"TMNT 25th: A Quarter Century Celebration," Mark Bode Cover
If IDW's expanding collection of variant covers has your head in a spin (keep up with the covers as they're released in this Ninja Pizza Facebook gallery), be prepared to stay dizzy. Kevin Eastman will be reissuing his popular collection, first published two years ago during the TMNT 25th anniversary celebration, titled "TMNT 25th: A Quarter Century Celebration," with four new covers and eight pages of new material.
"TMNT 25th: A Quarter Century Celebration," Richard Corben Cover
The four different covers available feature artwork by Mark Bode, Richard Corben, Simon Bisley, and Glenn Fabry. While the Heavy Metal website does not specify if these reissues will be in hardcover or paperback (the original book was offered as both), the suggested retail price of $19.95 suggests they will be paperback.
"TMNT 25th: A Quarter Century Celebration," Simon Bisley Cover
The details that are available about the books indicate that each book with have a limited printing of only 500 copies, with 150 of each cover being sold next month exclusively at Comic-Con International in San Diego. If you will not be at Comic-Con, you can pre-order each book through the Heavy Metal website, where orders will be fulfilled in the order in which they are received until supplies are exhausted. You can click the linked names of each cover artist above to be taken to the order page.
"TMNT 25th: A Quarter Century Celebration," Glenn Fabry Cover
Astute TMNT fans know that tonight was the TMNT25 Galabunga event that included a free screening of the first TMNT movie. The always reliable Neil gives us this video montage of the event. Hopefully there will be more in upcoming days!
When the TMNT Adventures title from Archie was canceled in 1995, it was done abruptly and premature. A new story titled "The Forever War" had been already solicited for several months, but it didn't matter... the title went kaput. (For a little background on that story, check out these old posts from the 5th Turtle: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.)
In recent years Mirage has teased us, saying that they would publish this "lost" story... but still, it never came. Until now!! Using the 25th anniversary as a pretty good excuse, wheels are really turning and "The Forever War" will finally see print! There's been a lack of details as to when and how we'd see it, but the answers seem to have finally arrived.
Cap e-mailed in with the above picture, which is a full-page advertisement for "The Forever War," stating it will (still) be in five parts and the first will be shipping in August (I think the previous best guess had been September). To make sure that your comic shop orders the book (and saves you a copy!) just print out the ad and bring it in to them - The information at the bottom will help ensure that they get it for you!
This scan is from the back of the Free Comic Book Day reprint of TMNT Vol. 1 #1 - Don't forget to visit your local comic shop on May 2nd to pick up your copy of that book!!
I learned a very important lesson today: Pole-dancing Ninja Turtles are completely acceptable so long as the pole is the top of the Empire State Building.
But that lesson comes at the end of this long story, so let's start back at the beginning.
This afternoon I received a mass e-mail sent to me because I registered my e-mail address at TMNT25.com, the Web site (supposedly) dedicated to the 25th Anniversary of the TMNT. The complete contents of this email can be seen by clicking that bar thing on the left there. It's not unusual for me to see something from the TMNT25 team, anchored by some folks at Peppercom, and be disappointed by its pointlessness and consistant lack of professionalism. So far we've seen pajama TMNT "costumes" at Comic-Con last year (and they were sooooo proud of these), a pointless Twitter account that gives weather updates more than anything else, a crappy Web site still full of inaccurate information, an April with a Kill Bill jumpsuit, and now the e-mail that arrived today.
Considering the extremely low impression all of these things have left me with, I think I have shown great restraint in expressing how I really feel about this ridiculous anniversary campaign, or whatever you want to call it. I don't know exactly why I haven't been as vocal as I really feel... Maybe because I'm constantly accused of being unnecessarily negative. Maybe because I respect the fact that the people at Peppercom are people who need jobs, just like the rest of us. Maybe because, despite popular opinion, I actually have no desire to be the topic of Peter Laird's rants in the back of his comic book. Whatever the case may have been, this e-mail proved to be a breaking point for me. There's no stopping me on this one. I am tearing this piece of crap inside out. Oh, and apologies in advance; due to the nature of the subject of this email, this blog is going to break all conventional rules of blogs.
Let's start by looking at this as a single image. The dimensions of this image are 820 pixels wide by 8835 pixels high. For some perspective, consider that not too long ago the average computer monitor resolution was only 800 pixels wide, making 820 within an email a bit excessive, although not horrible. But what the hell kind of e-mail marketing is 8835 pixels high?!! 8835!! The whole thing is actually composed of 13 separate jpegs. This is more than just a little excessive! This is something I might tolerate receiving from my mom, but certainly not from a professional PR company actually trying to be taken seriously.
Then there's the actual quality of the image. If you think the image you see when you click on that bar above is a poorly compressed copy of the original, you would be sadly mistaken. That is exactly how the image appeared in the sent e-mail. Poor image compression is an instant red flag that points out people who either A) Are brand new to the Internets, or B) Have no freakin' clue how to properly use even a basic photo editing program. Jpegs are compressed image files. The more compression, the smaller the files size, but the crappier the picture. If you're trying to sell something, you should be going for presentation. This presentation is nothing but Fail.
Now let's look at what is actually in the image.
Here we have what I think is supposed to be the Turtle Van, a manhole cover, and a ladder. This would be ok... if a 7-year-old drew it.
Next we have the four Turtles, apparently dropping down into the sewer while frozen in poses that do not seem likely to accompany such an activity. And the text balloons were apparently done by the same 7-year-old who drew the top part.
Here's the next part. Leo and Mike are still frozen in the same poses while Don has exactly mirrored his previous pose. Raph seems to have managed to land on a ledge just in time to tell us they're going "Back to the sewers." If that was supposed to be a clever reference to the most recent season of the 4Kids cartoon, it fails.
Ok, taking the next part in smaller segments. The Turtles are still falling and both Mike and Don feel it's a good time to start kicking. Unfortunately, this means I see quite a bit more of Mike's butt than I'm comfortable with. And that 7-year-old kid tried to get fancy by suggesting a motion blur with the upper portion of Mike's entire body.
And here we have Leo and Raph, still falling. This is the perfect time to make mention of the clip art that is so abuntant here. If you haven't noticed yet, it all sucks. The majority of it was drawn by artists at 4Kids, who in most cases simply redrew poses from the original TMNT 2K3 style guide by Michael Dooney (which was also replicated by the team at Imagi for the 2007 movie). None of these poses are really fitting for the cartoony Turtles they are meant to represent and the actual style of the art doesn't match the cartoony Turtles being emulated (note the huge knee and elbow pads). And some of the pieces, particularly Donatello, appear to feature cleavage. Also, where is Leo's neck? It's my theory that the 4Kids artists only drew the bodies of the Turtles while a stock Turtle head was pasted onto the body.
FSSSSH!!
Wait, what?
Sadly, I don't think we can expect any Eisner awards for this, or even nominations.
Sorry, that was a lie. I'm not sad.
No, actually I wasn't asking...
Hey, shouldn't you guys have landed by now?
OMG WTF JUST HAPPENED?!!!!
Ok, calming down... sorta. Lemme get this straight. The Turtles just fell into the sewers and onto what appears to be the top of the Empire State Building. I might be willing to accept that, but they really seem to be getting a little too friendly with the antenna there!! Particularly Mike and Don. I'm not even sure how Raph and Leo are holding on (and I probably don't want to know).
Quick, it says to click to escape this overly-suggestive image!!
*click*
Oh, look, there's a video...
AHHHHHH!!!!! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!!!!
Calming down a bit (again), I think the completely rational thing to do at this point in time is to look at a few screen shots from this hellish 12-second video (hopefully created by the same 7-year-old who put together all the jpegs).
We start out the same as we left the e-mail. Hardly comforting. And apparently New York rains green ooze.
As the video gets going, the Turtles slide down the Empire State Building with the antenna between their legs. And we see that the building has a light switch at the top.
As the Turtles continue to slide down the building it becomes clear that Leo and Raph are only heads hovering in the back.
A bit farther down and the Turtles hit the light switch! Oooh, the Empire State Building now glows green! Impressive!! Luckily, the horror is now truly over.
Hmmm, I would say, "No thank you," but the truth is that I look forward to the "Next Episode" in that bad car crash kind of way. And Peppercom is being paid $1 million for all of this! (I seriously need a gig that pays an insane amount of money for crap.)
To wrap up: Poor production quality aside, how the hell is this acceptable for children, who are obviously the target audience? And I know it's not just me who's disturbed by this.
I forwarded the e-mail to a friend of mine who is mom to a 3-year-old. She replied expressing the same horror I felt when I saw it. I was so upset with the whole matter that I contacted Rob at Peppercom, who is in charge of the TMNT25 activities. This is the reply I got:
As always, we appreciate your input but want to clarify that the pole is the top of the Empire State Building.
Um, yeah, I got that. It doesn't make anything better though.
Mega fan Neil comes through once again, this time with video of the complete TMNT 4Kids panel that was on Sunday at New York Comic-Con. Hosted by Jake Black, this panel takes a look at 4Kids' TMNT series through the eyes of a table full of people who made it all happen.
Jim Lawson updated his blog today with a new piece of art featuring all four Turtles looking down on New York from one of its many rooftops. This fantastic piece was done for a TMNT 25th anniversary project that 4Kids is working on. Jim and all of the Mirage artists were asked to contribute pieces of art; however, Mirage got these pieces of art as freebies and did not pay the artists for the time and talent put into them.
Needless to say, this is unacceptable. Unfortunately, this attitude is becoming more and more typical of Mirage, namely CEO Gary Richardson who also attempted to cancel all of the employees' life and disability insurance last week to save the company all of $9,500 a year. The only reason this didn't happen is apparently due to a technicality (not a sudden change of heart from Mr. Richardson).
With all of the writing that has been put on the wall concerning Richardson, the only question that can be asked is: Why does Peter Laird apparently sit back and do nothing while Mirage crashes and burns and his employees, who have given the last 20+ years of their lives to the company, as well as their entire professional careers, struggle to make ends meet while he and Gary Richardson are living free and easy?
Addendum: It has been clarified to me that 4Kids, not Mirage, requested these pieces of art and as such, it was 4Kids, not Mirage, who did not pay for them. It still seems to me that Mirage could have found it in their hearts to pay the artists for the pieces anyways, and asking for art that you don't intend to pay for, no matter who the asking party is, is in poor taste no matter what the situation.
Today, Comic-Con International released the themes and anniversaries it will recognize and celebrate at this year's event in San Diego, July 23-26. And yes, the 25th anniversary of the TMNT is among the celebrations!
For information on how to submit art and/or articles for consideration for this year's souvenir book, click here.
Savvy TMNT fans were watching TMNT25.com on January 1, when the site relaunched itself with loads of new content. However, and rather sadly, the content on the site is poorly written, features bad grammar and punctuation, and, most unbelievably, is full of inaccurate information.
If the TMNT25 team doesn't believe in the use of editors or fact checkers, that's their choice to poorly represent the TMNT brand. As easily as I could, I'm not going to tear apart the site to show off its poor use of design, poor writing, inaccuracies, etc. However, there is one page so greatly misleading that I cannot ignore it.
You would think the "About Mirage Studios" page would be the easiest page for the TMNT25 team to write. But it only took a quick glance for me to find glaring errors. As such, I did a bit of digging into my personal TMNT archive to find references and do some fact checking. The result is what you find below. I realize that this is a lot more depth than the "About Mirage Studios" page was intended to have, but if you compare the two you'll see the conflict in information, especially with certain dates.
ABOUT MIRAGE STUDIOS
Steve Lavigne, high school classmate and friend of Kevin Eastman, as well as the real-life inspiration behind Michaelangelo, was Mirage's first employee, hired in 1985 to help with lettering duties beginning with issue #5 of the original TMNT comic book. His duties would expand to coloring comics and art and penciling licensing art that was used on thousands of TMNT products sold around the world. Lavigne left the studio in 1995 to return to his home state of Maine. He still does occasional freelance work for Mirage when asked.
After giving Eastman and Laird a piece of fan art at a comic convention in Detroit in 1985, Ryan Brown was asked to "get in touch" with the studio in the letters column of the 4th reprinting of TMNT #1, published in September 1985. He did so immediately, resulting in an inking tryout for a short comic titled "New York Ninja" that would later see print in the back of the TMNT RPG supplement book titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures!
Passing that test, Brown was then invited to join the studio, making the move to Northampton, MA in September 1986. He would eventually use his inking skills on most of the licensing art drawn by Lavigne, as well as some comic covers. A life-long love of toys made him a perfect match for the role of the in-studio Toy Coordinator after Playmates launched its line of highly successful TMNT toys and action figures. Brown left the studio in 1995 to return to his home state of Ohio. He still does occasional freelance work for Mirage when asked.
Around the same time Brown set foot in Massachusetts and after a successful portfolio presentation, Jim Lawson was invited to move up from his home in Connecticut to join Mirage. Lawson and Brown then teamed together to draw and ink, respectively, a new companion comic title, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Lawson would also contribute to licensing art and penciling of the regular TMNT comic book series, becoming the main penciler starting with issue #48 of original series, a role that he maintains today with Volume 4 of the series.
Michael Dooney wrote a fan letter to Eastman and Laird after the original publication of the very first TMNT comic book. Dooney, an inspiring comic book creator in his own right, kept in touch with Mirage and would pencil issue #9 of the comic book, released in September 1986, while still living in New Jersey. After moving to the studio full-time, Dooney contributed art to more issues of the original comic book, full-color paintings for the official TMNT magazine, and some of the early issues of the Archie comics TMNT series among other things. Dooney remains with the studio today, contributing art for licensing, comic books, and toy design in collaboration with Playmates Toys.
In mid-1989, after the first few issues of the Archie comic series, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures, which were simply adaptations of the TMNT cartoon series, the book was horribly late and in danger of breach of contract. Seeing an opportunity, Brown asked his friend and roommate, Steve Murphy, to collaborate with him to create original stories for the comic series. Murphy, who was writing his own comic series, The Puma Blues, and doing proofreading and editing for Mirage, was hesitant to commit to the project, but finally agreed to take on the writing duties under the pen name Dean Clarrain. Murphy left Mirage with the end of the Adventures series in 1995, but would return in January 2002 as Creative Director of Licensing and Managing Editor of Tales of the TMNT Volume 2 when the title was established January 2004. Murphy resigned from his duties as Managing Editor in August 2007, but remains in the position of Creative Director of Licensing.
With Adventures back on track, Brown and Murphy needed a permanent inker for the book. Brown contacted his old roommate in Ohio, who had just graduated from art school, and asked him to join the team. Dan Berger came to Massachusetts in August 1989; his first Turtles work was TMNT Adventures #8, published in February 1990. He has also contributed to the original TMNT comic book, licensing art, and the daily TMNT newspaper comic strip. Berger has been the Webmaster of ninjaturtles.com since 1998 and Managing Editor of Tales of the TMNT Volume 2 since Murphy's resignation in 2007.
Like Lavigne, Eric Talbot was a high school buddy of Kevin Eastman. His first work with the TMNT came with issue #17 of the original TMNT comic book, published November 1988. He would continue to contribute to TMNT comics and various licensing endeavors throughout the duration of the TMNT's popularity in the 90s and continues working with Mirage to this day.
Riding on the success of the TMNT, Kevin Eastman bought Heavy Metal magazine in 1991. His last TMNT work was the comic Bodycount, published by Image in 1996. In 2000 he sold the creative rights of the TMNT to Laird so that he could focus completely on Heavy Metal. However, this separation was not the end of his involvement with the TMNT. In 2002 he published his TMNT "Artobiography" under the Heavy Metal label and in 2005 he gave Mirage the connection they needed, with Imagi Animation Studios, to make a new big-screen TMNT adventure a reality in 2007. In 2008 he sold his remaining TMNT holdings to Laird, but with plans to republish a handful of classic TMNT stories, the first of which, Bodycount, was released the same year.
The official 25th anniversary of the TMNT won't be celebrated until May 5, 2009, 25 years after the release of the first TMNT comic book. But today marks 25 years since Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird sat watching too much bad TV and made the first doodles of what would become the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Hurrah!
SHELL-EBRATE: MIRAGE STUDIOS AND 4KIDS ENTERTAINMENT LAUNCH WEBSITE FOR TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES®
25TH ANNIVERSARY AT COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL TMNT25.com is Official Fan Destination for 25th Anniversary
Shell-ebration News, One-of-a-Kind Prizes, Rare Collectibles and a Special Look at 25 Years of Turtle Power
SAN DIEGO, July 24, 2008 – Mirage Studios, Inc. and 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. announce the launch of an exclusive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) Website, created for the fans who have made everyone's favorite heroes in a half-shell a staple in pop culture for a quarter of a century. TMNT25.com, unveiled today at Comic-Con International, is the official destination for the Turtle's 25th Anniversary Shell-ebration in 2009. Fans will have the opportunity to register on the site to receive up-to-the-minute 25th Anniversary information and locations for special events, as well as the chance to win rare collectibles and prizes and much more, via the downloadable Turtles widget.
In addition to the launch of the site at Comic-Con, show attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a pre-Shell-ebration Sweepstakes, which they can enter by collecting stamps on a specially crafted TMNT25 passport at several participating partner booths: (4Kids Entertainment/TC Digital Games LLC (Booth #3351), uclick LLC (Booth #1217), and National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA) (Booth #4345). Once all the stamps are collected and the passport tear-sheet is handed in, fans are entered to win a number of special prizes including a signed NECA TMNT collectible toy set, a Raphael costume from Disguise, Inc. and a mobile phone from uclick.
Additionally, by participating in the pre-Shell-ebration Sweepstakes, fans will be automatically entered in an online TMNT Cyber Sweepstakes, where they will have the chance to win rare copies of Gobbledygook, the limited Mirage Studios comic series which previewed the Turtles back in 1984, each signed by Turtles co-creators Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman.
"Launching the TMNT25 Website is an exciting first step for Mirage Studios in the multi-faceted Shell-ebration of our historic milestone," said Gary Richardson, CEO of Mirage Studios. "This will be the go-to place for our fans to log on to reminisce in Turtles' multi-media history, as well as receive the latest news on all the exciting anniversary initiatives in which they can participate."
Peppercom, a strategic communications agency, and its experiential marketing division, Peppercommotions, will manage www.TMNT25.com, as well as the various Shell-ebration events.
"We're confident that the TMNT25 Website will help generate a strong buzz for fans and serve as an important promotional resource for Turtles' licensees, partners and retailers," said Rosalind Nowicki, Executive Vice President, Marketing & Licensing, 4Kids Entertainment. "The Shell-ebration will bring back nostalgic memories, as well as create exciting new experiences for TMNT fans of all ages."
Throughout 2008 and 2009, the TMNT25 team will host several interactive initiatives for fans during the action-packed anniversary, including nationwide tours, events and activities including "Galabungas" – TMNT-style parties in key U.S. cities – to celebrate the TMNT phenomenon throughout the years; and a mobile reunion tour that will travel across the country bringing families and friends together to participate in TMNT-themed events.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made their world premiere in May 1984, in a comic book created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman and published and distributed by Mirage Studios. A hugely successful TV series quickly followed, along with three successful theatrical films. In 2003, the Turtles were re-introduced to a new generation through a fresh animated television series, a CGI-animated theatrical movie and new merchandising program. The 25th year of TMNT will provide fans with radical, new, stimulating opportunities to experience the Turtles.
If you have a Twitter account, you can now follow TMNT news via the new TMNT25 profile. This looks to be an extention of the TMNT 25th anniversary "shell-ebration," which officially kicks off next week during San Diego Comic-Con.
Stay tuned next week for complete coverage of Comic-Con and all TMNT news that crosses the floor of the convention hall.
Murphy has posted the 25th anniversary logo (left) and a link to a brief article outlining Mirage's relationship with Peppercom, the PR agency that will be in charge of next year's 25th anniversary activities.
While no specific details are given, some basic ideas are alluded to.
TMNT will have a significant presence at Toy Fair and Comic-Con (I'm assuming San Diego).
In some fashion, the Turtles will "tour" the US.
The campaign will focus on both old fans and new fans.
Murphy has previously announced at The 5th Turtle that as part of the 25th anniversary celebration, Mirage will publish a trade paperback of the first run of Volume 1 comics ("remastered" versions), a "very special" expanded reprint of TMNT #1, and the long-awaiting final tale of the TMNT Adventures universe, The Forever War.
The TMNT made their comic book debut on May 5, 1984, which is the date used to mark their official anniversary.
KidScreen.com brings us some news of the upcoming TMNT Retro merchandising push:
Time flies. Or in this case, we should say it does roundhouse kicks, wields nunchakus and eats a lot of pizza. 4Kids Entertainment's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are turning 25 in 2009, but the IP owner is getting the celebration off the ground early with a new retro-inspired licensing program debuting at US retailer Hot Topic in November.
Building upon the success of the retro apparel program from licensee Giant Merchandising, 4Kids andMirage Licensing have developed a comprehensive TMNT retro campaign based on the art from the original late-80's TV series. TMNT retro boutiques will roll into 700 Hot Topic stores next month, accompanied by a feature page on the retailer's website (www.hottopic.com). Along with apparel, the boutiques will proffer caps, beanies and belt buckles from Bioworld. Other licensees onboard the TMNT retro program include NECA (collectible figures), Etchstar (laser etchings on iPods and laptops) and Disguise (Halloween costumes for TMNT's lead characters), and product will continue to rollout during 2008 and into the 25th anniversary year.
Dan Berger posted this information on NinjaTurtles.com:
Mirage's C.E.O. Gary Richardson and Director of Licensing Steve Murphy attended the Licensing Show in New York City last week and here's the scoop regarding the future for the TMNT: TMNT movie sequel: Mirage and its partners (Imagi, Warner Brothers and the Weinstein Group) are still discussing the possibility of a sequel for the CG film. Hopefully a decision will be made by the end of summer. Think positive - create good karma! TMNT cartoon on 4Kids TV (USA): Six new episodes of "Fast Forward" will air this fall beginning in September. From January to May of 2008, 4Kids TV will air most or all of the "Ninja Tribunal" episodes (although episode #110, "Nightmares Recycled", WILL NOT be completed or aired). Series producer Lloyd Goldfine and TMNT co-creator/owner Peter Laird are currently in talks regarding a new direction for the series to take in the fall of '08, but no definite decision has been made regarding what this new direction may be. Time will tell - but mum's the word for now. Playmates Toys: movie-themed toys will continue to be released until mid 2008. No decisions have been made yet regarding what will be released for the second half of '08. Rumors of a 5' tall robotic action figure that can talk and do seven different martial arts moves are not true. Ubisoft: Mirage is in negotiations with Ubisoft to produce a new TMNT video game. The CG movie models will be used, although the game will be independently produced (so it won't be directly based on any preexisting media like a TV show or film). If all goes well, the game will be out in late 2008 or early 2009. More than likely it will not be released on all of the same platforms that the movie game appeared on. A retro-licensing program will kick into high gear in 2008 with merchandise based on the 1980s TMNT cartoon series. Lots of adult-sized gear will be available! Can we get a "Cowabunga!" from the faithful? Awe yeah! Steve Murphy will be spearheading (katana-heading?) special events and merchandise programs to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the TMNT comic book in May, 2009. It's too early to say what will be involved, but Mirage plans to celebrate this monumental achievement in style!
Jim Lawson updated 
