Category Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Jun 20 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Microseries Villains 3: Old Hob

old hob 1

Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Microseries Villains 3: Old Hob originally released June 19th, 2013. 

Taylor: Cats always land on their feet. Or at least that’s what they do in the popular consciousness. While this old adage might not be as true as many believe, there does seem to be some serious science behind it. Youtube has a plethora of videos showing off the twists and turn cats go through while falling to ensure they land on their feet. Also, as a species, cats have proven to be fairly adept at landing themselves in fortuitous situations. Since the time of ancient Egypt cats have been man’s second best friend right after the dog. Wherever humans exist, there are bound to be cats in their homes and roaming their streets. Cats are survivors and because of this, none us should have been surprised when it was revealed that Ol’ Hob survived being double crossed by Baxter Stockman. But as we find out in the TMNT villains micro-series, this double cross is just one in a series of events where Hob is thrust into a bad situation, only to once again land squarely on his feet.

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May 30 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 22

tmnt 22Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 22, originally released May 28th, 2013.

Taylor: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have a lot of descriptors in their name. While it’s always easy to remember that they are turtles and ninjas, it’s a little harder to remember that they are teenagers. I’m not sure what to attribute this forgetfulness to. Maybe it’s because most superheroes are in their 20s or 30s. Or maybe it’s because it’s hard to guess the age of a half man/half turtle based solely on appearance. I don’t know. Whatever the reason is, it’s easy to overlook the fact that the turtles have to deal with some heavy shit on a regular basis. While your average teen worries about school and sex, the turtles have to worry about ninja battles and saving the earth from an evil, alien brain. It’s not exactly a fair shake and given the circumstances it seems like only a matter of time before those hormones (turtle or otherwise) and inexperience kick in and hurt our half-shelled heroes. Issue 22 of TMNT begins the City Fall event and with it we see our turtles being challenged in new ways and asked to achieve things beyond their years. But are they up to the task?

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May 22 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Microseries Villains 2: Baxter Stockman

baxter stockman 1

Today, Patrick and Taylor are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Microseries Villains 2: Baxter Stockman originally released May 22nd, 2013. 

Patrick: One of my persistent questions about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been “why would Baxter Stockman put up with Krang’s bullshit?” After all, regardless of what he could offer, Krang’s ultimate goal is the destruction of the human race. Psst! Baxter, you’re one of those humans. There’s a bully component to their relationship, but Stockman also has this too-cool-for-school attitude, seemingly above intimidation. So why would he work so hard toward the completion of the technodrome? Same reason he does anything: because there’s something in it for him.

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May 1 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 21

tmnt 21

Today, Taylor and Drew are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 21, originally released April 24th, 2013.

Taylor: Cities are dirty places. Go to any major city and it’s pretty much guaranteed that you will see litter piled in gutters, blowing across streets, and randomly dispersed in unsuspecting front yards. It’s not that people in big cities like litter (does anyone?) or care about the environment any less than people in smaller urban areas. Rather, it’s simply a matter of when you throw a huge number of people together they create a huge amount of waste. Keeping all of this waste together can be a hard thing to do, thus in cities like Chicago, my base of operations, litter and dirtiness are just something you get used to. This grime that accumulates in big cities gives them an unmistakable urban feel which most people can easily recognize, whether they have ever lived in such an environment or not. Kevin Eastman recognizes this aspect of cities and it is reflected in issue 21 of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which he both wrote and drew. The result is an issue that realigns the series with a new plot while at the same establishing a dark and ominous tone for the future.

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Apr 17 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Microseries Villains 1: Krang

Alternating Currents: Krang 1, Patrick and Drew

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Microseries Villains 1: Krang, originally released April 17th, 2013. 

Patrick: To the best of my recollection, the original TMNT action figure line contained two basic Krang toys. The first was Krang in his battle armor — it was like double the size of a regular action figure and cost about three times as much. The second was a weird minimalist walker-thing that he rode around in. I had the latter, because I was never patient enough to save up for the big one. As a kid, I knew I had the shittier toy: I wanted that big robot — the scary one that would send the Turtles running. While I technically had the character right there, I never felt like I had Krang. What good is a squishy little brain monster without his killer-robot-suit? Writer Joshua Williamson answers that question by arming Krang with the most tenacious agency usually reserved for survival fiction.

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Mar 22 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 20

tmnt 20Today, Patrick and (guest writer) Mogo are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  20, originally released March 20th, 2013.

Patrick: I’m a realist. I believe in that which we can observe and measure and quantify. I don’t like the term ‘atheist’ because it defines my beliefs in terms of what I don’t believe (i.e., God). But I also don’t like the term ‘skeptic’ because it implies that there’s some force of will out there in the universe trying to convince me that one reality is true, but I’m just to wily to fall for its tricks. Fiction has a habit of shitting on skeptics – the instant you meet the non-religious scientist in a movie that says “… but that’d be impossible,” you know that whatever he just said is SO TOTALLY GOING TO HAPPEN. God, ghosts, magic, you name it – they all end up being real in the third act (unless you’re talking Scooby-Doo, then all bets are off). Donatello has served as this voice of skeptic dissent throughout IDW’s run of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While reincarnation makes for an interesting story about turtle ninjas, I never liked that Donny’s doubt would have to be somehow wrong-headed. Amid all the bombast of climactic interdimensional warfare, Donny gets an answer that is astonishingly satisfying, both to him and to me.

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Feb 20 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 19

Alternating Currents: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 19: Drew and Taylor

Today, Drew and Taylor are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  19, originally released February 20th, 2013.

Drew: One of the things we love about fiction is the opportunity it affords us to live vicariously through its heroes. This is a feeling familiar to anyone who’s walked out of a movie theater feeling like they could fly, or at least swing from some vines. That’s all well and good when you’re being introduced to these characters for the first time, but that’s decidedly not the situation Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles finds itself in. A comic written by and for people who grew up playing with Turtle action figures, wearing Turtle pajamas, and chewing (and accidentally swallowing) Turtle bubble gum has the potential to cash in on those connections in fascinating ways, amping up that sense of vicariousness to euphoric levels. Be it repairing a futuristic robot, piloting an alien tank, or more traditional ninja action, issue 19 finds the Turtles living out all of their (and by extension, our) wildest dreams. Continue reading →

Feb 7 2013

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 18

tmnt 18

Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles  18, originally released January 23rd, 2013.

Taylor: Whether it be in the world of writing or the world of art (hell,  even in the 9-5 workplace) consistency is something  that is difficult for the average person to achieve. Perhaps this statement should be clarified: it is hard to be consistently good at something. It goes without saying that doing things poorly on a regular basis is easy, as doing so requires virtually no effort. However, to create something that is continually good is no easy task. Just take a look at the comic books that litter the shelves of your digital or real-world comic shop. How many of those titles are good month in and month out? How many never have an off issue? How many never let you down? There is perhaps no greater complement that can be paid to a series then that it is consistently good. To craft an issue that is always on point is truly the mark of a great creative team, and something that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has always been able to claim. Yet in the 18th issue of the series some fault lines are beginning to appear and the question is, is this an aberration or the sign of something more troubling?

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Dec 26 2012

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 17

tmnt 17

Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing Teenage Mutant ninja Turtles 17, originally released December 19th, 2012.

Taylor: There comes a point when reading anything that is speculative in nature where the author asks the reader to take a leap of faith. In The Lord of the Rings, the reader has no choice but to accept that magic and elves are every-day occurrences. Similarly, in Hebert’s Dune, you have to accept that spice is a wonder-drug and faster than light travel travel is physically possible. Most reasonable readers recognize these elements as fantastic and they also realize they are simply part of the universe that the author is creating. These readers also realize that to deny the validity of the fantastical elements of a plot would lessen their reading experience.  Those who read Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are all too familiar with taking this leap of faith in their readings — just look at the title and main characters of the series. So when the title asks its readers to take an even larger leap of faith than ever before, perhaps it is worth discussing.

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Dec 11 2012

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 16

tmnt16

Today, Patrick and Taylor are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 16, originally released November 28th, 2012. 

Patrick: Killing. Your comic book heroes don’t like doing it. Famously, Batman has a no-killing policy, but if you look close enough, that mantra applies to just about everyone in a cape. But why? Is it the hero’s morality? Or is it the squeamishness of publishers that keeps their heroes from killing? After all, it’s such a neat dividing line: Green Lantern doesn’t kill, so he’s a good guy; Deathstroke does kill, so he’s a bad guy. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a special case – they are essentially children, after all. But they exist outside of society and mutanes – re-incarnated murder-victims, trained by a ninja master. The psychological profile that background suggests is staggering. So when Leonardo is forced to kill to protect his family, the decision Means Something.

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