In Part II of my series on the early TMNT issues and reprints, we enter into Mirage Studios' years of expansion. While Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were responsible for all of Mirage's 1984 and much of its 1985 output, in 1986 not only do they publish new, non-TMNT books but also take on new, young and talented artists to contribute to TMNT. These years will lay the groundwork for the huge success of the TMNT as a licensed property, and it is documented in the pages of the TMNT comic book. Let's see how:
TMNT
#6 1st Printing
Cover
Date: 1986
Cover Artist: Laird (no signature visible, confirmed in TMNT #5 Turtle Tracks)
Cover Price: $1.50/$2.00
Publishing Date: February, 1986
Story & Artwork: Eastman & Laird
Letters: Steve Lavigne
Cover Artist: Laird (no signature visible, confirmed in TMNT #5 Turtle Tracks)
Cover Price: $1.50/$2.00
Publishing Date: February, 1986
Story & Artwork: Eastman & Laird
Letters: Steve Lavigne
Number of Copies Printed: 65,000
Number of Interior Pages: 48
Number of Interior Pages: 48
- Inside Front Cover: Turtle Tracks & Reader Mail
- [“The Triceraton Homeworld”] (pages 1-38)
- Ad for TMNT #7 (shipping March 30)
- Ad for Gizmo #2 (shipping May 1) & Dark Horse Metal Miniatures (Sets A-C)
- Ad for TMNT #8 (shipping 2nd week of July) & Grimjack #26 (by First Comics, shipping May)
- Jack Kirby Petition
- Ad for “Prime Slime Tales” #1 (shipping April)
- “Zigbone the Cat in Catatronic Dreams” (by Rowen & Tony Basilicato & Jim Lawson, 5 pages)
- Inside Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by Willie Peppers & Jeff Gaither, 85)
This
issue's Turtle Tracks is short and unsigned. This issue is identified
as their first story for 1986. It talks about TMNT #7 as wrapping up
the current storyline and featuring their first color story. The
story is a four page TMNT collaboration between Eastman and Richard
Corben, with Corben doing the inking and Eastman doing the rest. TMNT
#7 is identified as the end of the current storyline. TMNT #8 is the
issue which will feature the team up with Cerebus and is stated to be
shipping sometime in July, after Donatello #1. Gizmo #1 and Prime
Slime Tales #1 are mentioned as shipping on February 15 and April 15,
respectively.
Three
fan letters are reproduced. One of them mentions the TMNT buttons
advertised in TMNT #4.
This
issue introduces the character of Prime Leader Zanramon of the
Triceraton Republic. The reporter Jim McNaughton will also appear in
the next issue.
Grimjack
#26 has a TMNT short story in it ("D'Ants Fever") and in
color. There is artwork on the TMNT #8 ad showing Cerebus but he is
drawn by Eastman and Laird, not Sim.
The
Jack Kirby Petition, signed by Eastman and Laird is not the first nor
the last time Kirby will be treated with reverence in TMNT. The
petition was an appeal to Marvel Comics to return Kirby's original
artwork to him. Marvel eventually did return some of it.
The
backup story has credits for both "Toni" and "Tony"
Basilicato, "Tony" is typically used for men and he is a
man.
TMNT
#7 1st Printing
Cover
Date: 1986
Cover Artist: Eastman
Cover Price:
$1.75/$2.50
Publishing Date: May, 1986
Story & Artwork: Eastman & Laird
Letters: Lavigne
Story & Artwork: Eastman & Laird
Letters: Lavigne
Number
of Copies Printed: 95,000
Number of Interior Pages: 50
Number of Interior Pages: 50
- Inside Front Cover: Turtle Tracks (Eastman)
- [“All is Revealed”] (pages 1-24)
- “You Had to be There” by Eastman & Corben (pages 1-4, color)
- [“All is Revealed”] (pages 25-37, continued)
- Ad for Donatello #1 (shipping May 30)
- Ad for TMNT #8 (shipping 2nd week of July)
- Mirage News
- "Bade Biker and Orson" by Lawson (5 pages)
- Ad for How to Draw TMNT from Solson Publishing (shipping July)
- Inside Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by Lawson, 85)
TMNT
#7 is a very notable issue. It finishes the storyline begun in TMNT
#3 or #4 (or arguably #2). The backup story is contained in the
middle of the book for the first time instead of at the end. More
importantly the story is in color, the first time Mirage or anyone
else published a color TMNT story. The paper stock used for the color
pages is not the standard newsprint, it uses heavy and glossy white
stock. These pages do not tend to brown with age, temperature and
humidity nearly as quickly as newsprint. The price increase for this
issue appears to be temporary, presumably due to the color story and
paper stock. Eastman contributed the pencils and the coloring, Corben
the inks and tones.
Eastman's write up in Turtle Tracks discusses how much inspiration Corben had on him in detail, calling him "my biggest artistic influence overall." He calls the story arc (from TMNT #4) their "Secret Crisis of Infinite Wars" saga. Prime Slime Tales is shipping April 15, Donatello #1 May 30, TMNT #2 3rd print June 10 and TMNT #8 July 15.
There is also a list of distributors on the inside front cover. The geographic coverage is broad, including the west coast, Hawaii and Canada.
The "Mirage News" page makes its first appearance in this issue. Apologies were made that TMNT #7 was over three weeks late. As the book was supposed to ship on March 30, this puts the book's actual publication to April. Shipping dates not mentioned elsewhere in the book include Gizmo #2 (June 20), Prime Slime Tales #2 (June 30), TMNT #9 (September 30), TMNT #3 2nd print (October 15), Gobbledygook (Vol 2.) #1 (November 1) and Leonardo #1 (December 15).
"Son of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness", which is acknowledged as a placeholder for the final title, ships late June. This is the second RPG book from Palladium's TMNT RPG. This will be released as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures!" and feature an exclusive story "New York Ninja - - Starring Donatello!" by Eastman, Laird and Ryan Brown.
Grimjack #26 is given a shipping date from May 7, 1986 and the backup story featuring the turtles will be in color.
There is a full-page ad for Solson Publishing's How to Draw Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This book has interior artwork mostly by Eastman and Laird, unlike other Solson's TMNT books. Those books general limit their participation to the covers.
Donatello
#1
Cover
Date: None
Cover
Artist: Laird
Cover
Price: $1.50/$2.10
Publishing Date: February, 1986/May, 1986
Publishing Date: February, 1986/May, 1986
Story
& Artwork: Eastman & Laird
Letters: Lavigne
Letters: Lavigne
Number
of Copies Printed: projected over 100,000
Number of Interior Pages: 40
Number of Interior Pages: 40
- Interior Front Cover: Turtle Tracks (Laird)
- “Kirby and the Warp Crystal” (pages 1-12)
- Mirage News (page 13)
- “Kirby and the Warp Crystal” (pages 14-32, cont.)
- Ad for Gizmo #2 (by Michael Dooney, shipping April 30) & Prime Slime Tales #2 (by Tony Basilicato & Jim Lawson, “coming soon”)
- T-Shirt Iron-Ons (T1-T8)
- Ad for How to Draw TMNT and TMNT Martial Arts Training Manual (from Solson Publications)
- Ad for TMNT #8 (shipping second week in July)
- Ad for Dark Horse Metal Miniatures (Sets A-F)
- Ad for Grunts (publishing 1987)
- Jack Kirby Petition
- Ad for TMNT Glow-in-the-Dark T-Shirts
- Interior Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by Stan Sakai)
The
Mirage publishing date and order of this book is incorrect, multiple
advertisements for the book in prior issues state it will be released
in May, 1986.
Mirage News is identical to that in TMNT #7.
This issue introduces Kirby.
The Turtle Tracks column is an appreciation of Jack Kirby. When Eastman and Laird first met, they discovered through a piece of art Laird had on his wall their mutual appreciation for the man. After Laird ends his singular piece, there is a plural thank you for just about every independent comic creator of note as well as famous names like Frank Miller and Alan Moore.
The
number of copies is from Turtlemania Special #1 and it is the last
book for which numbers of copies is given.
The pin-up page is printed on its side.
The Miniatures ad shows off Set D for the first time, consisting of 4 foot clan soldiers. It also mentions Sets E and F as available but does not show illustrations of those. Set E consists of two Triceraton Commandos and one Flying Harness seen in TMNT#5 and Set F is all four turtles in new poses with energy weapons. The order form only has boxes for Sets A-E.
Cover
Date: 1986 (Artwork)
Cover Artist: Corben
Cover Price:
$1.50/$2.10
Publishing Date: June, 1986
Story & Artwork: Eastman & Laird
Letters: Eastman
Publishing Date: June, 1986
Story & Artwork: Eastman & Laird
Letters: Eastman
Number
of Interior Pages: 48
- Inside Front Cover: Turtle Tracks (New, Eastman) & Ad for B-Movie Comics
- [“TMNT vs. the Mousers”] (pages 1-38)
- Ad for TMNT #8 (shipping 2nd week of July)
- Ad for Dark Horse Metal Miniatures (Sets A-F)
- Ad for T-Shirt Iron-Ons (T1-T8)
- Mirage News
- Ad for Gizmo #3 (shipping July 30)
- Backup story by Fred Hembeck (5 pages)
- Inside Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by Mark A. Paniccia 1986)
TMNT
#2's 3rd print is the first time a TMNT book has a cover not done by
Eastman or Laird. The scene also has two more mousers shown than the
story did. The backup story in this issue has never been reprinted.
The Turtle Tracks column is new and not reprinted from the prior
printings.
The
Turtle Tracks column tells the tale of TMNT #2's printing troubles.
The short version is that for both of the previous printings of TMNT
#2 the pages came in with very variable quality. Some pages were
misprinted, others were misaligned and still others had non-uniform
ink coverage Eastman and Laird had to go through each issue and each
page by hand to cull out the unacceptable books and to get the
passable ones out to customers and stores. Of the 15,000 copies they
ordered of the 1st printing, they estimate they lost 2,000 due to a
lack of acceptable quality. They also wanted a glossy cover stock
like TMNT #1 but the printer gave them matte finish stock. The 2nd
printing of 30,000 copies suffered from the same problems.
I
was initially disappointed when I bought my 2nd print of TMNT #2. It
has panels printed so far up on the page that sometimes borders and
even a sliver of artwork is cropped off and some panels' printing
start to fade as the artwork approaches the outer edge of the page.
My 3rd print (in the standard comic book size) suffers from no such
issues.
The
Mirage News page is identical to that in TMNT #7. The Gizmo #3 ad
says the book will have a pin-up page crossover with Gizmo and
Raphael. The backup story has never been reprinted.
TMNT
#8
Cover
Date: 1986 (Artwork)
Cover
Artist: Eastman
Cover
Price: $1.50/$2.10
Publishing
Date: July, 1986
Story
& Artwork: Eastman, Laird, Dooney, Dave Sim & Gerhard
Letters:
Lavigne & Sim
Number
of Copies Printed: 135,000
Number
of Interior Pages: 48
- Interior Front Cover: Turtle Tracks (Eastman)
- [“Team Up with Cerebus”] (pages 1-45)
- Mirage News
- Reader Letters (2 pages)
- Interior Rear Cover: Parody Comic Book Announcement
This
is a crossover issue with the Turtles and Sim’s character Cerebus
the Aardvark. Cerebus was a black & white comic book series first
published by Aardvark-Vanaheim in December 1977. It ran for 300
issues, ending in March, 2004. Cerebus was one of the first
self-published comics, undoubtedly an inspiration for Eastman and
Laird’s own self-publishing venture.
Turtle
Tracks is printed sideways in this issue, probably to accommodate for
the sketch of Cerebus and Donatello on the side. Eastman states that
he had been following Cerebus since issue #23 and was able to catch
up on issues he missed through the Swords of Cerebus reprint series.
In
this issue Eastman and Laird did all the artwork except for drawings
of Cerebus, who was drawn by Sim. Sim also handled the lettering for
Cerebus’ dialog. Sim originally handled all Cerebus comic book
artwork himself, Gerhard took over the backgrounds for the Cerebus
comic from issue #65 onward and tones for Sim’s artwork in TMNT #8.
Mirage
News has new information in this issue. First there is an
announcement that Mirage is moving from Sharon to Northampton, MA.
The mailing address is for a P.O. Box out of Haydenville, MA 01039.
There is a thank you to Dooney for helping them finish the inking and
toning on this issue “on time.” Shipping dates include Prime
Slime Tales #2 (August 10), Gizmo #3 (August 10), TMNT #9 (September
30), Bade Biker #1 (September 15), Gobbledygook (Vol 2.) #1 (November
1) and Leonardo #1 (December 15). Turtle Soup #1 and Grunts #1 are
planned anthology series, both shipping mid-1987. Neither would get
beyond issue #1 but there would be a second volume of Turtle Soup a
few years later.
The
second TMNT RPG game is mentioned but unnamed, as are Solson’s “How
to Draw the TMNT” and “TMNT Martial Arts Training Manual.” A
big announcement is the TMNT Graphic Novel from First Comics
republishing TMNT #1-#3 in color. Finally there is a mention of a
crossover with Bub Burden’s Flaming Carrot. That crossover will
come but not for many years.
Over
a page of reader letters are included (a lack of which in prior
issues is noted), including two discussing the events of TMNT #6 and
another criticizing the “space stuff – Star Wars is dead!”
There is a neat fan computer art rendering of Donatello. On the
second page there is a solicitation for original artwork by several
artists, not just Jack Kirby. They also like artwork of dinosaurs,
especially triceratops… Finally there is an apology that Brown’s
Rion 2099 backup story could not make the deadline for this issue.
There is a small ad for Rion 2099 #1 in a corner of the page, which
will not be published by Mirage. There is a small drawing of two of
the turtles saying that the backup story will be in TMNT #9. While
there will be a backup story of sorts in TMNT #9, it will not be by
Brown.
Rather
than the usual pin-up page, the interior rear page of the book is a
parody of an announcement for an “all new, original” comic book.
This is supposed to be published by “Bandwagon Productions” for
$950.00 (1st printing). The title is very long and covers most of the
page, has the words “teenage”, “mutant” and ends with “killer
kiwis” and is supposedly by “Chet Pace.” (Eastman and Laird
liked the name “Chet”.)
The
number of copies printed is taken from the 2023
Kickstarter for the TMNT #8 reprint. This number is well in line
with the expansion of TMNT print counts as chronicled for every
previous issue in Turtlemania Special #1. Extra copies for Cerebus
completionists would be in order. I have read that the circulation of Cerebus was about 30,000-35,000 around this time. Sim would have access to the
printing count planned for the book, whether he was paid a flat fee
or a royalty for every copy sold or some combination of both, he
would have to been privy to the number of copies planned to be sold.
I have heard the number 135,000 bandied about but without a source I
am not inclined to take that number as fact without reference to a
contemporaneous source but it is plausible.
TMNT
#9
Cover
Date: Sept, 1986
Cover
Artist: Eastman, Laird & Michael Dooney
Cover
Price: $1.50/$2.25
Publishing
Date: December, 1986
Story
& Artwork: Eastman, Laird & Dooney, Ryan Brown & Jim
Lawson
Letters:
Lavigne
Number
of Interior Pages: 40
- Interior Front Cover: Turtle Tracks (Laird)
- “The Passing” (pages 1-31)
- Ad for Bade Biker and Orson #1 by Lawson (shipping October 25)
- Ad for Rockola by Brown
- Ad for Dark Horse Metal Miniatures (Sets A-G)
- “Rip in Time” – excerpt from and ad for Rip in Time #2 by Richard Corben & Bruce Jones (6 pages)
- Interior Front Cover: Pin-up Page by Dooney
Turtle
Tracks identifies who did what on this book as follows:
Breakdowns
& Scripting - Laird
Pencils
& Ink - Dooney, Eastman, Laird, Brown
Cover
- Penciled by Eastman, Inked by Laird, Painted by Dooney
The
credits on the title page give Eastman and Laird story credit and add
Lawson to the credits for Inks and Tones.
The
Miniatures ad now offers Set G, which are the four Terror Bears from
the TMNT and Other Strangeness RPG. The Terror Bears also made a
return appearance in the first supplement to that game, TMNT
Adventures! Sets E-G are not visually depicted but the order form has
enough boxes drawn on it to order any of the seven sets.
This
issue introduces Gosei Hattori and his clan.
TMNT
#3 2nd Printing
Cover
Date: Nov. 1988
Cover Artist: Laird & Lawson, 1986
Cover
Price: $1.50/$2.25
Publishing Date: October-November, 1986
Story
& Artwork: Eastman & Laird
Letters: Lavigne
Number
of Interior Pages: 48
- Inside Front Cover: Turtle Tracks (New, Laird)
- [“The Great Chase”] (pages 1-38)
- Ad for Leonardo #1 (shipping December 15)
- Ad for Gizmo #4 (shipping November 15)
- Ad for Bade Biker & Orson #2
- Ad for Rockola (shipping January 1 ”1986”)
- “Complete Carnage & Radical” (by Eastman & Lawson, 6 pages)
- Inside Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by Bernie Shuman, 1986)
The
cover date given on this book does not correctly indicate when this
printing was published. The artwork has a signature for "Laird
and Lawson" from which one can barely make out the "6"
in the year. The backup story, the pinup page and almost all the ads
have 1986 dates on them.
As
stated in Turtle Tracks, Lavigne relettered this issue (he did not
reletter TMNT #2 3rd print). Laird complains about the original
printer for #3's 1st printing and tells the story of how they found a
new printer. They lost 10,000 copies of their 50,000 copies ordered
for the 1st print for a week. The new printer, Southern Duchess News,
had been able to put out a quality book and freed them from having to
pack and ship off the comics to dealers and distributors. My TMNT #3
1st printing suffers from some splotchy and fading print like TMNT #2
but thankfully does not have misaligned panels.
The
ad for Rockola gives a shipping date of January 1, 1986 but
considering this issue was published in late 1986, 1987 was meant to
be given.
Leonardo
#1
Cover
Date: Dec, 1986
Cover
Artist: Laird
Cover
Price: $1.50/$2.25
Publishing
Date: December, 1986
Story
& Artwork: Eastman, Laird, Steve Bissette. Dooney, Lawson, Brown
Letters:
Lavigne
Number
of Interior Pages: 32
- Interior Front Cover: Turtles Tracks (Laird)
- “What Goes Around . . . Comes Around!” (pages 1-30)
- Ad for Bad Biker and Orson #2 (by Lawson)
- Ad for Gizmo #4 (by Dooney, shipping December 25, 1986)
- Interior Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by Andy, 86)
The
credits on this issue are vague in identifying who did exactly what
on the book. Turtle Tracks is no help here either, it mentions the
same names without identifying their roles.
The
Turtle Tracks column says that the book did not meet its original
ship date of December 1, but it is planned to be at the printer by
December 15 and printed and shipped by Christmas. The column notes
that it is written before the book is completed due to the covers
needing to be completed before the insides. The Turtle Track column
also complains about a plethora of low quality black and white comics
jumping on TMNT’s bandwagon. Laird predicts these will eventually
be driven out of the market due to their low quality and cheap
marketing gimmicks, taking down some overstocked comic book stores
with them. This rather ties in with the parody which took over the
spot where the pinup page would normally be in TMNT #9.
This
issue marks the third appearance of The Foot and the second
appearance of The Shredder.
TMNT
#10
Cover
Date: April, 1987
Cover
Artist: Laird
Cover
Price: $1.50/$2.25
Publishing
Date: April, 1987
Story
& Artwork: Eastman, Laird & Dooney, Ryan Brown & Jim
Lawson
Letters:
Lavigne
Number
of Interior Pages: 44
- Interior Front Cover: Turtles Tracks (Eastman)
- “Silent Partner” (pages 1-5)
- Ad for Tales of the TMNT #1 (shipping mid-May, 2 pages)
- “Silent Partner” (pages 6-37, cont.)
- Ad for Rockola (by Brown)
- Ad for Dark Horse Metal Miniatures (Sets A-G)
- Ad for Gizmo #5 (by Dooney, shipping April 10)
- Ad for T-Shirt Iron-Ons (T1-T8)
- Ad for Tales of the TMNT #1 (shipping mid-May)
- Interior Front Cover: Pin-up Page (by Richard Konkle & Jim Groat, 86)
Turtle
Tracks has announced a new format starting with this book with credit
to Brown. Leonardo is shown at the bottom of the page and his katana
has all the publishing and copyright information contained therein.
The
issue was supposed to be released two months later than originally
intended. Tales of the TMNT is announced with the intent that Mirage
would publish a TMNT book monthly as of mid-May, with the main book
and Tales alternating months. An eight page preview is said to be
included in TMNT #4, 2nd printing, shipping May 1.
The
third Palladium Books TMNT RPG product, The Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles Guide to the Universe is mentioned. It will have art by
Eastman and Laird and a new 10-page TMNT story. The second First
Comics graphic novel, reprinting TMNT #4-#6 and the epilogue from
TMNT #3, all in color, is scheduled to ship in June.
Page
20 of this issue (shown above) is unique of any TMNT book of this time in that it
is three times the width of a normal comic book page. Two-page
spreads are not rare in early TMNT books but three-page spreads are
unheard of and will not be repeated. This page folds out on the right
to give a full overview of the Shredder and the Foot on the left side
of the Second Time Around Shop and the TMNT on the right side of the
shop. The paper stock is not the normal newsprint but slightly
thicker white stock not unlike the pages used for TMNT #7’s color
story. Pages 19, 21 and 22 are also white due to the way the pages
were printed. When page 20 is printed in a collected book, it has to
be “letterboxed” so the full artwork fits on two pages.
Casey
Jones is reintroduced in this issue. If you had not read Raphael #1
(and if you caught up on the original stories by reading the First
Comics’ Graphics Novels like I did, you would not have read that
story in them) then you may have wondered who he is (like Donatello),
why he shows up to help the TMNT or how Raphael knows him.
TMNT
#4 2nd Printing
Cover
Date: May 1987
Cover Artist: Dooney
Cover Price:
$1.50/$2.25
Publishing Date: May, 1987
Story & Artwork:
Eastman & Laird
Letters: Lavigne
Number
of Interior Pages: 48
- Inside Front Cover: Turtle Tracks (New)
- [“Rescuing Master Splinter”] (pages 1-37)
- “The Survival Game” (by Brown & Lawson, pages 1-8)
- Ad for Tales of the TMNT #1 (shipping mid-May)
- Ad for TMNT #11 (shipping June 1)
- Ad for Bade Biker and Orson #4 (shipping June 1)
- Inside Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by Kip Omolade, ‘86)
TMNT
#4's 2nd printing is an example of a rare event where a 2nd printing
may be more valuable than a 1st printing. This is due to the cover.
While Dooney's art is not original in its conception because he
reworked Laird's original cover for TMNT #4, it is especially iconic
because the Dooney version was used for the box and label art for the
US releases of the Konami's first NES TMNT game.
The
new format of the Turtle Tracks on the inside front cover now gives
the month and year of publication. The Turtles Tracks column says the
remaining issues of the TCRI story arc will be reprinted later this
year (TMNT
#5-7).
There
was an error when this book came back from the printer initially as
it used the wrong cover, the cover for Tales of the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles #1 (by Brown and also released in May, 1987) instead of
the Dooney cover. Of the 60,000 copies erreonously printed, 1,000
copies managed to escape destruction and these copies are
significantly more expensive than TMNT #4 with either correct cover.
The erroneous cover still has a white No. 4 box and "Eastman and
Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" title. The backup story
“The Survival Game” is a preview of Tales of the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles.
TMNT
#11
Cover
Date: June, 1987
Cover
Artist: Eastman
Cover
Price: $1.50/$2.25
Publishing
Date: June, 1987
Story
& Artwork: Eastman & Laird
Letters:
Lavigne
Number
of Interior Pages: 40
- Interior Front Cover: Turtles Tracks (Eastman)
- “True Stories” (pages 1-38)
- Ad for Gizmo (by Dooney, no issue number given but #6 is due, coming in June)
- Ad for Turtle Soup (by various, shipping July 15)
- Interior Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by T.S. Brown & Kerry Moody)
Turtle
Tracks explains that TMNT #10 took place on Christmas Eve, but due to
the delays occasioned by too much work (TMNT Book II and TMNT &
OS: Guide to the Universe), they were unable to ship the book until
April. Hence TMNT #11 was written to explore the characters over a
significant passage of time. They announce their convention
appearances, they will be at Chicago Comicon from June 3-5 and San
Diego Comic Con from August 6-9.
April’s
first journal entry is dated January 15, 1987 and her last is on May
1. They have moved to Northampton, Massachusetts (where not
concidentally Mirage was located). Both this issue (page 10,
intersection of Main, King & Pleasant Streets) and TMNT #14 will have
illustrations of the real Northampton in them.
TMNT
#12
Cover
Date: Sept, 1987
Cover
Artist: Laird
Cover
Price: $1.50/$2.25
Publishing
Date: October, 1987
Story
& Artwork: Laird
Letters:
Lavigne
Number
of Interior Pages: 40
- Interior Front Cover: Turtles Tracks (Laird)
- [“Survivalists”] (pages 1-36)
- Ad for Tales of the TMNT (#3 shipping October 30)
- Reader Letters (pages 38-39)
- Ad for Mirage Mobs Mid-Ohio, Turtle Tour 87, November 7-8
- Interior Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by Francis Mao, 1987)
This
issue’s Turtle Tracks officially announces the new division of
labor, Eastman and Laird will reduce their workloads by trading off
issues. Eastman is said to be working on a new twelve page story to
premiere in First Comics TMNT Book III, which republishes TMNT #7-#9
in color. Their “top-secret black and white TMNT graphic novel
project”, which will become the TMNT Limited Edition Hardcover, is
mentioned. Laird also mentions collaborations, Laird with Bissette on
what would become Commandosaurs and Eastman with Melting Pot on which
he will be joined by Eric Talbot. Finally he discuss Dooney’s
nearly sole production on TMNT #13 but notes that there were
contributions to the story by Brown, Eastman and himself.
This
story does not have a title given in it which is unusual by this
time. The term “survivalists” is used several times in the story
but not on the title page.
The
Reader Letters make a return appearance after four issues without
them. There are ten published here and the issues discussed range
from TMNT #8-#11. Reader opinions were mixed on the "Teamup with
Cerebus" in TMNT #8 but more than one letter praised TMNT for a
realistic portrayal of martial arts.
Cover
Date: Nov. 1987
Cover Artist: Eastman
Cover Price:
$1.50/$2.25
Publishing Date: November, 1987
Story &
Artwork: Eastman & Laird
Letters: Lavigne
Number
of Interior Pages: 40
- Inside Front Cover: Turtle Tracks (New)
- “Me, Myself and I” (pages 1-26)
- “Fun with Guns” (by Eastman, pages 1-14)
- Inside Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by Chris Baldwin)
Eastman
did the covers for both the original and the reprint of Raphael #1,
this printing shows an image derived from the backstory and is in
full cover. Curiously, Raphael has a purple bandana on the cover art.
This just before the time of the release of the TMNT toys by
Playmates and cartoon TV mini-series by Murakami/Wolf/Swenson.
Perhaps the colorization was of an early color scheme that was
ultimately rejected that would have assigned Raphael the purple
bandana. This reprint cover is almost unique in that the same artist,
Eastman, did both the original and the reprint cover.
This
issue's unattributed Turtle Tracks was full of enthusiasm for the
Playmates toy line and the cartoon TV series from
Murakami/Wolf/Swenson. These deals were acquired through the salesman
talents of their licensing agent Mark Freedman, whom Eastman and
Laird met through the introduction of Kevin Siembieda of Palladium
Books in August of 1986.The author states that they (Eastman and
Laird) had input into the design of Rocksteady and Bebop and noted
that Krang bore more than a passing resemblance to the TCRI aliens.
The five episode cartoon mini-series was slated to air in late
December (it aired from December 28-January 1) and the toys would be
available in February, 1988. The merchandising does not stop there,
coloring books, puzzles, board games, a fan club and a comic book
series based on the TV series are all mentioned.
The
inside front cover says "Month 1987" instead of actually
giving the month of publication.
Cover
Date: Nov. 1987
Cover Artist: Dooney & Laird
Cover
Price: $1.50/$2.25
Publishing Date: November, 1987
Story &
Artwork: Eastman & Laird
Letters: Lavigne
Number
of Interior Pages: 48
- Inside Front Cover: Turtle Tracks (New, Laird)
- [“Teaming up with Fugitoid”] (pages 1-32)
- Special Announcement & Ad for Playmates Toys (3 pages)
- [“Teaming up with Fugitoid”] (pages 33-37, continued)
- “Ghouls Night Out” (by Eric Talbot, 1987, pages 1-8)
- Inside Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by Daarc, 87)
There
is no artist signature for this reprint, and the Mirage site states
that Dooney did the artwork but TMNTPedia says Laird on one page and
Dooney on another. I am inclined to think that both men had a hand in
the cover, there are stylistic similarities to the cover for TMNT #9
and both are credited for that one.
In
this issue of Turtle Tracks, Laird discusses how Mirage has grown
from him and Eastman to a stable of four other creators, Lavigne,
Brown, Lawson and Talbot were persuaded to relocate to Massachusetts.
They hope to get Dooney there too (and they will eventually). They mention that they have two
TMNT books coming out bi-monthly plus special issues and a TMNT/Bade
Biker cross-over that coming out next summer (it never did). They
also mention Freedman's licensing deals.
The
big event in this issue is the "Special Announcement" of
the Playmates toy line and TMNT cartoon mini-series. Most of the text
of this announcement is identical to the one given in Raphael #1 2nd
print but it says here that the Playmates toys are to be released in
January, 1988. The two-page spread that follows this announcement
page shows all the earliest figures, the four Turtles, Splinter,
April, Shredder, Rocksteady, Bebop and a Foot Soldier.
It
is difficult to determine whether this book or Raphael #1 2nd
printing was published first. If their reprints were published in
order that their original printings were published, then their 2nd
printings would follow the same order. They may have been published
simultaneously. Both "announce" the same things but this
book does it more prominently than Raphael #1 2nd printing. This
suggests that TMNT #5 2nd printing may have been published first.
The
main story seems to have been published in this printing without any
toning work, there are no real grays, just inks. Fortunately this is
a one-off issue, the other reprints have proper tones.
The
inside front cover says "Month 1987" instead of actually
giving the month of publication.
Bonus:
Turtlemania
Special #1
Cover
Date: 1986
(Artwork)
Cover
Artist: Eastman & Laird
Cover Price: None
Publishing
Date: March-April,
1986
Stories
& Artwork: Eastman & Laird, Sim,
Burden, Corben
Letters:
Lavigne,
Sim,
Burden
Number
of Interior Pages: 30
- Interior Front Cover: Editorial (by Robert Wilson, page 2)
- Table of Contents (page 3)
- Turtletalk (pages 4-5)
- TMNT Pinup Gallery (pages 6-12)
- Corben TMNT Preview (pages 13-14)
- Rogues Gallery (page 15)
- TMNT/Cerebus/Flaming Carrot Poster by Bob Burden (pages 16-17)
- Rogues Gallery (page 18-20)
- TMNT/Cerebus Preview (pages 21-26)
- Donatello Preview (pages 27-30)
- Interior Rear Cover: Ad for Metropolis
Even
though this book was not published by Mirage, it cannot be left out
of the discussion of early TMNT due to its historical importance.
Turtlemania
Special #1 was fanzine published by Metropolis, a comic book store
chain in Florida using the iconic robot from Fritz Lang’s 1926
classic silent film of the same name as its logo, and Wilson. It may
have released in March 1986 according to a Laird letter dated March
1, 1986. However Bob Burden dated his artwork to April 28, 1986, so
that release date is in question. It came in three editions as stated
in the Editorial:
- Regular/White Cover, 3,000 copies
- Silver Cover, 100 copies, autographed and numbered
The
covers have the backgrounds given above but even the white cover
edition commands high prices. The sketches on the ten Gold Covers are each unique. Don "Orapallo" is given credit for the
cover color overlay (green on white). His surname was misspelled in the book, it is Oropallo. He did a "Hand-Colored Edition" of the book limited to 100 copies, but these are not new copies, they were colored from the 3,000 copies printed of the Regular/White Cover edition. This book is also smaller than a typical comic book.
This
book is especially notable because it contains, in the Turtletalk
section, printing numbers for all TMNT books and printings which had
been published by this time. This covers TMNT #1, 1st printing to
Donatello #1. I have used this source for the printing numbers given
for the earlier issues in their header section but have included other contemporaneous evidence which may qualify the "official number."
Laird
says he reads Love and Rockets, Nexus, Swamp Thing and Flaming Carrot
on a regular basis, Eastman reads Dark Night, Daredevil, Fish Police,
Nexus, Megaton Man and Cerebus.
The
column talks about upcoming projects including Gobbeldygook Vol. 2,
#1 and a new RPG with the working title of “Turtlestrangeness.”
They also outline the plots for TMNT #8 and Donatello #1.
Publishing
numbers are also given for Gizmo #1 (32,000) and Prime Slime Tales #1
(35,000). Both of these books’ second issues are projected to have
print runs over 40,000.
The
Turtletalk column, (clearly written by Wilson but no explicit credit
is given) ends by stating that Eastman and Laird will be taking a
break from TMNT #9 to leave the artwork to Dooney.
The
previews show penciled but not inked panels except that Cerebus is
fully inked and toned in the panels in which he appears. The
work-in-progess of the TMNT #8 panels suggess that Eastman and Laird
penciled in their portion, then Sim and Gerhard then fully
implemented Cerebus onto the panel. Alternatively Sim could have done
his artwork completely on empty panels using rough layouts as a guide
but that would be much harder to do. Sim and Gerhard were located in
Kitchener, Ontario while Eastman and Laird were still in Sharon,
Connecticut at the time they collaborated in early 1986.
Collaboration would have mainly been through the mail and telephone
calls outside a few day’s visit.
Like
Gobbeldygook #1-2, the front cover is considered page 1. The rear
cover has the same illustrations of Leonardo and Raphael toward the
bottom as seen on page 5, just slightly larger. This left a large
empty space needed for the original sketches and the autographs.
Gobbledygook
#1 (Vol. 2)
Cover
Date: December, 1986
Cover Artist: Eastman & Laird (stated
in the Index)
Cover Price: $3.50/$4.90
Publishing
Date: December, 1986
Stories & Artwork: various, see below
Letters:
Eastman, Lavigne, Laird, others
Number
of Interior Pages: 92
- Welcome to Gobbledygook (Eastman)
- "Don’t Sleep on Main Street" (Eastman & Laird)
- "I’m Only a Loser" (Eastman & Laird, 2 pages)
- "Technofear" (Laird, 7 pages)
- Gallery (Laird, 4 pages)
- "The Crossing" (Eastman, 7 pages)
- "The Adventures of Splat & Beggar" (Eastman & Laird, 5 pages)
- Splat and Beggar in “The Louder the Better” (Eastman & Talbot, 9 pages)
- Gallery (Laird, 5 pages)
- "You Had to be There" (Eastman & Corben, 4 pages)
- "The Cosmic Crows" (Lavigne, 7 pages)
- "Before the Cola Wars" (Eastman, Lawson, 6 pages)
- Gallery (Laird, 4 pages)
- "The Cosmic Crows" (Brown)
- "Pursuit" (Laird, 10 pages)
- "Out on a Limb" (Dooney)
- "That Old Sinking Feeling" (Dooney)
- "A Few Well Chosen Words" (Dooney)
- Gallery (Laird, 4 pages)
- Gizmo in "Shopping Spree" (Dooney, 4 pages)
- "Crazy Man" (Eastman, Brown & Lawson, 8 pages)
- "The Cosmic Crows" (Brown)
- Index
- Ad for Bade Biker & Orson #2
- Barbarian (Laird)
This
publication was not officially called volume 2, the original
Gobbledygook #1-2 publications were extremely obscure and had a very
low print run.
"Don’t
Sleep on Main Street" & "I’m Only a Loser" were
previously published in Gobbledygook #2. "You Had to be There"
was previously published in color in TMNT #7 1st printing, here it is
in black and white. Along with that story “Technofear” and “Crazy Man” are the other TMNT stories in this book.
Certain
illustrations in the Galleries, which is exclusively Laird's artwork,
had been previously published in Gobbledygook #1’s section “The
Farout Art of Peter Laird.” These include the Triceraton battling
octopoid robot, the dragon with spectacles illustrating a scroll and
the five grotesque creatures in front of a stone arch.
8
interior pages from Gobbledygook #1 and Gobbledygook #2 have never
been republished as far as I can tell.
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