’s face is scared.

This is where we get the controversial introduction of the coloured bandanas. Since the original comics books were in black and white, this was not an issue. The Turtles were defined by their weapons and dialogue. When Mirage started introducing coloured covers, the Turtles always had red bandanas. The various colours were only adopted for the Fred Wolf cartoon so that kids could easily tell the Turtles apart. The explanation given in the IDW comics is that they all wore red in support of their lost brother, Raphael; red being his favourite colour. Now that they have been reunited, Master Splinter rewards them with bandanas of each Turtles’ favourite colour. Raphael is rewarded for his month of training with a pair of sais. As much as I would have liked them to keep the red bandanas for more than 4 issues, I am fine with the colours. It is how most people know them and this is a full colour comic book.

This story arc starts out when we meet a French ninja who warns the Turtles that “War is coming”. We will have to see how this plays out. I believe it is foreshadowing something similar to the City at War story arc from the Mirage series, issues #48-62, where there were fights between ninja factions fighting in New York. I am hopeful that they will introduce Karai, who was a high-ranked member of the Foot Clan. (EDIT: Karai will be introduced in issue #9. We also now know that the Purple Dragons as well as the Foot Clan are involved in the ongoing story.) Splinter is sure that the French ninja is a member of the Foot Clan which he remembers from Japan in his previous life. Donatello is very skeptical of the whole “reincarnation” idea, as are some fans. I like having a new twist on things. This will lead to a stronger bond between Splinter and the Turtles.

Meanwhile, Baxter Stockman presents his Mousers to Old Hob. He gives Old Hob a third chance to retrieve Splinter. Hob will be able to use the Mousers to assist him. He sends Old Hob to the sewers to attack the Turtles and return with Splinter. In the Mirage comics, the Mousers were used to rob banks and hold the city hostage. The Mousers were then used to chase down April O’Neil and the Turtles. In the end, the Turtles are victorious in both versions. Unfortunately for them in the IDW series, Old Hob has captured Splinter and returns him to Baxter Stockman. In the Mirage issue #3, Splinter is found by two TCRI employees following the Mouser attack and is returned to the TCRI building. In the IDW issue #9 we will see an agglomeration of these stories with similar art from both versions.

Next we are shown General Krang overlooking the impacts of the ongoing war on Planet Neutrino. This reference is being pulled from the Fred Wolf cartoon as is Krang. It is interesting that they went this route since we also have interstellar travel in the Mirage comics when the Turtles meet the Triceraton, an alien race of anthropomorphic Triceratops. I am excited to see how the Triceraton are handled since we now know that Micro-Series issue #8 will feature the Fugitoid. It was with the Fugitoid that the Turtles originally met, and fought, the Triceraton. I think they should be saved for later since we already have a lot going on right now.

Throughout these issues, we get the story of how Casey Jones and April O’Neil meet each other. Casey plays hockey for his school and is now on academic probation; he cannot play for the team unless he improves his marks. Meanwhile, April puts up an ad offering tutoring in exchange for self-defense classes. After Casey responds to April’s ad we get some advancement in their romance. By trading self defense courses for tutoring, Casey and April begin to spend more and more time together. Casey, realising that April knew the Turtles before their mutation, brings her to meet them. She faints immediately, just like in pretty much every incarnation. In the Mirage comics, she is introduced to the Turtles while she is running away from the Mousers in the sewers and comes across/is saved by them. Later, during the City at War story arc, Casey and April’s relationship becomes closer after Casey becomes Shadow’s legal guardian following the death of her mother during childbirth. I highly doubt Shadow will make an appearance in this version of the Turtles, but you can never say never when it comes to comic books.

While the plot is advancing pretty slowly, I am surprisingly enjoying the aspects of the Fred Wolf series that are being introduced. I did enjoy the cartoon as a child, it just does not hold up for me watching it now. I do appreciate what the cartoon did to bring the Turtles into the mainstream, but it did dumb down and make the Turtles “shells” of their former selves. Bringing in some iconic characters and making them slightly edgier and on par with the current IDW incarnation is a plus and expands the Turtle lore. I am looking forward to the next story arc since every issue has been better than the last.

Stay tuned for my next review, IDW’s TMNT Infestation 2 Vol 3 TPB will be released in August 2012 which contains the two TMNT Infestation issues written by Tristan Huw Jones.

[Lucs]

Sweet idea man. I'm heading over to read them now

[thelouisguy]

Let me know what you thought.

[Genesis]

Nagi is the older of the Oroku brothers, not Saki.

[thelouisguy]

Originally Posted by Genesis

Nagi is the older of the Oroku brothers, not Saki.

Thank you for noting that typo. It was also brought up in the comments of the review. I had the names inverted in my first draft and did not change that word when I rewrote the sentence.

[thelouisguy]

My fourth "Return to the Sewers" review of the TMNT Infestation 2 Vol 3 trade.
http://www.crossovercomics.ca/frontp...tristan-jones/

Spoiler:

Return to the Sewers – TMNT Infestation 2 Vol 3 by Tristan Jones
Posted on Wednesday, 15 August 2012 - Written by Louis

This is the fourth in a series of comparison pieces following IDW’s new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles timeline and how it differs from the original Mirage timeline. These reviews will reference IDW’s TPBs as well as original issues that are being re-released by IDW in TPB format. IDW’s Infestation 2 Vol 3 TPB was released in August 2012 which contains the two TMNT Infestation issues. IDW also released The Ultimate Collection Vol 3 in August 2012 which contains issues 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, and 21 from the original series. These reviews will also contain spoilers to the plot lines so ***SPOILER ALERT*** to everyone who wanted to read these issues first.

I thought with the release of the Infestation 2 Vol 3 trade that I would compare Tristan Jones’ most recent Turtles work to some of his best remembered work, the Gang Wars. Unfortunately, IDW has not re-released those issues yet. If you have a chance to pick up issues 36, 56, 59, 61, and 64 of Tales of the TMNT Vol 2, do it! Otherwise, we can only hope to see IDW give them the respect they deserve.

TMNT Infestation 2’s story starts out with Channel 6′s Lateline reporting the mysterious events happening in New York lately. Right away we get a subtle tie-in with the Gang Wars as Channel 6′s reporter is Lauren Stanton, who played a large role in Tales of the TMNT Vol 2 #59 Exposé. In that issue, her editor was Charles Pennington, April O’Neil’s boss from the first TMNT live action movie. These are some really nice nods to the Turtles history. The Infestation issue then shows Donatello researching local cults to try and explain the odd occurrences Lauren is reporting. It is typical for Donatello to want to explain things he does not understand. This is also in line with the on-going series as he is skeptical about Master Splinter explaining reincarnation.

As the Turtles investigate deep into the sewers, Leonardo takes the lead. They find an abandoned mine which is not on any map Donatello has seen. They find skeletons and fresh TNT as well as a map showing the area they’re in. They continue on their investigation. Being in front of the other Turtles, Leonardo gets captured by a large creature they encounter. Michelangelo, using some TNT they found earlier, decides that a kamikaze mission to save Leonardo is the only way to go. Mikey being Mikey ends up blowing up the tunnel and causing a cave in. The three of them get freed and have to go after their missing brother. Following clues left behind by Leonardo, they find him and rescue him. The Turtles battle Bloch and Shub Niggurath. They cause the temple to cave in and are victorious, for now.

The story ends with Donatello returning from the library with more books to help him understand what they just went through. My favorite turtle is Donatello and Tristan is true to him in these two issues. He gets so engrossed in the history and meaning of everything that they’re experiencing and I’m the same way. While I appreciate the fact that Donatello had to dig up really old books to piece together all these events, I would have loved to see him endlessly searching the Internet, jumping from message board threads to an old Geocities site from 1995 to some police site that was accidentally made public years ago and was cached by archive.org’s Wayback Machine; but I guess that is just the geek in me. On the last page, we see a rat in the shadows. We see rats throughout these issues in the corner of panels. I know they are probably there because most of the story is told in the sewers, but I would like to think that it foreshadows the possible reintroduction of the Rat King.

Even though I do not know how you could come back to the Infestation story, I like how the story is left open ended. Tristan has a tendency to do this, which is really smart on his part. He did the same thing with his Gang Wars issues.

What Tristan’s Infestation issues do for HP Lovecraft, his Gang Wars issues do for the seedy underbelly of New York City. It would have been interesting to have the Turtles work with the NYPD during the Infestation events instead of working it on their own. They are probably not ready to make that connection in the IDW storyline which is probably why it was not done. It worked well when they started to share valuable information in Tales Vol 2 #36. This issue led us to a story told from the point of view of the police. Issue #56 gives us some of Casey Jones’ backstory as Hun is introduced into the Mirage Universe. With the Casey Jones Micro-Series issue released in July, it would have been interesting if Hun would have been brought into IDW. With the introduction of The Purple Dragons, there is still hope. Lauren Stanton, investigating Hun, discovers corrupt cops in issue #59. The Turtles continued association with Detective Whitmire in issue #61 led them to another battle with the Mousers, originally from Mirage Vol 1 #2. We end issue #64 at a conference room table with a group that is deciding how to bring NYC to its knees. Unfortunately, Tales of the TMNT Vol 2 was cancelled before Tristan could finish his story.

What I love about Tristan’s work is that he ties his tales very tightly into the Turtles universe in such a way that they become pivotal to the TMNT canon. There are major events in the Mirage comics that stand out when looking over the timeline, and Tristan’s books fit in really nicely as a way to round out those stories.

These are great issues and show that a lot can be done with the Turtles. You get to see the Turtles in real danger and are not sure how they will make it out of there alive. While I am not a fan of supernatural fantasy, Tristan did a great job bringing in the Lovecraft lore in such a way that I was hooked. The Gang Wars cover the Turtles in more of a “real life” scenario, or at least as “real” as you can get with four walking, talking turtles who know ninjutsu. The writing is great and Tristan always gets paired up with great artists. It would be really interesting to see him write and draw a Turtles book all by himself as he is also a great artist. I guess only time will tell on that one…

Stay tuned for my next review, IDW’s Shadows of the Past will be released in September 2012 collecting issues 9 to 12.

[TomWaltz]

Really enjoying these!

[thelouisguy]

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

Really enjoying these!

Thank you Tom! That means a lot to me! I will be getting you those interview questions very soon.

[thelouisguy]

My fifth "Return to the Sewers" review of the TMNT Shadows of the Past trade.
http://www.crossovercomics.ca/frontp...kevin-eastman/

Spoiler:

Return to the Sewers – TMNT Shadows of the Past by Tom Waltz & Kevin Eastman
Posted on Wednesday, 26 September 2012 - Written by Louis

This is the fifth in a series of comparison pieces following IDW’s new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles timeline and how it differs from the original Mirage timeline. These reviews will reference IDW’s TPBs as well as original issues that are being re-released by IDW in TPB format. IDW’s Shadows of the Past was released in September 2012 and collects issues 9 to 12 of this new series. IDW also released TMNT Classics Vol 1 and Vol 2 in August 2012 which contains issues 13, 16, 22 and 23 from the original series, and the Shell Shock stories. These reviews will also contain spoilers to the plot lines so ***SPOILER ALERT*** to everyone who wanted to read these issues first.

This story arc starts with the Turtles regrouping after the Mousers attack as they begin to plan Master Splinter’s rescue. Tying the story into the micro-series issues, Donatello recognizes the Mouser remote from Baxter Stockman. With April’s help, they decide to head to Stockgen. In Mirage Vol 1 issue 4, the Turtles are looking for their missing master when they find themselves in front of the TCRI building. Remembering that the canister of ooze from their origin is labelled TCRI as well, they decide to investigate the building and put their search for Master Splinter on hold. I like that both versions of the Turtles find their way to “the origin building”.

April, offering the Turtles a place to stay following the Mousers’ attack, brings the Turtles to the Second Time Around antique shop. April also takes the Turtles to her father’s antique shop in Mirage Vol 1 issue 3. It then gets destroyed in issue 10. I really hope we get to keep it around for a little bit longer in this timeline.

We get a lot of character development in this story arc. There are arguments between Leonardo and Donatello, which is an interesting difference from the Mirage series. Typically it is Raphael who gets into heated discussions with Leonardo. We get some more Michelangelo comic book love, which is a staple for Mikey in every Turtles incarnation.

It was really interesting how the Purple Dragons were introduced. The Turtles run into the Purple Dragons outside the Second Time Around antique shop. Casey Jones recognizes the gang’s leader, Angel. They agree to work together to fight off the “other” mutants. In the 4Kids cartoon series, Angel was a Purple Dragon turned ally. She was portrayed as a child until the Back to the Sewers season where she was older. In issue 1 of the Mirage Turtles, the Purple Dragons were the first adversaries that the Turtles fought. In IDW’s version, they seem to be allies, for now. It will be interesting to see if Casey and April still get romantically involved or if Casey and Angel will get involved just to be double crossed.

After defeating a giant Mouser, the Turtles find where Master Splinter was being held. Originally, this is when we met the Utrom. Splinter, being kidnapped by Karai, has been moved to a secret location and is face to face with Karai’s grandfather, Master Shredder. Karai was introduced long after Shredder’s death in the Mirage City at War story arc. We learn her name in issue 54 and she had no relation to Shredder. Shredder originally died in Mirage issue 1 and again in issue 21. It took until issue 9, plus 4 micro-series issues and 2 Infestation issues, for IDW to introduce Shredder. I like that we will have Shredder around for quite some time as the main villain in this series. Bringing him back for the Return to New York story arc was always a little weird; piecing together his body parts with some type of worm. Read it for yourself in the Ultimate Collection Volume 3 released in August 2012. Karai also warns of a war coming like the French ninja did in issue #6. We will be seeing the French ninja in Kevin Eastman’s TMNT Annual 2012 which will be released in October 2012.

Shredder reveals himself to Splinter to be Oroku Saki after realizing that the rat before him is Hamato Yoshi. After Splinter defeats members of the Foot Clan and Alopex (a micro-series tie-in), Shredder attacks him. I liked the way Shredder said, “Fools!”, it felt like the Fred Wolf Shredder to me, but when he said “But leave the rat to me”, all I could hear was the first live action film Shredder. Shredder discovers the Turtles are Splinter’s sons and offers the Turtles to join him, which is similar to how they first met Shredder in the Fred Wolf cartoon. Another example of this kind of relationship was when Karai had made a truce between the Foot and the Turtles during City at War in exchange for their help. Not sure if the Turtles will work with the Foot in this series, but probably not for a long time since the Shredder is still alive.

We also learn that Oroku Saki is the scarred ninja from the Leonardo Micro-Series. Based on the scar on Saki’s face, he is also the ninja that stole the Turtles from Stockgen labs; he is the ninja that Splinter scratched. Meaning, Saki caused the mutation by dropping Splinter and Turtles into the broken canister of ooze in issue #2. This is different than the Mirage origin and live action films where Shredder had no part in the Turtles mutation, but is similar to most other versions where Shredder has some part in their mutation. There are also a lot of nice nods to the original comics in the fight scenes; though not identical, they had the feel of Vol. 1 issues 1 and 10.

This story arc ends with a nice setup for the next arc; Old Hob is shot dead by Krang (or we are lead to believe) and Baxter Stockman is sedated initiating Krang’s plan B. If plan B is to mutate Stockman, I would rather him become a cyborg, but with all the Fred Wolf influences, I would not be surprised if Krang turned him into a fly. Also, looking back April realizes and acknowledges that Splinter saved her life in issue 2 when he pulled the fire alarm to distract the two ninjas (Shredder) in the Stockgen labs. Now April can repay Splinter by tending to him in his time of need.

After reading the first 12 issues of IDW’s TMNT adaptation, the first year generally seems to be mapping out Mirage issues 1 – 10. I would like the second year of IDW’s TMNT (issues 13 to 24) to end in Northampton. I am not sure if it will be a retreat following a defeat, or if they will be forced out of New York following the destruction of the Second Time Around Antique Store, which would also be considered a defeat. And if year two is anything similar to that, I would love the third year of this series to end with a return to New York, where Shredder dies.This would keep Shredder around for three years and give ample time to build up other villains and transition to them for year four and so on. All in all, I am very pleased with where we are right now and IDW’s TMNT is giving Mirage’s TMNT a serious run for their money as my favorite iteration of the Turtles.

Stay tuned for my next review, IDW’s TMNT Annual 2012 which will be released in October 2012. City at War issues referenced will be released and reviewed in October 2012 as well.

[thelouisguy]

Latest "Return to the Sewers" review of Kevin Eastman's TMNT Annual 2012.
http://www.crossovercomics.ca/frontp...kevin-eastman/

Spoiler:

Return to the Sewers – TMNT Annual 2012 by Kevin Eastman
Posted on Tuesday, 06 November 2012 - Written by Louis

This is the latest in a series of comparison pieces following IDW’s new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles timeline and how it differs from the original Mirage timeline. These reviews will reference IDW’s TPBs as well as original issues that are being re-released by IDW in TPB format. IDW’s TMNT Annual 2012 was released in October 2012. IDW also released The Ultimate Collection Vol 4 in November 2012 which contains issues 48 to 55 from the original series, the Shades of Gray story arc and the first half of City at War. These reviews will also contain spoilers to the plot lines so ***SPOILER ALERT*** to everyone who wanted to read these issues first.

This is the first Turtles issue written and drawn by Kevin Eastman in over 20 years and he has not missed a beat. Within the first few pages, Kevin sucks you back in time and it feels like we are reading a Mirage TMNT issue again. Granted, it is a watered down version, like having a Mirage issue crammed into the IDWverse, but that does not diminish the overall quality of the issue.

When Kevin and Peter first wrote the City at War issues, it was a chance to bring the franchise back to it’s roots. By 1992, during the success of the Fred Wolf cartoon and live action films, the comics had has so many guest writers that the continuity was a mess. Every issue was a standalone story without any regard for cohesion. With The Shredder gone and the Foot with no clear leader, different factions fought for control of the city. This 13 issue story arc would end up being one of the Turtles comics’ defining moments.

With Kevin diving head first into this huge project after so many years, this new story would have to be as equally meaningful. This time around, The Shredder is still alive and working with the French Savate, first introduced in issue 6. The gang wars begin not with the death of a leader, but what seems to be a misunderstanding and an accident. A car crashes, a suitcase full of diamonds gets lost, and everyone thinks it is someone else’s master plan to dishonor them and take control of the city.

The IDW TMNT Annual does not try to retell the City at War arc, but it is a nice nod to the past. We get a tamer version of the Turtles issues that we grew up on but the respect that Kevin and Tom show the reader is evident on every page. I really loved this issue. I know some people has their gripes about it: being B&W when the other issues are in color, the art felt like it was rushed, the story was too convoluted and was hard to follow as some points, but I did not find any of those points to be valid. I loved having a gritty, B&W issue which was all tied together with a basic crime story. Yes, there was very little Turtles in this issue, but that would probably be my only negative. The fact that Casey Jones, my favorite non-turtle character, drives this issue makes up for the lack of Turtles for me. Some people did not like the constant “5 minutes earlier” way of storytelling, but to me it added drama and cranked the intensity of the issue up a notch.

It will be interesting to see how this story ties into the ongoing issues as they are branching off into a “Turtles in Space”-type The Krang War story arc. I really hope we do not drift too far away from New York City; there is so much they have introduced in this issue and to have it on the back burner for another year would be a shame. Definitely pick this issue up if you have the chance; with 60 pages of Kevin Eastman art, you will not be disappointed.

Stay tuned for my next review, IDW’s Micro-Series Vol 2 TPB collecting the next 4 Micro-Series issues, Splinter, Casey Jones, April O’Neil, and Fugitoid. The TPB will be released in November 2012.

[Matches Malone]

Nice job, but the annual should definitely have been compared to Eastman's solo stuff like Unmentionables or Bodycount. Or even his team-up with Mark Bode. It is way off from the tone or goals of City At War, in my opinion.

[thelouisguy]

Thank you Matches for the feedback. I know what you mean. I went this way because:

1) I am trying to compare the Mirage issues to IDW (even though IDW is not making it easy by drawing from the Fred Wolf/Archie stuff).

2) I am also trying to reference some of the reprints IDW is doing and they have not announced anything about those issues (I know I already broke this rule on the Gang Wars review, but those have so many fans behind them, it's only a matter of time).

3) You're not wrong. I had a lot of difficulty drawing parallels between the two and thus did not go into as much detail as I was planning when the issue was first announced.

We will see where the Secret History of the Foot Clan takes us. I might compare it to the second half of City at War which should be released around the same time. I am really excited for that mini-series!

[thelouisguy]

Latest "Return to the Sewers" review of the Micro-Series Volume 2 trade.
http://www.crossovercomics.ca/frontp...burnham-et-al/

Spoiler:

Return to the Sewers – TMNT Micro-Series Vol 2, by Erik Burnham et al
Posted on Thursday, 08 November 2012 - Written by Louis

This is the latest in a series of comparison pieces following IDW’s new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles timeline and how it differs from the original Mirage timeline. These reviews will reference IDW’s TPBs as well as original issues that are being re-released by IDW in TPB format. IDW’s Micro-Series Vol 2 was released in November 2012 and collects the next 4 micro-series issues of this new series, Splinter, Casey Jones, April O’Neil, and Fugitoid. IDW will release Tales of the TMNT Vol 1 in December 2012 which contains Tales of the TMNT issues 1, 2, 3 and 4 from the original series. These reviews will also contain spoilers to the plot lines so ***SPOILER ALERT*** to everyone who wanted to read these issues first.

We start off this round of Micro-Series issues with Splinter’s story. It was a nice surprise when this round was announced since in the original run, we only had the four Turtles and the Fugitoid one-shots. The closest thing we got to a Splinter tale was his chapter in Michael Dooney’s Challenges which has yet to be re-released by IDW (and probably won’t). This story was guest written by Erik Burnham, who I had the pleasure of conducting an interview with a few month ago. Splinter’s Micro-Series issue takes place within issue 11 of the ongoing series and is somewhat of a flashback to issue 5. We are shown how Tang Shen and Hamato Yoshi fell in love, then marry. It is a tale of anger management and similarly to Raphael, Yoshi goes on his own not listening to Saki. It is a nice parallel of how Raphael has traditionally disobeyed Leo’s orders; Yoshi leaps recklessly, as Raph often does, and pays for it. The difference between Mirage and IDW is that in the Mirage #1 Tang Shen and Hamato Yoshi are not married and have no children. I was not sure at first, but now I really like the fact that the Turtles are presented as Splinter’s actual children; it adds to the family dynamics which before was only implied. This leads nicely to Casey Jones, who in the ongoing story is now also semi-adopted by the Turtles and Splinter.

Casey Jones has always been like a brother to the Turtles, Raphael specifically. In the IDWverse, Raphael’s loner attitude is driven home by the fact that he was actually raised separately from his brothers after the mutation. This makes Casey and Raphael’s bond more meaningful as they both feel less attached to their fathers then the rest. In this issue we learn that Casey has lost his mother and his father is in debt with the wrong people. Casey, with Raph’s “assistance”, clear his father’s debt. The story leads right into issue 13 of the ongoing series. Casey Jones’ Mirage origin story is touched upon in Tales of the TMNT Vol 2 #37 “Casey in Point” (not re-released yet). Casey has always been one to tell tall tales and was focused on in a few Mirage issues, usually with Raphael. The closest thing to a Mirage Casey Jones origin would be Tales of the TMNT Vol 2 #56 written by Tristan Jones, which we briefly reviewed in Infestation / Gang Wars. Tristan does a great job of introducing Hun into the Mirageverse while writing a great crime story; it remind me of the IDW TMNT Annual 2012 which was just released. Casey Jones has always been a hockey player and originally got into a lot of trouble. Making his character younger and now the “victim” with an abusive father who has his own issues gives his vigilantism a different twist.

April O’Neil is also younger which makes for new and interesting interactions with both the Turtles and the circumstances they all face. This issue was really well done and had a nice clue at the beginning with the palm tree that would lead to the Slash reveal at the end. It is nice to have an issue focused on April and what she is experiencing. If you think about it, the events of the past few months can be quite difficult to process if you were in her shoes. I compare this issue to Mirage issue 11 which is told from her perspective and was immortalized in the first Ninja Turtles live action film. It is funny how both issues start out in a dream, but then again, not surprising if you consider that she has just met FOUR WALKING TALKING TURTLES! I think I would be having weird dreams as well. In both issues about the same amount of time has passed since April met the Turtles and it beginning to take it’s toll on her. Things just keep getting weirder and weirder for April O’Neil.

This leads us to the last Micro-Series issue collected in this volume and possibly one of the weirder ones; the Fugitoid! It was a real surprise to see how they incorporated him into the IDWverse seeing as the majority of this new iteration has taken place on Earth. It was a really nice tie-in to the Fred Wolf series to have Professor Honeycutt be a Neutrino. I also liked that we gave Chet some more of an identity and the fact that the Fugitoid was under our noses the entire time was a big surprise. We also got a reveal in this issue that a lot of people were waiting for; the Technodrome! I do not mind all the Fred Wolf-isms, as long as they continue to tie them in meaningfully and not just for the sake of getting attention. I did not have any feelings, good or bad, towards the original Neutrinos, but seeing them portrayed with a little more seriousness really made me happy. It will be interesting to see in the next story arc, The Krang War issues 17-20, how the Technodrome is used. The main difference in this story is that in the original, Dr Honeycut was trapped in his robot body by accident and in this updated version, he made the choice, although it was under duress, to become trapped in his robot body. The Mirage Fugitoid introduced us to the Triceraton and the IDW Fugitoid is rooted in Dimension X. I hope we do eventually see the Triceraton in IDW, but I would like it to be in a long time. There is so much that has been introduced, especially in these four issues, that I would like them to take their time in exploring it all.

Mirage used the two volumes of the Tales of the TMNT to fill in storylines and give some back story to secondary characters. It is fitting that the first volume is released at the same time as these micro-series issues. As much as I liked the original Tales of the TMNT, I think that this format is much better suited for long term storytelling and will ultimately benefit the IDWverse and it’s readers. Instead of giving us 4 micro-series issues focused on villains, we will be getting a four-part mini-series entitled Secret History of the Foot Clan. I am really excited to see IDW explore this story from the Foot’s point-of-view and maybe finally get an explanation of how the Shredder has made it to present day in his human form.

Stay tuned for my next review, IDW’s Sins of the Fathers. The TPB will be released in February 2013 collecting issues 13 to 16.

[thelouisguy]

Latest "Return to the Sewers" review of the TMNT Sins of the Fathers trade.
http://www.crossovercomics.ca/frontp...kevin-eastman/

Spoiler:

Return to the Sewers – TMNT Vol 4 Sins of the Fathers, by Tom Waltz & Kevin Eastman
Posted on Thursday, 31 January 2013 - Written by Louis

This is the latest Return to the Sewers comparison piece following IDW’s new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles timeline and how it differs from the original Mirage timeline. These reviews will reference IDW’s TPBs as well as original issues that are being re-released by IDW in TPB format. IDW’s Sins of the Fathers was released in February 2013 and collects issues 13 to 16 of this new series. IDW also released TMNT Classics Vol 3 and Vol 4 in December 2012 and March 2013 which contain issues 27-29 and 32-34 from the original series. These reviews will also contain spoilers to the plot lines so ***SPOILER ALERT*** to everyone who wanted to read these issues first.

The first thing you will notice when you pick up this book is the change in art style. After 12 issues, Dan Duncan has left as the lead artist of the TMNT comics to pursue a TV animation job. This trade paperback collects two 2-issue story arcs, Sins of the Fathers and Blood Brothers, which made a great time to bring in a fill-in artist until a new full time artist could be found. Hot off his Michelangelo micro-series issue, issues 13 and 14 were going to be done by guest artist Andy Kuhn. It was while he was working on issue 13 that IDW asked him to stay on to draw this whole book. This change was not permanent as the next arc was drawn by Ben Bates.

Sins of the Fathers picks up where the Casey Jones micro-series issue leaves off and tackles the theme of father figures, family, and how they impact or affect everybody differently. Casey, after being beaten up by his father, returns to the Turtles. Raphael has a difficult time dealing with the fact that Casey’s father has so little respect for his son that he intends to do something about it. Splinter steps up in this issue and teaches Raphael how to control his anger. Raph, being reunited with his brothers and father after a year of being apart, is still learning and adapting to his new family situation. In this story arc, he is made to feel more a part of the family than before, as are Casey and April who are both welcomed to the family. Being younger than in the Mirage comics does help when it comes to building the family unit. The Mirage “family-unit” was created more out of necessity whereas in the IDWverse, everybody is still maturing and developing personally and a father figure is important in this time of life.

Sins of the Fathers continues with a focus on Karai. We start to see her disappointing her “grandfather”, Shredder. We are also lead to believe that Shredder will be looking for a new number two sooner rather than later. Shortly thereafter, Shredder asks Karai to bring him Leonardo. And if this was not subtle enough, we later discover that Shredder, not believing in Karai, wants Leonardo as his second in command. Her character in the Mirage comics had a bit more on an edge to her and I am quite surprised that Karai lets herself be pushed around so much by Shredder. I am sure we will see her develop a bit more of a backbone in the Secret History of the Foot Clan mini-series, but it is still weird to see Karai like this. We have seen the Turtles work with the Foot in the past, during the Mirage City at War story arc as well as in the 4kids animated series, but Shredder trying to recruit Leonardo is very interesting twist and I am looking forward to seeing it progress.

Meanwhile, Baxter Stockman wakes up in a lab on Burnow Island and discovers a room full of Krang-type brains. This is the first time in the IDWverse that we start to get some history about Krang. We learn that Krang is an Utrom from Utrominon while he shows Baxter the portal he uses to go between Earth and Dimension X and gives a brief family history, with mention of his father. While Krang is explaining this to Stockman, a few Neutrinos come through the portal and are subdued by Krang fairly easily. We had already had a slight spoiler in the Fugitoid micro-series issue, but we then get the big Technodrome reveal. With the impending Krang War story arc, IDW has swapped out the Triceraton’s homeland for Dimension X and the Technodrome. As much as it hurts some of us diehard Mirage fans that they are skipping the Triceraton for now (I’m talking about you TRexJones), I am glad that they will be breathing new life into the Neutrinos. Making any element of the Fred Wolf series more serious is always a good thing.

The second story arc in this book is entitled Blood Brothers and continues the family theme. We learn that something has escaped the Stockgen labs and it ends up hunting the Turtles. The four Turtles must work together, reinforcing their brotherly bond, to vanquish this foe. At first, I was hoping for Leatherhead, who we first met in Tales of the TMNT Vol 1. but it was later revealed to be Slash (which was also sort of spoiled by the April micro-series issue). Even though I really hope we see Leatherhead show up in IDW in about a year or two, this Slash story arc reminds me of him. Slash was more of an Archie character and like Leatherhead, he was an Utrom experiment that got loose. On the last page we discover that Old Hob is still alive and that he is trying to recruit Slash, kind of like Leatherhead when he started working for the Foot, by deception. Blood Brothers not only continues the “family” theme with the Turtles wondering about Slash and how he is similar to them, but with death and killing as Leonardo feel extreme remorse for what he “thinks” he has done.

The Turtles also discover their new lair in this book, a bomb shelter with access to the sewer. I am really excited about all the possibilities the bomb shelter has to offer them. This new lair helps solidify the “family” just like going to Northampton did in the Mirage series. This is also a topic I was hoping to see Tom and Kevin tackle, Northampton, and I guess for now everybody moving to this new home will work the same way moving to Northampton did for the Mirage Turtles.

Both of the 2-part arcs help set up an incredible 2013 planned for IDW’s TMNT. We have the 4-part Krang War arc, 4-part Secret History of the Foot Clan mini-series, and an incredible 7-part story with a prelude by Kevin Eastman to close out the year. Not only that, but we have a set of four villain micro-series issues coming out, with the first one delving deeper into the father issues Krang has. It will feature the artist of the Casey Jones micro-series issue, Mike Henderson. The second issue will focus on Baxter Stockman and will feature two familiar names; Erik Burnham will write the issue and Andy Kuhn will draw it.

Currently, IDW is being heavily influenced by the Fred Wolf and Archie series, but there is still a lot to compare to the Mirage comics. It is funny how we are over 16 issues into IDW’s run and they are still touching on stories that happened in the first few issues of the Mirage run. There is so much more material for them to refer back to that this series will definitely have more twists and turns to come.

Stay tuned for my next review, IDW’s Krang Wars. The TPB will be released in June 2013 collecting issues 17, 18, 19, 20. If you want to know more about the artist of this book, please go back and check out my interview with Andy Kuhn.