Category: Stuff From Other Blogs

Kevin Eastman To Release new TMNT Collection

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Hey all,
The all too seldom updated blog of Kevin Eastman got a great update today. In it he announced the release of a collected works book he is releasing for the 25th anniversary. You can check out the blog post here (go there for additional images), or you can read the text below!

Anyway, let me tell you a few things that are going on, too much to fit in for this update, so I’ll share my favorites. As many of you know, and for those that don’t, this year is the 25th anniversary of the TMNT’s!!! Cool Beans! There are a couple of 25th Anniversary things planned this year by Mirage Studios—for the full details/plans/events go to the official TMNT site (www.ninjaturtles.com) but from my end, I’m doing a little 25th” event I can’t wait to share with you—a new collection of TMNT stories, my favorites, in an all new remastered 180 page book that will be out in time for San Diego!

About half of the stories feature my two favorite TMNT characters, Casey Jones and Raphael, the rest reprint some of my favorite all time TMNT tales! Here’s a quick breakdown;

The Jan Strnad Richard Corben “Turtles Take Time” in its original full color version!

The Mark Bode epic “Shell of the Dragon” in its original glorious black and white!

The FIRST appearance of Casey Jones in the Raphael one shot entitled, “Me, Myself, and I” which has been colored for the first time by the amazing Justin Norman!

The classic Eastman short “Fun With Guns” short story will be colored by the world renowned Blond!

And TMNT #14 by Eastman and Talbot will be reprinted in its original “Duo Shade/Sepia Toned” version!

Other stories will include shorts, “49th Street Stompers” “Complete Carnage and Radical” and “You Had to Be there!” plus intros, pin-ups and a few other surprises!

Guest Blog Series At TMNT25.com

Hey guys, I just wanted you all to know that I am currently writing a series of guest blogs for tmnt25.com about my time in the TMNT fandom. This is an opportunity that I am actually very excited about, and I encourage all of you to follow along 🙂

http://www.tmnt25.com/blog/2009/03/growing-up-green-part-1-the-early-years/

What's That You Say?!

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Our quiet buddies at NECA peeped about their Toyfair 09 experience a few days ago via their website.

In their blog post, you’ll catch this:

Movie buffs lost their heads when they saw Boondock Saints righteous killers Connor MacManus and Murphy MacManus given the deluxe treatment in our very own Cult Classics line, and The Governator himself never looked better than he did on our shelf as part of our brand new Terminator 2: Judgment Day line! Cool Toy Review’s photo gallery has pics of the whole booth ready for viewing, including our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Villain Assortment (check out that Krang!) and Series 2 of our line based on the hit game/cultural marking point Street Fighter IV. Chun Li never had it so good.

So thing’s are looking good for the NECA wave two releases if you ask me. Keep the faith brothers and sisters!

P.S. Those Street Fighter IV figures are also made of awesome.

Edit: I also just noticed they refer to the Utrom character as Krang…Interesting.

Usagi Statue Prototypes

Did you know that this year is also the 25th anniversary of Stan Saki’s Usagi Yojimbo? Well it is! You can catch stan’s blog in Our friends section.

While you’re there, you can check out the prototypes of these awesome new statues!

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Here are Stan’s words about them:

Roel has taken out the license to produce Usagi statues, and they are the best I have seen. I had the first three prototypes proudly displayed on my table. I had lots of room, seeing as I had sold out of all my books by noon the previous day. These were bronze colored statues, but the productions models will be full color (though the bronze ones look pretty good too). The Jotaro figure will also include one of my signature lizards. Dark Horse and I had run out of the 25th anniversary posters, but there were still people inquiring about them.

Peter Talks About The Falling Out

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Peter Laird posted a blog today about the layout images of volume 1 #12. However, within this post, he addressed an issue he doesn’t often talk about…his falling out with Kevin. Click the picture for a lin kto the full post…or read the juicy stuff below:

This issue is somewhat significant because it marked the end — or, perhaps more accurately, the beginning of the end — of my creative partnership with Kevin Eastman. With the burgeoning success and accompanying stresses of the TMNT licensing program, then (in 1987) kicking into high gear, Kevin and I had gotten kind of sick of working with each other. It had become very difficult to produce an issue of the TMNT comic book without a lot of unpleasantness and disagreements. It got to the point where we both realized that something had to change.

I remember we had a short meeting in Pulaski Park in downtown Northampton, wherein we decided that we should take a break from each other, and alternate issues of the comic — I’d do one, he’d do the next, and so on. It fell to me to produce the next issue — I can’t remember exactly how we came to that conclusion… perhaps I already had a story, perhaps Kevin was too busy with something else. I don’t know. But the long and short of it was that, for the first time, I wrote, penciled, inked and toned an entire issue of the TMNT book, by myself.

It was fun, but a lot of work, and although it was a relief not to have to deal with Kevin on it, I did still miss his input. We did get back together some time later to work on “Return to New York” and “City at War”, but it was never quite the same. — PL

At this point, there is very little point in being upset over this kind of stuff, I would rather digest it as a glimpse into the history of the turtles. I find it extremely interesting. I thought you might too.