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TMNT's Axed Adventures: Fast Forward's Lost Season - TMNT History

Dive into the depths of what could have been with "TMNT's Axed Adventures: Fast Forward's Lost Season." In this video, we unveil the episodes that were shelved before they could hit the screen. Discover the plots, the new villains, and the dramatic adventures that awaited our heroes in a season that promised to blend the future with the familiar.

#review #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #fast forward #season x #trishreddatron #Youtube

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TMNT: SATURDAY MORNING ADVENTURES #12

April 2024

By Erik Burnham , Sarah Myer, Luis Antonio Delgado, and Ed Dukeshire.

It's part 1 of 3 of the Turtles against Mr. Ogg. This time around, he puts them through a gauntlet that will take them to face... other heroes in a half shell.

SCORE: 8

This book is so good, that even a not that great issue will score well. Nothing against Mr. Ogg, but this chapter was repetitive and almost uneventful. Except for the last page (and that was already leaked).

I think I would be okay with this level of decompression, if the book came out twice a month. But do we have to wait two more months to read the entire story? Hopefully next issue lives up to the challenge (and I got the impression that it may not).

Spoilers after the break...

I suspect that this crossover will be just a meta-joke and will not count as an official "turtles meet turtles" story. But I tend to wrong with these things, so maybe it will.

Just by looking at the cover for next month, I noticed that each turtle has shading according to its style (with Leo and Mikey being the most obvious ones). That was a nice touch!

#comics #review #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #post modern age #2024 #turtleverse #sarah myer #idw comics #idw publishing #saturday morning adventures

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TMNT: SATURDAY MORNING ADVENTURES - APRIL SPECIAL

April 2024

By Erik Burnham , Sarah Myer, Jack Lawrence, Luis Antonio Delgado, and Ed Dukeshire.

April gets zapped into a different dimension where she has to help Ace Duck get to the heart of K'avila. In the backup story, Raph and Mikey help Mona Lisa get to the bottom of a case.

SCORE: 10

It may be the presence of Ace Duck, but reading this special reminded me of when I was little, and I would read these books that had a few Disney comic-books each. This universe has the potential to be like that. I wouldn't mind monthly specials going side by side with the main series (but I think right now these are kind of quarterly).

This was also an excellent opportunity to shine a light on April, and she did great in this adventure. I guess, in a way, reporters are very much like adventurers.

Also, first cameo of Scratch, as I predicted...

The book also implied that Mona Lisa has been a friend of the Turtles ever since they met (and she has been learning ninja skills from Splinter as well). But because she is from New Jersey, they can't hang out all the time. We also find out about Don Turtellini... not to confuse with Don Turtelli. He's another cousin. This probably also explains why there were two different looking Don Turtellis with the same MO.

It was great reading April, and revisiting Mona Lisa. Really loved this issue.

#comics #review #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #post modern age #saturday morning adventures #2024 #mona lisa #ace duck #idw comics #idw publishing #sarah myer

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TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #150 (FINAL ISSUE)

April 2024

By Sophie Campbell, Kevin Eastman , Vincenzo Federici, Fero Pe, Dan Duncan, Ronda Pattison, Luis Antonio Delgado, and Shawn Lee.

Donatello... does things. Venus does things. The other Turtles are there somewhere.

SCORE: 5

It's not an easy issue to discuss without spoilers... so what can I say here?

The book finally solves a plot that started with the first five issues of volume 5 (and specifically, issue 50). But overall, the story is a little too abstract and I'd be surprised if people could look back and explain this saga to me without getting lost (something that happens to me any time I try to remember "Final Crisis")

I got lost many times. And the fact that new characters were introduced in this issue just to make up for the missing turtles, made it all the more puzzling.

This is not the ending that this volume deserved... I think there is something valuable here, but I am afraid it didn't make it to the page intact. This sounds too abstract on the page, and characters are just going with the flow. It's almost like someone cut the number of chapters by half and this was the result.

There are interesting moments, visually. Like a whole sequence that takes place at the beginning of this run (with guest star Dan Duncan). And another beautiful moment by Sophie Campbell. The rest was good. Fero Pe is definitely the highlight for me.

Spoilers after the break...

Jennika, Mikey, Leo, and Raph are not in this story... did we really need three more turtles? I guess they had the know how necessary to defeat Armaggon, but this felt like the wrong time to introduce new characters. I would have preferred the five (and Venus) Turtles fighting together.

Still, it was interesting to see this volume's version of making characters permanent (in the Mirage books, ink did the trick).

Things got a bit too abstract at this point. I couldn't understand what was happening to Armaggon anymore.

I am sure Armaggon's story is all a metaphor for humans not leaving things alone, or something similar, and I can recognize the story beats. I am just... a little confused on the how.

It also seems like Lita is not turning back to Turtle (her QNA was absorbed by Bob from the future... who was left in Feudal Japan, I think...?)

So Venus was in charge of helping the Hamatos reincarnate, and then she joined Yoshi and Shen in the afterlife. Well... she could definitely reincarnate!

I have to make sense if Sophie's run, and knowing how it ends will very likely help me follow the story better. While this Armaggon plot started with this saga, there are several moments before and during Armageddon game that made this story so hard to follow.

There is one question I have left, though... what was the role of the mutagen in all of this?

Something was different about Splinter and the Turtles, and that was why Slash was initially a savage. It wasn't until they added a special component to it that Slash became intelligent. Is that now present in all types of mutagen? Sorry for the tangent.

I think overall, Sophie's run was good. It had an indie feel that reminded me a lot of Volume four. She was only going to do 12 issues and her run extended until the end of the book. Of course, in the middle the Armageddon game happened that took almost an entire year.

I think the Turtles universe became just too big. So big, that the main characters were competing for attention (Casey Jones, anyone?). This is why I think it is a good idea to expand the titles and give more space to the original four turtles. I will be reading Mutant Nation (of course), and I bet it will feel much better knowing that all these characters have now a proper place to grow.

That is, assuming a year from now all the announced books are still going (not an easy feat with comic books).

#comics #review #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #post modern age #2024 #idw comics #idw publishing #vincenzo federici

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TMNT ADVENTURES: THE FOREVER WAR (kind of FAN MADE)

April 2024

By Steve Murphy, Chris Allan, Andrew Modeen, Artem Tsarkov, Arseniy Dubakov, Egor Prutov , Jon D'Agostino, Dmitry Bobrovnik, Yuri Kochin, and Jim Lawson.

The Shredder finally succeeds at erasing the Turtles from history and conquering the world. But the Turtles and Splinter will try to defeat him and ensure their existence in this conclusion of the iconic Archie series.

SCORE: 8

You'll have to forgive the lack of images, but it is very hard to scan this book (I'll see what I can do for the video review, but I may need to work with photos of it). In any case, this is another of those fan projects by Arseniy Dubakov and Andrew Modeen... but with some interesting twists in its genesis.

You probably remember that this saga was announced in 1995 before the Archie adventures were canceled, and fans have been speculating forever about how the story ended.

In 2009 we almost got the conclusion by the original team (Steve Murphy and Chris Allan), but the turtles were sold to Viacom and the plans never materialized. In any case, Murphy couldn't remember where he was going with the story, so it would be fair to say that it was never going to be the same arc.

More recently, Chris Allan met Arseniy and the two got together to make this project happen. The first chapter (which was made public at some point in the past few years), was mostly recovered from 1995, but it had been colored and edited by the new team.

As far as I know, the second chapter was plotted by Steve Murphy, and I can say that the two first chapters feel the most like the original book... with some annoying differences.

After that, the book does its job, and the story works very well. The project was promoted as "closing all open plots" of the original series, but fortunately, it only tried to solve a time paradox that has always been a problem in that book. I applaud the restrain of the writers from bringing up every single plot point just to let readers know they read the book (as is usually the case with these projects).

The art is probably the most spectacular aspect of the book. It's an updated look for the Archie adventures that for the most part, looks like a continuation of the story. There are some stylistic differences when it comes to inking after chapter one, but you get used to them after a while.

The book comes with two back-up stories. One penciled by Jim Lawson that tries to make sense of the convoluted Archie timeline (specifically about which Shredder you were looking at in each adventure). The second backup is some sort of epilogue to Forever War that will leave you with more questions than answers.

For me, the weakest point of the book is the "overwriting" from Andrew.

It's hard to explain, but Andrew goes into these long narrations directed at the reader that just feel overproduced and underproduced at the same time. There is an overuse of "Modeen" expressions that can be said by any character at any time. Perhaps because he is not doing the writing/plotting alone, this is his best story yet. We know Andrew is a fan, an we know he can write. But it would be nice if he could work on his dialogues and... I'm going to call it now... think twice before adding an unnecessary celebrity quote at the beginning of each chapter.

I am not sure if this was in the original plot, but some elements in this story were even darker than the original series (like slashing a classic character in two). I get that we all grew up and we can take it, but this should be a continuation of that book, and I feel that it wasn't this bloody (most of the time).

But again, this story worked for me, it didn't bring up characters and plots just for the sake of it, and the turtles were front and center.

Should we consider this an ending for the Archie series? Well, just like it happened with Volume 3 before Urban Legends came out, this is all we can get. It's technically just the story, and not a proper ending, so you could still consider "Year of the Turtle" the final story (I assume that it not being referenced was intentional). There is one reference to "TMNT: Odyssey" (because for some reason, all these projects need to share the same multiverse), but it can be easily ignored... I think.

Maybe one day IDW will decide to do their own version of Forever War, but I don't think Chris Allan would go through this ordeal again... I think it could be published as is (fourth-wall monologuing included). Perhaps censoring some of the blood, to keep it consistent with Archie guidelines.

Now, let's take a look at those spoilers after the break...

You guessed it, most of the chapters take place in an alternate timeline. This allows for familiar characters to return even if they were already dead. And also introduces Carter to the Archie universe... and he may be British... I don't know.

Most characters show up to die... which isn't unusual on alternate timeline stories, but feels like a waste. Carter and Claire had very little time to do anything, and Claire being April's sister is an interesting twist... but I wonder what caused it? It is implied that they may have been separated at some point, but the existence of the same photograph without her suggests there wee further alterations to that timeline.

The Mutanimals play the bad guys... probably for the better. I wonder if the reason they didn't undo their deaths, or brought back Cherubae, was so that it could all tie into "TMNT: Odyssey"? Whatever the reason was, I appreciate it.

Perhaps the biggest reveal was that Chet was the Rat King. While this is a fun twist, some things are a bit too convenient. Why did he choose the H'antaan name? And why didn't he ever mentioned this to anyone in the original timeline? (Apart from the flashback in this book).

Overall, Shredder's plan makes sense (for once), although he somehow recreated all the mutants from the original series, even the ones that weren't mutants (like Katmandu)... perhaps he and Al'Falqa simply joined the cause.

There isn't much characterization for the turtles, but I think is in line with the original book as well. And to be fair, the main focus is the story.

The Jim Lawson back-up also introduces another problem, a Shredder that finally remember everything (this may be the one in "Year of the Turtle"). Mr. Null decides to share all of this, searching for the Turnstone (a "TMNT: Odyssey" plot). I don't like these fan-projects being all connected, but I appreciate the long explanation of the Shredder paradox in the Archie adventures. It also officialized that Armaggon created the Archie universe.

I would have appreciated a Mr. Null origin story... but I guess that would have clashed with "Odyssey" (and this is why I don't like them being connected).

I may sound negative, but my nitpicks only took two points from the overall score. I am happy with the results, and I think we can now stop wondering what it could have been.

Although... can you imagine what it could have been in 1995?

That my friends... is the forever war.

[Include some super serious celebrity quote here]

#comics #review #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #post modern age #archie comics #2024 #1995 #teenage mutant ninja turtles adventures #the forever war #fan fiction #chris allan

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Metalhead: The original party robot - TMNT 87

Dive into the metallic world of Metalhead, the original party robot from the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. We'll explore his fascinating origins, inspired in part by the robot craze of the late '80s, his memorable but brief appearances in the show, and his legacy beyond the cartoon, including action figures and video games.

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #metalhead #1987 #Youtube

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Was Cody Jones a Gary Stu? - TMNT 2003

Dive into the world of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward” with a closer look at Cody Jones, the character who took the Turtles into the future. Was Cody an innovative addition or an irritation to fans?

#review #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #fast forward #cody jones #Youtube

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Zach: The fifth turtle - TMNT 87

People who grew up during Turtlemania will have different opinions about Zach, the fifth turtle. But whatever your opinion is of him... come join us as we analyze the character, and the reasons why it annoyed some fans.

#review #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #1987 #zach #fred wolf #Youtube

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The Original Triceratons: are they a tale from our past... or our future? - TMNT comics

They are on of the earliest creations in the TMNT franchise (predating the Turtles), and have been adapted in almost every version of it. But who are they? What's their origin and relationship with other races? Join me in this video about the Original Triceraton Republic.

#comics #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #triceratons #mirage comics #palladium books #image comics #Youtube

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Hot Spot: TMNT's Firefighting Dalmatian - TMNT History

Dive into the fascinating world of TMNT collectibles with our latest video, where we explore the rare and elusive Hot Spot figure from Playmates' toy line. Discover the unique story behind this firefighting Dalmatian's creation, and why it became one of the most sought-after collectibles.

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #hot spot #dalmatian dog #playmates #Youtube

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IDW’s City at War saga breakdown - TMNT comics

In this comprehensive video, dive into the thrilling and intricate world of IDW's "City at War" saga. We explore from the power struggles within the Foot Clan to the dramatic transformations and moral dilemmas faced by our favorite heroes; this video offers a recap of one of the most significant arcs in IDW’s TMNT history. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to the series, join us as we unravel the complexities and lasting impacts of "City at War" on the TMNT universe.

#comics #review #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #idw comics #city at war #tmnt day #tmntday #Youtube

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TMNT: THE LAST RONIN - RE-EVOLUTION #1

March 2024

By Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman , Esau & Isaac Escorza, Ben Bishop, Luis Antonio Delgado, and Shawn Lee.

With the resistance running low on manpower, it's up to the new turtles to rise and save the city.

SCORE: 9

You could say that, because this is a pretty much reimagined version of the turtles, there would be enough room for bold creative choices. But some of these choices, well, one in particular, was the reason the Turtles weren't well received on ocassions.

My concern, right now, is that the Turtles seem to be having "special abilities." In this issue we found out that they can use telepathy, something that was always kind of implied to exist but never abused, for the sake of storytelling. Did they learn this ability through the Splinter journal? If that's the case, why didn't Mikey use this ability in the previous two stories?

Another special ability came up at the end of this issue, which reminded me of the issue where Miles Morales debuted with a unique super-power.

Apart from that, this issue finally acknowledged one of the main points of this version. That the Hamatos and the Orokus had a feud. This was already present in "The Last Ronin," but because they didn't spend time to explain it, we only had a couple of interviews that detailed it.

Well, the feud feels a lot like the Mirage version, but with some unique characteristics that fit better in the Roninverse. I am talking about Nagi being Saki's father.

Now, this on itself brings additional questions. If Nagi already had a full-grown son, why was he after Tang Shen? What happened to his wife? Or is this a case of the unreliable narrator?

Another big question is how Splinter knew ninjitsu, as it was never explained, like in other versions, that he imitated his master. We shellheads can assume that was the case, but I guess the Turtles simply didn't know about that.

Another significant detail in their narration, was the bit about the ooze. They never explained what it was, so perhaps there is a story behind it that will be explored in the future?

Perhaps the best moment of the issue was when the Turtles were finally put into action. It took some time, but they are finally here.

Now, you could read this book and think. These are basically the same turtles with different looks and names. And technically, I wouldn't be able to deny that. There are some slight differences, like Uno being more overconfident than Leo, or Moja being more passionate about injustice than Raphael. But... they are very similar.

But this story is just beginning, so perhaps they will start becoming their own characters after this.

I appreciate having April still around, but I feel like this book should have a maximum percentage of panels dedicated to the parents (April and Casey), hopefully below the 40%. I kind of want to see stories about teenage mutant ninja turtles, not Huntress Jones. So I really hope that they start becoming the focus of the story in the next few issues. Sure, give me storylines involving all these characters, but don't forget who the readers are buying the book for.

Other than that, I saw many improvements when compared to the last two stories in the Roninverse. There are no oddly-positioned flashbacks, the story is more linear, and the world feels a little bit more familiar now (and expanded).

I want more stories in the Roninverse, and I am wondering it this should continue being mini-series, or if it should become an ongoing series. I guess that, since the Roninverse is such a big hit, writing for the trades is the way to go, so either option would work.

#comics #review #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #post modern age #2024 #the last ronin #the last ronin re-evolution #esau and isaac escorza #idw comics #idw publishing

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#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #kevin eastman #sophie campbell

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Rat King's Reign of Terror - TMNT 2012

Delve into the shadowy corners of the TMNT 2012 universe as we uncover the chilling saga of the Rat King. Join us as we analyze his motivations, powers, and the lasting impact he has on our heroes, particularly Splinter. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to the series, this video promises a captivating journey through the dark and twisted world of the Rat King in TMNT 2012.

#review #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #rat king #tmnt 2012 #Youtube

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TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #149

March 2024

By Sophie Campbell, Kevin Eastman , Vincenzo Federici, Ronda Pattison, and Shawn Lee.

The Turtles discover the importance of QNA in their mutations as they try to reunite with each other and find the older Donnie, before Armaggon wipes them out of existence.

SCORE: 8

I guess that a proper conclusion to an arc that started with Mutant Town, kind of needed to touch on the topic of self-hate. Not that the topic is completely new to the series, but it's a reasonable one considering so many characters were transformed against their will.

But reading these issues makes me wonder if Armageddon Game just complicated what should have been a simpler story. A whole year was dedicated to the Pantheon saga, and in the meantime, all the character development necessary for this story to make sense was postponed. Now Sophie is trying to tell as much story as possible in just a few issues, and it's not enough.

The most blatant example of that is Mikey giving a whole exposition about his character arc that happened between the present and the future. If this comic was still planning to continue, the five turtles from the future would have had their own micro-series to explore what happened to them. Instead we have characters telling us a very rushed exposition about them.

Maybe I should continue this in the spoiler section...

So Bob can easily undo the effects of Mutant Town with this set of powers. He could have even demutated himself, but he chose to be faithful to Armaggon instead.

But of course, just because a lot of people got turned into a mutant, it doesn't mean that all of them want to turn back to human. In the case of Lita, as far as I can remember, she lost her parents. Or they abandoned her. As a turtle she found a new family, so it would make sense for her to want to be a mutant to stay close to them.

But there is actually another problem with Bob demutating Lita. She is a time lord in her mutated form. Assuming she is still alive.

Whatever happens, I am sure it will lead up to the Turtles going back to Feudal Japan to fight Armaggon, and possibly tie some loose ends around Krang and the QNA.

Again, I understand that this book has been trying to close plots for the last year, but another publisher would have released several tie-ins to tell the rest of the story that couldn't be properly told in one book.

After all, IDW is planning to multiplicate the Turtle books, so why not?

#comics #review #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #post modern age #2024 #idw comics #idw publishing #armaggon #vincenzo federici

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#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #saturday morning adventures #jack lawrence #gigi dutreix