“Yesterday’s” Comic> Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1

“No, I can’t see my house from here. I live in a sewer!”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1

Mirage Studios (May, 1984, but I’m using the Free Comic Book Day reprint from May, 2009)

WRITERS/ARTISTS/CREATORS: Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird

FCBD DESIGN: Eric Talbot

FCBD MANAGING EDITOR: Dan Berger

FCBD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Peter Laird

includes intros by Eastman and Laird

After succeeding in battle against the Purple Dragons street gang, as shown in an old Friday Night Fights, four humanoid turtles, each masters of ninjitsu, return to their master, a mutant rat named Splinter. He tells them their origin, beginning with Splinter’s pre-mutant days as the pet of ninja master Hamato Yoshi of the Foot Clan. He and his rival Oroku Nagi competed for the love of Tang Shen, but her heart was always with Yoshi. The jealous Nagi attacks her and in his rage, Yoshi beats Nagi to death. Rather than commit ritual for killing a fellow clan member, Yoshi flees with Shen to New York while back in Japan the Foot use the revenge-driven anger of Nagi’s brother, Oroku Saki, to become their greatest warrior and nearly 15 years later their agent in New York. Saki, now calling himself “The Shredder”, uses the opportunity to get his revenge, with only Splinter surviving. This is a long story, folks, so the summary needs a second paragraph.

Some time later, Splinter sees a daredevil boy rescue an old man from being run over only to be hit by a canister of ooze. The canister also knocks a glass jar with four baby turtles into the sewer. Splinter decides to care for the turtles and also ends up in the ooze, which turns them into humanoids. Splinter trains the four turtles in ninjitsu, and gives them names based on an old art book he comes across. Thus he requests that Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael get revenge on behalf of his master. The Turtles confront the Foot and defeat them, but though weakened still takes on the Shredder and defeats him. Leonardo offers his sword to Saki for seppuku but instead tries to kill all of them with a thermite grenade, Donatello barely managing to knock the villain over the side of the building so that only he explodes. They have taken revenge on behalf of their mentor’s late master.

What they got right: This was intended to be a one-shot story, so killing off the Shredder (who would get better) isn’t the nightmare mistake anyone who grew up on the various incarnations after this would see it as. The Turtles are each introduced well and for a couple of rookies the fights aren’t too bad. The story is a sort of love letter to Jack Kirby and Frank Miller, who get acknowledged in the early pages, so using Daredevil and his notorious ninja foes The Hand as part of their story reflect that.

What they got wrong: Though I am curious how the same ooze that gave Matt Murdock his “radar sense” in place of his eyesight would also cause a rat and four baby turtles to mutate into humanoids but it’s not explicitly stated that this is the same boy. It’s an homage and they probably didn’t think very far into it. We also don’t see much of the individual Turtles’ personalities, just that each has a preferred weapon. It’s very rough but it is an indie comic from 1984. Kind of a grading curve involved there.

What I think overall: I can see why this comic did so well that more printings and the start of a full-on comic studio came out of it. In the previous post I broke out a video going over the history of Eastman and Laird’s putting the comics together and their various runs. Go watch it if you haven’t seen it. It’s quite fascinating. I look forward to re-reading and re-reviewing or reviewing for the first time this original run.