“Yesterday’s” Comic> Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (Image Comics)

Back in red.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1

Image Comics (June, 1996)

CREATORS: Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird

WRITER: Gary Carlson

PENCILER: Frank Fosco

INKER: Erik Larsen (interior assist: Chance Wolf)

LETTERER: Chris Eliopoulos

COVER COLORISTS: Reuben Rude & I.H.O.C.

EDITOR: Erik Larsen

The Turtles’ Eighteenth birthday is interrupted when cyborgs break into the Turtles’ lair, kidnapping Splinter and Donatello. Donnie manages to escape the helicopter, fate unknown. Drugged, Splinter tries to reach his sons through astral projection but is spotted by Pimiko, a ninja who is taking them to someone named Dragonlord. Messing with the remains of one of the cyborgs leads to part of Raphael’s face being blasted off.

What the hell is with this comic? This is definitely the 1990s. Raph’s face blown off (apparently Mikey is the only one in this continuity who won’t be seriously injured, but I think dated Savage Dragon’s daughter–somebody had a favorite Turtle), cyborgs who heal themselves even when they’re dead, and I bet the color version looks gorier. The black and white really doesn’t help anything as it makes it harder to tell the Turtles or the two cyborgs apart, made worse by my seeing a panel of this comic with Pimiko (in a gimp ninja costume? the hell, lady?) holding a drugged Splinter that was in color and looked far better than the comic in front of me. The story starts at the attack, and then when the copter takes off with its prisoners, THEN it flashes back to the start of the party, which feels like bad positioning to me.

In short this comic is a total mess. I can tell why this was the only issue I picked up and I’m adding it to the sale list because it’s totally not a series I want to read if THIS is how it starts.