By Sam King

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics have been going around since 1984. This is where the team got its start. TMNT: Urban Legends takes readers back to the days of Volume 3 when Image ran the show, and Eastman and Laird weren’t writing the comics. These were eventually considered “non-canon” and were never fully concluded. This is officially changing now, with a reprint, added color, and an eventual addition of three new issues to finish the series.

I am a big TMNT fan, but I have yet to read the original comics. I got my start thanks to one of my older cousins who watched the original animated series and had action figures galore. I used to play with them, I watched the 90’s film trilogy almost religiously and eventually started watching the shows that Fox aired on Saturday mornings. Now I own the complete original animated series. I have opinions on the newer films which I won’t go into, and I do own and still buy toys of the franchise. I have yet to read the original comics, which I’m trying to remedy. This reprint is coming at a very good time for me.

Eastman and Laird were responsible for the original TMNT series, which was published by Mirage Studios. In 1996, Image Comics started publishing TMNT comics, written by Gary Carlson. TMNT was then taken back to Mirage Studios, a fourth volume was published, but the original creators took over, said volume 3 didn’t feel right and decided to pick up volume 4 where volume 2 left off. Volume 3 was written away. IDW Publishing, due to fan demand, has decided to reprint the original volume 3 run, as well as bring back the original team of Gary Carlson and Frank Fosco to finally provide a full conclusion.

This isn’t your childhood TMNT story. This is one of the darker takes I’ve seen on the characters, so I can see where it might feel a bit out of place compared to our current view of the turtles. However, without reading Laird and Eastman’s first two volumes, I can’t say authoritatively how it compares to their original vision. On its own though, this one took me by surprise, right off the bat. This almost feels like an alternate universe for me given my experience with the characters.

Splinter has planned a birthday party for our favorite ninjas, celebrating the day he found them, and they mutated. This party is crashed by cyborgs and a scantily clad ninja chick, who shoot Donatello and steal away both Donny and Splinter. The other turtles are able to take down one of the cyborgs and hope to be able to somehow find something out from it despite not having technical expertise like Donny. This culminates in Raphael getting half of his face messed up by a laser, leaving it a burnt mess of tissue. I told you, this isn’t the childhood TMNT that current generations know, it is much more intense and surprising.

At first, I was a little taken aback by it, just out of shock. Once I got through the shock, I was in more awe than anything, because this is a completely different spin than I’m used to, and therefore it intrigues me. If shock value was the aim, it was definitely achieved. The story here, from my experiences, is unique and exciting. I have no idea who these baddies are, what they’re planning, or even if Splinter is going to survive. We’ve heard Splinter talk about how he one day won’t be around, but now I actually fear for his demise given what was already done to Donny and Raph. This comic doesn’t seem to have many reservations about physically disfiguring the turtles, so why should it have any reservations about killing off anyone? Again, I’ve never read it before, so I have no idea what is going to happen, so no fear of any spoilers here.

The art is interesting. It isn’t exactly like the Eastman/Laird style. It is a bit grittier, and some of the forms are shaped slightly different. It was originally published in black and white, but the reprinting has color, which is pretty awesome. I like black and white comics, but I think that generally, I will always lean towards color. The color is done well here, except when it comes to blood. Donny gets covered in it once he’s shot and with the coloration and texture of the drawing itself, it ends up looking more like he is made up of lava than that he is wounded. The blood doesn’t come off very authentically in that aspect but still feels out of place with the rest of the art despite the cartoony nature of the turtles. Apart from that, I think that they did a good job in reinventing the story as far as colors go. It fits my personal preference and the majority of it is well done, so I’ll take it happily. My main concern about trying to get into the Eastman/Laird run, that I also have a little here, is wondering how you can tell the turtles apart, beyond when their weapons are out since their bands are the same color. This issue seems to take that idea and say, don’t worry, we’ll injure and disfigure them so you’ll know with just a glance.

Overall, this story is a republishing so that some fans will know it and others won’t. The story is definitely more mature in some ways from the currently popular iterations of the characters and story, but it is interesting for sure. I want to see where it goes. For fans who have read it, this may be a good time to re-read it and maybe pick up the issues if you hadn’t already, or if you want a color version to add to your collection. This is a good way to rediscover some of the comic history of the turtles for new audiences and younger fans compared to those who were around during the original run and were able to enjoy it from the start.

Score: 3/5

TMNT: Urban Legends #1
IDW Publishing