Turtles Defeat Foot in Comic-Con Battle

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At Comic-Con last weekend, Nickelodeon hosted a "Turtles vs. Foot" battle that challenged Convention goers to choose a side in the battle of good against evil. To participate, you had to find and visit a truck parked in a parking lot next to Petco Park in downtown San Diego. At the truck, you chose your side and claimed a trucker hat that displayed your allegiance. To earn the hat you had to visit http://www.turtlesvsfoot.com and accomplish a series a tasks, the key one being sharing the promotion on Twitter and/or Facebook. (If you didn't have a smartphone to do this on, the staff at the truck was very accommodating and accepted generic sharing of the link to Twitter or Facebook, or a "promise" to do so.)

People who were spotted by the prize crew wearing their trucker hat could win a bag of TMNT goodies. Where the prize crew lurked was a bit of a mystery, but I finally spotted them running through the line to get into the TMNT panel on Friday morning, which was when I got my prize bag. I spotted them again circling the Nickelodeon booth on Saturday morning, where there was a constantly long line for the merchandise booth.

The prize bags were really neat tote bags (first seen at Toy Fair this past February) that were for sale at the merchandise booth for $20. Inside the bag the contents varied, but generally included a couple of posters (one a recreation of the first TMNT comic book cover with the new Nickelodeon CGI Turtles, one a Turtle dressed as the Mona Lisa), a T-shirt or two (the TMNT shell shirts or designer shirts available from the merchandise booth), and an autographed toy from the personal collection of Kevin Eastman.

One of the tasks on the Turtles Vs. Foot website allowed you to receive a call from either Splinter or Shredder (depending on the side you had chosen). You can hear these two pre-recorded messages below.

Splinter Incoming Message: (download)


Shredder Incoming Message: (download)


If you called back the number you received these two calls from, you heard another message inviting you to leave a message.

Splinter Outgoing Message: (download)


Shredder Outgoing Message: (download)


In the end, to no surprise, the Turtles won the battle against the Foot! Turtle Power!

IDW TMNT #12 to be Dan Duncan's Last

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IDW editor Bobby Curnow has announced on the IDW message boards that TMNT #12 will be Dan Duncan's final issue as artist.

Unfortunately, during the production of TMNT #11, Dan let me know he wouldn't be able to continue after #12. So what was going to be a 2-issue hiatus has turned permanent. He got a new gig in the world of TV animation. Dan let me know with ample time, and with LOTS of gratitude, both for the opportunity, and for the fans. He's grown to be iconic with IDW Turtles and will be missed a lot. He knows he's welcome back, and we've discussed some exciting possibilities for the future, though they will be shorter in nature. At least for the foreseeable future.

The hiatus Curnow mentions was meant to be a 2-issue break for Duncan, who has been working almost non-stop of the TMNT book for the past year. Andy Kuhn (TMNT Micro-Series #2, Michelangelo) was scheduled to fill-in for issues #13 & #14, and will now also be on issues #15 & #16. No permanent replacement has been named yet.

Shellraising Showdown Contest

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Target and Nickelodeon have launched the "Shellraising Showdown Contest" to celebrate the new TMNT toys from Playmates. The contest requires you to create a stop-motion ending to a comic book with your new Turtles toys.

You can read the comic book, written by Tom Waltz from IDW, on the official contest website, or download it directly. Physical copies of this comic were given away in mass quantities at San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend. I have a stack of them that I will be distributing to Ninja Pizza readers in the near future!

The website also features a sample stop motion video ending to the comic. (Of course, this video features figures with much better paint than the ones being sold in stores. :p)

Rules and prize information are also available on the contest website. Good luck to all who enter!

IDW TMNT Color Classics #3 - Variant Cover Guide

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Happy Wednesday! For some of you, you're at or near San Diego, ready for that crazy annual event known as Comic-Con. If that's you, you don't care that today is New Comic Book Day. But for the rest of you, you can go commiserate with with your fellow geeks at the comic shop who are also not in San Diego. And for you lot, you get TMNT Color Classics #3!

Cover A

Cover B

Cover A: Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird (color).
Regular cover.

Cover B: Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird (mono-tone).
Retailer exclusive cover for Jetpack Comics.
This cover is available from Jetpack Comics.

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!