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

This is a pedal to the metal collection. I don’t think it’s the strongest story from TMNT but its breakneck pace helps push readers through. The coloring is strange. People’s proportions are strange. Stockman shines. Casey does Rambo impressions. There’s fish people.