"Scratch Attack" Jake Black Benefit T-Shirt!

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As you should know by now, occasional TMNT writer Jake Black is currently fighting Hodgkins disease (i.e. CANCER). And that means a lot of big ugly medical bills. To help Jake out, his pals at Mirage Studios have been selling some Turtles wares, the proceeds from which go to pay those bills!

The latest of these sales is a T-shirt featuring the cat burglar Scratch facing off against Leonardo, by Fernando Leon Gonzalez and Ryan Brown!! The shirt looks GREAT and everyone needs to go buy one!! That means you!

Hit up NinjaTurtles.com for all the details!

TMNT: Smash-Up Developers' Diary + More

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Here's something that got a little lost in the chaos surrounding Comic-Con. And since it's not exactly new anymore, anyone following the latest news on this game has probably already found all of this, but here's another video and screen shot collection provided by Ubisoft.

Arcade Mode:

   

   
   

Cutscenes:

   

(Um, can the comic books look like that again? Please?)

SDCC 2009 Recap: TMNT Art and Other Swag

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I had a few Twitter requests to see my acquired art and swag during the Con, so I've put together a slide show showcasing what all I came home with:

EXCLUSIVE: "Turtles Forever" Complete Audio!

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Last Friday, July 24, 2009, Mirage Studios hosted a TMNT 25th Anniversary "Galabunga" party as part of San Diego Comic-Con, where, after pizza, cake, and prizes, fans were treated to the premiere screening of "Turtles Forever," a special animated adventure that saw the Turtles of the 4Kids series crossing into the multiverse of the original TMNT cartoon.

Shortly before the show started I realized that I had my audio recorder still with me, after utilizing it earlier in the day at the Con. I decided to take a chance and flip it on to see if the audio from the show would come out. I finally got around to checking the audio tonight, and what do you know, it actually turned out really good!

Here are all the disclaimers I present with the offering of this audio:

1. This audio is my own personal recording.
2. At no point during the night were we told, either in spoken word or print, that recording was not allowed.
3. As of right now there is no distribution deal for the release of "Turtles Forever" on DVD. This is surely forthcoming, but it can't hurt to raise enthusiasm for the project for potential distributors to see (and hear, in the case of the crowd reaction).
4. If at any point it is requested by Mirage Studios and/or 4Kids Entertainment for the file to be removed from this site, it shall be.
   

Further notes about the audio:

• This was recorded among a very lively crowd, so there is a lot of crowd noise that sometimes blocks out the audio from the movie.
• The volume in the room was very loud and my recording device is very basic (and as it was, I hit record as a crap-shoot to see if the audio came out at all), so there is a bit of distortion during the louder parts.

With all that said, you can download the audio here. Downloads are limited, so please comment if it needs to be re-uploaded.

SDCC 2009 Recap: Sideshow Collectibles Announces TMNT Comiquettes

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While it was not an unexpected announcement due to Sideshow's participation in the button run that helped you win a ticket to Friday night's Galabunga party, it was an announcement that sort of fell under the radar during the busy Comic-Con weekend. But I managed to keep on top of it for you.

Here's the short announcement that happened during Sideshow Collectibles' panel Saturday evening. I've replaced my shaky handy-cam video with the video since released on Sideshow's Web site. And since the audio at the end is hard to hear, I've provided text balloons.

SDCC 2009 Recap: "Spotlight on Kevin Eastman" Panel

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I still haven't caught up on sleep and I'm working on getting over the unavoidable "Con Funk" illness, so these recaps haven't gone up quite as quickly as I would have liked them to. But here we go with the first!

This is the video I took of the "Spotlight on Kevin Eastman" panel. The video only covers the TMNT portions (the rest of the panel mostly focused on the upcoming Heavy Metal-produced movie "War of the Worlds: Goliath," which looks to be really quite neat), and the quality is pretty crap. I took it on my unimpressive digital camera and, of course, didn't have a tripod. But the presentation is mostly a slideshow from Kevin, so I scoured the Internet for digital versions of the pics he shared and was actually able to find most of them. When I did have the actual photo available I super-imposed it over the shaky video. I think you get a better look at the photo that way than you would even if I had an awesome camcorder with tripod.

Anywho, here you go, in two parts:

The TMNT Guide to San Diego Comic-Con 2009!

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Here it is! You're guide to the TMNT at San Diego Comic-Con 2009! Well, the best I could put together in between throwing socks and t-shirts into a suitcase while hoping I don't forget anything.





PROGRAMMING

There are two panels of particular interest for TMNT fans. As a Special Guest at this year's Con, Kevin Eastman has a panel dedicated to him on Thursday. The TMNT 25th anniversary panel will be on Friday, having something to do with the last 25 years (exactly what and how I haven't figured out). Also, expect John Fusco to be introduced as the writer of the upcoming movie planned for 2011.

THURSDAY

1:00-2:00 Spotlight on Kevin Eastman— TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman not only reflects on his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle years (with a preview his Comic-Con exclusive 25th Anniversary hardcover collection of favorite TMNT stories!), but also shares sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes teasers or trailers for his upcoming animated film projects—War of The Worlds: Goliath! and Underwhere—and introduces the new Tor Books Novel line Heavy Metal Pulp and the in-development Biz and Buzz animated series. Last but not least, Kevin will give you an update on the new David Fincher/James Cameron–produced Heavy Metal film! Room 5AB

FRIDAY

4:15-5:15 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles— This look at the whole spectrum of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (from comics to toys to TV to movies to video games) celebrates the 25th anniversary of the world-famous brand. Moderator Gary Richardson (CEO, Mirage Studios) discusses the evolution of the Turtles with those people instrumental in the characters' incredible success. Panelists include Kevin Eastman (co-creator of TMNT), Lloyd Goldfine (supervising producer, 4Kids Productions), Steve Barron (director of the original TMNT movie), Karl Aaronian (senior VP of marketing, Giochi Preziosi U.S.A.), Matt Leunig (associate producer, Ubisoft), and Galen Walker (producer of new TMNT movie slated for 2011). Room 6DE

EXCLUSIVES

• NECA will be selling the April O'Neil w/ Mousers figure.
• KEVIN EASTMAN will be selling his TMNT 25th Anniversary book at the Heavy Metal booth.
• MIRAGE STUDIOS will be selling the two Jake Black fund-raising prints at their tables in Artists' Alley.

ON THE FLOOR

• Expect Ubisoft to be demo-ing at least one of the two upcoming TMNT titles.
• As one of the participants in the button give-away (see below), expect Sideshow Collectibles to reveal new TMNT product(s).
  

EVENT

• Friday night there is a preview screening of the the upcoming TMNT direct-to-video special, "Turtles Forever." An invitation to the event is required to attend, and can be acquired by collecting five buttons available at the following locations: Ubisoft's booth, Uclick's booth, Prima Games' booth, Sideshow Collectibles' booth, and the Turtle Van, which will be parked somewhere in or around Horton Plaza.

PEOPLE TO SEE

• Kevin Eastman can usually be found around the Heavy Metal booth, though possibly with less regularity this year than others.
• Stan Sakai, creator of Usagi Yojimbo, is also a special guest at the Con this year and can be found the entire weekend around his booth, or at several scheduled panels.
• Kevin Munrore, director of TMNT (2007), will be moderating the Thursday panel Masters of the Web and previewing his upcoming movie, Dead of Night starring Brandon Routh. An autograph session in the Sails Pavilion follows the panel.
• James Arnold Taylor, Leonardo in TMNT (2007), can be found throughout the Convention at several panels and scheduled signings.
• Mike Sinterniklass, Leonardo in the 4Kids TMNT cartoon, will be on the Saturday night Adult Swim/Venture Bros. panel.

ARTISTS' ALLEY

The following people can be found in Artists' Alley throughout the weekend:

• Dan Berger
• Michael Dooney
• Steve Lavigne
• Jim Lawson
• Eric Talbot
• ... and more!