“Late in November 1983, Peter Laird and I were sharing a studio (our living room) in Dover, New Hampshire. One work night, in an effort to make Peter laugh, I drew a sketch of this character I called a “Ninja Turtle” and threw it onto Peter’s desk. He did laugh, and did a version of his own — to which I needed to take it one step further, and did a pencil sketch of four different Turtles, each holding a different weapon — and gave it to Peter, who wanted to ink it in — and when he did, he added “Teenage Mutant” to the “Ninja Turtle” part of the logo, and we both fell off our chairs!”

Who knew that a little joke could go so far? The unintentional beginnings of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles eventually developed into the huge success that we see today, with a whole new cartoon series and movie in the works for the near future. Who knew that roughly 30 years after they first got together and had a little fun, the product of that goofing around would become such a huge phenomenon?

The artwork eventually sold for $71,700 to an anonymous internet bidder. For just one small piece of turtles history, that’s pretty radical! Even more awesome is that all proceeds will be going to The Hero Initiative, which is an organization that helps comic creators without benefits and in need of support for medical bills, rent, and other such necessities. Isn’t it nice to see artists like Eastman doing their part to support other artists in the industry?

Source: USAToday

New TMNT Music Video Leaves Web Shell-shocked!

Nowadays, the talk surrounding the turtles is almost entirely focused on their future. There are new  Ninja Turtles productions in the works, and fans are worried about possible changes to the formula. There is quite a lot of doubt about what is to come, and it seems that some of us have forgotten to appreciate what we already have. Thankfully, there are still those of us who understand that some things never really change. Enter Nathan Barnatt (aka Keith Apicary) and his latest music video, T.M.N.T.S.O.N.G.

This is a song for all of us who still play all those TMNT games from back in the day, who loved and still appreciate what the turtles represented when we were a little younger. With lyrics about beating ‘Turtles 2‘ when he was just a 9 year old kid, it’s clear that the message here is all about the old school. To make things even more awesome, the music video includes some quite amazing sights, including April O’Neil, Casey Jones and even the Turtle Van! Oh, and who did they get to play Casey Jones? None other than Egoraptor himself, the well known animator who was recently featured on Playstation’s The Tester.

I invite all turtle fans to check out this video, as it was clearly made with a lot of love and respect for the TMNT. You may just be shell shocked by the awesome set design. Personally, I’m still mesmerized by how totally radical and realistic that Turtle Van is. If you remember what it was like to grow up with the turtles way back in the day, you owe it to yourself to watch and listen to the coolest music video to hit the net in years!

CHARACTERS/CAST

Leonardo (Jason Biggs) — He is the self-proclaimed leader of the group. However, at the beginning of the series he really doesn’t know how to be that guy yet. He uses the katana!

Michelangelo (Greg Cipes) — He is the “younger brother” of the four. He’s a goofy fun-loving guy, but that’s no cause for underestimating this class clown’s fighting skills! He uses the nunchaku and they extend into kusarigama!

Donatello (Rob Paulsen) — He’s still the techno geek we know and love! Like a real Ninja, he can use his environment to invent great things! He also has a slight crush on April. He uses the bo and it reveals a hidden yari blade!

Raphael (Sean Astin) — He punches first and asks questions later! He’s quick-witted and full of sarcasm! He competes with Leo for leadership of the brothers. He could do it, too, if he weren’t so hotheaded. He uses the sai!

Splinter (Hoon Lee) — Formerly Hamato Yoshi, he’s often depicted as frail and old, this new Splinter is a bit younger so he can be a formidable opponent against the Shredder like he was in the first season of the original show!

April O’Neil – She’s got short red hair, a yellow shirt, black shorts, and sneakers! She’s 16 (to be a peer to the Turtles) and learning to be a kunoichi (female ninja) from Splinter himself! Oh, and she’s in no way “emo” like previous reports might’ve suggested. It’s a big change, but it was better than bringing back Venus DeMilo for a female peer to the Turtles.

Shredder – A no-nonsense ninja master and leader of the Foot Clan, he’s a very competent foe who has devoted himself to the destruction of Hamato Yoshi and his Turtles. He’s the scariest Shredder has ever been! His mask sort of reminds me of this version of him. He has the “black/gray/purple” color scheme of the original cartoon as well as a cape, his shirt is sleeveless, and he’s lightly armored in the torso area. Also, his blades are much more intense than any previous version of the Shredder.

The Kraang – With an android body more similar to the Utroms from the original comics, these brains with menacing ugly faces and squid tentacles out their sides conduct mutagen experiments on random victims they kidnap. They also, like the Utroms, have human disguises that go over their android bodies.

Foot Clan – Some are human, some are mutants, and some are robots! These ninja warriors wear something much more similar to an authentic ninja uniform! They’ll provide a little comic relief, but only to accent Shredder’s seriousness and it won’t take away from the fact that they’re much more difficult to beat than they were in the original show.

VEHICLES

Party Wagon – Remember the Turtle Van from the original TV show? Think of it as a reworked subway train car that has wheels that drop down so it can go onto the street!

Sewer Bike – A three-wheeled Turtle-themed motorcycle that’s armored on the side. However, when it drops into “stealth mode”, the armor makes a Turtle Shell design on the top. It reminded me of a Turtle-esque version of the Tumbler and the Bat-Pod from the recent Batman movies, only the Turtle inside leans back instead of forward.

REAL NINJUTSU

The Turtles aren’t just ninja in name only in this series, on board the writing staff is a guy who practices ninja-derived arts from the Genbukan Ninpo Bugei. So, while the Turtles will kick butt and while they will eat pizza, the authentic ninja lifestyle will be incorporated into the Turtles’ lives like never before!

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If you’re a Turtles fan, there’s plenty to be both excited and worried about in the near future. With a new Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles television series in the works and a purported reboot of the film series coming soon, it is clear that the fans of this beloved franchise have not been forgotten. However, for some fans these new cartoons and films are a harbinger of doom for the shelled super heroes. It all depends on how you feel about the people behind each of the projects, because there are some big names being thrown around in conjunction with the future of this franchise. For one, Michael Bay has been named as a producer for the new films, suggesting that these may in fact be much more action oriented and much less focused on story. If that’s what you’re looking for, then I’m sure Bay and his boys will have you covered. That being said, if you’re like many of the Transformers fans who have spoken out against his treatment of that franchise, this news probably isn’t making you very happy.

To be fair, Michael Bay will most likely produce or be an executive producer of the films, which is a far cry from the directing he is known for. In other words, he won’t have nearly as much control over the whole process as he has had in the past. Unfortunately, two relative newcomers have been chosen to write the script for the new reboot. Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec both have plenty of experience writing scripts for television, but their first experience writing for the big screen will be with the latest installment to the Mission: Impossible series. Obviously, we have yet to see how this will turn out, but usually it’s never a good sign when they bring on a couple of rookies to handle the job. We can only hope that this is the right decision for the series, but depending on your opinions of the people who have signed on for this project, chances are you’re either going to be very pessimistic or slightly optimistic.

As for the other big news involving the new TMNT animated series, the cast is all but set with each of the well known turtles voiced by a different and talented actor. Jason Biggs will be playing the voice of Leonardo, Sean Astin will play Raphael, Greg Cipes will be Michelangelo and Rob Paulsen will play Donatello. The new TMNT cartoon is set for release on Nickelodeon next year and the word on the street is that this has serious potential. There’s no word yet on when the film reboots will be completed or released, as they are currently in pre-production. So there you have it, with so much going on in the TMNT world, it’s clear that their popularity has not yet waned. We all still love the Turtles, and we want as much of them as we can get. Again, depending on your outlook, some of this could be good news and some of it could be bad. However you take it, this is at least a sign that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles won’t be fading into obscurity any time soon, and that alone is fantastic news.