Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics: The Works, Volume 1: Fresh & Delicious

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics: The Works #1

by Peter Laird, Kevin Eastman

The first seven issues of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series plus the Raphael Micro-Series issue are collected in this hardcover collection, all reproduced in new full-color!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Comics Manga, Superheroes, American, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

308 pages, Hardcover

First published May 7, 2013

About the author

Peter Alan Laird is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with writer and artist Kevin Eastman.

Reviews

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cowabunga!!!


PIZZA TO READ

Since many time ago, I wanted to read the original first run of comics by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I read many good comments and reviews about it, but since the original single comics were something too expensive to find and they didn't do any TPB since it was a very underground independent comic book series, I thought that I'd never being able to read it.

However, thankfully, IDW Publishing got right to reprint the original run, even adding color, and while I couldn't get the re-print single issues, finally I was able to get this amazing TPB, with a larger size format and with a beautiful cover made with PIZZA-LIKE CARDBOX hardcover.


TURTLE POWER

I have to be honest, I expected something different, thinking of this whole run of 7 issues collected in this first volume.

The first issue is amazing and certainly it deserves to be in any list of the best single issues ever made in the history of comic books. But, the rest of the run, I feel like the authors downtoned the violence of the premise that one gets in the first issue.

I mean, in the first issue, the turtles fight against ninjas, real flesh-and-blood ninjas, but in the rest of the series, they almost get to fight robots and aliens.

Also, the first issue is dramatically serious, but right in the second issue, you start to receive quite a dosis of humor, I am not a bitter man, hehe, and I know that the TMNT eventually become a children-oriented product but hey, I think that I would be able to get good old serious violence in at least the first run.

Also, another problem here, at least in the boundaries of the first run that it's what I read and I can evaluate, the main villain (you know who...) is beaten and he didn't return, seems to be dead, maybe not, who knows, at least he isn't seen again in the rest of issues collected here that they are like 20 issues.

So, you get a real impressive badass villain, in the first issue...

...and the rest of issues?

Well, you don't get any villain not even close of that same level of quality as the introductory bad guy (you know who...)

And the worst, is that while the first villain was a down-to-earth type of bad guy, the rest are a bunch of mad scientists, robots and aliens.

I know, the series is about a martial arts teacher rat and 4 ninja turtles, all of them irradiated with some kind of sci-fi chemical...

But I think that the series should keep the most down-to-earth possible, at least in the kind of threats and villains, to create a balance between the far-fetched premise with realistic challenges.

Still, the TPB is a gorgeous product made with passion for the fans (I love this edition!!!) and it's recommended for any comic book fan and/or fan of the TMNT.

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introduction:

Now, I have been a huge “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” fan ever since the 1980s animated series came out and I just had to check out every reincarnation of my favorite four turtles on television no matter what! So, when I heard about Mirage Comics’ original dark and gritty version of the turtles, I was a little skeptical about it since the 1980s animated series had pretty much cemented my opinion on what the turtles should be like (well, at least until the 2003 animated version came out, which was actually closer to the original Mirage Comics). So, imagine my surprise when I found out that IDW comics was putting out the original Mirage Comics version of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” into a hardback collection and I was lucky enough to pick it up!

What is this story about?

This collection contains the first seven issues including the one shot “Raphael Micro-Series,” of the original “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” series written and illustrated by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. In this collection, we find out the back story about how the four turtles (Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello) got mutated and what caused their mutation, see them go face to face with the threatening Shredder, meet up with April O’Neil and Casey Jones and end up facing the Triceratons!

What I loved about this story:

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s writing: Wow! This graphic novel was just so ASTONISHING to read! Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s writing was just fantastic in this graphic novel as all the characters were interesting and intense to read! I loved the way that Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird really developed each character, especially Raphael as they explore Raphael’s massive problems with his temper and how he tries to control his temper, especially in his one shot story where he meets up with Casey Jones. I also loved the fact that we actually learn about both the turtles and Master Splinter’s background histories as I really wanted to know how the turtles and Splinter were mutated in the first place and how Master Splinter was able to learn the ways of the ninja through his former owner, Hamato Yoshi. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the fact that I loved the dark and gritty tone of this graphic novel since I grew up with the 1980s animated series, which was much lighter and softer in tone. Since I have always loved seeing different interpretations of my favorite stories (as long as they are written well), I did not have a problem with the dark and gritty tone of this graphic novel and I just loved the complex storytelling that was going on in this collection.

The artwork: Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s artwork was beyond fantastic and vibrant as all the characters really stood out in this collection. I especially loved the fact that IDW comics decided to give out the colorized version of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s original work on “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” as they were originally in black and white colorings. It made the artwork stand out even more and the action scenes, such as various explosions and the turtles slicing their foes with their weapons, even more intense! I was actually quite surprised to see that the turtles had the same colored bandanas (all of them are red in this case) in this collection since I was so used to seeing them having different colored bandanas that would help us tell them apart (such as Michelangelo having an orange bandana, Leonardo having a blue bandana, Donatello having a purple bandana and Raphael having a red bandana) and I will admit that I got a little confused about which turtle was which and I had to go by the weapons that they are using to tell them apart from each other. I also loved how dark and gritty the artwork was as they usually show the turtles looking so menacing whenever they fight the bad guys and I really loved that edgy feeling I get from the artwork!



What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who had grown up watching the original 1980s animated series, you might be a bit put off by how dark and gritty this series is. To be honest, I was not really shocked at how dark and gritty this collection was since I was already told by other “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” fans that there were comic books made about the turtles before the 1980s animated series came out and they were much darker and edgier than what we saw in the 1980s animated series. To add to that, this collections contains some blood, especially with the Ninja turtles cutting through their enemies with their weapons and some language, such as uttering the “d” word and the “a” word a couple of times.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, if you are trying to find Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s original work on the fantastic “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” franchise, then you just hit the jackpot with this collection called “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics: The Works Volume One!” Fans of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” can rejoice at finding the original work in all its former glory in this collection!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

[Kačaba · Rating 4 out of 5]

U všech duší mých chlupatých předků... bylo to moc fajn!

Jsme želví ninjové...
...tvrdě udeříme a pak se rozplyneme...
...do TMY!

(A na rozloučenou si polib prdel!)

[Michal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nedávno sa mi do rúk dostalo niečo, čo by som v minulosti nikdy nečakal, ale nakoniec stalo sa, čo sa stalo a v rukách mi vďaka ľuďom z Comics Centra skončili Želvy Ninja! Pustil som sa teda do čítania komiksovej podoby populárneho detského seriálu... Ale počkať! Ono to vôbec nevyzerá ako komiks pre deti, ono to ani pre deti nebolo myslené!


viac na: http://overdeadbooks.blogspot.cz/2015...

[Ondra Král · Rating 4 out of 5]

Příjemné akční béčko, které si bere na paškál všemožná klišé tehdejšího mainstreamu (daredevilovští ninjové, automobilové honičky, šílení záporáci se svými monology a další). Při čtení jsem měl porád pocit deja vu, a pak mi došlo, jak moc se komiksem inspiroval seriál z roku 2003.

Želvy nezklamaly a splnily má očekávání. Těším se na dvojku!

[Bardiya Ghasemzadeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always liked tmnt but never got around to reading the original series, in part due to its b&w nature, so finding this edition for a reasonable price was an instant buy for me.
Admittedly a portion of the artwork would certainly look better in black and white, and the colouring is far from perfect. But what surprised me the most was how engaging the story itself was.
This is by no means a literary masterpiece, and the dialogue is a little rough around the edges at points. But I’d be lying if I pretended to not love every single page of it.
In fact this may now be my favourite tmnt comic that I have read.
All this is to say I greatly underestimated Eastman & Laird, and am very eagerly awaiting the time when I run into another volume from this series.

[Travis Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally tubular. Not for purists, as the original comics came black and white, but I, growing up on the 90s animated commercial explosion, never knew the original ‘til decades later. Still, the color palletes used in this full-color reproduction are worthy of the muted grime of TMNTs 80s noir beginnings—and holy shells these turtles were edgy. It’s not the stories that are mondo bodacious, but the art and scene pacing that do it; the less dialogue the better, and toward the end of the collection when the dialogue falls heavy per page, so do my eyelids.

[Kate Dostálová · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chutné menu! Tříska vypráví Leonardovi, Michelangelovi, Donatellovi a Rafaelovi o tom, co se stalo kdysi dávno v Japonsku, jak se dostal do New Yorku a jak potkal malé želváky, ještě předtím než se vůbec naučili mluvit a jíst pizzu. Objeví se také Trhač a jeho minulost. V druhé části se jeden vědec se svou asistentkou snaží o používání svých robotických myšilovů, to nezní pro Třísku úplně nejlíp. A poslední příběh je věnován jen a jen Rafaelovi.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good story. A little more violent than I was expecting. Not for kids.

[Exo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's not to love about this series. Vibrant colors. Kickass fights. Loveable characters. Glorious violence! Tmnt is their true form.

[Al Capwned · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I didn't expect the original TMNT series to be THAT good (at least in the beginning). A pleasant surprise.

[Veronika Steff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nečekala jsem, že původní Želvy vyšli z takového dospěláckého komiksu: https://milyctenarskydenicku.blogspot...

[Eliška Vyhnánková · Rating 4 out of 5]

Myslíte si, že jste na Želvy Ninja příliš staří? V tom případě budete asi přibližně můj ročník - ten, který na jejich televizní animované verzi vyrostl. Jasně, v MHD jsem se s nimi cítila trochu nepatřičně, ale pomrkávání těch, kteří to cítí stejně, rozhodně občas stálo za to :) Nenechte se ošálit, původní komiks je dospělácká záležitost. A dobrá! A ještě ke všemu s tím vším nostalgickým nádechem. Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo a Rafael v té nejlepší formě, s mistrem Třískou a April za zády. Bude jich víc, na což se nesmírně těším.

[Milan Pohl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seznámení s prapočátky TMNT (které jsem v dětství žral asi jako každý příslušník mojí generace) bylo velmi, velmi zajímavé, mimo jiné díky řadě odlišností od pozdějšího TV seriálu. Samotné příběhy se pohybují někde v polovině cesty mezi záměrným parodováním béčkových klišé a zřejmě poněkud méně záměrným zabředáním do téhož. Je to jednoznačné guilty pleasure, ale nelze si ho neužít, k čemuž přispívá i skvěle vypravené české vydání.

[Marek Osvald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hahahá! Hype nelhal. Želvy jsou třeskutá zábava. Syrová, ne moc pěkná kresba komiksu pěkně sedí a vlastně jsem i rád, že se želví nindžáci dočkali koloringu. Akorát se přiznám, že nemám tak úplně pocit, že by šlo o nějakou obrovskou žánrovou parodii. Ano, narážky v komiksu samozřejmě jsou (hlavně na Daredevila), ale buď se jedná o tak laskavý humor, že jde vlastně o popkulturní narážky, nebo parodie za ty roky pěkně vyčpěla. Do dalších dílů jdu určitě.

[Radynka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ach, to je nostalgie! Ale je trochu nepříjemný zjistit, že želvák, na kterýho jste si jako malí hráli, je ve skutečnosti agresivní a neumí se ovládat :D No, máme mnoho společného. :D
A přestože jsem na začátku měla pochybnosti, jestli se mi to bude líbit, tak teď se nemůžu dočkat září :)

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cowabunga dude this is totally awesome bind up up the first few original tmnt comis

[Crystal Caldwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good storylines and very interesting to see tge original few TMNT stories and their personalities. I'm glad I got the color one. I'm sure the b&w one is great, but I love the coloring.

[Petr Čapek · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.schefikuvblog.eu/kevin-eas...

[Variaciones Enrojo]

Tomo 1 de Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics: The Works.

[Denisa (lapetitedeny) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tohle bylo bezva! ^^ A fakt strašně žeru to zpracování alá "pizza menu"! :D