Comments on: 365 Reasons to Love Comics #166

By: brandon solomon

brandon solomon — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 08:22:11 +0000

can anyone tell me where i can find the value of my mint condition #2 issue b&w eastman and lairds teenage mutant ninja turtles comic? i’ve searched and searched and have come up with nothing

By: Dean

Dean — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 21:38:34 +0000

Yikes, I feel old! I read the original books when ALL the turtles wore red masks! The Triceratons were cool, and the aliens in exoskeletons were neat too. I even have the one-off FUGITOID comic! I was in commercial art class in high school, and we got to use some of the duo-tone paper they used in the TMNT books. You’d paint the paper with two kinds of chemicals and the medium and dark shaded patterns embedded in the paper would appear.

I remember how weird it was to see the turtles go “kiddie,” and I couldn’t believe the tsunami of merchandising! But I did like the first movie- I couldn’t even entertain the notion of seeing Vanilla Ice- and the newest, animated movie.

By: DanCJ

DanCJ — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 12:33:16 +0000

I’ve still got that fat Essentials/Showcase style trade of the first umpteen issues of TNMT sitting on my “unread” shelf. I must get around to that at some point

By: J To The AAP

J To The AAP — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 08:48:37 +0000

I read the Turtles Archie comics when I was a kid because those where the only ones translated in Dutch and available form newsstands here in The Netherlands. I learned English as a kid though and received a couple of Mirage issues from the US for one of my birthdays. It was the City At War storyline and it blew my mind.

Reading this reminds me that I should pick up that story in trade sometime…

By: Brad Curran

Brad Curran — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 03:37:05 +0000

I imagine a lot of people in their 20s have the same kind of backstory with the Turtles that we’re recounting here. I was heavily in to them as a kid. If nothing else, I think they’re the reason why I have to eat pizza at least once a week to this day. And Donatello’s always been my favorite (it really scares me sometimes, how much Bill and I have in common). I had a weird argument a few years back, in an Art History class of all places, over whether he was gay or not. And this is one of my most vivid memories of college.

I never read the Mirage Comics (and they probably would have freaked me out as a kid, but I’d like to check them out now), but followed the Archie ones pretty faithfully. I even have that team up they did with the gang from Riverdale somewhere.

By: Apodaca

Apodaca — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 20:27:04 +0000

Raphael was always my favorite, because red was my favorite color as a kid and he was soooooooo cool.

Now I like him because he’s the one with street smarts. All the other turtles feel ou of place in the city, but Raphael is a New Yorker, through and through. And he’ll always question authority, which I appreciate.

I was a huge turtlehead as a kid, and still have a whole lot of the merchandise.

By: km

km — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 14:13:39 +0000

Donatelloâ€™s my current favorite Turtle, because heâ€™s the smart one with the underrated bo staff.

Ditto. I’m a total sucker for a smart, funny, resourceful guy, whatever the species.

Seriously…the comics sound way fun. Working off the merchandising alone I had no idea the TMNT’s world was actually that rich and detailed.

By: Denn

Denn — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 06:18:07 +0000

Donatello was always my favorite too.

By: Lucion

Lucion — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 06:02:24 +0000

I have the same fond memories as yourself, Bill. The toys and bed sheets! I also bought the roleplaying game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness. I never played it, but I enjoyed reading it and it really sparked my young imagination. I spent many rainy afternoons just making up wild mutant animals with complex backstories. I didn’t read too many of the comics beyond the reprints in graphic novels, but I loved the cartoon. I think the toys are my favorite, though.

By: Ian

Ian — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 05:18:47 +0000

Donatello has always been my favorite but as I’ve gotten older I’ve found a new apprectiation for the other characters. Especially with the new series. I had no idea that Raphael was supposed to be a tough-guy, I think he was just the wise-ass.

By: Andrew Collins

Andrew Collins — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 04:24:41 +0000

I have had the color First Comics “graphic novels” that reprinted the first 12 or so issues for about 20 years and I still cherish them. Those are some really good comics. Everytime I read write-ups like this one, I lament not keeping up with the Turtles better since the early 90′s, as it sounds like Laird, Lawson and crew are still doing some good work.

I had heard there were plans in the work to begin reprinting the TMNT stories in a series of re-mastered trades. If so, I will definitely be picking those up.

By: jazzbo

jazzbo — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 02:41:26 +0000

The pairing of Vanilla Ice and the Ninja Turtles is a match made in heaven.

Leanardo #1 was the first comic I ever bought that I felt had an “adult” story, and both the issue and Leonardo himself have been favorites of mine ever since.

Great entry.