#30 - TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (#1-#3): REMAKE IN A HALFSHELL

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

Issue # 1-3


Written by Kevin Eastman 

IDW Publishing


by Hector Ramirez 



     Cowabunga Clashers! Got a nice little treat for you guys I’m reviewing the first story arc of TMNT as well as revealing my new rating system. So strap in hold on and get ready to clash.

        I will start with the new rating system; it’s relatively simple based on Batman and his sidekicks. Jason Todd being the publics lowest rated Robin, Red Hood is the lowest rating then it goes up to Robin, Red Robin, Nightwing, and of course Batman himself. Like I said it’s simple if ever I need to rate something between the two I’ll use an obvious in between for example a 4 ½ would be a Grayson Batman. And that’s it clashers any confusion just ask in comments I do welcome feedback.

                 With that out of the way, let’s get on to the heroes in a half shell shall we. First, I would like to say I grew up on Ninja Turtles and I love them. They’re my four mutant older brothers. I’ve seen all the movies. I love the cartoons and the comics and the newest ongoing series is no exception. The return of Kevin Eastman to the title is definitely big news; bringing back that classic feel to the book. Collaborating with a new team also brings some fresh ideas keeping it from getting stale and overly familiar drawing in new readers.

       The first 3 issues are a retelling of Splinter, and the turtles’ origin. The turtles and Splinter are test subjects for a mutagen being developed for a private military man by the name of, ready for it Krang. A team of ninjas breaks into the lab and steals the mutagen and inadvertently free the animals. The only witness the labs newest intern a young April O’Neil. A cat attempts to eat one of the turtles separating him from his brothers causing Splinter to rip out his eye and later for him to mutate into a new enemy. Splinter, Leonardo, Donatello, and my personal favorite, Michelangelo after full mutating retreat to the sewers as Raphael wanders the streets looking for food and shelter where he runs across a young Casey Jones getting beat by his drunken father. He saves him and in turn stays with him for a bit. And while patrolling one night they are attacked by the mutated cat, Old Hob and his gang just to be rescued by his brothers.

                   This story gets a Red Robin from me. It’s a good twist on things and yes the classic components are there and effective. At one point, Splinter mentions their mutation is in no way random or an accident and I want to see where they go with that. Ok, so there are two problems I have with these first three issues. First, why is it that every comic company has to have some type of super soldier program operating in the background? Can you think of any other reasons people or animals become heroes or villains? Another thing if they were being tested on with the mutagen the entire time they were in the lab, why did it take until that night to mutate when Old Hob mutated mere hours after being exposed to a secondary source of the mutagen? (Having Raphael in his mouth and Splinter’s claws in his eye) This new ongoing series is going to be enjoyable; I can tell with new characters and new twists on old characters and plot lines as it continues I’ll keep you posted.

        Hector out for now, thanks to all my readers for following since my debut this will be my last review for the year and I will come back big in January. So, until then friends, keep clashing!

NEWS EDITION #3 - DCnU SUPERMAN IS DIFFERENT, TMNT & EASTMAN ARE BACK AND NEW ULTIMATE SPIDEY TO BE REVEALED

Welcome to the 3rd CBC News Edition. We got news from all over and things are really starting to shake up as San Diego Comic Con starts this Thursday, July 21st 2011. So let's get down to the news.



DCnU's SUPERMAN SINGLE, ALIEN & ACCESSIBLE?

    The relaunch of the DC Universe line has been mired with many controversies and interesting announcements. Yet, while Batman and Green Lantern will be seemingly unchanged by the events of the relaunch . . . Superman will be going through some of the biggest changes. Chief among them is an overhaul of his powers and origin. It seems that when Action Comics by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales starts out . . . Superman will be starting out with a Superman shirt, jeans and a cape with the fact that he can't fly so much as leap over buildings. Didio stated that it will begin 5 years ago, at what they call the Dawn of Superheroes and that Clark will not be able to fly and not as strong as he is now. 
     Not only that, but that Ma and Pa Kent will be, at the beginning of Action Comics, deceased. This radical change was prompted by the creators in order to bring Clark down to Earth and feel more isolated, according to many in DC administration. So Action Comics is gonna give us how Clark got to be who he is in the present but will find himself still finding his way in the world. 
   Over in Superman, George Perez promises to examine many of the relationships that Superman has with people which leads to another big change for the Man of Steel: Lois Lane and he will no longer be married. In the DCnU, Lois Lane will be in a relationship with someone else.
    Jim Lee commented on the reasoning behind that to NR:


Marriage brings about a certain degree of comfort and security in one's life. If you have a life partner, you always have someone to rely on. So from a story conflict point of view, it makes for a less dramatic story. I think a lot of writers can agree that one of the most dynamic periods of Superman's history was that period where there was a love triangle between Clark Kent, Superman and Lois Lane. There's a lot of tension and interest you create in the characters by having that kind of dynamic.

Didio added, from NR:

He's had so much learning and understanding from the days with his parents, but the rest of the discovery is on his own. If we had him married to Lois right now, he would always have a strong base to work from. We wanted to explore much bigger and wider stories with him. It's really the learning and growing of this character that is going to be the basis for so much of what Grant and George are going to be doing with their series and with Superman.


Grant Morrison writer of Action Comics said this about the DCnU Superman:


I was really looking at different techniques to find a way to do the series for a modern audience and also to take the core values of Superman and represent them in a way I hope we haven't seen before. And it's all there in that original story: what Superman is all about as a champion of the oppressed basically. I thought it'd be good to get back to that. It's a much more blue collar Superman, a Bruce Springsteen Superman. [Laughs] He's in a t-shirt and jeans, and he's fighting for poor people and people on the breadline who have been messed over by big businesses. It's back to that original Depression-era hero but updated to our current Depression era.




And thus, to give Superman a more sense of being alien while exploring the world and his own humanity, these are the reasons behind the changes; according to Didio and Lee. And Lee hinted that Morrison and Perez have plenty ideas to update the Superman mythos for both Superman and Clark Kent. How will these changes stand up? The two hope that it makes the character not only more accessible but actually add to the legend. Even the reasoning behind Clark taking up the new Superman uniform is to get in touch with his Kryptonian heritage.  We will see how these changes stand come September as Action Comics # 1 and Superman # 1 will make these debuts in stores. 


THE BOYS' BUTCHER ON HIS OWN

Coming from Dynamite, the cult favorite The Boys has already had 2 spin offs from the series and The Boys inch themselves to its final issue, which will be issue #60 which will be released late this year or the beginning of 2012. Now, its been confirmed that the mysterious asshole that is the leader of the Boys, Billy Butcher will be recieving his own miniseries.

  Butcher, Baker, Candlestick maker will feature the history of Billy Butcher as we see him grow up, travel the world and "kill interesting people." The Boys creators Garth Ennis & Darick Robertson are extremely excited about this new miniseries, as they will also be together to create the story.

Robertson commented on the miniseries to CBR:

This mini series is essential to the "Boys" legacy. The script is one of Garth Ennis' finest, (personally my favorite since our work together on Marvel's Punisher: Born). It answers a lot of questions about who Butcher is and why he is the way he is. It is heartbreaking, and yet has the kind of action and humor you'd expect from the two of us. If you're a fan of the series, this is the story you've been waiting for!

Ennis himself added:

This is the story I've been waiting to tell since the very beginning of The Boys.  A good, long, disturbing look into the dark.

Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker #1 by Garth Ennis & Darick Robertson will hit stores this week.


EASTMAN ON IDW'S NINJA TURTLES ONGOING

IDW seems to have all the licenses of the 80s, doesn' t it? Well, most of them. It has G.I. Joe, which all those sets of books, except for G.I.Joe: Real American Hero, all restarted this month with new # 1s and embroiled in the new Cobra Civil War storyline. They have True Blood, Doctor Who, Star Trek and even Transformers. And now . . . they can add another fan favorite property to their ranks as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are coming with a new ongoing series.

In partnership with Nickelodeon, the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series will pick up where the original comic book series left off. The turtles will be back with their cast of Spinter, April o' Neal and more as they face a brand new enemy, a mutant cat named Old Hob as well as retell the origin of the turtles, setting up things to come. And who is with us on this ride? Co-creator and writer Kevin Eastman! Yes, Eastman returns to pen the series he created nearly 3 decades ago with all new adventure with hot new artist, Dan Duncan with covers by legendary artists Walt Simonson and Sam Keith.

Get ready as the Heroes in the Half Shell are ready to bring the pain back to this game.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles # 1 written by Kevin Eastman with covers by Simonson and Keith with art by Dan Duncan will be for $3.99 and hit stores this August. 




NEW SPIDER-MAN FALLS OUT IN ULTIMATE FALLOUT #4




    Recently, Marvel did something in the Ultimate Universe they could never do in the regular Marvel Universe . . . kill Peter Parker. Yep. I am serious. Ultimate Peter Parker died saving Captain America doing the now landmark "Death of Spiderman" finale in Ultimate Spiderman #160 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. 
    Ultimate Fallout, the current miniseries that deals with the repercussions of the "Death of Spiderman" storyline is also being used as a launch pad for all 4 new Ultimate books that start in August and September. And while some buyer thought it does not matter, it has been confirmed that a new Ultimate Comics Spiderman will start as one of the 4 new Ultimates titles. 
    And while Brian Michael Bendis, the man who is behind Ultimate Spiderman since its inception is keeping the identity of Peter Parker's successor a big secret, fans won't have to wait long. Ultimate Fallout # 4 will feature a small part of it where Bendis and recent Ultimate Spiderman penciler Sara Pichelli will REVEAL to the world who the new Ultimate Spiderman will be.
    After that, jump on the Ultimate Comics Spiderman # 1 for the beginning of the new Spidey's adventures, written by Bendis and penciled by Pichelli. And while there has been NO confirmations on who the new Spidey will be . . . it has been rumored it would be Ultimate Ben Reilly, who, is not a clone but a young African American teen who is friends with Peter and whose family has connections to Peter's parents. We will have to see if it is Ben Reilly. 
   Ultimate Fallout # 4 is due out this August written by Jonathan Hickman, Brian Michael Bendis & Nick Spencer with art by Pascul Ferry, Sara Pichelli and Dustin Nguyen.






And its a small news week, due to most of the surprise will be coming out of the Comic Con this weekend. So expect a LOT of news for next weeks blog. And if you are in Philly during the second Friday in August. . . 


WWW.J1STUDIOS.COM

The J1 Culture Force is having their 1st official J1 An-Ex (Anime Experience)!!

You remember us from our Anime Events, but since we are growing/changing I figured we should get a new name as well.

It’s going to be at the Hawthorne Recreation Center (in Philadelphia, PA) on 12th and Carpenter St., which is six blocks down from South St. and two blocks East of Broad St. (near where CAPA and McDonald's are located)

$2 AT THE DOOR (free for children under 12).

TABLES WILL BE PROVIDING:
- art for sale (commissions as well)
- food
- comics and action figures
- Yugi-Oh cards
- Prizes

Things to expect:
-Anime to watch
-Snacks
-Trivia
-Commissioned artists
-Accessories/Jewelry for sale
-Gaming
-3DS Streetpass Meeting
-Card battles are welcome (Yugi-Oh, Naruto, Pokemon and Magic)
-Cosplay contest
-$2 Raffle
-PSP and DS players are welcome
-BETA TESTING A CARD GAME BEING REMADE!!!!
-Comic books, graphic novels and manga for sale

Hopefully we'll see you there!




See you next week all.