Looks like Mirage are on Twitter now. Follow them at: http://twitter.com/MirageStudios
Author: Hero_777
UK-Based, longterm TMNT enthusiast, proud parent and professional Santa Claus.
Sneak Peak at Tales of the TMNT #61
Mind-blowing by Andres Ponce.
Collector Corner – Profiles in the Fandom!
Ladies and Gents we have our second profile up for your viewing pleasure. I’m still looking for more fans to profile so please contact me (click my name in the “Contact Us” section) to see yourself profiled. Just answer the below questions and you’re done. You’ll be famous!
Enjoy!
-Terminator
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Ben AKA Bigfoot
1) Please tell us a little about your self.
I was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My birthday is November 10, 1980.
2) How long have you been collecting TMNT and what prompted you to start?
By growing up in the 80’s, the TMNT cartoon seemed to be my gateway into the collecting aspect. It started out as me as a kid asking Mommy if I could get a toy, every time she said yes, it was TMNT related! I got to the point where I had to earn my money or do chores, and TMNT stayed on my list of things to spend money on.
I remember middle school and how playing with toys was no longer cool. Collecting sports cards, comic books, foreign money, and playing video games became my new hobbies. TMNT comic books gave me my fix that needed and that I missed out on pre-cartoon. I was by no means a comic collector and only have a couple. I read them, and shared them with friends. Years went by and TMNT faded away, I had girlfriends, jobs, and finished college.
In 2003, just when TMNT were making a comeback, I met my fiancé. She was a gamer girl when we met and she new all about fandom and all that other geeky stuff. Because of this, I probably feel more free to go as wild as I do with TMNT/eBay purchases these days
3) What specifically do you collect (toys, comics, etc.) and how large is your collection?
Everything!
4) What is your favorite piece in your collection and why?
My favorite piece in my collection these days would have to be my small sub-collection of error figures and/or cards. I have several figures in the wrong package, figures without or with the wrong accessories, and mislabeled packages.
5) How do you store/display your collection at home?
I opened my toys when I was a kid, but was so grateful to have them that I didn’t want other kids playing with them. It was very seldom that my parents could afford to buy me “extra” toys, and when they could, I did the best I could to take care of them. I had a cigar box that my grandfather had given me, that all my accessories went in as soon as I opened a new toy. Since I started re-collecting in 2003, I have left everything MOC, and displayed them on pegs just like they hang at the store. It is kind of like my own all TMNT toy store. I even have store signage that gives it that retail look.
6) What are your top five most wanted TMNT collectibles?
Top 5 Most Wanted:
– MOC Scratch
– Graded First Edition/Print #1 comic book
– Any cool action figure with another language on the packaging.
– Any movie prop.
– A poster from the cover of first NES game, autographed by everyone ever involved with TMNT.
All pics are sweet customs made by Ben!
Newsarama digs Tales #56!
A new review for Tales of the TMNT #56 just went up over at Newsarama. Here’s a taster, so be sure to head over and have a look and comment and all that business!
…All in all, it’s a pretty interesting tack to take with the character, giving the turtles an enemy to fight in a conflict hat’s quite personal, but only because of their friendship/familial relationship with Casey and April. And, his size and maybe strength aside, Hun is a more realistic sort of villain that most of the recurring ones these heroes have tangled with…
Check it out HERE!
Tales of the TMNT Review #56
Greetings, one and all…
I will be the first to admit that I am not as able to keep up to date with the current TMNT comics as I should be. I tend to check out the official TMNT website for summaries and glimpses of a few pages. But what I can say about this most recent issue from the Jones/Harmon powerhouse is definitely going to be a memorable one for TMNT fans.
I know the idea of putting a cartoon character into the Mirage universe caused some to hesitate. But Tristan’s own interpretation of Hun – Hunter Mason – is a solid character that you can really love to hate.
If you are not one for plot spoilers, I will warn you now. You can skip the next Three paragraphs, and go straight to the art itself.
The timeline for this story takes place a month after Tristan/Harmon’s previous conglomerate, Tales #36 “To Protect and Serve”. Nearly as year has passed since the City at War arc of Vol. 1, Donatello and Splinter are back home from Northampton, and busily helping April and Casey set up the apartment for their new family. Shadow is almost a year old at this point. The continuation of the City At War Plotline is very exciting for those familiar with that story. We see a couple returning characters from #36, and I’m getting a strong feeling that we’ll be seeing some further build-up to this storyline in the very near future…
Tristan’s story introduces us to a darker, more threatening version of Hun than we’ve seen in the animated series. It opens with a young, beaten up Casey staring defiantly at a late-teens(?) Hun, who’s got a knife in his side. The mountain of a man removes the knife and literally beats the life out of Casey while his family is forced to look on in horror. It’s this attack that most likely spurs Casey into becoming a hockeystick-wielding vigilante. You can easily understand how these two lives become so inexplicably intertwined…
More than just the lumbering brute that utters ‘Oh Crud’ whenever something happens, he is a fierce enemy who’s bound to become a favorite among the official Rogues Gallery – and leave you hungry for more…
Okay, no more spoilers, I promise…
The Art itself is something to behold. If the horrified eyes peering out of a shattered hockey mask isn’t enough to catch your attention, the sneering face of Hun should be enough to make you wonder what the heck is going on. Dooney’s frontispiece alone could be good enough as a pin-up poster like they used to have back then.
I’ve always been fond of B&W artwork, just because I tend to see color sometimes taking away from the tiniest details of shading and textures.
Harmon is a master of this gritty, Vol. 1 style of artwork. I would say it was done with charcoal – Heck, maybe even Gunshot Residue for all the action taking place. The lighting is smooth, almost milky, which in contrast makes the strong lines almost too dark, but overall it just screams the perfect amount of Atmosphere. Once you get an eye for Harmon’s artwork, it’s almost addictive in nature not to stop examining for the little details.
Even the way the turtles are drawn is something to notice. What I’ve noticed about Harmon’s turtles is that they seem very much inspired by the character designs of the very first Turtles movie. I noticed this a lot with Tales #36, and more so here.
Overall, this is a fantastic addition to the history of Tales of the TMNT, and I’m sure it will become a fast favorite for your collection.
Thanks for reading!
~MachiasB