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Bell English IV/Period 2 03 September 2013 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Comic books are the backbone of American culture. Starting as illustrative shorts, comics have grown to become actual books with award winning artwork. The imprint left by comic books on American literature is resounding and can be seen through various works. Today the characters of comic books have grown to become icons in history. History of Comic Books Comic books have been around for about 118 years. Although many comics historians will point to European broadsheets of the sixteenth century as the ancient precursors of comic books or satirical magazines of the 1780s, most would agree that true comics began on May 5, 1895 in the pages of the New York World with the first appearance of R.F. Outcaults Hogans Alley. This single-panel humor cartoon, which focused on the shenanigans of a group of young hooligans, introduced The Yellow Kid, one of the most popular fictional characters of the first few decades of the 20th Century. Soon, comics became a popular mainstay of newspapers nationwide. Although the earliest strips were all humorous, it didnt take imaginative creators long to realize that the form could be expanded to accommodate other genres. Some, like visionary artist Winsor McCay, flourished in the fantasy field, and brought the odd and surreal to

Nieto 2 the printed page in strips like Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend, Little Sammy Sneeze, and, most successfully, Little Nemo in Slumberland. Others explored a more adventurous route, and soon the likes of Little Orphan Annie, Buck Rogers, The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician were starring in serialized stories on the comic page(Petty). History of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird came up with the Turtles in November 1983 (Lammle). As a joke, Eastman drew a turtle standing on its hind legs, wearing a mask, with nun chucks strapped to its arms. Eastman wrote Ninja Turtle on the top of the page. Laird laughed and then drew a more refined version of the turtle. Not to be outdone, Eastman drew four turtles, each armed with a ninja-style weapon. Laird outlined the group shot in ink and added Teenage Mutant to the Ninja Turtles title. As Eastman and Laird began fleshing out the Turtles to create a comic book, they had to give the Turtles names. At first they tried Japanese names, but it just wasn't working. So they tried great Renaissance artists instead Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. Laird told me, It felt just quirky enough to fit the concept. The original Mirage comic book really wasnt made for a younger audience. The Turtles diced up enemies while spouting the occasional curse word. But when Playmates Toys expressed interest in producing TMNT action figures in 1986, the comics PG-13 attitude wouldnt fit Playmates' 4-8 year old target audience (Lammle). So to make the Turtles viable for the younger set, the Turtles had to soften up. Among other changes, the Turtles became wise-cracking jokers obsessed with pizza, the Shredder became a typical bumbling cartoon villain, members of the Foot Clan were now robots so parents wouldnt complain that the Turtles were too violent, and

Nieto3 instead of Damn, the Turtles shouted easily-marketable catchphrases like, Turtle Power! and Cowabunga!(Lammle). Perhaps the most defining change was the Turtles costumes. In the comic, the interior artwork was in black-and-white, but the color covers showed the Turtles all wearing red masks; the only way to tell them apart was by their specialty weapon. In an effort to de-emphasize the weapon-as-identifier, each character was given his own signature color, displayed on the mask and elbow/knee pads blue for Leonardo, orange for Michelangelo, red for Raphael, and purple for Donatello. In addition, they wore belt buckles with their first initial.

Author Biography

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were the two authors of the comic book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Kevin Eastman was born in 1962 in Portland, Maine. Kevin began drawing as soon as he was able to hold a crayon. His discovery of comic books gave meaning to his crazed doodling. When Kevin discovered and studied the work of Jack Kirby, Russ Heath, Richard Corben, Vaughn Bode and John Severin, he began to hone his craft. His first published work appeared in 1980, a year or so before he met Peter Laird.(TMNT) Peter Laird was born in North Adams, Massachusetts in 1954. Peter was always interested in drawing. By the time he hit high school, where he discovered the work of Jack Kirby and Barry Smith, illustration became his true passion. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts with a B.F.A. in Printmaking, Peter desired to become a freelance comic book artist and illustrator.(TMNT)

Nieto 4 Having met briefly in the early 80's, Laird and Eastman's path crossed again when Peter moved to Dover, NH while his wife attended graduate school at the University of New Hampshire. It just so happened that Kevin was working directly over the border in Ogunquit, ME at a restaurant cooking lobsters. The two friends quickly reestablished their artistic collaboration and Mirage Studios came to life in 1983 at the kitchen table in Peter's house.(TMNT)

Summary

In the comic book IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 it starts with Old Hob and his clan trying to defeat Master Splinter and the Ninja Turtles. They yell back and forth while Master Splinter tries to tell Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo to stay calm and fight in the ways he taught them. In the story line it goes back and forth in time from about a year and a half. It goes back a year and a half to the Stock Gen Research Inc. Laboratory. This is where Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo were created. April, a new intern, notices the 4 turtles in the tank. She thinks they are so cute and seems really invested in them. Mr. Oneil, Chet, says the turtles are part of a special study they have been working on dealing with Genetic Regeneration. Doctor Stockman gets a call from General Krang. It seems he is in a war and wants super soldiers. He tells Stockman that he is past due in getting him the latest sitrep on the tests he ordered. He says his technicians have made great progress in both the Terrapin/Human Exo-Armor Synthesis and Rodentia Psychotropic serum tests. He promises he will have super soldier mutagens ready for him in short time. Three months later April finds out why they call the rat Splinter. Lindsey accidentally told April he was a part of a psychotropic drug test, separating out a capacity for human-like cognition from the instinctual animal state.

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April freaks out and the secret is out. April ends up giving the four little turtles the names Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. It goes back to present day where Raphael is by himself searching the garbage for food. He hears two people arguing and breaks the door to save Casey from his dad.

Personal Review

I have always liked Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles since my childhood. I used to watch it with my older brother. I had never read any of the comics; I would just watch the cartoons. This being my first time reading a comic from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, I liked it. I liked how the story line started with action and then went to the beginning of the story. I remember as a child how they looked in the cartoons. I prefer how they were back then, then from what they look like now. The creators made them look really weird because its not a cartoon anymore. Its like a clay computerized version. In the comic book it reminded me of how they used to look back in my childhood. Not quite exactly but close enough. I appreciated how they incorporated some of the characters I knew from when I first started watching it: April as an intern and always caring for the turtles, and Casey as a troubled teenager. My favorite Ninja Turtle is between Raphael and Michelangelo. I like Raphael because his color is red and because he is the toughest. I like Michelangelo because he is the funny one. He always makes jokes and makes the situation less serious.

Nieto 6 Works Cited Eastman, Kevin, Tom Waltz (w), Dan Duncan (a). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1. IDW #1, 2011. Print. Lammle, Rob. "The Complete History of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Mental Floss. N.p., 07 June 2012. Web. Petty, John E. "A Brief History of Comics." Heritage Auction Galleries. N.p., 2006. Web. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Characters. Viacom International Inc., 2012. Web.

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