TMNT Vol I

Everything started with a joke and it ended up bringing a shitload of cash ! It is time that we discuss he very original version of the Turtles. Yes , the reptiles that were re-imagined for the 80's cartoon , PERFECTED in the movie and allowed to grow and change in the underrated greatness that is Volume 3.

My first impression upon reading this book is...well... The Turtles start out as very goofy. Just because they are grim and gritty and grinding their teeth does not make them any less campy than some of their later incarnations. The comics really starts with 4 interchangeable vengeful chelonians taught by a vengeful rat that will order them to kill a vengeful dude named after a kitchen tool. Then, a LOOOOOT of crazy stuff happens ! We get sentient robots, triceratops people, Aliens in robotic suits, gang wars , a dude with a hockey mask that beats up delinquents and guest stars ! It is GLORIOUS in the sense that I,KAIS, CRAVE !

But part of why this book works is because its 2 creators have rather different sensibilities and strengths (and weaknesses ).

Kevin Eastman likes gratuitous gore, fast-paced action, gritty urban settings, boobs and cursing . The guy is, by his own admission , a huge fan of Frank Miller ( he has nothing but praise for Daredevil. To me, and from what I read of Miller's run, I'd say that Wilson Fisk is easily the best character in DD ) and he's pretty open when it comes to the various interpretations of the TMNT. Granted there are crappy interpretations (Next Mutation anyone ?) and his excesses can give us stuff like Body Count ( a mini that was so violent it ended up being Booooring !) but hybridist that I am , I am in the same wavelength as Eastman , various visions can actually give characters much more nuances. He is also a co-writer of the current IDW TMNT (which is great BTW )
Finally, he is the editor of Heavy Metal and his favorite characters are Raphael and Casey Jones (guess the first movie must have been his joy !).

Peter Laird , on the other hand , is the consumate Kirby fan (to the point they even have Donatello meet the King ! Guess who's his favorite turtle).The man is more about science fiction, aliens and long arc narratives. Under him , the characters are indeed milder and the stoories are much calmer and about establishing a world rather than fights and action. And unlike Eastman, Laird seems to be faaaar more rigid when it comes to the Turtles. The dude seems to really , reeeeaaaallly hate the 80's cartoon (opinion that I disagree with. Yes the FW cartoon went on for too long but its best episodes are still freaking great ! And FW Shredder > Mirage Oroku Saki . So there ! Also Turtles Forever was mediocre as fuck... It had moments of true brilliance, but it was mostly mediocre.) and as such, he was one to give a lot of input for the next cartoon . On the one hand , TMNT 2003 is brilliant for its first 4 seasons ! It is up there with BTAS as one of the greatest comics distillation ever (even improving upon the source material !) , it is as it stands THE cartoon to surpass (I'd sacrifice an entire forum full of people to whatever malevolent deity there is if my favorite comics storylines could get a similar treatment through animation !From a distillation and technical aspect !). On the other hand, he gave us Mirage TMNT Volume 4 .... Let's forget about that for the moment shall we ?


As for the stories themselves ... This is a bit tricky because the book went through guest writers and even the MAIN story has various annexes and micro-series in-between issues. So, I will mostly focus on the main storyline (besides it is what I drew.). It roughly goes this way from issues 1->14 , 19 ->21 , 24 -> 26 , 45 -> 62 and the Turtles Micro series for each one of the 4 reptiles.

The first phase ( 1 -> 14 ) contains the first fight against the Shredder ... in the first issue... and Oroku dies at that point. Yeah ,as I stated beforehand , the Mirage Oroku Saki is more of a story kick-starter than an actual player in this volume. His legacy and the consequences his death will spawn are far more important than the dude himself. (And it will reach its apotheosis in Volume III ).
But now that I think about it, the Mirage TMNT do not exactly have a memorable Rogues gallery do they ? In fact their deadliest villains are mostly groups, armies and factions like the Triceratons or the Foot Clan. Most of the one-man threats like Shredder or Stockman are dispatched pretty easily. Anyhow, through these issues we get weird hijinks like meeting Renet and Cerebus the Aardvak (who I met in a Spawn issue... BTW, tell me audience, should I read Cerebus ? And where to stop ?), the Fugitoid , the Rat King (who's just a hobo), April and Casey. It ends with our protagonist being exiled from the city .

The second phase (19 -> 21 ) is the "Return to New York" story-arc. While it is great in the comics with the whole "Leo decapitating zombie Shredder", this arc was adapted successfully 2 times ; the last act of the movie and in the 2003 cartoon featuring the first explicit decapitation in a Saturday Morning Cartoon. All in all , it is a pretty good and action-packed arc .

The third phase (24 -> 26 ) is surprisingly not an Eastman/Laird story but a Rick Veitch effort, but it fits so well with the overall tone of their story and features a "Holy Shit" villain. A leech . It proceeded to absorb Raphael's mutagen which in turn made him devolve progressively into a regular Turtle and then turned into the antropomorphic horror known as "Bloodsucker". Granted, the name is not all that original but the disturbing aura of this goddamn thing lets us forgive that . And the best part ? He's not even the most disturbing thing in this story.

Finally we have the "City At War" Story-arc. And it concludes this volume with a bang but not in the way I expected.See, with a title like "City At war", you'd expect the mother of all battles roaming through the entire city ! Actually " At War with themselves" would be a more accurate title because it is really about character development and having the protagonists question themselves :
- Casey comes to face his alcoholism and how his violent tendencies ended up getting way out of hand. And Shadow's adoption was not only a giant tear Jerker, but it is also the greatest and most heroic act Casey will ever do.
- Splinter ends up feeding on rats to survive after following the guidance of the Rat King (who's now a spiritual hobo !) ... Yeah , there's more to it but it's better if you read it for yourself .
- April reassesses how crazy her life has been and goes to see her sister. Only to discover that her dad has passed away ...
- The Turtles finally meet Karai ! And unlike most later incarnations, the Mirage Karai is actually an adult and a mom. And best of all ? She's actually Shredder's boss in the Foot Hierarchy and wants their help to take down the remaining elite that are still faithful to Oroku Saki. And it will cost her her daughter... Yeah , as you can guess , this story-arc is pretty joyful.
- But yeah , what about the Turtles themselves ? Leonardo put it best " I'm unsure ... I would gladly die for him [Splinter]...I don't know if I can give him my life.". The boys will basically question what they have been trained pretty much their entire life to do and how this vengeance was only the start of more problems.
While it ends rather well and with the Turtles being rid of Shredder's shadow (or ARE THEY ?), who would have guessed that a story THIS calm , for a TMNT story, would be such a gripping read ? I did not , and for that I give it what it rightfully deserves : 5/5 ! THIS is Eastman and Laird's Masterpiece and crowning Jewel of their initial run !