2012 TMNT Guide to San Diego Comic-Con

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Comic-Con starts tomorrow! If you're lucky enough to be attending, there's a lot of exciting points of interest for TMNT fans. I've pulled out the biggest highlights and listed them below. It sounds like Nickelodeon has one or two other surprises in store, so be sure to keep following Ninja Pizza on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news!

EXCLUSIVES

Night Shadow Leonardo
Details on the availability of this figure haven't been released, but pictures of it appeared on Playmates' website last week. The current guess is that it will be available for sale at the Nickelodeon booth (#4113) for around $20.

IDW Comics, TMNT #11 Exclusive Cover
As previously reported, IDW will have a special Convention-exclusive variant of TMNT #11 at their booth (#2643) for $5. The 40 people who pre-ordered the special Convention bundle of the Ultimate Collection hardcovers will be able to pick up their purchases at the booth, as well. This item is not available for walk-up purchase.

PANELS

FRIDAY, JULY 13
10:15-11:15, Room 6BCF - Go Green! With the Lean, Mean, Ninja Team: Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Experience Nickelodeon's very first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Comic-Con panel, as executive producer Ciro Nieli sets up the new series and unveils never-before-seen footage. Meet the incredible Ninja cast: Jason Biggs (Leonardo), Sean Astin (Raphael), Greg Cipes (Michelangelo), Rob Paulsen (Donatello), Kevin Michael Richardson (Shredder), Hoon Lee (Splinter), and Mae Whitman (April O'Neil). Hear and see the radical undertaking of this 25-year-old property and some of the creative insights that have taken it to new and reinvigorating heights. Prepare to be shell-shocked! Moderated by Rich Magallanes, senior VP of current series for Nickelodeon.

FRIDAY, JULY 13
4:00-5:00, Room 4 - The IDW Show (55 min, TV-MA): Hosts Chris Ryall and Dirk Wood welcome guests Duane Swierczynski, Brea and Zane Grant, John Layman, Zach Howard, Conor McCreary, and Anthony Del Col. Plus special announcements by Bobby Curnow, Stupid Audience Tricks, and musical guest Alan Robert and The Grants. NEW (CC)

AUTOGRAPHS

THURSDAY, JULY 12
6:00–7:00pm, IDW Booth (#2643)
TMNT Comic Crew – Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Dan Duncan

FRIDAY, JULY 13
12:30pm, Nickelodeon Booth (#4113)
Nickelodeon Voice Cast & Crew - Ciro Nieli (Executive Producer), Jason Biggs (Leonardo), Sean Astin (Raphael), Greg Cipes (Michelangelo), Rob Paulsen (Donatello), and more. (I think this signing may also include Kevin Michael Richardson, Hoon Lee, and Mae Whitman, but I don't have confirmation that they'll be there.)

SATURDAY, JULY 14
11:00am–12:00pm, IDW Booth (#2643)
TMNT Comic Crew – Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Dan Duncan

PEOPLE TO SEE

Kevin Eastman - Expect to find TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman throughout the weekend at the Heavy Metal booth, #1529.

Ernie Reyes Jr. - Ernie, known to TMNT fans as Donatello's stunt double in the first TMNT movie and Keno the Pizza Delivery Boy in TMNT 2, will be at booth #5112-5118 with his new comic book, Sonny's Dragons. This comic book is of particular interest to TMNT fans, as it was drawn by the one and only Jim Lawson!

Michael Dooney - This TMNT artist extrodinare will be at Artists' Alley booth #DD-22 throughout the weekend.

Dave Garcia - Mr. Garcia did work on the old TMNT Adventures comic book series. He and his wife Monica also created the character Panda Khan, who TMNT fans should know as an old Playmates action figure. He will be at Artists' Alley booth #FF-11.

Erik Larsen - Find Erik Larsen of Image Comics fame, who was also a key player in the publishing of TMNT VOl. 3, at Artists' Alley booth #II-16.

David Petersen - David Petersen is well-known for his Mouse Guard comic books, and has recently become a recognizable name to TMNT fans for his recent cover art work on the TMNT Micro-Series books from IDW. He will be at Artists' Alley booth #GG-09

James Silvani - James Silvani has done some TMNT licensing art in recent years. You can find him at Artists' Alley booth #DD-11.

New TMNT Series to Premiere Sept. 29

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Nickelodeon has announced that the new TMNT CGI series will debut on September 29, 2012 at 11am. The one hour premiere event will launch the 26-episode season. Nickelodeon also officially announced for the first time three additional members of the voice cast: Mae Whitman as April O’Neil, Hoon Lee as Master Splinter, and Kevin Michael Richardson as Shredder. All three, together with the voices of the Turtles (Jason Biggs, Sean Astin, Greg Cipes, and Rob Paulsen) will be appearing at Comic-Con in San Diego on Friday.

Stay tuned to Ninja Pizza all week for full Comic-Con coverage!!

New TMNT Nickelodeon Toys Appearing in Stores

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Despite original reports that the new TMNT action figures would begin appearing in stores in August, some stores have already received their shipments and are selling the new line.

Early reports had the toys appearing in some Toys R Us stores. These sightings have included the action figures, vehicles, and role play toys.

Target stores have also begun receiving their shipments, although these haven't yet been placed in the aisles. A savvy member on the Technodrome forums was able to provide the DPCI number, which can be used to check stock of an item online and in stores.

The DPCI number of the basic action figures is 087-06-0494. Click here to check stock at your local Target store. If your store has the figures in stock, you will have to go there and find an employee to help you get the figures from the back room. Provide them with the DPCI number to help them find them as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Target stores are holding the figures in the back rooms for an aisle reset that is scheduled for July 29. Some employees/stores may give you trouble and refuse to sell the figures to you because of this date. People who have run into this problem have had luck by requesting to talk to a manager. Whatever they try to tell you, let them know that this date is not a hard sell date. If they try to tell you that the registers won't let them sell the figures to you, this is a lie. If you still have no luck, try another Target and/or a different employee.

I personally had to try two Targets, as the first wouldn't sell to me. The second did, and I purchased the four Turtles pictured above. Good luck to everyone on the hunt!

Eastman & Sim Art Print With Cerebus Kickstarter Support

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About a month ago, Dave Sim (with a little help) launched a Kickstarter campaign to support efforts to digitize his Cerebus comic book. The original plan was to just raise enough to do the "High Society" story, but as support for the project has grown, Sim is now dedicated to releasing all 300 issues in an ultra-high quality digital format.

As is the case with all Kickstarter campaign, there are rewards offered for different support levels. For one of these rewards, Sim is teaming up with Kevin Eastman to create an exclusive art print featuring the TMNT and Cerebus as "Matisse, the Unknown Turtle."

Matisse is shown above; Kevin is still working on finishing the rest of the piece. This print will be sent to all backers who pledge $50 or more. There is a specific $50 level that specifies this print, but anyone who commits to any reward priced at $50 or higher will also get the print.

There is just over 1 day left to support this campaign! Don't delay and don't miss this chance to own a print of what is sure to be an amazing and unique piece of art!

Visit the Kickstarter page and pledge now!

IDW TMNT #11 - Variant Cover Guide

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Search your couch cushions for some extra change; it's yet another New Comic Book Day! Today you can grab TMNT #11 from your local comic shop, or digitally from comiXology.

Check out 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 D

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

Cover D: Kevin Eastman.
Convention exclusive cover for San Diego Comic-Con.
This cover will be sold at the IDW booth at San Diego Comic-Con for $5.

New TMNT Nickelodeon Books Available For Pre-Order

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As the debut of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series from Nickelodeon draws near, expect to start to see a new wave of merchandising hit stores. Early signs of the new merchandise have started to hit the Internet, in this case in the form of book pre-orders available on sites like Amazon.com. You can check out some of the cover art below, and hit any of the title links to reserve them now. And many, if not all of the titles, are eligible for a buy 3 get the 4th free promotion on Amazon!

Turtle Power!

Turtles to the Rescue!

Ultimate Turtles Fan Book

Available August 7, 2012:

Turtles to the Rescue!
Turtle Power!
Ultimate Turtles Fan Book
Mutant Origin: Leonardo/Donatello
Mutant Origin: Michelangelo/Raphael
Saved by the Shell

Mutant Origin: Leonardo/Donatello

Mutant Origin: Michelangelo/Raphael

Saved by the Shell!

Enter the Lair

How to Draw TMNT

Additional titles available in January 2013:

Enter the Lair
How to Draw Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Robot Rampage!
Sewer Squad!
Half-Shell Heroes!

Robot Rampage!

Sewer Squad!

IDW San Diego Comic-Con Exclusives

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A very exclusive TMNT item to be sold only at San Diego Comic-Con has become available for pre-order on IDW's website. Pictured above is a special full-color slip cover that comes packages with IDW's TMNT Ultimate Editions Vol. 1-3. The three volumes included will be the variant black and white cover versions. The outside slip cover features some of the same cover art by Kevin Eastman, which has also been colored by Kevin. This package is selling for $200 and is reportedly limited to 40 copies. You can pre-order the set here, but the only shipping option is picking up the set at the convention.

Also available at the convention is an exclusive cover variant of TMNT #11, the regular covers of which will be in stores this Wednesday. This variant is limited to 500 copies and will sell for $5 at the IDW booth.