"THE SHREDDER" graphic novel

[Nortock Diab]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

The first mega-batch of books... is away

Do you email the tracking number?

[Andrew NDB]

So I'm told ALL domestic orders have gone out now. So that's completely handled. International orders are being packaged up this weekend and sent out most likely this coming Monday.

Originally Posted by Nortock Diab

Do you email the tracking number?

No, but I believe the wife is keeping them handy just in case.

[Nortock Diab]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

No, but I believe the wife is keeping them handy just in case.

It would be helpful for us European recipients in order to avoid paying too much taxes to the customs.
In France, tracking # allows to pay in advance and reduce the overall cost.

[Sabacooza]

Originally Posted by elgarlic

I received my copy. Really nice printing quality. Looks just as good as any good TPB at the comic shop. The front and back covers go really well together thanks to the color work, and almost looks like a wraparound cover at first glance. The duo-esque shading inside is also printed well. Looking forward to reading it.

Thanks. I'm glad you like it.

[j3h]

Just wanted to post that I received my copy as well. Well packaged for shipping and arrived pristine.
Looking forward to sitting and reading it as well in the next day or so.

[Zog The Magnificent]

Well, I got mine in the mail today, and I've read it. Here's my review:

Spoiler:

Unfortunately, taken as a whole, I don't think I quite liked this story.

Now, that should not be taken as any sort of disparagement of any of the people who made it. This comic, like the others, is clearly a labour of love. And I will say, the first half had me completely hooked. But by the end, the story had lost me, and I found myself not really enjoying it.

As I said, the first half was excellent. The Shredder in Mirage has always had a degree of nuance that is not generally afforded to him in TMNT adaptations. I quite enjoyed the look at his childhood, and the use of Oroku Nagi as a character, who is generally a nonentity as far as TMNT goes. It was nice to see the story hinted at in TMNT #1 fleshed out to this degree, and watching what Shredder was getting up to in the years leading up to his confrontation with the turtles. I found the writing in the section to be particularly strong, and seeing how he went from a sweet little boy to the man we met in the first issue was quite interesting. I also appreciated how it tied in Karai, as well as making his whole story an overall tragedy.

However, right near the end of the first section is where the story started to lose me. After Shredder kills Yoshi and Shen, he immediately tells Amaya, who then leaves him. Immediately after, we see him meeting the Headhunter, who is now a completely separate character from Amaya. And later, we learn that Pimiko and Amaya are still alive, and that the original Vol. 3 conclusion has effectively been retconned out by this story. And that’s a darn shame, because the fan made #24 and #25 are two of my absolute favorite Mirage TMNT stories. I always loved how those stories tied everything together; the Headhunter, The Mistress, Pimiko, the Foot Clan, all of Vol. 3’s various subplots… Those two issues gave a real sense of progression and closure that the series really hadn’t had since the end of Vol. 1. Between those two issues, they tied together all of the various disparate and unfinished TMNT stories that had come out since City at War, and gave a real sense of finality to the overall subplot with the Foot Clan, as well as tying everything back into Vol. 4. I genuinely believe that retconning that story out, apparently in favor of the Urban Legends conclusion, is an overall disservice to the story and to some of the characters.

The story of Tang Amaya and Pimiko was one of tragedy, and the way it tied into the overall theme of the cycle of vengeance that has permeated the series from the beginning made for a very meaningful and poignant conclusion, where Amaya and her daughter Pimiko ultimately destroy themselves over it, and the final influence of the Foot Clan goes out with a whimper, leaving the turtles to move on with their lives. Here, Amaya is far less fleshed out, and Pimiko goes from being an ally to turning on the turtles within 5 minutes of meeting Shredder, with Amaya’s death being far less meaningful this time around, being stabbed by Casey, a character she has no connection to, with little build up. I also was not a huge fan of the death of both Casey and April.

Now, the future of Mirage being what it is, we knew that they had died at some point, but it was always a more abstract “in the past” sort of thing. In Origin, which was effectively the last present day story, since it was followed up by Odyssey, we leave April finally pregnant and able to have a child, happy with Casey and the turtles. A good stopping point. The way they died here felt rushed, anticlimactic, and ultimately too sudden. I much preferred their death as an abstract than what was presented here.

As for the second half of the comic, I felt the writing, which again was very solid in the first half, was not as good in the second. It’s hard to describe, but the way the characters talked felt… off. While no stranger to swearing, as it was used here felt excessive at times, and the way they talked felt oddly cavalier and casual at times, and weirdly less dire then it seemed it should have been. Additionally, after spending ample time fleshing out his backstory, once we get to the actual awakening of Shredder, it feels like the comic realized it was running out of pages and had to run to cover everything. Shredder goes from waking up, to tracking down the still alive Amaya, to seeking out Pimiko, who almost immediately teams up with him, all the way to his confrontation with the turtles, in what feels like a very short amount of time. They fight, then he takes Donatello and April back to a lab, (which also has Shadow betraying them a bit, which itself felt out of character), then becomes Super Shredder. And yet, much like the second movie, the fight with Super Shredder was over too quickly, and felt too easy. Additionally, during this second half of the comic, Shredder loses much of the nuance that the first half of the comic had built up for him, ultimately becoming almost cartoonishly evil, before suddenly having a change of heart once he’s dying (though this is ultimately because of those three Foot Mystics manipulating his mind, which was a nice callback, if still leaving a cliffhanger). The future of the TMNT was always bleak, but even by the end there was a note of hope to it all. As the final story set in the present day narrative, it feels too mean spirited.

Ultimately, the fact that this story took the original Image conclusion out is what made it kind of a dealbreaker for me. I feel the way the plot and characters were handled in that story was superior to the way they were handled in this story. I felt that story was more meaningful, climactic, and poignant, compared to this story. I feel that at the end of the day, this story takes more away from the overall tapestry of Mirage TMNT than it gives. Which is a shame, because I really wanted to like this story. And I did, at first. But I feel the decisions made were simply not the right choices.

Once again, I mean no disrespect to the creative team behind this story. Lawson was in top form, as were the other contributing artists, and the stories penned by Andrew, Mark, and Arseniy are some of my favorites from the Mirage canon, even if they’re not “official.” My intention, as I said, is not to disparage anyone who worked on this. My intention was only to share my honest thoughts on the comic. I just don’t think this one hit the mark, at least for me. Perhaps this story is more enjoyable to those who did not hold the #24-25 conclusion in as high regard. Regardless, I don’t regret reading it, but I think as far as my headcanon goes, I won’t be including this story as a part of it.

If any of you end up reading this, my sincere thanks for this and the stories you have told in the past. Please don't take this as a criticisim of any of you who took their time to make this. I do eagerly await any stories you may wish to tell in the future.

[Andrew NDB]

Fair enough, Zog!

Spoiler:

Our "Image fan conclusion" has the rare distinction of being de-canonized by an actual offial one, "Urban Legends," a couple of years ago. Which Gary was awesome enough to let me contribute to and help out with. And I don't think Gary said "no" to any of my notes and suggestions. I'm credited in the issues. And there was one big doozy in there I was able to catch and shift that definitely wouldn't have lent well to Vol. 4, to put it lightly. But in any case, this in mind, me helping the actual "official" Image conclusion along, it was difficult to rationalize (if painful, I'll admit) not jettisoning what Arseniy and I did creatively many years before.

If "Urban Legends" had not been a thing, of course things would have gone differently. But that it has created new stuff to reconcile. Though between Urban Legends and this, the Mistress and Lady Shredder and Headhunter and all are given their day in court. There's that flashback halfway into things that literally salvages 2 pages from the Image fan conclusion. I wish more could have been salvaged. And of course the final farm page of the "fan" conclusion is redone in Urban Legends. So there was a bit of give and take for sure.

And the cliffhanger/tease, it definitely wouldn't have been done without the concrete intention -- and a plan -- of one more thing. Though it may not be what you would expect.

[ZariusTwo]

Spoiler:

RIP April and Casey.

'Happy ending override' as the ol' tropes say.

[Powder]

Looking forward to receiving my copy!

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Powder

Looking forward to receiving my copy!

What copy? You never bothered to order one.

Spoiler:

Just kidding.

[slashpieturtlemix]

Where do I go to order this one? Is it through demon as usual or Andrew?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by slashpieturtlemix

Where do I go to order this one? Is it through demon as usual or Andrew?

I just messaged you. And just like the original runs of the Image finisher, Odyssey, and Origin, it's published by me.

[Red Robin]

Is it too late to order a copy of it?

[Princess Anri]

Hey I still haven’t received my copy. I just checked my email and found the receipt. Ordered on 8/21/21. Order ID #188. Two physical copies and a digital.

Has that order been shipped?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Red Robin

Is it too late to order a copy of it?

I sent you a message.

Originally Posted by Princess Anri

Hey I still haven’t received my copy. I just checked my email and found the receipt. Ordered on 8/21/21. Order ID #188. Two physical copies and a digital.

Has that order been shipped?

I confirmed it went out a week ago.

[Shedder]

Andrew, Looking forward to getting my copy. I would be in the international batch.
Did those get mailed. Was there a shipping confirmation email sent out?
Book looks great. Thanks again

[Andrew NDB]

For anyone interested, lots of original art is now for sale from "The Shredder":

https://tmnt-ninjaturtles.com/the-sh...ginal-artwork/

Let me know if you are interested in any! Even the covers are available.

[Topsu]

Received a notice that book has arrived in Finland yesterday, considering the local post and it's delivery speed, it should be with me next week.

[Shedder]

Got my copy today. Psyched to finally get to read this. Thanks Andrew

[drasgow]

Is it possible to still get a copy? I thought I ordered one but apparently not.