TMNT Adventures (Archie) marathon run begins now...

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

TMNTA #22 *** . With things pretty hairy now and the Turtles out of options, who shows up but... Raphael, fresh from the Might Mutanimals mini. Actually a pretty neat, Han Solo-arriving-at-the-Deathstar sort of moment, I remember enjoying it quite a bit as a kid.

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

Personally, the only worthwhile thing about the issue was the Gene Colan art. I dunno how or why they got such a celebrated artist for one random, unceremonious issue (likely, Colan just needed the dough), but it really did look fantastic.

As a Raphael fan, his triumphal return in that issue was pretty memorable for me.

I probably like that issue more than I should, but with Shredder & Raph both having memorable roles after some absences and some killer Gene Colan art... man, I can't help but love that issue.

[Andrew NDB]

TMNTA #23 *** -- I think this (combined with the 2 issues right after it) was one of my favorite stories as a kid... strange that it was also one of the last. It's also the debut of fan-favorite TMNTA artist Chris Allan. While on Morbus Krang makes friends with Slash, another TMNTA hallmark, and Bellybomb and escapes the planet with a ship, the Turtles demonstrate gun control in contending with some youths with firearms on their way to make a preemptive strike on the Shredder. Leonardo's "I hate guns" thing comes up again. Not much more to the issue than that, but a decent enough beginning to the three-parter. Also April O'Neil, who began using a katana (actually a ninjato, but who cares) last issue, begins showing a bit more of her inclination toward getting a piece of the action.

TMNTA #24 ***1/2 -- Part 2. Bebop and Rocksteady are picked up from their paradise world by Krang while on Earth, we see an unusually (for TMNTA so far) calm and calculating Oroku Saki pruning his bonsai tree and considering current events... before the Turtles ambush him. When Krang's ship crashes into the scene, it quickly becomes a TMNT vs. Shredder, Krang, Bellybomb Bebop and Rocksteady scuffle. It's quick, and Shredder tries to take Krang's ship... where he is greeted by Krang. Bellybomb knocks him out with his breath... and then we get probably the most disturbing and yet somehow coolest visual in TMNTA: Krang mounting himself onto Shredder's body. It was pretty chilling to flip the page and see that as a kid and it's still pretty cool now. Makes you wonder, though, if Krang could always have done this... why didn't he do this after any one of the umpteen failures of Shredder to secure him a body, or anything else? Ah well. This also has part 1 of an April O'Neil-Warrior Dragon backup. In this one Fu Sheng is captured by men (and ninjas) in black, forcing Chu Hsi to will himself to again become the Warrior Dragon.

TMNTA #25 **** -- The conclusion. A pretty big finish, all things considered that pretty well "settles all debts" on a lot of loose ends and characters. Bebop and Rocksteady try to wreak their normal sort of mayhem in New York but somehow, after their time on the paradise planet, just aren't feeling it anymore. They don't have it in them. The Turtles square off against Slash, Krang-Shredder (should we just call him Ch'rell?), and Bellybomb and manage to pull a victory out of things. At one point Leonardo even manages to slash Saki's body across the chest bloodily -- and it's a pretty big slash -- which was pretty surprising to see in the Archie comics. Liberated from Krang, Shredder walks away with his bonsai tree and agrees that he owes them one. Bebop and Rocksteady then make their fond goodbyes to the Turtles (in their own way, I suppose), take the ship, and then deposit Krang and Bellybomb back on Morbus before returning "home" to the paradise planet. A pretty amicable end to things. Confusing to me again is Bebop and Rocksteady talking about, "Dis is da zoo dat Shredda took us from, back when I wuz a regula rhino and you wuz a little piggie." Though a little more explanation is offered here, "We wuz also men. Our bodies wuz human...den our souls became animal cuz of da mutagen." "Now our bodies are memories are both. We is animal-men, like." I'm not quite on board with the importing of memories from the animals they were exposed to (again, it's not like they absorbed the rhino and warthog into their bodies... they just touched their skin and then the rhino and warthog went back to their cages or whatever) but at least some kind of explanation is offered. In part 2 of the April backup, Warrior Dragon smacks the crap out of the ninjas in black before they spray him with some powder that makes him revert back to a human at an inopportune time as April can do little but watch.

[Andrew NDB]

TMNTA #26 ** -- "No alien power can stop Turtle power!" indeed. I think I remember what happened as a kid... you know, I'd gotten all the previous issues from the comic store (usually stopping by there once or twice a month with my mom, looking for either the latest issue of TMNTA or RoboCop from Marvel) and was wondering why #26 was sooo late. After what seemed like forever, a new issue of TMNTA came... but it was not #26, but rather it was #27. I think the owner said he'd try to reorder #26 or something, but it never happened. Maybe that contributed to why I kind of moved on from TMNTA after the next few issues but ah well. So I'm reading this issue for the first time now ever and find it pretty forgettable. Back on pencils is Ken Mitchroney, which I've always had a soft spot for. On script duties this time is "Doug Brammer"... I'm not up on my pseudonyms so, like "Dean Clarrain" = Steve Murphy it's very possible this was somebody else, but maybe not. Dan Berger steps in with plot as well as inks, so that's always welcome. The story is about an alien called "The Keeper" (who looks like an amalgam of Doc Ock and the Shredder-Krang hybrid seen in the last three-parter). His whole thing is scooping up endangered types and protecting them from the evils of man. They make a abominable snowman friend named T'Pau (possibly named after the bitchy Vulcan who presided over things in the Vulcan sex episode of Star Trek: TOS) who gets whisked up by this character. In the end they realize they're all on the same side and get a free trip home where April is awaiting with pizza. Schmaltzy and heavy-handed. In the April backup busts in on the men in black holding Chu Hsi... and then Splinter busts in also (in samurai armor). When the odds look like in their favor a big burly white ninja shows up and that's the cliffhanger. Just as much piecemeal as the other April backups but a decent enough story when read at one time.

TMNTA #27 **1/2 -- A town with radioactive waste going into the water and the air that -- coincidentally enough -- has the exact same properties as Krang's mutagen is making the townspeople batty, and turns an owl, a crow, and a cat (Old Hob, Sr.?) into mutants. Sounds like the premise for another environmental message, and it is, but this one seemed to be both creepy and entertaining enough to me as a kid and now. More Mitchroney this time, with a plot by Ryan Brown. The whole issue kind of feels like an episode of Scooby Doo or something, but there's something about April investigating the town and the not-quite-right townspeople that really does make you afraid for her. The mutant cat, crow, and owl capture and try to make April into a mutant to have humans "join us in our toxic communion" but the Turtles show up, beat'em up, and hightail it outta there. That's that. Back to the April backup, April makes mincemeat out of the white ninja. Little bit of a stretch there that she'd be able to do that, but no more retarded than her managing to knock out Karai in the fourth Turtles movie, right? The last man in black tells April that Chu Hsi and Fu Sheng have been taken to Hiroshima... and we see that this April backup wasn't just a throwaway thing, but a direct lead-in to the next main story arc of TMNTA in the next issue(s). In continuity, I suppose this whole April backup would've had to have taken place between the end of this issue and the next one.

[CyberCubed]

You really never retread these issues in 20 years?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

You really never retread these issues in 20 years?

Half of them I'd never owned until a couple of years ago.

[Andrew NDB]

TMNTA #28 *** -- "Midnight Sun" Part 1 of 3. This was the last big story arc I read as a kid and it seems as sturdy now as it did then, though bits here and there that never bothered me as an 11 year-old now bear the distinct smell of cheese now. It's clear Steve put a ton of thought into this arc and it's rather nice to watch it all unfold from the very beginning where we delve right away into Japanese mythology. So as you might expect, April after her backup adventure with her chasing down Chu Hsi and the men in black and white and black ninja and all that, she goes to the Turtles for help. They all stow aboard a plane and head to Hiroshima where Chien Khan (an armored baddie with a mask... as a kid I'm pretty sure I was going, "Ooh! I wonder if it's Shredder!") is holding Chu Hsi and Fu Sheng captive. It seems Chien Khan wants the soul of the Warrior Dragon to do his bidding which, safe to assume, is probably nothing too benevolent. The Turtles get in a fight with some random Japanese hooligans in the sewers and quickly dispatch them. At the end we see the big reveal of Chien Khan's top henchman: Ninjara, a female humanoid fox, who promises to Chien Khan to "bring you their heads." The sense of adventure is high here, there's intrigue, suspense, a compelling original bad guy, and even some decent action. And Chris Allan really coming into his own now. Not much not too like here. Oh, we're also introduced to Oykui Mamisha, who would become an important part of the cast (particularly with April) in the time to come.

TMNTA #29 *** -- "Midnight Sun" Part 2 of 3. Right off the bat we're thrown into a flashback with Hamato Yoshi as a young boy with his first sensei, "Great Uncle Gyogi" just before the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in WWII. While Oyuki and Fu Sheng are held captive beside Chu Hsi, whom is about to take unwitting part in a ritual by way of Chien Khan... the Turtles have their first encounter with Ninjara. The flirting and banter between Raphael and Ninjara is there right away. When Leonardo slices through a white ninja and he vanishes like Obi-Wan, there's a little bit of confusion. Leonardo: "Are these things... ghosts?" Splinter: "Not quite, my son. They wear white to symbolize their having been born into ninjitsu... yet those who wear white are also said to have entered the white light of death." So... basically Leonardo was right and they're ghosts? Or what? In the end, Chien Khan succeeds in making Chu Hsi turn into a Warrior Dragon ready to do his bidding while the Turtles are in hot pursuit (Ninjara still chasing after them, too). Another fun romp.

TMNTA #30 *** -- "Midnight Sun" Part 3 of 3. Noi Tai Dar, the Demon Lord is summoned by Chien Khan via the creating of a nuclear meltdown at a power plant the Warrior Dragon besieges. A funny moment (in a corny way) is when Donatello decides to berate the [possessed] Warrior Dragon's attacking of the cooling tower when he should actually be attacking the "round building" instead. The Dragon says "Thank you" and then does just that, causing the desired nuclear meltdown. Noi Tai Dar arrives via the cooling tower as Chien Khan is on the verge of sacrificing Oyuki to complete the ritual... and Chu Hsi awakens within the Warrior Dragon. The Warrior Dragon and Noi Tai Dar have a bit of a scrap before Izanagi and Izanami (the Yin and Yang of Japanese mythology) arrive to send the Demon Lord back to Hell. Simultaneously, Fu Sheng tries to free Oyuki and tackles Chien Khan... who knocks off his mask. Turns out Chien Khan is a humanoid dog (at this point in the Archie series you kind of have to throw your hands up and just "go with it" as the humanoid animal count is sky high and will only continue to get higher). The Turtles arrive on the scene, beat up the men/ninjas in black and Chien Khan flees. Nice happy ending with everyone reunited and joined by their new friends, Oyuki and Ninjara. Though it wasn't quite afforded as much attention as maybe it should've, I found Ninjara's turn from bad to good this issue when she realized the extend of Chien Khan's machinations to be the highlight of the issue (I wonder if, down the line, a similar turn is planned for Alopex in the IDW series).

TMNTA #31 **** -- A great one-shot character piece that's fairly moving in its own way, a perfect bit of a "cool down" as we come down off the big three-parter that, in turn, was spun from a 3 part backup in three other issues too. A spiritual issue. In one piece we have Splinter giving Leonardo a lesson on swordsmanship, bushido, and zen. In another, Raphael and Ninjara spend some alone time investigating a Torii, which is supposedly the gateway to "Yomi, the underworld." They later get into it with the same random thugs the Turtles ran into in the sewers... turns out they know Ninjara, and it turns out she's the greatest thief in Japan. The banter between Raphael and Ninjara is always fun to read.... and Raphael has never looked so taken off-guard as when Ninjara throws an arm over his plastron in a bit of a possessive manner. In another, Donatello ruminates over the repairs/enclosing of the nuclear plant that was besieged in the last issue. He mentions that Japan is going to enclose the "entire nuclear plant within a giant cement sarcophagus. Just like Chernobyl." A little bit chilling to read about now in the wake of the very-real Fukushima power plant disaster last year that is still not quite entirely contained. That was caused by an earthquake and then a flood... where this fictional power plant's reactor was punched by an 8 story tall Dragon, slammed around, then thrown on the ground... so I'm having a little bit of trouble imagining them so amicably resolving the situation here, but that's just me. Another piece is Michelangelo being taught to fly kites by Oyuki. Kind of a sweet piece. I'm sure the fanfic writers will (and have, I'm sure) read some kind of romance into the exchange here, but it seems platonic enough to me. In the last piece, April and Chu Hsi, is certainly not platonic... what begins as Chu being coached in how to control his Warrior Dragon size becomes a pretty passionate kiss between the two.

[wilddiverse]

Doug Brammer wrote the Bog Swamp Demon series from Hall of Heroes and the Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa minis published by Archie-- he's an occasional collaborator of Dan Berger and Ryan Brown from their pre-TMNT days in comics.

And google shows Brammer is attached to Ryan Brown's THE SELECTED graphic novel as well-- but I don't know how recently there's been any news about that "Mighty Mutanimals Next Generation" project.

[Andrew NDB]

TMNTA #32 * -- I give this sucker one star because -- well, apart from it being pretty bad -- it was the issue that, as best as I can tell, caused me to drop the book as a kid. It's all about a tattooed sumo wrestler named Tattoo whose dog has been abducted and the Turtles have to rescue. There's very little to like in this issue aside from just enjoying watching the Turtles learn to operate as a team with Ninjara. On the positive side, the plot thread with the random thugs that the Turtles keep running into has at least some kind of payoff... they were looking for help to find Tattoo's dog. Um, OK. And Tattoo gives Leonardo a sword to replace the one he broke training with Splinter the last issue.

TMNTA Special #1 * -- I don't think I ever read this one as a kid but I don't think it would've done anything more for me then than it does now. Supreme camp, cheese, and wackiness with the dial turned up to "11." If TMNTA #32 hadn't already put the nail in the TMNTA coffin for me (however fairly or unfairly that may have been) as a youngster, I'm positive this one would've. The Turtles wake up to see a bunch of Iron Man-like lumberjack robots (complete with little lumberjack beanies) chopping up trees and gathering them in the back of a truck. They destroy them (complete with the robots saying jokes like, "I've fallen and I can't get up!") and are then accosted by "Shelton Slujj, billionaire philanthropist" and his daughter, Emmy. Slujj is pissed because the Turtles destroyed his robots... but wait... nowhere on any of these pages is he the least bit weirded out that, y'know, these are four walking, talking Turtles. When it turns out Slujj wasn't up to bad after all, the Turtles help him continue his work in humanely disposing of toxic waste. A rogue environmentalist, Victor, is caught slipping over their fence who tells them, basically, "Whoa, Slujj really IS a bad guy, you better stop helping him" before... eh... Bigfoot attacks them all. Anyway, turns out Bigfoot and his fellow sasquatches are all buddies. Next we get a big Bigfoot and Turtles vs. Robots fight... but the Turtles and Bigfoot lose and get apprehended. Bit of a logic foible there, as the Turtles fought just as many or more in the beginning and kicked their asses... and they didn't even have Bigfoot helping them back there. Slujj is taken to the "trouble spot" where his robots have not-too-humanely been disposing of the toxic waste and sees his daughter, Emmy, very sick from assumedly radiation poisoning. The sasquatches show up and give her a magical anti-radiation cure and Slujj has an equally magical change of heart, swearing to build a toxic waste disposal plant that breaks stuff down instead of just burying it. In the next segment of the treehouse of horror, the Turtles are on a yacht from Slujj with Emmy, apparently a "thank you" for showing him the error of his ways. And then disaster strikes! A sea serpent attacks the ship knocking everyone overboard. A Japanese ship quickly picks them up (and again no humans are the least bit weirded out that these are walking, talking turtles!) and they're taken before Captain Agamatta, some kind of armored Cable knockoff with an Ahab-on for the sea serpent seen earlier. There's an environmental message here about whaling, but at least it's quick. In predictable enough fashion Agamatta tries to take on the sea serpent but fails and the Turtles make friends with it (and its mother), then the serpents agree to take them back to the mainland with Emmy (who apparently only exists in this comic book to fulfill some kind of "annoying kid quota") and her dad in tow. There's really not too much nice I can say about this book.

[CyberCubed]

Most of the Archie specials weren't written by Murphy. It actually disappointed me how little those specials tie into the main series.

You'd think if they had extra Archie comics coming out at 64 pages, they'd use that time to focus more on characters like Rat King or even bring back Baxter Stockman or something.

[Metropoliskid41]

Thanks for posting all of these plot summaries and ratings Andrew, I'm missing about half of the Archie issues and its been forever since I've read the ones I do own. Its a nice stroll down memory lane.

I really need to go fill in my gaps in my Archie collection.

[MikeandRaph87]

MK41,the problem is the Archie series is hard to find even at comic cons. For better or worse Ebay is your best bet. I would have liked to have seen more of Krang and Rat King, and more human Baxter and a little less traveling in the series. Those are my only real gripes.

[Metropoliskid41]

Oh I know, I've had to resort to ebay a lot for the few missing issues I've filled in already. I go to quite a few cons around the area and haven't had any luck finding a seller with much Mirage or Archie stuff. I am no stranger to ebay for filling in back issues. I have about 20 long boxes to prove it

[Leo656]

Awesome as always. I remember things happening similar yet reversed when I was a kid, my local newsstand stopped carrying TMNTA somewhere in the 'teens, so it was around #26 or so that I got back into it.

I get what you mean about the creepy vibe in #27, Andrew. I first read that issue when I was 7 or 8, alone in my room at midnight after my Dad brought me some comics from 7-11, and was definitely a bit unsettled. Can't get to my comics at the moment so these reviews are bringing back some very vivid memories.

[Venom]

Originally Posted by Metropoliskid41

Oh I know, I've had to resort to ebay a lot for the few missing issues I've filled in already. I go to quite a few cons around the area and haven't had any luck finding a seller with much Mirage or Archie stuff. I am no stranger to ebay for filling in back issues. I have about 20 long boxes to prove it

Have you visited Mirage's website? They have most of the Archie series in stock.

[Metropoliskid41]

Yes I have been to Mirage's site but never realized they had them all in stock, thanks!! I only ever used them to fill in my holes in volume 4 and Tales volume 2, never even clicked that the Archie series would be on there. Thanks for the heads up Venom!

[wilddiverse]

There's always the Buying/Selling section here on the forum as well-- you can check what folks are selling or try your luck posting a wantlist.

And the creepy vibe in TMNTA #27 was an intentional HP Lovecraft influence-- the same influence felt in Mirage's v1 #29. Infestation 2 won't be the first time the TMNT have crossed paths with Lovecraftian concepts.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

TMNTA #32 * -- I give this sucker one star because -- well, apart from it being pretty bad -- it was the issue that, as best as I can tell, caused me to drop the book as a kid. It's all about a tattooed sumo wrestler named Tattoo whose dog has been abducted and the Turtles have to rescue. There's very little to like in this issue aside from just enjoying watching the Turtles learn to operate as a team with Ninjara. On the positive side, the plot thread with the random thugs that the Turtles keep running into has at least some kind of payoff... they were looking for help to find Tattoo's dog. Um, OK. And Tattoo gives Leonardo a sword to replace the one he broke training with Splinter the last issue.

TMNTA Special #1 * -- I don't think I ever read this one as a kid but I don't think it would've done anything more for me then than it does now. Supreme camp, cheese, and wackiness with the dial turned up to "11." If TMNTA #32 hadn't already put the nail in the TMNTA coffin for me (however fairly or unfairly that may have been) as a youngster, I'm positive this one would've. The Turtles wake up to see a bunch of Iron Man-like lumberjack robots (complete with little lumberjack beanies) chopping up trees and gathering them in the back of a truck. They destroy them (complete with the robots saying jokes like, "I've fallen and I can't get up!") and are then accosted by "Shelton Slujj, billionaire philanthropist" and his daughter, Emmy. Slujj is pissed because the Turtles destroyed his robots... but wait... nowhere on any of these pages is he the least bit weirded out that, y'know, these are four walking, talking Turtles. When it turns out Slujj wasn't up to bad after all, the Turtles help him continue his work in humanely disposing of toxic waste. A rogue environmentalist, Victor, is caught slipping over their fence who tells them, basically, "Whoa, Slujj really IS a bad guy, you better stop helping him" before... eh... Bigfoot attacks them all. Anyway, turns out Bigfoot and his fellow sasquatches are all buddies. Next we get a big Bigfoot and Turtles vs. Robots fight... but the Turtles and Bigfoot lose and get apprehended. Bit of a logic foible there, as the Turtles fought just as many or more in the beginning and kicked their asses... and they didn't even have Bigfoot helping them back there. Slujj is taken to the "trouble spot" where his robots have not-too-humanely been disposing of the toxic waste and sees his daughter, Emmy, very sick from assumedly radiation poisoning. The sasquatches show up and give her a magical anti-radiation cure and Slujj has an equally magical change of heart, swearing to build a toxic waste disposal plant that breaks stuff down instead of just burying it. In the next segment of the treehouse of horror, the Turtles are on a yacht from Slujj with Emmy, apparently a "thank you" for showing him the error of his ways. And then disaster strikes! A sea serpent attacks the ship knocking everyone overboard. A Japanese ship quickly picks them up (and again no humans are the least bit weirded out that these are walking, talking turtles!) and they're taken before Captain Agamatta, some kind of armored Cable knockoff with an Ahab-on for the sea serpent seen earlier. There's an environmental message here about whaling, but at least it's quick. In predictable enough fashion Agamatta tries to take on the sea serpent but fails and the Turtles make friends with it (and its mother), then the serpents agree to take them back to the mainland with Emmy (who apparently only exists in this comic book to fulfill some kind of "annoying kid quota") and her dad in tow. There's really not too much nice I can say about this book.

I loved the Tattoo story. After first seing Krang taking over Shredder's body in a science fiction story and then a strange demon in Japan, it was time for some Down to Earth stories again.

[Mr Null]

Those were some great reviews. Its nice to hear what other people think on my first and favorite experiences with the TMNT world! No forums back then! haha...

Looks like you bolted right before a great 2 parter with Shredder. He was just so bad ass in #35-#36. The setting and the atmosphere was great! Loved it! But I do have a question that has been bugging the hell out of me for years! Decades even! How did this Shredder know about what happened in #25 when he was plucked out of the ending of issue #4! (this may have been addressed before - but I'm new and pleading ignorance!

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Shouldn't the "Keeper" episode fit better with the Charlie Lama issues,as they both featured Tibet.