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thecomicsnexus · 4 years

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TMNT #1-4 DECEMBER 2001 - JUNE 2002 BY PETER LAIRD, JIM LAWSON AND ERIC TALBOT

SYNOPSIS (FROM TURTLEPEDIA AND COMIC VINE)

A Fugitoid makes its way across the moon in leaps, passing by Tranquility Base and marveling at how it has stood the test of time. It meets up with an Utrom, and the two discuss their plans to finish completing a large craft and bring these "guests" that they have with them.

In a New York City alley, the Ninja Turtles face an all too familiar scene - carapaces against an alley wall while a street gang - this time, the Madhattan Maulitia - have them cornered. While the four of them are more of a match for the fifteen dullards in the Maulitia, the Turtles decide to take the rooftops as soon as possible to gain some distance between them and their foes. After a moment of reflection, they head on their way, only to find they are less safe than they had hoped, as the Maulitia has somehow followed them up with snowmobiles. After trouncing the Maulitia up on the rooftops and heading back down, Donatello comes across a snowmobile all on its lonesome and steals it. Michelangelo tries to get Don's attention for a ride in the treacherous snow, but his brother doesn't hear him and Mike slips and falls in the street. Moments later, he's hit by a bus, and a costumed character named Magnrok finds him, carrying him into an alley calling someone in to pick him up.

Meanwhile, Don rides the snowmobile into a subway and loses control, crashing it through a wall, where he finds an old, abandoned armored truck.

April and Casey head out to a fertility doctor, while Shadow trains with Metal Head. After their sparring session, Shadow worries about the outcome of the appointment. Splinter dismisses it as the impatience of a teenager, but Shadow has a premonition that big things are in store for the entire world.

Michelangelo wakes up in an ambulance to find paramedics working on him. He freaks out and tries to escape, but the paramedics warn him not to open the door. Mike pays no heed to them and does so anyway, instantly falling out and finding that the ambulance is flying. Michelangelo holds on to a handle to prevent himself from falling, but he is still dizzy and injured and loses his grip. Fortunately, a flying superhero, Raptarr, happens to be in the area and catches Mikey as he passes back out. Raptarr returns him to the ambulance.

Leonardo and Raphael return to the lair, with Raph complaining about how cold he is. Leo turns up the heat and offers to make Raph some hot chocolate, and discuss The Jones' decision to try for a child of their own. Leo then asks if they should look for their brothers, they haven't seen since the scuffle with the Madhattan Maulitia. Raph declines due to the weather and suggests Mikey's having the time of his life in the snow anyway.

Mikey wakes up again, this time strapped to a hospital bed. A woman on a video screen insists he stay put, but Mike just wants to get out of there. The woman says he's free to leave as long as he checks out at the front desk, and that his effects are in a nearby closet. He wonders aloud why the staff hasn't freaked out due to him being a mutant turtle. It is at this moment that Mikey sees that the patients at this hospital are a little out of the ordinary, consisting of various costumed adventurers and non-humans.

A Doctor Singh approaches Michelangelo with some orderlies and tells him he needs to return to his room. Mikey refuses and begins to fight with the orderlies, before they are interrupted by a man approaching in a wheelchair - the Turtles' old friend Pat, aka Zippy Lad of the Justice Force. Pat takes charge of Mikey and lets Singh and the orderlies be on their way, explaining to the turtle that he is in Kurtzburg Memorial Hospital, a special hospital for aliens, heroes, mutants, and other oddities, and one of only three places like it in the world. Pat happens to be on the hospital's board of directors and saw Mike come in while he was at a budget meeting, and vouched for him. Pat convinces Mike to get back in bed and rest up.

Back at the lair, Donatello rushes in, excited, and coaxes Casey and Raph to follow him to a discovery he's made. Leo stays behind so he can watch Junkyard Wars in peace. Don leads Raph and Casey to the abandoned armored truck he'd found, and the three of them examine the vehicle, taking notes of what would need to be cleaned and fixed to get it running again, and finding the moldy corpses of some apparent robbers inside, including a skeleton in the back wearing 1970s garb and still holding onto a gun. Don and Casey leave to get some batteries and cleaning supplies, leaving Raph to bemoan being stuck there with the "dead guys".

Shadow leaves for a clandestine rendezvous with her boyfriend Jay, while Splinter worries for her safety in the snow. When she meets up with Jay, she suggests that they go to the Jones Farm and warm up by the fireplace, but he reminds her that it's supposed to be abandoned and the last time they were there, someone called the police on them. Instead, he pesters her about going back to her place and meeting her "famously reclusive grandfather", which she turns down.

Meanwhile, on the moon, the Utroms accomplish another phase on their mysterious plan.

In the jungles of Venezuela, a research team discovers a strange life form. Meanwhile, in the Big Apple, Casey, Raph and Don get the abandoned armored car running, much to the dismay of the local New Yorkers. Master Splinter and Shadow are enraptured by the television coverage of an invasion of Unidentified Flying Objects.

The Utroms finally reveal themselves to the word in a very public display. Karai fantasizes facing the turtles in battle while her aid keeps her updated on the news about the alien arrival. After watching the tv coverage of the Utroms Michelangelo and Raphael decide to get a closer look when the stumble on a mysterious robot in the sewers.

REVIEW

As I mentioned before, the Archie TMNT comic was my gateway to the world of comic-books. But because of the indie nature of the Turtles, their comics were really hard to get from outside of the US.

As a result, collecting them was frustrating, and in any case, getting all of them was futile. It wasn’t until around 2005, that I started getting TMNT comics for real.

At the time I started with colored collected editions (First), and eventually this and Tales came up, as those were being published at the time. As a result, I got almost all of the issues for both series. I was really impressed, not only by the story, but also by the interaction of Peter Laird with the fans, and how he would keep us up to date with his life. Eventually I started watching the 2003 cartoon (also, not something I had access to at the time it was broadcasted) which was heavily influenced by Peter Laird, and some of its concepts would appear in Tales.

This is a very long story, that as far as I know, it’s incomplete and there is little hope for it to be ever finished. I do hope at some point Peter Laird takes advantage of that “18 issues a year” deal he made with Viacom and make it happen.

While both, Eastman and Laird were fans of Jack Kirby, it is very obvious in this run that Laird may have been even more. Case in point, the “Kurtzberg” hospital sequence. It’s not gonna be the last time we see Kirby inspired things in the book.

When the book starts, we get the idea that there was a time jump since the last time we saw these characters (1995), but when I saw Shadow so grown up, I realized how much time really passed. I mean, the turtles are technically still teenagers, compared to how much turtles live. But they are kind... 30 now?

Perhaps the most significant thing about this run is the Utrom non-invasion of Earth. Whenever I think of Laird’s writing, my mind goes back to this story. The way he looks at sci-fi is very positive (especially considering that the Alien visit happens right after 9-11). In a way, his writing is very similar to that of Jack Kirby, who would often dedicate pages to concepts and ideas that would make life cooler.

Jim Lawson is back, and luck us, he is being inked (and toned) by Laird and Talbot.

Perhaps the main problem with this title is the pacing of the story. As the book is bi-monthly, it takes forever for a ship to land on Earth (7 months). This is not unusual in indie comics, but it makes the first issue a bit uneventful.

I give these issues a score of 8.

#peter laird #michael dooney #jim lawson #mirage studios #comics #review #2001 #2002 #modern age #indie #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles

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thecomicsnexus · 5 years

Text

Dome Doom!

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #15 AUGUST 1988 BY PETER LAIRD AND JIM LAWSON

SYNOPSIS (FROM TURTLEPEDIA)

This issue opens with Casey Jones, Raphael and Michelangelo checking out the comic books at Steve's Comics shop in Northampton, Massachusetts. As the guys search for cheap back issues, the store is attacked by weird little robots that crash through the front window brandishing maces. Raph, Mike and Casey start bashing the bogus 'bots as the shop's diminutive, long haired stock boy morphs into a costumed hero and joins the fray. Mikey smashes a robot and it flies into the forehead of the store's proprietor, an old gentleman named Stainless Steve... fortunately Steve has a forehead made of metal, so the head-on collision didn't affect him.

Once the robots are defeated, a holograph is projected from one of them. The image is of an ugly little man with a clear dome on the top of his head which reveals his brain. He announces that his name is Dr. Dome and that this attack on the Justice Force is but "a minor harbinger of the calamity to follow!" and then he laughs maniacally before the robot explodes and the projection is lost.

Mike, Raph and Casey are confused, so Stainless Steve explains the situation. Apparently the Justice Force is a retired group of superheroes and Dome is their old adversary. The appearance of the villain is as much of a surprise to Steve as it is to Raph, Mike and Casey. Stainless Steve uses an old J.F. communicator to signal the rest of the team, which consists of Stainless Steve, Metal Head (the stock boy), Captain Deadbolt, Zippy Lad, Joey Lastic the Rubberband and Battling Bernice.

Cut to Dr. Dome's headquarters where he's gloating over Steve falling into his hands and reuniting the Justice Force in Northampton. When they all arrive, Dome will "achieve his ultimate goal!"

Steve takes Mike, Raph, Donatello, Leonardo and Casey to his huge house out in the suburbs to introduce them to the Justice Force. The Turtles have offered their assistance in defeating Dr. Dome and his mechanical minions. As the group arrives at the front door, Steve remarks that he hadn't left it unlocked... but it is now. Everyone prepares for battle. Our heroes burst through the doors and are met by a costumed man in a wheelchair. "Zippy!" exclaims Metal Head as he rushes to hug his old friend. Joey Elastic is also there and the old timers explain how the years of wear and tear have taken a toll on their bodies and abilities, but they're still rarin' to go. We find out that Captain Deadbolt is missing and then the guys hear something on the roof. When Leo opens an attic window to find out what's going on, he's greeted by the sight of dozens of little robots, all armed with medieval weaponry. Leo and Casey get busy fighting the robots on the roof, while the others battle the invading machines downstairs. Our heroes win the skirmish in quick fashion, but are greeted on the front lawn by Dr. Dome in a giant robot that he dubs the Domebot.

Just then Battling Bernice shows up and kicks the giant mechanical beast in the knee, shattering it and causing the machine to collapse. Bernice then kicks out the windshield of the robot and drags Dr. Dome out. As BB holds Dome up by the collar and demands to know why the little villain is doing this, he explains that he wanted to bring her out of hiding, as he's been in love with her for 25 years and needed to see her again.

Bernice states that she isn't the original Battling Bernice, but her daughter, Ananda. Ananda tells Dome that her mother passed away 3 years ago, and that he has ruined his life by allowing her mother's rejection of him to turn him into a villain (apparently Dome had been a member of the Justice Force until he had a falling out with Bernice). As Ananda chastises Dr. Dome, Stainless Steve interrupts and offers the villain a chance for redemption—Steve asks Dome to move into his estate, where they can try to heal old wounds. Dr. Dome agrees.

Later, we see Raph and Mike on the porch of the farmhouse. Mike is reading an old Justice Force comic while Raph ponders how long the truce will last.

"Good question, Raph," Mike ponders, "I'd say they've got a 50/50 chance... time heals all wounds, right? Right?"

Raph stands in silence.

REVIEW

This issue came out after issue 17. Around this time, according to the letters, some readers were angry at the changes in this title (and the TMNT franchise in general). I completely understand why. Such a successful property could have been a bit better in terms of reliability. But at the same time, it remained indie, which, at this point wasn’t an easy thing to do (they did go to Archie Comics for the tv adaptations, though).

The story reads as an homage to the Fantastic Four, there is not much to it. It is ok, I found the dialogues a bit odd (I know it’s a thing in TMNT, but in this issue some words felt too crazy).

In the end I think it was the intention all along, so I can give it a pass.

I give the issue a score of 8

#peter laird #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #metal head #justice force #comics #review #1988 #modern age #indie #mirage studios

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