Raise Some Shell

'Raise Some Shell: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' by Richard Rosenbaum is part of the Pop Classics series (the first volume was about the movie Showgirls, and I didn't read it). This one comes out during the 30th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (!) and talks about their significance for a specific generation.

For those not in the know, the Turtles started life as a comic. I'm painfully familiar with this fact because I had a copy of the first issue in my hands and didn't buy it. To my credit, it was oversized (so it wouldn't fit in the bins or bags with my other comics), the comic was black and white, and, at $1.50, it was more expensive, and I put it back down. I believe that issue can go for up to $15,000 these days. Yep. I'm still kicking myself about that one.

But I digress. Mr. Rosenbaum talks about the comics era that spawned the turtles. Frank Miller's work on Daredevil and Ronin had a heavy Japanese influence. Also, comics were beginning to be deconstructed as postmodernism hit the newstands. Into this the turtles were born. Disaffected youth who were unlike other heroes (for one, they couldn't easily blend in with humans), yet they had a strong moral code.

Richard Rosenbaum is a true fan (with his favorite member of the Turtles). He talks about the various iterations of the turtles in print and on screen. He talks about the dark days of the late 1990s when the print and cartoon versions were less than true to the original, and he has a very distinct opinion about the upcoming movie.

It's a fun read and I really enjoyed the discussion at the different levels. It's nice to read something so well informed by such a big fan.

I was given a review copy of this ebook by ECW Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to read this fun ebook.