We Are Not "Sewer Heads" - A Note to Playmates and Nickelodeon

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Last week when Playmates released their first peek at the 2012 TMNT toy lineup, there was also a series of short videos posted to MTV.com featuring Karl Aaronian from Playmates talking about each of the different lines. In these videos, he drops in the term "Sewer Heads," referring to the long-time Turtles fans.



As press coverage of the new toys grows in the build-up to Toy Fair, this term has been showing up again. And it is because of this recurrence of the term that TMNT fans wish to declare to both Playmates and Nickelodeon:

We are not "Sewer Heads." Please stop calling us that.
It is dumb and rather insulting. Think about it.

Now, I realize that we don't have a "cool" name for our fandom to sound off in your interviews and press releases akin to "Trekkers," "Browncoats," "Whovians," or "X-Philes," etc. But the thing is, all of those names happened organically, by the fans. They weren't assigned by marketing departments. We officially reject this "title" that you've assigned us.

If you absolutely must use something in your marketing copy, we respectfully suggest you change it to the less insulting "Shell Heads." We are not declaring this as our title, and take no ownership of it. But it's better than the name you've given us.

Really, it's probably just best if we stay "Ninja Turtles Fans." After all, Lucasfilm and Hasbro seem to be doing pretty well selling their products to "Star Wars Fans."

TMNT fans, whatever they be called, are encouraged to have their voices heard on this matter. Please send Tweets to @PlaymatesToys and @TMNTMaster. You can also post on the Playmates Toys and Nickelodeon TMNT Facebook pages.

Maybe with some good ol' fashioned Turtle Power we can get use of "Sewer Heads" killed and buried before Toy Fair actually starts.

UPDATE! @TMNTMaster has assured us that we will no longer be called Sewer Heads! Your voices have been heard! Thanks for listening, Nickelodeon!

TMNT 2012 Toys - Playset, Vehicles & Roleplay

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These pics have been around for a few days now, but after taking the weekend off I thought another peek at them would be a good way to start the new week.

The Secret Sewer Lair Playset is an impressive accessory for all those action figures. It stands 42" tall and includes features that include telescoping periscopes, a rope swing and swing-down ladders, zip lines, an elevator, Shredder statue, computer lab, doors that open and close, an ooze drain and more!

And some closer shots:

The main vehicle that will be featured in the series is the Shellraiser, the Turtles' converted rail car that travels through the subway and on the streets. Playmates claims it can hold up to eight of the basic action figures inside, with lots of buttons and doors to keep the ninja action going from the outside.

If you don't already have enough motorcycles to go with your TMNT figures, you'll have yet another opportunity with the Rippin' Rider. And Mikey gets another skateboard. The Sewer Spinnin' Skateboard is loaded with electronics that will have it doing 10+ tricks.

The Ninja Stealth Cycle is actually a pretty neat spin on the tired old use of motorcycles in TMNT toys and TV shows. This cycle transforms into a stealth mode that camouflages the rider from anyone who may be looking down from above.

And in case you don't have enough motorcycles yet, the bad guys get one, too. The Dragon Cycle will flip the rider up out of the seat.

Finally, for all the kids Nickelodeon hopes will be playing Ninja Turtles in the months and years to come, we have role play kits with bandanas, plastic weapons, and some plastic throwing disks.

Or, if you'd like a little more lightsaber in your ninja play, Leonardo's Stealth Sword lights up in a choice of three different colors.

These all look to be great toys for their target market; I continue to hope that the amazing promo pics of the basic Turtles released by Playmates last week don't turn out to be a lie for us adult collectors.

A Closer Look at the TMNT 2012 Toys

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Yesterday's exciting reveal of Playmates' 2012 TMNT lineup was part of a pre-Toy Fair event held in MTV's New York offices. In addition to the pictures we saw, there was also a series of short videos posted on MTV.com. These videos give us some closer looks at everything being offered ... and raise a few questions as well. Let's take a look at what there is to see...

Packaging! Bright and bold colors look quite sleek - Very nice! No complaints here.

Here's all of the loose figures on display. And here's where the questions start...

Yesterday we were shown this AMAZING picture of figures that were quite universally coveted by TMNT fans and toy collectors everywhere. These are not exactly the same as the figures shown last year at the Fan Preview Events, but they're equally fantastic.

Now, look at the above two pictures carefully and you'll see that the figures look nothing alike. Mike's awesome chained nunchucks? Gone! Painted weapons? Nope! Any indications of detailed paint work or the wash seen in the first picture? Nadda! I really hope these aren't the figures that will eventually be shipping, because that will seriously deflate my enthusiasm for them. :(

Moving on, let's take a look at another oddity: Splinter.

Last Spring at the Fan Preview Event held at Nickelodeon Studios, the Splinter we saw barely resembled an action figure, so I can't use that as a comparison to this, but I don't recall any of the images we saw of Splinter having a white face. I really hope this looks better in the CGI designs than it does here.

Here's another look at Splinter next to April. There isn't much to say about April, really, but this is our first good look at her character design for the new series. Obviously it's a radical change from any April we've previously seen.

And here's a closer look at the bad guys, a Foot Soldier, a Kraang alien in an exoskeleton, and Shredder.

In addition to the basic figures, there will also be new figures with "special features" released approximately every six months. The first wave will be "Power Sound FX." These figures look to be more closely designed to resemble the Turtles as we will be seeing them in the new CGI series.

Hey, look. The Leo on the package has only two toes.

And there will also be a Shredder figure with the sound feature.

Playmates is expanding the TMNT line beyond the new Nickelodeon TV series to also include a "Classics" line that features highly-articulated figures based on the Turtles seen in the original cartoon series. If the line sells well, it will be expanded to include more characters and, possibly, more universes. These figures will be in the 6" height range.

There is more to look at and share, but I'm going to break this into multiple posts to keep this from getting too long. Stay tuned for more, and considering Toy Fair hasn't even started yet, there should be more pics and news to drool over during the next couple of weeks!

2012 TMNT Action Figure Pictures Now Online

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With Toy Fair fast approaching, MTV Geek has put up an exclusive preview of the 2012 line of TMNT figures from Playmates. There are two links you want to check out: Toys based on the new Nickelodeon CGI series and TMNT Classics.

I am particularly fond of the basic Turtles figures from the new show, but everything looks really amazing! And, if you look closely on the picture of the Sewer Lair Playset on the first link, you'll see figures from what will probably be wave 2, including Splinter, Shredder, and April O'Neil!

Be sure to check out both links for a look at everything, including vehicles and talking figures! The information given to us from Playmates at the Fan Preview Event last year was that these would be in stores in August 2012.

Upcoming TMNT Collections From IDW

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Back in November, IDW released it's first collection of the original TMNT comics by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird with the oversized hardcover, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 1. Vol. 2 of the Ultimate series is due out sometime in the next couple of months, and a Vol. 3 has popped up on Amazon.com with a July release date listed. The first collection of the new ongoing title is scheduled for next month.


Now, information on some other titles is leaking out:

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Heroes in a Half-Shell (April 25, 2012)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics: Volume 1 (June 19, 2012)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Micro Series Volume 1 (July 3, 2012)

Over on the IDW TMNT forum, editor Bobby Curnow has shed some light on what is looking to be an aggressive publishing schedule of TMNT reprints. While details are still tentative, it looks like once they get rolling we can expect a book a month in a rotating pattern of different titles.

Essentially we're looking to release everything, staggered... including the Mirage TMNT ongoing (which we will be calling 'TMNT Classic'), Archie (which we will be calling 'TMNT Adventure' I think) and Tales of TMNT (keeping that name).

I think they should start coming out in June, and will follow a schedule something like this:

June- TMNT Classic Vol. 1
July- TMNT Adventure Vol. 1
August- TMNT Classic Vol. 2
September- TMNT Adventure Vol. 2
October- Tales of TMNT Vol. 1
November- TMNT Classic Vol. 3
December- TMNT Adventure Vol. 3
January- Tales of TMNT Vol. 2

And so on.

Again, those are target dates, and are subject to change.

Curnow elaborates that the "Classic" title will include all of the Mirage TMNT books not included in the Ultimate Editions (skipping those in the Ultimate Editions) in the order that they were originally published. These books will be newly colored.

As for the issues that are in the Ultimate Editions, IDW isn't done with those yet. Curnow adds:

HOWEVER, we do plan to release those issues found in the Ultimate Editions on an individual, month by month basis, as stand alone floppies that are colored. The idea being if you want the 'pure, unfiltered' Mirage early stories, you go to the Ultimate Collection. But if you want something new, at a lower price point, there's the floppies, hopefully covering everyone.

So, wow! This is going to be a lot of stuff! This is very encouraging news for TMNT comic book fans, and will hopefully expose the books to many more people who have never read them.

IDW TMNT #6 Variant Cover Guide

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TMNT #6 from IDW is in comic shops today! You can also check out INFESTATION 2 #1, which, featuring the TMNT, is also in shops today (check out the previous post for details).

Here's a preview!

Cover A

Cover B

Cover A: Dan Duncan.
Regular cover; distributed in a 4:1 ratio with cover B.

Cover B: Kevin Eastman.
Regular cover; distributed in a 1:4 ratio with cover A.

Cover C

Cover C: Rob Guillory.
Retailer incentive cover; 1 copy sent to retailers for every 10 copies ordered.

INFESTATION 2 #1 Variant Cover Guide

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Today launches IDW's new crossover event, INFESTATION 2. #1 of the main series of 2 issues is in shops today. Two dedicated TMNT INFESTATION issues will be in shops in March. And then the event concludes in April with INFESTATION 2 #2. There are also other dedicated crossover issues if you want to check those out, but the TMNT will not be featured in them.

If you're not sure about this one (or are really excited for it), you can check out a preview.

Cover A

Cover B

Cover A: Alex Garner.
Regular cover; distributed in a 4:1 ratio with cover B.

Cover B: Livio Ramondelli.
Regular cover; distributed in a 1:4 ratio with cover A.

Cover C

Cover D

Cover C: David Messina.
Retailer incentive cover; 1 copy sent to retailers for every 10 copies ordered.

Cover D: Alex Garner (signed).
Retailer incentive cover; 1 copy sent to retailers for every 25 copies ordered.


Cover E: Alex Garner + Tattoos. (Not Pictured)
Retailer incentive cover; 1 copy sent to retailers for every 25 copies ordered.

Cover F: Joe Phillips (sketch). (Not Pictured)
Retailer incentive cover; 1 copy sent to retailers for every 50 copies ordered.