Tag Archives: Foot Clan

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.

Continue reading →

Mar 20 2013

Secret History of the Foot Clan 4

secret history of the foot clan 4a

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Secret History of the Foot Clan 4, originally released March 20th, 2013.

Drew: In my experience, there are two types of characters in action movies: those that act like it’s no big deal that that car just blew up, and those that understand that HOLY SHIT THAT CAR JUST BLEW UP! The former is obviously more badass, and I think captures a kind of aspirational relatability in the audience, even if the latter is ultimately more relatable — who wouldn’t freak out if they were caught in the middle of an action movie? Curiously, the relatability may make the characters in the latter category less realistic, as their presence often draws our attention to the artifice of the genre. It can be tricky to balance these characters (or these traits within characters), but Secret History of the Foot Clan continues to do so with aplomb. Continue reading →

Mar 4 2013

Secret History of the Foot Clan 3

secret history of the foot clan 3

Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing Secret History of the Foot Clan 3, originally released February 27th, 2013.

Taylor: It’s weird to consider the effect that our legacies have on us. Who are family is and was, where we have lived and what we have done all impact us greatly when it comes to crafting our current identity. For some, a legacy is a source of strength and pride, while for others it may be the cause of embarrassment and pain.  But speaking in the context of just a single lifetime, a person’s legacy can greatly influence their future actions. For a fun example, let’s take George Lucas. The man who created a classic and beloved franchise was so enamored with his legacy that he refused to listen to others when it came time to create his ill-fated prequels. Perhaps he was enamored with his own legacy as a genius myth-maker or perhaps he simply let pride get in the way. Nonetheless, his past influenced his actions, the resulting in a set of films that many felt betrayed his previous endeavors. It’s interesting to consider the role of legacies at play in the Secret History of the Foot Clan both — narratively and creatively — because they cannot be ignored in either instance. In this case, is the legacy a source of strength or a source of weakness?

Continue reading →

Jan 23 2013

Secret History of the Foot Clan 2

secret history of the foot clan 2

Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Secret History of the Foot Clan 2, originally released January 23rd, 2013.

Drew: The first issue of this series wowed me with the way its sophisticated exploration of narrative perspective. To me, the notion of a single story pieced together from tidbits contributed by many storytellers represented comics generally, and this iteration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles specifically. In issue 2, writers Mateus Santolouco and Erik Burnham pull the scope back even further, commenting on previous iterations of the Turtles. As someone who grew up in the ’90s, I couldn’t be more pleased. Continue reading →

Jan 15 2013

Secret History of the Foot Clan 1

secret history of the foot clan 1

Today, Patrick and Drew are discussing Secret History of the Foot Clan 1, originally released January 9th, 2013.

Patrick: The Secret History in question is delivered via a few discrete sources: Dr. Miller (a lecturer at April and Casey’s school), Splinter and Shredder. For obvious reasons, not everyone has all of these pieces of the Foot Clan story, but everyone does seem to want all these pieces. I always like it when our heroes are in search of a truth that I am also interested in — it makes me feel like we’re all on the same side. It’s like a detective story, except instead of trying to solve a murder, we’re working to understand history. Mateus Santolouco portions out the clues and delivers a story rich in culture and mythology, simultaneously important to all corners of the TMNT Universe.

Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

Nov 14 2012

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual 2012

Alternating Currents: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual, Taylor and Shelby

Today, Taylor and Shelby are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Annual, originally released October 31st, 2012. 

Taylor: We are all irrevocably tied to the past. Everything that we are and everything that we hope to be is somehow tied to what came before the present moment. Even though many have tried to escape their past, they have done so only futilely, for no man can escape the firm grasp of time’s arrow. While regret is certainly a part of living with the past, so is the realization that it can serve to inform us and makes us better people and our pursuits nobler. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has a past, one that is as checkered as any comic book to date. From its origins as a goofy and weird cult favorite, to the franchise-building TV show, and the franchise-crumbling movies, TMNT has truly experienced a varied life – to say the least. With all this cultural baggage built up, one would think it hard to revitalize the series while also staying true to its roots. However, Kevin Eastman, one of the co-creators of the series, has managed to pull off this feat in the annual edition of TMNT by acknowledging the past while at the same time taking a step toward the future.

Continue reading →