TMNT Early Issues and Reprintings in Depth Part III of III

Having posted the first and second part of my in depth review of the early issues and reprints of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, we come to the final chapter, covering the years 1988 & 1989. These are years of great success and the beginnings of the first "turtle mania" phenomenon which will last the next five years. But what price fame and fortune? Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird  and Mirage Studios would, as we will see, struggle with the demands that popular culture will place on an independent, once almost underground, comic:

TMNT #6 2nd Printing

Cover Date: April, 88 (Artwork for Year)

Cover Artist: Eastman, Eric Talbot & Steve Lavigne

Cover Price: $1.50/$2.25

Publishing Date: April-May 1988

Story & Artwork: Eastman & Laird

Letters: Lavigne

Number of Interior Pages: 48

• Inside Front Cover: Turtle Tracks (New, Laird)
• [“The Triceraton Homeworld”] (pages 1-38)
• Ad for TMNT Limited Edition Hardcover and Softcover (shipping June)
• Ad for TMNT #14 (shipping May)
• Ad for Dark Horse Metal Miniatures (Sets A-G), TMNT First Comics Graphic Novels Books I-III, Back Issue Order Form
• Ad for Tales of the TMNT #5 (shipping May)
• “It’s a Gas” by Talbot (pages 1-6)
• Inside Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by J. Horvath, 88)

In this issue of Turtle Tracks, Laird complains that their comic book store address book was out of date  when they were sending advertising flyers for the TMNT cartoon mini-series. He asks readers to send in addresses for their local comic book stores so they can update their computerized database. Laird was something ofan early adopter of computer technologies, in a 1984 letter he talks about what his Coleco Adam can do and types a few lines of BASIC code in the letter. He later writes letters on the computer. He also mentions he is a member of the GEnie and Compuserve Comic Book Forum groups.

The ad for the Limited Edition Hardcover (color cover art by Eastman, limited to 1,000 copies) and the Softcover (black and white cover art by Laird, limited to 5,000 copies) contains the material which would be included in TMNT The Collected Book Volume 1, namely TMNT #1-11 and the four Micro-shots. TMNT The Collected Book Volume 1 would have a cover by A.C. Farley and would not be "limited." This ad says the book is 512 pages but later ads will give a larger page count. In order to print the stories contained in the Hardcover 535 pages are required, assuming nothing else.

The Back Issue Order Form page states that all TMNT books are available in their current prints except for TMNT #6, #7 and Michaelangelo #1, which were scheduled to be reprinted this year. Tales of the TMNT #2-3, Grunts, Turtle Soup, Gobbledygook (Vol. 2), Gizmo #1-6 and Bade Biker #1-4 are also mentioned. The TMNT Graphic Novel books from First Comics are said to be still available in their 1st printings. There was also a TMNT poster with the artwork from the cover of Book I. Apparently Book IV had yet to be completed by this time. 

TMNT #14

Cover Date: Feb, 1988

Cover Artist: Eastman

Cover Price: $1.50/$2.25

Publishing Date: May, 1988

Story & Artwork: Eastman & Talbot

Letters: Lavigne

Number of Interior Pages: 48

• Interior Front Cover: Endpaper with Cow Pattern
• Flyleaf with Cow Pattern
• “The Unmentionables” (pages 1-37)
• Ad for TMNT Limited Edition Hardcover
• Ad for Melting Pot (by Eastman and Talbot, coming this fall, 3 pages)
• Ad for TMNT #15 (coming this summer)
• Ad for The Puma Blues (by Steve Murphy & Michael Zulli, published by Aardvark One International)
• Ad for TMNT #16 (promo material by Mark Martin)
• Ad for Commandosaurs (four-issue miniseries by Laird & Steve Bissette, coming this fall)
• Mirage Mail Order
• Flyleaf with Cow Pattern
• Interior Rear Cover: Endpaper with Cow Pattern & Legal Information

This is the first issue of TMNT not to have a Turtle Tracks column or a pinup page. There is no editorializing in this issue.

The interior covers and their corresponding opposite page have a gray background with a cow image stamped throughout these pages. The cow image may not make sense until you read the story. The interior rear cover gives the legalese (copyright and trademark declaration, publisher and printer info, defamation disclaimer) that is usually found on the Turtle Tracks page.

The Hotel Northampton is a real hotel and the Blue Bonnet where April works is a real diner in Northampton, MA. Both are drawn more or less how they appear in real life. There is also the sign in a window for “Mirage Studios” which looks similar to, but not exactly the same, as its headquarters at the time, 26 Center Street. (Mirage moved to 16 Market Street by 2000).

TMNT #15

Cover Date: None given (“Summer Issue”)

Cover Artist: Laird

Cover Price: 150¢/200¢

Publishing Date: August, 1988

Story & Artwork: Laird & Jim Lawson

Letters: Lavigne

Number of Interior Pages: 40

• Interior Front Cover: Turtles Tracks (Laird)
• “Dome Doom” (pages 1-32)
• Ad for TMNT #1 5th printing
• Reader Letters (4 pages)
• Ad for Tales of the TMNT #7
• Ad for TMNT #17 (shipping November, 1988)
• Ad for TMNT Limited Edition Hardcover
• Interior Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by Don Laird, 1988)

TMNT #15 is famous, or perhaps infamous, for two reasons. First, due to production delays, it was released after TMNT#16. Second, the front cover is made up to look like an old, beat-up comic, complete with taped-up tears, a ripped corner, scratches, folded creases and coffee mug stains. The price is given in ¢ rather than $.

The month of publication is not given in the book, only the year. I believe this may have been because Mirage was uncertain when the book would be completed. Laird’s quip "If it's not late, it's not a Mirage book." might as well be the Mirage Motto. The interior front cover only says “1988 – First Printing”. There will not be another printing.

Laird explains why this issue was late in Turtle Tracks and because the TMNT Limited Edition Hardcover was also late, Mirage will offer $5.00 gift certificate toward the purchase of its comic books for those who ordered the Hardcover when it ships. He does take exception to those letter writers who called the book a scam, money taken for a product never to be released. He also mentions a story he and Eastman did for The Puma Blues #20, a charity issue.

TMNT #15 does not have a wrap-around cover. The rear cover is a self portrait done by Eastman and Laird in their studio (with some friends). Laird identifies this artwork as being done in 1985 for the second issue of New Age Comics, a advertisement book which was never released. They decided to release this art for this issue. The artwork did previously appear in Amazing Heroes #107 in B&W, page 26 and date of November 15, 1986 is printed underneath it in that issue. That date reflects the publication of Amazing Heroes #107, the covers depicted in the artwork itself, Michaelangelo #1, TMNT #6 and TMNT #1 4th printing were all being worked on in late 1985. The colors for TMNT #1 4th printing are not nearly as close to the released book as the other two.

There are a lot of letters reprinted (ten of them) and it seems everyone has a gripe or a bone to pick with the recent state of the comic. Several believe Eastman and Laird are best or only good together, someone did not like Michael Dooney’s work, another did not care for April’s diary narrative device in TMNT #11, several believe the book has gone downhill after a certain issue and others accuse them of selling out by licensing their creations for the TV series and Archie Comics. Fortunately not all the letters are critical. Laird responds to the criticism after reprinting the first nine letters. The last letter, by a mother who expressed outrage over the language and violence in a TMNT issue she bought for her son, earned a lengthy response from Laird on the virtues of free speech.

The real Calvin Theater in Northampton, right across the street from the Hotel Northampton, is located right next to the comic shop created for this story.

TMNT #1 5th Printing

Cover Date: Aug, 1988

Cover Artist: Eastman & Laird

Cover Price: $1.50/$2.25

Publishing Date: November, 1988

Story & Artwork: Eastman & Laird

Letters: Eastman

Number of Interior Pages: 48

• Inside Front Cover: Fifth Printing Illustration
• [“The Turtles' Origin is Told”] (40 pages)
• “Not One Word” by Talbot (pages 1-9 ends on Inside Rear Cover)

This would be the last time TMNT #1 would be reprinted as a single issue in the 1980s. The exterior  rear cover (August, 1988) and interior front cover (November, 1988) contradict each other as to when the book was published.

The cover art is unsigned as shown on the book but the ad for this printing in TMNT #15 has the same front image with a "Laird/Eastman" signature. The signature was cropped out for the cover. The monochromatic, sepia-toned illustration appears to be a conscious choice than a budgetary measure. I read that fewer copies of the 5th print were made than the 4th print, suggesting that TMNT's comic popularity had peaked by that time or the market did not need as many copies of TMNT #1.

The image that is on the interior front cover was previously used as the cover for David Anthony Kraft’s Comic Interview #27, in color. The word balloons were repurposed for this book.

There are five later Mirage single-issue reprintings of #1 and innumerable IDW reprintings.

TMNT #17

Cover Date: Nov., 1988

Cover Artist: Talbot

Cover Price: $1.50/$2.25

Publishing Date: Jan, 1989

Story & Artwork: Eastman & Talbot

Letters: Lavigne

Number of Interior Pages: 48

• Interior Front Cover : Endpaper & Flyleaf with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Banner Logo (2 pages, continues on first interior page)
• Credits & Legal Information
• “Distractions” (pages 1-34)
• Special Thanks, December 9, 1988
• Ad for TMNT #18 (2 pages)
• Ad for Melting Pot (by Eastman & Talbot, shipping Summer 1989)
• Interior Rear Cover: B-Dah B-Dee B-Dah B-Dats All Folks! (by Talbot)

TMNT #17’s story and scripting were done by Eastman and Talbot but the art was done solely by Talbot. The dates are all over the place, Talbot’s date in his special thanks pushes the book’s publication towards January but a later December ship date is not impossible.

This is another issue with no Turtle Tracks, but the Special Thanks page is interesting because in addition to thanking the usual suspects (Frank Miller, Stan Sakai, Eastman, Laird and the rest of the Mirage crew), there is also a shout out to “Lone Wolf and Cub” by [Kazuo] Koike and [Goseki] Kojima. Lone Wolf and Cub was a very popular manga in Japan in the 1970s and a series of six films were made from it. While the first two Lone Wolf and Cub films were released in North America as a compilation titled “Shogun Assassin” the manga had received only limited reception in the US by 1988. First Comics began releasing translated versions of the manga issues in 1987 but its influence may have been felt even earlier. Miller cited it as an influence on Ronin, which was first released in 1983-84.

TMNT #7 2nd Printing

Cover Date: Jan. 1989

Cover Artist: Laird, Ryan Brown & Lavigne

Cover Price: $1.50/$2.25

Publishing Date: January, 1989

Story & Artwork: Eastman & Laird

Letters: Lavigne

Number of Interior Pages: 40

• Inside Front Cover: Turtle Tracks (New, Laird)
• [“All is Revealed”] (pages 1-37)
• Ad for TMNT #19-21
• Ad for Commandosaurs
• Ad for Den #5 (by Richard Corben, published by Fantagor Press)
• Inside Rear Cover: Pin-up Page (by Hatten & Balcziunas, 1989)

This is the last of the single issue reprints of the early Mirage comics during the 1980s. This printing loses the original backup story and does not gain another, making it rather bare bones. Despite previous promises this issue did not end up being published until 1989. 

Single-issue reprints had fallen out of fashion by this time, instead the four graphics novels from First Comics would serve as one way to catch up on the early issues and later the TMNT Collected Books would become the other way new readers could become acquainted with the earliest stories.

This issue's Turtle Tracks talks about Eastman and Laird's involvement with the first TMNT movie. They worked on a rough treatment and after weeks of story conferences they signed a deal on January 27. They were pleased that the movie strayed much closer to the comic book than the TV cartoon. The production company was based in London, so their fax machine would stay busy that year with communications with the production crew. Fax machines were not yet the ubiquitous office tool but they were getting there.

Commandosaurs was advertised in many issues as a multi-issue series but turned out to be a mini-comic collaboration by Laird and Bissette and was included in the Mirage Mini-Comics set (along with 12 other comics) in 1989. TMNT #19-21, the Return to New York storyline, is set to begin in March 1989.

TMNT #19

Cover Date: March, 1989

Cover Artist: Eastman, Laird & Lavigne

Cover Price: $1.75/$2.50

Publishing Date: March, 1989

Story & Artwork: Eastman, Laird, Lawson

Letters: Lavigne

Number of Interior Pages: 48

• Interior Front Cover: Endpaper and Flyleaf with New York City skyline (2 pages, continues on first interior page)
• “Return to New York Book One” (pages 1-38)
• Credits & Legal Information
• Editorial (Eastman & Laird)
• Ad for Gizmo and the Fugitoid #1 (by Laird & Dooney, “coming this summer”)
• Ad for TMNT #22 (by Martin, “coming this summer”)
• Ad for TMNT #23 (by Martin)
• Ad for The Puma Blues #21 (now published by Mirage)
• Ad for Melting Pot by Eastman & Talbot (shipping Summer 1989)
• Preview of Return to New York Book Two
• Flyleaf and Endpaper with New York City skyline (2 pages, continues on Interior Rear Cover)

The price for U.S. readers of TMNT has gone up permanently for the first time since TMNT #1 (TMNT #7 being a one-off exception for its color back-up story).

The gray background on this issue is also used for the next two stories in this arc. The artwork is not wrap-around. The rear of the issue is just a gray background with a Mirage logo on the bottom. Wrap-around covers will become increasingly infrequent hereafter.

The credits page of the book gives the division of labor as follows:

Story: Eastman & Laird

Layouts: Eastman

Pencils: Lawson

Inks: Laird

Cover Pencils: Eastman

Cover Inks: Laird

Cover Color: Lavigne

The editorial, signed by Eastman and Laird acknowledges the distinction between the gritty, violent turtles of the comic books and the wacky, child-friendly turtles of the 1987 cartoon show. They realize that the audience for one may not appreciate the other. They debated whether to put labels on their books warning that they are not for children but decided against it. They will publish what “[they] think is fit to print” and do not believe that their books “should be hidden from even the youngest of their readers.”

TMNT #20

Cover Date: April, 1989

Cover Artist: Eastman, Laird & Lavigne

Cover Price: $1.75/$2.50

Publishing Date: April, 1989

Story & Artwork: Eastman, Laird, Lawson & Talbot

Letters: Lavigne

Number of Interior Pages: 48

• Interior Front Cover: Endpaper and Flyleaf with New York City skyline (2 pages, continues on first interior page)
• “Return to New York Book Two” (pages 1-38)
• Credits & Legal Information
• Editorial (Eastman & Laird)
• Ad for Gizmo and the Fugitoid #1 (by Laird & Dooney, “coming this summer”)
• Ad for TMNT #22 (by Martin, “coming this summer”)
• Ad for Den #7 (by Corben, published by Fantagor Press)
• Ad for The Puma Blues #21 (now published by Mirage)
• Ad for Melting Pot by Eastman & Talbot (shipping Summer 1989)
• Ad for Commandosaurs Mini-Comic #1 (by Laird & Bissette, “coming this fall”)
• Flyleaf and Endpaper with New York City skyline (2 pages, continues on Interior Rear Cover)

The credits page of the book gives the division of labor as follows:

Story: Eastman & Laird

Layouts: Laird

Pencils: Lawson

Inks: Talbot

Cover Pencils: Eastman

Cover Inks: Laird

Cover Color: Lavigne

The editorial, signed by Eastman and Laird, addresses the issue of why their books are always later. They say they celebrated their 5th anniversary of the premiere of TMNT #1 “this May.” Given the publishing date on this book is April and that editorials have to be finished before the book goes to press, this suggests that the book might not have been available to readers until late May or even June.

They give an overview of everything they have published to date, 20 issues of TMNT, 6 issues of Tales of the TMNT, Rockola, 2 issues of Prime Slime Tales, 4 issues of Bade Biker & Orson, 6 issues of Gizmo, contributions to Gobbledygook Vol. 2, Turtle Soup, Grunts & TMNT Books I-IV, publishing and supplying cover artwork for the Limited Edition TMNT Hardcover, contributing to the seven RPG books and supplements, overseeing the toy line, the TV animated series, the upcoming live action movie and 65 other TMNT licensed products. They also mention their upcoming collaborations Melting Pot and Commandosaurs. In short, they have a lot on their plate for such a small company.

Of the seven RPG products stated in that editorial, Eastman or Laird contributed to six of them available by that year. I believe they are including Transdimensional TMNT in that count, but only Lawson is credited for contributing original art to that book. Eastman and Laird were given a special thanks in it, so they might have given some uncredited assistance.

They claim that their best year for getting books out was at the beginning when they were handling everything on their own, including business matters and traveling to conventions. They published six TMNT books in that year. They do not specify “that year”, but they probably meant 1985. They did publish six TMNT books that year if they considered Fugitoid as one of those books (plus TMNT #3, Raphael #1, TMNT #4, TMNT #5 & Michaelangelo #1). If they meant May 1984-May 1985 they’re one book short because Fugitoid did not release by May, 1985.

TMNT #21

Cover Date: May, 1989

Cover Artist: Eastman, Laird & Lavigne

Cover Price: $1.75/$2.50

Publishing Date: May, 1989

Story & Artwork: Eastman, Laird, Lawson

Letters: Lavigne

Number of Interior Pages: 48

• Interior Front Cover: Endpaper and Flyleaf with New York City skyline (2 pages, continues on first interior page)
• “Return to New York Book Three” (pages 1-44)
• Credits & Legal Information
• Editorial (Eastman & Laird)
• Flyleaf and Endpaper with New York City skyline (2 pages, continues on Interior Rear Cover)

The credits page of the book gives the division of labor as follows:

Story: Eastman & Laird

Layouts: Eastman & Laird

Pencils: Lawson

Inks: Eastman

Cover Pencils: Eastman

Cover Inks: Laird

Cover Color: Lavigne

The final editorial in the Return to New York saga continues on a theme touched on in the last editorial, certain fan's distaste for licensing. The example given a fan is seeing Batman on underwear and the fan of The Dark Knight swearing off Batman comics for the rest of his days. They explained to three disgruntled fans at a convention held on June 17 that the licensed products (TMNT Cereal raised a particular objection) are separate from their books. The June 17 date suggests, like the last issue, that this issue did not reach readers until July despite the May date given on the cover and in the legal section.

This issue was set to be published five years after TMNT #1 and it fittingly ends the almost continuous partnership between its creators. This would be the last issue Eastman and Laird would collaborate on a book until TMNT #48-62 (story). The only time they would jointly contribute to the artwork would be with TMNT #50. They also would collaborate on the color covers for TMNT Vol. 2 #3-13.

Michaelangelo Christmas Special/TMNT Christmas Special #1/Michaelangelo #1 2nd Printing

Cover Date: December 1990

Cover Artist: Lawson

Cover Price: $1.75/$2.25

Publishing Date: December, 1990

Story & Artwork: Eastman & Laird

Letters: Lavigne

Number of Interior Pages: 48

• Inside Front Cover: Warmest Wishes
• Table of Contents
• “The Christmas Aliens” (pages 1-30)
• Merry Christmas from all the Guys at Mirage (pages 31-32)
• “A Christmas Carol” by Lawson (pages 33-45)
• Ad for TMNT #18 2nd Printing (coming in December)
• Ad for TMNT The Collected Book Vols. 1-4
• Inside Rear Cover: Coming in 1991

Michaelangelo's one-shot story was reprinted much later than the stories surrounding it. It was originally promised for 1988 but here it is, two years later. The format of this book is very different from most previous reprints, there is no Turtle Tracks column and the cover artwork is not wrap around. There is no artwork on the back cover, just "TMNT Christmas Special Issue 1 December 1990" and the price and the Mirage Studio logo in red letters over a blank white area.

It is curious that the book has two different titles with the front using "Michaelangelo" and the back "TMNT". Mirage's website refers to this book as Michaelangelo #1 2nd Printing.

The backup story does not seem to have ever been republished.

TMNT #18 was originally released in February, 1989, so this ad must be for the 2nd printing. The artwork shown is the one which is on the front cover of the 2nd printing. The 2nd printingwas in color, which you would think should have been mentioned in the ad, but it was not.

The Coming in 1991 page lists ten upcoming stories by titles and authors but not issue numbers. It mentions:

• I can find no corresponding issue of TMNT or a related comic for "Extremities" by Talbot or  "The Quarry" by Lawson & Bissette.
• The continuation of the "Soul's Winter" trilogy, which would published in TMNT #35-36, March & August, 1991 by Michael Zulli.
• "Land of Green Fire" a "trilogy" which would ultimately be published as its own limited comic series of four issues in color, as it was a crossover with TMNT & the Flaming Carrot, from November 1993 to February 1994 by Bob Burden & Lawson
• "The Halls of Lost Legends" would published in TMNT #43 in January, 1992 as "Halls of Lost Legends" by Paul Jenkins & Farley (on the ad it gives credits for Jason Eastman, Jenkins & Chris Warner)
• "Leatherhead, Too" would published in TMNT #45 in March, 1992 by Dan Berger & Brown (the ad only credits Berger)
• "Times Pipeline" would be published as a standalone TMNT "Special" issue in September, 1992. The credits are given in the ad for Mark Bodé, Larry Todd, Eastman and Talbot but only the first two are credited in the Special itself.
• "Twilight of the Rings" would published in  TMNT #37, "Twilight of the Ring", June 1991 by Rick McCollum and Bill Anderson
• "Juliet's Revenge" would published in TMNT #42 in December, 1991 by McCollum and Anderson
• "Muscle and Faith" "a 64 page Casey Jones special" was never actually published in book form. It was later posted online by its author, Jeff Bonivert

Five other authors are mentioned but no titles given:

• Rick Veitch made no further contributions to TMNT after 1990
• Tom McWeeney and Rich Hedden contributed TMNT #38-40, July-September, 1991
• Dooney wrote "Challenges" which was published in 1991
• I can find no credits for Arthur "Art" Suydam for TMNT
• A.C. "Craig" Farley had a short story entry in Turtle Soup vol. 2 #4 but his only other significant contribution around this time other than covers was to TMNT #43

Bonus:

TMNT #50

Cover Date: August 1992

Cover Artist: Eastman & Laird

Cover Price: $2.00/$2.75

Publishing Date: August 1992

Story & Artwork: Eastman & Laird

Letters: Mary Kelleher

Number of Interior Pages: 50 (unnumbered)

• Interior Front Cover: Information & Legal for Mirage Publishing, Inc.
• Editorial (by Eastman & Laird)
• “City at War: Part One” (44 pages, unnumbered)
• Character Ensemble (Talbot, Dooney, Lavigne, Berger, Brown, Farley, Lawson & Murphy, 2 pages)
• Artwork (by Erik Larsen)
• Artwork (by Walt Simonson)
• Artwork (by Todd McFarlane)
• Interior Rear Cover: TMNT Number 51, Part 2 of 13 Coming in September

City at War is the epic 13 part story which ends TMNT Volume 1. Eastman and Laird plotted the whole story but only contributed the artwork to the first part. For the first time since TMNT #11, they are the only artists credited on the book.

The cover art is wraparound, rare by this time. Mirage usually used the back for ad space, although Mirage was not nearly as crass as Marvel or D.C. in what they chose to advertise on the back of its comics.

The editorial has a column by Laird and a column by Eastman, both signed. They discuss their experience working on this issue, for the first time in a long time they were working in the same room. Although the two men will work on covers for Vol. 2 and collaborate in the 21st Century both under Laird’s Mirage and IDW, that they have never worked on the interior of a book's artwork in this manner again.

One can sense the “big hurrah” due to the artwork included at the rear of the book. Not only do we have a two-page spread from the regular Mirage crew featuring many, many Mirage characters, we also have individual pieces contributed by three famous comic book artists. Both McFarlane and Larsen had gained fame by working on Spider-Man and were just beginning to publish their own books, Spawn and The Savage Dragon, respectively. Simonson is best known for his run on Thor. It is not announced in this book that City at War will conclude Volume 1 and its B&W stories, that announcement will be left to the later books.

By this time, Eastman and Laird were at the heads of four corporate entities, Mirage Studios, Inc., Mirage Licensing, Inc., Mirage Management, Inc. and Mirage Publishing, Inc. The first was incorporated in Delaware on January 2, 1991 and the latter three in Massachusetts the day prior. They do not appear to have incorporated prior to this time, Mirage Studios merely being a d/b/a. They would soon add a fourth, Team Mirage, Inc., for use in racing licensing. As the TMNT reached extraordinary levels of pop culture popularity, legal cases were brought by anyone who thought they might have a case against Mirage or its creators. This complicated group of corporate entities with similar names and permitted business activities in their articles of incorporation sought to compartmentalize their various business ventures and, most importantly, shield their personal assets as well as “unrelated assets” from exposure should a lawsuit prevail.

How to Draw Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Cover Date: None

Cover Artist: Eastman & Laird

Cover Price: $2.25/$3.25

Publishing Date: 1986

Artwork: Eastman & Laird

Script: Allan J. Fromberg

Additional Art & Editing: Rich Buckler

Number of Interior Pages: 32 (unnumbered)

I only include this title for purposes of completion because this was the only book published by Solson Publications where Eastman and Laird contributed to the interior artwork of the book. There were seven other licensed TMNT books published by Solson but Eastman only contributed to the covers of two of them and Laird not at all. As this is neither a Mirage book nor a traditional comic book, a somewhat different approach is needed to its table of contents. Almost every page is its own section and I have given the artist for those pages with credited art:

• Interior Front Cover: Ad for Solson’s Comic Talent Star Search
• Title & Credits (Laird)
• Michaelangelo
• Donatello
• Leonardo
• Ad for Reagan’s Raiders (by Fromberg, Dick Ayers & Buckler, published by Solson)
• Raphael
• Construction of Heads
• Turtle Expression
• Turtle Teeth
• Angle and Perspective Dept.
• From Ketch to Finish
• Turtle Shells
• Turtle Hands
• Legs & Feet
• More Action
• Artwork (2 pages, Laird, repeated from title page)
• Some Action Scenes (Eastman)
• Plenty to Talk About Here Folks!
• Ad for Direct Marketing Comic Book Co. (2 pages)
• More “Thumbnails from TMNT #6
• Two Unpublished Pinups (Eastman x 2)
• Another Technique (Eastman & Laird)
• Action!
• Ad for the Drawing Comics Kit! (from Showcase Publications)
• More Action ala Raphael
• Economy of Movement
• More Unpublished Stuff! (Eastman pencil)
• The Finished Drawing! (Eastman inked, same artwork shown on previous page)
• An Unpublished Leonardo! (Eastman)
• -The End (Eastman)
• Interior Rear Cover: Ad for How to Become a Comic Book Artist & How to Draw Super Heroes (by Buckler, published by Solson)

The inclusion of ads in a comic book in between story pages seems a common practice by companies like Marvel, D.C. and even Solson but not commonly seen in Mirage books. In the three instances seen of an ad being inserted into the middle of a story in the Mirage comics covered in this series (38 books covered), it was not done more than once per issue.

There are penciled panels included from Raphael #1, TMNT #6 and, to a much lesser extent, Donatello #1. The selection suggests this book was being worked on in late 1985. All the Eastman and Laird illustrations also have 1985 dates. The book gives a copyright date of 1986 in its legal paragraph, and I would suggest that this book would have been published within the first three months of that year or even possibly December, 1985.

The "Unpublished Leonardo!" would eventually adorn the cover of the Solson's Martial Arts Authorized Training Manual: Leonardo #5 but the other individual turtle Training Manuals (#2-#4) have cover art from Buckler and Jason Rodgers. Some of the artwork was also used in Turtlemania Special #1, including some of the Donatello pencils.

Outside the penciled panels and the signed artwork, the remainder is that of various body parts and figures, some with construction lines, some without. I imagine that the outlines is where Buckler made his contributions, working backward from Eastman and Laird’s finished artwork.

Solson’s production quality left something to be desired. There are copies of this book with covers that have misaligned colors, light colors or missing yellow layer. These issues can also be seen on some of its later books. The cover uses a matte finish, not a glossy finish like all Mirage’s books except for TMNT #2 1st & 2nd printing. At 32 pages the asking price of $2.25 is rather steep, as you have seen (if you read this far) TMNT #50, published six years later, is not being sold at that price!