MIKEYSTMNT.COM

–>> Tad late on this, but for the record..

Ubisoft has begun to release some new info about their next Turtles video game, “TMNT Smash Up,” for the Wii – check out the links below (thanks to everyone who sent ‘em in!):

** VGChartz.com

***GameSpot.com

☻ ☺

“Fighters aren’t typically known for topping the sales charts, but Super Smash Bros. Brawl is a rare exception. The well-reviewed game mopped the floor with the competition in 2008, placing just behind Wii Fit as the US’s fourth best-selling title with 4.17 million units.

Undoubtedly hoping lightning will strike twice, Ubisoft revealed today that it had scooped up Super Smash Bros. Brawl’s developer to work on a similar fighter themed around its top kids’ brand, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. A marked departure from other TMNT games, TMNT Smash Up will be an all-new property that isn’t rooted in a movie, TV show, or comic book.

Aside from naming Game Arts as developer, Ubisoft did not offer much by way of details for TMNT Smash Up, except to say that it would be a four-player fighter. The publisher did release a pair of screenshots for the game, though. The TMNT shots show two Brawl-like arenas–one a dank sewer, the other a dark rooftop–where two turtles are battling. Players will apparently be able to toss their weapons, and the screenshots appear to indicate a strong aerial component.

Ubisoft expects to launch TMNT Smash Up as part of the franchise’s 25th anniversary later this fall.”

– Tom Magrino, GameSpot

Dan ::
Andrew Bonia (writer on Tales of the TMNT #54) was interviewed by CBC Radio – you listen to an MP3 of the interview **here!

..>v<

–>> ..god i am SOOOO effin’ exhausted, but i thought this was important to post.

Recent discussions i’ve had with a contact gave me a bit of hope for the NECA TMNT front very recently.

Also this is a cut and paste Q – n – A from **Pete Laird’s blog , while Pete was chatting with some fans.

..this also kinda gave me an extra boost of encouragement surrounding the NECA Turtles saga that has been looking all but very sad for months and months.. until now !!

Yes there’s good news.

☻ ☺

” Dragon Turtle said…
Hi Peter, I have a few questions to ask if you don’t mind.

I would like to know who at Mirage is responsible for getting the word out about the ninja turtle products, specifically the comics? Is there anyone at Mirage who is in constant contact with comic book community (websites, magazines, retailers, ect.) in order to keep the TMNT name visible. Other then particpating in FCBD, does Mirage have any other special promotions lined up to promote the comics?”

PL:Probably the person who best fits that description here at Mirage is Dan Berger, though I think “constant contact” might be a bit extreme. I am not aware of any other special promotions.

“Also will we be seeing full season box sets of the 2k3 cartoon with extra bonus content?
Such a product is long overdue.”

PL: That would certainly be nice, and I would be happy to do more of those interview/commentary things included on some of the earlier DVD releases. However, as far as I know, nothing like that has been planned.

“And, has Mirage ever attempted to buy the rights to the old toon from Fred Wolf Films?”

PL:I have a vague memory that we looked into that possibility at one point, but I think a combinaton of the price being too high and my interest level being too low prevented that from going forward.

.. ..

” joe-eyeball said… ::
Pete, ..I would like to know regarding NECA. Whats up with the second wave of figures? Are they still in the works?”

PL:: Here’s the gist of a message I just got, minutes ago, from Gary re: the NECA situation:

“NECA have the following ready:

April, Mousers (new sculpt with articulated jaws), Shredder, Foot Soldier, Elite Guard

… plus various re-paints and re-decos based on the colorized comics. They hope to show the line at Toy Fair and try to get enough EU (European Union) interest that they can manufacture these figures.”

(( ~ t ))

“Also, I would like to know about the current state of both comics. Such as, is volume 4 going to be wrapped up anytime soon? Whats a general timetable for it? Also we heard about the sales threshold that Diamond distributors has instituted on comics, is there any word on how this will specifically affect Tales in the immediate or distant future?”

PL:: The fate of Volume 4 is uncertain at this point. As I have said in the past, I would like to wrap it up in another six to ten issues (preferably six). Issues 30 and 31 have been drawn, with the tones on 30 almost finished and the inking on 31 nearly done. To be frank, my energy level for working on the TMNT book has been not that high over the last couple of years, for a variety of reasons. I have pretty clear ideas for how I want to conclude this series, and hope to do it over the next year or two. That’s about as specific a timetable as I can give you at this point.

I am not sure how or if the new sales threshold rules from Diamond will affect Tales. That would probably be a question better asked of Dan Berger.

“Also, is there anything to be said regarding another TMNT film. I havent heard anything in a long time.

..

PL :: Discussions about a new movie continue on, though there is no final deal to announce as of yet.

♦ ♦

..>v<

Rose :: “**Toy News International is reporting tonight on a new trade paperback that will collect the three issues that comprised the original TMNT comic book mini-series from Archie comics.

The trade, featuring early Turtles work by TMNT master artist Michael Dooney, also features a brand new cover by Dooney. And, most impressively, the interior will be published in full color! Look for it at your local comic shop around May 13. Or – best news in a long time – *** pre-order it now on Amazon.com!! .. ”

♥ ♥

SCRIPT AND ART: Michael Dooney.
Shipping Date: May 6th, 2009
On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: May 13th, 2009
On Sale on Newsstands: May 26th, 2009
104-page full color trade paperback
$11.95 US.

‘ TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES VOLUME ONE: HEROES IN A HALF SHELL ‘

Cowabunga! It’s the 25th anniversary “Shell-ebration” of the fabulous phenomenon that changed comics forever! Almost single-handedly kicking off the independent comic book boom of the mid ’80s, the titanic Turtles went on to become pop culture megastars with a hit animated series, a long-running line of action figures, box office-smashing feature films and of course, their very own Archie comic book series based on their TV show. Now you can relive the very first Archie Turtles comic, a 3-issue adaptation of the original television mini-series, “Heroes in a Half Shell!” This thrilling story has it all: the origins of the Turtles, Splinter, Bebop and Rocksteady; the first Archie appearances of April O’Neil, Shredder and Krang; plus Krang’s robot army, the Neutrinos from Dimension X, and the Technodrome! Thrill as the reptilian quartet uses all their “turtle power” to stop Shredder from getting a body for Krang! Watch Shredder’s attempts to entice the Turtles to join the Foot Clan fail because “Turtles fight with honor!” Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo are anxious to reacquaint themselves with you, so what are you waiting for? Order this turtle-riffic graphic novel today! ‘

Danny B. :: The latest issue of the U.K. magazine **SciFiNow (pictured below) features a four-page interview with Peter Laird! Pick up a copy at your local newstand or order it online via ***this link!

..>v<

!!

–>> ♥ ♥

Courtesy of my friends at **TMNT Legend in China!! ..>v<

"Swamp Thing relaxing at the bottom of the swamp, savoring a little quality time with slow-and-steady reptile company in “Underwater Rendevous” — a color rough for the Swamp Thing book plate I’m finishing up for

* PaneltoPanel.net’s exclusive offer on the new hardcover Swamp Thing collection from DC Comics (here’s the link to the softcover collections; I’ll post the link to the hardcover later today).

While I keep all original black-and-white sketches here at Myrant well under the $100 level (to keep them affordable for all in these troubled economic times), color work will always go for more for obvious reasons.

This color rough original is 9″ x 11 1/2″ on watercolor paper (2 ply); black, white markers and pens, Dr. Martin’s Dye (so you will have to be careful where you display this work, as both markers and dyes fade in time and exposure to light); still a bargain at $175 plus shipping.

Interested? Email me ASAP at msbissette@yahoo.com, first come, first served; I accept PayPal or personal checks (ships when your check clears). More Swamp Thing — and zombies! — to come this week.

** The Sketch Store section (click this link) now has a nice selection of previously posted roughs and sketches for sale.

*** Per usual, all 2009 sketches, sold and unsold, are archived in the Sketch Gallery, free eye-candy at all times."

–S.R.Bissette

Swamp Thing is © and TM DC Comics, Inc.; artwork ©2008 SR Bissette, all rights reserved.

♫ ♫
–>> ..
Silver, Bronze, and Gold.. MWC Toys, The People and the Industry have spoken ..and the Turtles Rock !! !!

The recent The Poppies – the annual pop culture collectibles industry awards rated the best & worst of Pop collectibles, figs of all scales , statues, accessories, busts and companies :: the votes are in.

Donnie T. and company come out like real Guitar Heroes !!

♦ ♦

MWC – Captain Toy’s pick for Best Overall Line ..::

** 2nd Place Silver .. – NECA TMNT !! **

“My silver selection is a bit odd, since the series didn’t include many figures. In fact, there were only four, done once in regular colors and once in black and white. But oh, they were done so damn well. I’m giving second place to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line from NECA.”

♦ ♦

People’s pick for Best Overall Line ..::

** 3rd Place.. – NECA TMNT !! **

“In third place is one of my favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from NECA. Sometimes when a line comes out early in the year, they can be forgotten by the time the voting comes around, but the TMNT line was strong enough to remain at the forefront in the reader’s minds.”

People’s pick for Best Male Figure 5 – 11″ ..::

** 2nd Place Silver .. – NECA TMNT : Donatello !! **

“The silver medal goes to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Don. Don was the only one on the nominee list, but I think the result would have been the same no matter which one I chose to highlight. The TMNT was one of the nicest lines produced this year, and it’s great to see the figure get some more love. In fact, he’s the only figure to end up in some place on all three lists, which I think is a true indication of just how universal his appeal is.”

♦ ♦

The Final Judges’ picks // The Poppie Awards !! – Best Male Figure 5 – 11″ ..::

** FIRST EFFIN’ PLACE .. # 1 .. – NECA TMNT : Donatello !! **

‘The big winner squeaked out the first place spot with just a few votes – it’s Don from TMNT! Actually, I suspect that any one of the four figures could have been nominated and would have won (they do all look alike) but Don has perhaps the coolest accessories. D. Martin Myatt said “While at first I thought of voting for Donatelo because he was my favourite Turtle when I was young, I thought better of it and decided to look beyond my own personal tastes. That’s when I noticed that Donatello was the only figure only TMNT figure I never saw on store shelves. So I stuck with my first choice.” And while he didn’t have a guitar, I used the below photo just because I thought it was hilarious. .. ‘

♥ ♥

..so there ya go.

Hope and praise for the Mutants of the world and for the Teen-aged Mutant Ninja Braniac.

So much love garnered for these global favourites and lighters are being raised high by fans,friends ,Foot Clans , and Utroms everywhere .. in hopes for more cool NECA – TMNT classics !!

♫ ♫

As Donnie T. pulls off an honourable guitar riff and goes into into a legendary rendition of “Turtle Power” !!

Somewhere, up in the great beyond ..in the hall of Rock Legends ..

~~ ** ♫ ♫

Hendrix sheds a tear.

>v<

–>> Tales 54 ..

” Be sure to pick it up! This issue is written by Andrew Bonia, who I had the pleasure of meeting at NYCC last year. If I’m hearing right, Andrew J. will be present and accounted for at NYCC again this year, so be sure to get yourself a copy and get it signed by the dude himself! ” – T. Jones

** Here’s a sneak peak! { via  Comics Continuum }

An Alert from Rose !! :: ” It has been made widely known that the Tales of the TMNT comic book title exists on the whim of Peter Laird, who has continued to publish the book, for the most part out of his own pocket, even though it doesn’t sell enough copies to support itself. As such, TMNT fans head toward each new year wondering if Tales will still be around. As of right now, there is no confirmation for Tales‘ existence–or non-existence–in 2010; however, it seems that Diamond Comic Distributors may have made that decision for Mirage already.

Newsarama is reporting today that Diamond has raised its purchase order minimum from $1,500 to $2,500. This means that in order for Diamond to list and distribute a title, it would need to generate $2,500 of revenue for Diamond (not total). The break down of this is basically that “a typical $3.00 comic would have to sell over 2,100 copies to meet the benchmark.” Tales currently sells for $3.25/book.

The most recent sales data available, for November 2008, lists estimated sales of 2,381 for Tales. In comparison, the January 2008 estimated sales were 2,684. In the months in between, at least the ones where Tales was ranked in the top 300, a steady decline in sales can be seen. Thus, it can be concluded that Tales hangs dangerously close to being below Diamond’s newly required threshold.

There are about three possibilities for titles that do not currently meet the new threshold:

1. Raise the cover price.
2. Find different means of distribution.
3. Cancel the title

Some titles are likely to move to Web-only, but as we’ve seen with TMNT Vol. 4, TMNT fans want their Turtles on paper, making that an unlikely option for Mirage. It appears that this new change is immediate, although a grace period to allow publishers to achieve the newly required numbers is likely. This will make it extremely difficult for Tales to even get to the end of 2009, and, given Mirage’s publishing history, makes cancelation come 2010 nearly certain.

That said, nothing is set in stone. And if you don’t pick it up already, now is the time to go to your comic book shop and let them know that you want Tales of the TMNT!”

..in regards to this issue .. Stephen wrote ::

” I asked Dan Berger @ Mirage Publishing to comment on the Diamond price hike. Simply put, he said “:

Howdy Stephan,

At the moment Mirage’s comics are not in danger of being dropped, but
this is certainly alarming for the future of B&W comics as a whole.

Thanks for writing!

Dan B.’s official site stats n’ statistics for the week ::

- Posted the preview for “Tales of the TMNT” #54 – the book should be available at your local comic shop tomorrow!

- For those of you who may not have seen it before, Neil has re-upped his clip of Rutgers students breaking the world record for the most people wearing Ninja Turtles costumes – now in glorious HD – check it out here!

- Posted a big bunch o’ new toy pix from Playmates Toys – the links are on the Toys page.

- Stephan sent in the following link with info about a screening of the original TMNT flick: The Turtle Van blog

- In case you’re not on our mailing list and didn’t get the news, www.TMNT25.com is kicking the new year into high gear with a sweepstakes where you can win a limited edition bronze TMNT statue (valued at $1,500.00) and a trip to the Gang Green’s home turf, New York City! Head over to TMNT25.com’s Sweepstakes page for info on how to enter! Cowabountiful!

..>v<

..the Full Saki, Long Thong Saki-chan ..

the puns could go on, but regarding the ‘Thonged’ or  “PANTLESS” <b>Shredder</b> from the current TMNT 25 reissue line ,my friend <i>Steph</i> posed a fun question to <i>Playmates’</i> customer service.
..

Courtsey of <a href=”http://theturtlevan.blogspot.com” target=”blank”>Stephan</a> ::

“Gooooood Afternoon Paula,You may or may not know by now that I publish a Ninja Turtle blog http://www.theturtlevan.com that focuses on TMNT toys and current events.
Recently we have noticed that the prototype shot of shredder on the back of the 25th anniversary boxes seems to be…missing his pants. A number of people in the community are curious if this error was corrected before the manufacturing of the final product (assuming said manufacturing has begun). So I was wondering if you could confirm the status of this error in the final product. Either way, people are excited. Some people are even planning on purchasing the shredder reissue BECAUSE they hope that the error is present
Thanks!
Stephan ..

So She Sent Me:

<b>Hi Stephan, sorry about the picture on the back. You guys don’t miss a thing, the figures will of course have the black pants on them. This may be happy news or sad news depending on who you are…but sorry kids, Shredder will have his pants on.</b>

“No Paula, we don’t
Thank You to Paula for being a good sport! And sorry pantless supporters…Shredder will be putting on his pants before coming to town. ”

..more from Steph regarding NECA’s several months of silence regarding future NECA/TMNT figures. .. :

My Letter To NECA
Good Afternoon,
My name is Stephan Reese, I own and run http://www.theturtlevan.com, a blog focused on TMNT toys and current events.

What this letter is NOT is any kind of threat or accusation. We as a community love your toys, and would like them to continue. We wait eagerly each day for even a whisper from the NECA camp. So please, for the sake of the fans, take a moment to give us some answers.

Yours,
Stephan Reese
http://www.theturtlevan.com

..>v<

**PLEASE CLICK HERE !! **

alternate viewing on :

FlickR @ http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3110/3214881055_601c5c277c_o.jpg

DA @ http://tokka.deviantart.com/art/Mortu-s-Prisoner-110310131

**

News round – up in a bit, need to catch up on some rest first.

Been a BIG, Busy WEEK !!