-->> .. OK ..the end of '07 had me leavin' gaps in the NEWS. But that's what a 'Round*Up' is for right ?? Let's catch up on the latest bits and bites of TURTLE BUZZ !! ::


* * *



-->> ..made special by E.T. for Panel to Panel





- Super cool stuff from Roseangelo ..





Saliendo De Sus Caparazones



In addition to being a collector of obscure TMNT items, I'm also a bit of a tech geek. This means I ask for things like USB turntables for Christmas. And, having received such an item, I have now used my basic audio editing skillz to record the LP of the Spanish translation of the Coming Out of Their Shells Tour to MP3.


As such, I am offering these files for download for a limited time. You can download the album here, but the download link will expire after 7 days or 100 downloads, whichever comes first. Grab 'em while they're there! **Click here for the Download link.. **


NOTE:: ** The link is still up and working as i post this..but you may want to download the music as quickly as possible as it is past Rose's expiration date !!
Get it while it's hot !!





- Rose : "Mini Mutants Playsets Now Shipping ..The TMNT Mini Mutants playsets are now shipping and have been spotted at Toys R Us for $19.99. Each playset comes with two exclusive Mini Mutants figures.


Pictured to the left are Leo's Ninja Dojo (with Leonardo and Shredder figures) and Raph's Iron Pumpin' Gym (with Raphael and General Mono figures).


Also available are Don's Secret Survelliance Lab (with Donatello and Bigfoot figures) and Mike's Kickin' Crash Pad (with Michaelangelo and Foot figures). **Click for more info ..


((Mutations figs are also kreepin' onto pegs and stores all over the past couple weeks. Keep a lookout !! ~t))





Rose: Tales of the TMNT Vol. 1 Treasury Edition shipped to comic shops this past Wednesday. To the left you can see the exclusive bookplate that is tipped-in to all copies of the book ordered and shipped from PanelToPanel.net, while supplies last.


You can order from Panel to Panel here, or you can check out your local comic shop or order directly from Mirage Studios at NinjaTurtles.com. **Click for more info ..





- Rose :Playmates is sponsoring a new "Code Green" sweepstakes in partnership with 4Kids.tv. Game cards are available in the new Alien Hunters and Mutations action figures. There are eight different cards.. ,each of which has a code on the back redeemable at 4Kids.tv/codegreen. **Click here for more .. and pix of all 8 cards !!


To receive a free game card, send a postcard with your name, full address and phone number postmarked by May 30, 2008 to:


TMNT Code Green Sweepstakes


P.O. Box 928


New York, NY 10159-0928


Must be age 3-17 and a resident of the United States to win.










- DVD update courtesy of **TV Shows on DVD.. ::


"A couple of weeks ago we reported that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Season 2, Part 1 is coming to DVD. The 2-disc set (featuring the first 12 episodes from the second season of the 2003 series) was first known about thanks to a pre-order listing at Amazon, which shows an incorrect street date of Monday, February 18th for this release.



Funimation has confirmed that the correct ship date for this product is Tuesday, February 19th, a fact that can now be seen at Navarre's web site listing (Navarre Corporation is the owner of Funimation Productions). Cost is $16.98 SRP, but you can pre-order it at the above Amazon link for a discounted cost of $11.99 (and it will ship on the proper street date). .."

- Continuing Steve Murphy's story about the fate of 1995's TMNTA 'Forever War' story arc. ::




Long time gone, long time coming (part 4)






"Continued…





One of the ironies to this tale is that Archie decided that they wanted a more direct-sales oriented version of the TMNTA comic, while also keeping the book aimed at the child or parent who might casually pick the book up at a newsstand. By direct-sales they meant more adult, something that would appeal to the twenty-something fan boy and girl, while still appealing to a child.




Which, in my opinion, is exactly what TMNT Adventures was. (That’s another irony. Yet another and perhaps greater irony is that Archie’s tweak on TMNTA – the mini-series “The Year of the TURTLE” – tanked both in the direct sales market and at the newsstand, thus causing Archie to abandon the TMNT license.)




At any rate, the perfect storm of confluences (as described in the preceding post) came to a head – my head – and I decided to quit working on the title. Which also meant leaving Mirage, as there wasn’t much else going on with regards to licensed publications at the time (1995).




So I announced that I was thinking about quitting...




.. ..




(Pictured: the cover to the original TMNT Adventures #74, the fourth issue of The Forever War story arc. Pencils by Chris Allan. Inks by Eric Talbot.)" --Steve Murphy




**









"Long time gone, long time coming (part 5)




Continued…





[Warning: The rest of this story is rather pathetic.]




Having made the decision to quit I sought out Pete. (At that point Kevin wasn’t around Mirage much, mostly just popping in for meetings, his attention being focused on the Words and Pictures Museum and his publishing company, Tundra. Also, he and I had a serious falling out over Tundra’s rights to re-color and its disastrous publishing of the TMNTA series in trades… but that’s another story.)




And so I cornered Pete, tried as best as I could to explain all the various threads that led to my feelings about quitting, but it came out somewhat abridged and, I suppose, more to the point. Pete’s response was, “Well, I’m sorry you feel that way.” No discussion. He just left my office and that was that.




Now comes the most pathetic part.




I guess I was looking to be talked out of my decision, not have it be accepted. Certainly not so easily. I wasn’t looking to have anyone beg me to stay, but when no one seemed to care – and when no one thanked me for all the years of work and creative input – well, I sort of collapsed into myself, feeling even more unappreciated, alienated and disliked. I actually started to blame myself for the situation that I found myself in, a character trait/pattern that I wouldn’t recognize, understand and eradicate for another ten years (but that too is another story).




So that was it. No goodbyes, no fanfare. Just a sudden huge creative void, which made me feel even worse.




Since I had saved up some money I spent the next year or so traveling (Israel, Iceland, Alaska, Tobago, a few other places), sea kayaking, and dabbling in stage management and dinner theater. I would eventually seek out Pete for venture capital for a business plan that would consume the next five years of my life.




In 2001 I would return to Mirage... and the long, strange trip would continue.




(Pictured: the cover to the original TMNT Adventures #75, the fifth and final issue of The Forever War story arc. Pencils by Chris Allan. Inks by Eric Talbot.)"
-- [i]Steve Murphy [/i]





* *


Murphy also provides us with a preview of the first 6 unfinished pages to the story.



























Q & A about the Forever War ..




My recent posts about The Forever War prompted some questions from a few of you:

Will the FW trade be as long as the 5 originally planned issues?


Pretty much. We're planning on around 120 pages or so.


Was The Early Years story in TMNT Adventures 71-72 intentional filler?


The TEY story arc was filler created specifically to be used in the event of a deadline or scheduling problem and had been "on shelf" for a few months prior to its use.


Those first six pages... where do they fit in TMNTA continuity?


Vaguely but definitely at a point following the events of the Moon Eyes Saga.


Why was Raph in his black costume again?


Raph was entering the second of his "dark" phases, brought on by the events of the Moon Eyes story arc.


Do you plan on finishing off the art to the first two issues that was done years ago, or drawing it over?


Chris Allan wants to and will be drawing it over.


Are you going to use the original story, or update it?


Update it while retaining the sensibility of the original story line. .. ..








- Black & White NECA TMNT Variant preview courtesy of S.Murphy.





..still pending approval.






- More on the Mighty Mutanimals animated series that never was courtesy of Ryan Brown ..





























"Here is Krang in all his glory as he would have appeared in the Mighty Mutanimals animated television show.
Included also, are animation designs of Guzzler and Gunskull, two villainous assassins.
Krang looks a little slicker and not as bumpy" -- Ryan Brown





"At the time, I remember a rash of news stories that had to do with new home construction on old waste dumps.
Great idea, huh?
The toxic fumes were collecting in the houses and all kinds of creeping crud was seeping up out of the ground into people's basements and walls.


Well, with this inspiration, Plunger the plumber was born.


A discarded Archie Adventures idea gets thrown into the Mutanimals mix.


Quoting from the Mutanimals animation bible:


"A plumber, Mr. Bradley Martin, is exposed to a thick and putrid orange slime while working on a new housing development that has been built on an old toxic waste dump. The result is a mutated super crook.


Plunger's showerhead swivels to spray polluted toilet water, slime and ooze at his opponents. He drives an attack/assault plumber's van full of a variety pollution-creating equipment. Plunger is always cackling and giggling and his faucet nose is constantly dripping."


Okay.


I also re-colored Wyrm like the Archie Adventures one.


Just for fun."


-- Ryan Brown








"More Mighty Mutanimals designs from the animation bible.
Here we have Soakorr, heroic sea-horse warrior and friend of Ray Fillet.
Maligna's floating Hive-World is a deep-space starship and nest that is
as big as a planet. It houses the entirety of the adult Malignoid population."
-- Ryan Brown







"Above we have animation designs for that dynamic duo, Wingnut and Screwloose.

The Death's-head moth mutant is from Dimension X's Mothro Galaxy. His name is Lunawing and he has been ordered to Earth by Maligna, who plans on utilizing this looney, nocturnal nemesis to work the night shift in Earth's destruction. Lunawing has the ability, if he so chooses, to bring life or death by encasing a being within a cocoon
of sewn supernatural silk .



One interesting thing I've always heard from fans of Wingnut is how inspired they are by his story.


As a young bat boy Wingnut was keenly aware that he was different from other bat people physically.
Enduring painful teasing, rude remarks and name calling from the fellow bat children gave him a poor self-image.
But over time, and with the help of his prosthetic wings, he overcame his physical handicap to become a true superhero. This, it seems, is what has endeared a multitude of fans to the alien bat man.



All this from a comic book character. Cool."


-- Ryan Brown






"..Finally we have Leatherhead and Captain Mossback from the
animation bible.
One thing you might have noticed is the wrist band communicators on all the Mighty Mutanimals . This was a concept developed for the show strictly for merchandising purposes.


Children could wear them and push a button to hear all the different Mutanimals characters shout out their own particular catch phrases.


Whatever they might have been...



This brings to a close the posting of the pitch for an animated Mighty Mutanimals television show and what might have been.


It's been fun going through all this old stuff and I have to say it brings back loads of wonderful memories.


Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.



Only one last thing to say and that's...




Mighty Mutanimals R.I.P."


-- Ryan Brown










..more as i go ..hang on.. >v<