Member Reviews
Somewhere in my pile of book boxes in the basement I have the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collections from Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, so I was looking forward to revisiting my youth with “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Mirage Years (1993–1995)” by Jim Lawson. And although I was completely lost at first, the style, characters, and mood soon brought me back to a familiar place.
I have to admit that the first part of the book is quite moody and confusing for anyone who is not familiar with where the story was in 1993, myself included. The four heroes in a half-shell were all out on their own, having weird dreams of the future and Splinter’s death, some living in a basement apartment below Casey and April, others crawling back through the sewers.
Then we get to the good part. Giant robot attacks, going after April in particular. It turns out that the robot is controlled by Baxter Stockman, who (I assume) is a bad guy from the past, out for revenge. The turtles manage to defeat the robot but lose Raphael in the process. This also raises some questions – where did Baxter get the time and materials to build this robot? And who are the mysterious folks who have captured Raphael? With some unexpected help from a neighbor, our heroes go to rescue their brother from a secret government lab. And, as an aside, try to prevent an alien invasion of earth.
Enjoyable, even if you don’t know the backstory of all of the side characters (like me). Brings back the memories of the independent comics of the 1980s-1990s, harsh graphics, bold storylines, ushering in the landscape that we have today.
I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from IDW Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!
Thank you to IDW Publishing and NetGalley for access to this ARC for review.
A somewhat enjoyable trip down memory lane to the Turtles during their Mirage Studios days. While I don't remember this particular arc, it was not one of the better ones from this era. Jim Lawson did a good job picking up the vibe of the original Eastman and Laird but the art has a few odd departures in character styling/scale. The gritty stylings of the art work fit the gritty nature of the storylines which are a huge departure for those who grew up only with the sanitized cartoons. These were among the stories, though, that made indie comic labels into the creative forces that helped all of comics move beyond the status quo. Lawson's monster design is top notch, but his human characters always seemed a little "off" which is probably why I don't recall this arc.
Still, the re-release of these editions, especially when they were not the best examples from the era, is vital to preserving the history and art of iconic characters like the TMNT crew. IDW deserves kudos for keeping these originally colored works available for newcomers and veterans alike.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. I grew up with TMNT and loved everything about them growing up; so this was a great throwback. I’d forgotten that they all started with one color instead of the four that we all know.
IDW Publishing provided an early galley for review.
I remember when the Turtles came on the comic scene, but at the time I was not very into independents. While I was dabbling a bit more in that space when this run came out in the early to mid-90's, it still did not hit my radar. Looking at it now, though, I can see why this was a popular series. There is a charm to it with its storyboard approach to the narrative and its often utilization of dialogue-less pages (letting the artwork do all the talking). That is something that can be missing in more modern-day comic books.
You can also see the influences of manga and anime in Lawson's work here. The Turtles owe their origins to the Eastern art forms, and elements from those come into play in these early stories.
The story builds over the course of the issues, but it then comes to a rather abrupt ending in the thirteenth issue. I suspect that the end of the series was an unexpected occurence which forced Lawson to wrap it all up quickly. It seems like he was building to something even bigger prior to that.
For fans of the medium interested in the evolution of the format in the US during this time period, I would recommend checking this volume out when it is released.
This a great 13-issue collection of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. Any fans of the TMNT will enjoy reading this collection. It was nostalgic for me. I recommend this collection to all fans of TMNT.
3 / 5 Stars
Thank you to IDW Publishing and NetGalley for the ebook ARC. I'm very grateful to review this book.
This is a review from someone who has NOT read the collection that preludes this series of volumes. Please keep this in mind.
This is a collection, continuing from TMNT Compendium 2 (I believe?), about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fighting off Baxter Stockman while protecting April and their other friends. That’s the simplest way to describe it, as other things also happen in it.
For me, I wasn’t a fan of the beginning or ending. For lack of better terms, I felt it didn’t grip me, especially with the aged art (although it’s not all bad - the turtles are most drawn great), but also how detached the beginning was. As it continued, the plot became more developed with Baxter Stockman becoming more apparent and destructive.
In the middle, I loved the action and stakes in the story. One of the characters gets kidnapped, a battle, and a race to get them back. And the banter and comedy, while somewhat arbitrary, I loved and made the ending more enjoyable.
In the middle, I also enjoyed how different the turtles’ characteristics were from traditional renditions. Leonardo felt more laid back, Michelangelo was more serious and independent, Donnie was more brawn than brains, and Raphael was more dependent and helpless (although this isn’t much different since his arrogance got him into trouble). Everyone felt different and it was a breath of fresh air.
When it came to the ending, it felt pointless. I won’t spoil it, but it was rushed to an ending that made everything else feel obsolete or not feel earned in the grand scheme of things.
Overall, I enjoyed this collection but I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend it or purchase it myself. Some things make it different and unique from other versions of this beloved franchise, but the art and plot somewhat hold it back from the pacing and writing decisions.
I don’t regret reading this, though. Interesting time.
I'm a big fan of the OG TMNT.
I own and have read all the reprinted collection of the B&W series and own a precious few issues bought over the years.
I've alway been curious about the series, but not enough to track down the singles, this collection was a much appreciated chance to dive in and enjoy this bit of the TMNT history.
The art is a bit rough and a much different approach to the turtles. It still fit well enough with the B&W stuff, and the monsters are fun, but the people all felt weird and roughy draws.
The story is an interesting one and feels like a plot we would expect from Eastman and Laird,
Sadly, the formatting of the advance copy made it difficult to really get immerse in the comic, but I look forward to lolking at a physical collection.
This isn’t a neat reprinting of a single arc, as we’ve come to expect from more recent collections. There are standalone issues and oddities, but Lawton’s preoccupation with the dreamlike balance of peaceful daily minutiae and action-packed adventure pulls them together into a charming whole.
Picking up after the events of “City At War” (collected in TMNT Compendium Vol. 3), Donatello and Splinter recuperate in Northampton while the rest of the Turtles are in New York City with April. Meanwhile, Baxter Stockman wreaks havoc in the desert at a top-secret D.A.R.P.A. facility. As the family drifts apart a killer robot controlled by Stockman has April in its sights and the boys have to come together to fight it off!
What nostalgia thank you sir for ourchildhood bestmemories.
It’s the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so its good. I grew up with the cartoons but had never read the comics. To be honest, it wasn’t what I expected, although I knew the source material was darker than the children’s cartoons. This likely isn’t the best comic that the series has to offer, but its still solid. Any fan of the series would enjoy this collection, and it is nice to have so much all together in one place to enjoy all together.
Reading this, I want to give it 4-stars I think. Its good, but maybe not 5-stars good. That said though, I’m giving this one full marks simply because I think re-releasing old comics like this is a wonderful thing that makes them accessible to a new audience without having to try and find low-quality pirated scans online somewhere (I have done this, ill admit it, but it was the only way!). Collections like this are something that should exist, and I want to support it. Also, each issue works together along with the rest to tell the full story so this existing and being available makes the other issues of the comic better by association.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ARC. This honest review was left voluntarily.
My thanks to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for an advanced copy of this graphic novel that features the teen terrapins in some of the biggest, loudest, and most earth-saving adventures, stories not seen in almost thirty years.
Being a fan of comic character can sometimes be difficult, especially if the characters one enjoys are not from the big publishers. Independent comics pop around the comic landscape, big press, small press, presses that dissolved in lawsuits or infighting, or presses that ended because a mom wanted her garage to park her car, and their went the editors office. Also we are in a time where things seemed to lost, which is amazing in a time when media seems ubiquitous. However one companies financials can mean that it is cheaper to delate a fan favorite, rather than rerelease it. That's why ever reissue should be celebrated, and thought of as a gift, for new and old fans. Especially when the stories are so interesting. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Mirage Years (1993–1995) by writer and artist Jim Lawson feature 13 issues of the Heroes in a Half-Shell fighting, eating and saving the Earth from enemies familiar and new, in stories that have not been seen in almost 30 years.
The collection begins with a nice introduction by Jim Lawson discussing how he started working on the Turtles and how important this job was. Also he shares fan interaction describing what the Turtles meant to them, and this puts this collection in a nice perspective. From there we are off. The Turtles, April and Casey all seem to be sharing a bad pizza as they all share dreams of a future filled with dangers, and troubles. The Turtles are a little older here, wanting to spread their wings and find themselves. Donatello and Splinter are recuperating from their last battle with the Foot, and the others are living in a basement under April and Casey's house. A small basement. Leonardo decides to move out, returning to the cellar, and finds a group of creatures living there that makes the alligators in sewer seem small and pleasant. Across the country strange things are happening in a government lab, a lab filled with strange technology and even stranger creatures. One of these, a robot combines with an old enemy of the Turtles and plans its revenge. While deep in space, another enemy makes plans to get their revenge on the Turtles and the planet they came from.
One thing that forgotten about the Turtles that even with the cartoons, and movies, and even the Archie comics, the creators and therefore Jim Lawson always tried to keep the stories real. And adult. These are fun little stories, some of these are sad, scary, bleak tales full of violence and language, with death being a constant companion. Though with lots of pizza. Jim Lawson over the thirteen issues unfolds a story that leaves hints throughout the run, leading to the last few issues being a battle royale with Turtles verus mercenaries, aliens and even their own doubts and fears. The stories are full of familiar faces and enemies, and Lawson writes them all with a very assured hand. Lawson also does the art, a mix of cartoon, and dreaminess. Where bodies turn, flip, fall, and fight with both a sense of ballet and monster movie heaviness. Art I really came to enjoy by the end.
The violence and language might keep certain kids away. My nephew is 11, and well has a little bit of a potty mouth, so this will be perfect for him. Just a buyer beware kind of thing. Old fans will love this nostalgic trip, and new fans will be surprised at how the creators wrote the Turtles. A good time graphic novel.
3.5 out of 5 stars
I grew up watching the original ninja turtles cartoons, but I never knew about the original comics, the style is a little darker than the original cartoons, but still good.
The stories felt a little rough and not as smooth as I would have liked, it felt rushed at times.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, and if you liked the cartoon but wanted something a little darker, then this of for you.
An interesting detour in the lives of the turtles. As much as I love TMNT overall, this is a period and story arc I was unfamiliar with, and overall just didn't really enjoy. Wasn't a big fan of the art either, and so it just did not click. Sometimes great art helps a bad story, and vice versa. I know that there is a fan-base that is absolutely going to love this, but it just wasn't for me.
I received an e-galley from the publisher through NetGalley,
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a fun nostalgic read! I really enjoyed this graphic novel. This will be so fun to share with my own kids.
A great collection of the grittier toned classics in the years following the property's mainstream explosion. Zany, violent, maybe a little WTF at times, but good fun, and great scans.
This was a really fun, quick and exciting collection of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stories. Taking place after the original series ended, these 13 issues tell one big story that is intertwined and have quite some call backs to the previous run. Jim Lawson has a very distinct style and delivers really solid TMNT stories that put a lot of the later stories to shame. It just isn't quite the Eastman and Laird Turtles though.
Special Thanks to IDW Publishing and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley, IDW Publishing, and Jim Lawson for the opportunity to read this TMNT collection in exchange for an honest review.
Before IDW picked up TMNT, Mirage Studios was producing the comic. It made Volume 2, thirteen issues that create one major story arc from 1993 to 1995. The art is certainly dated, when compared to the more modern TMNT comics, but it also has that classic comic feel to it.
Baxter Stockman, a formerly introduced antagonist, has created a robot of annihilation of which he embeds his brain, becoming the robot itself. He seeks revenge against April, and when she is attacked, it brings the ninja turtle gang into play. Their investigations not only lead to Stockman and the disappearance of Raphael, but to hidden government secrets they were not expecting.
I found the action scenes to be executed well and enjoyed the story arc. This is a great collection for old fans or those getting into TMNT for the first time! This is a really great collection with classic characters, heroes and villains alike, with high stakes near the end.
A extremely fun, but dark graphic novel based on the Teenage Mutant Turtles. The stories are fast paced, and the villains are well-developed to provide a good bunch of short stories for the reader. You will find yourself drawn into the story and looking for more stories. A good escape read, meant for the adult/teen readers, this is not one for the younger children.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
What a fantastic stroll down memory lane. So glad the publisher decided to reprint this series. An amazing collection with all the great characters.
This was super nostalgic for me, I'm so glad that they reprinted this because there's nothing I hate more than lost media