Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 40th Anniversary Comics Celebration―The Deluxe Edition

by Kevin Eastman (Writer/Illustrator), Edgar Allan Poe (Writer), Jim Lawson (Writer/Illustrator/Letterer)

The TMNT turn 40! Revisit some of their greatest eras with stories told by some of the many creators of the page and screen who made each iteration of the Turtles so special!

This all-new anthology takes a look all the way back to the start, celebrating that initial spark of creativity from Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, and then works its way through the next four decades, highlighting fan-favorite touchstones from comic books and beyond. Includes a new story and a full art gallery.

Kevin Eastman leads a host of incredible talent who are contributing new stories and pinups from a gaggle of legendary TMNT contributors, including Jim Lawson, Tristan Jones and Paul Harmon, Ronda Pattison and Pablo Tunica, Tom Waltz and Michael Dialynas, Ciro Nieli, Lloyd Goldfine with Khary Randolph and Emilio Lopez, Andy Suriano, Chris Allan and many more, all hearkening back to the era of TMNT they are best known for, ranging from the initial Mirage series through the 1990s and up until now, as well as the Tales of TMNT and Rise of the TMNT.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Comic Book, Science Fiction

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 10, 2024

About the author

Kevin B. Eastman is an American comic book artist, co-creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

(B) 75% | More than Satisfactory
Notes: Paltry plots (some diddly-squat), more set on celebration, but too intertwined with storylines from various iterations.

*Progress updates: Pages 3-26 ◦ Pages 27-49 ◦ Pages 50-73

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geburtstagausgabe, anthologie Sammlung vieler kurzer Stories in allen möglichen Zeichen und Zeitvarianten der TMNT. Tolle Sammlung, die Spaß macht.

[Benji Glaab · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

This was a fun short story collection that is full of great art and you can sense the creators having fun with every page. These turtles are still be able to bring out joy in me every time and there is no stopping these guys I don't think I have seen the franchise this hot since the early 90's when I sported numerous TMNT clothing, bedding set and a literal Turtles TV. Dinner tray which was a product of the Era in 2 ways

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun whirlwind tour through storytelling eras and art styles for fans of the Heroes in a Halfshell.

[Viktor Logi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bunch of short stories from the various eras of TMNT from comics to cartoons.
Some stories were more interesting than others, some poignant, some silly but it was overall a fun, short read for anyone who likes the turtles!
Cowabunga Dudes! 🐢🐢🐢🐢

4☆

[Vladimir Veškovac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skroz simpatično.

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

An adequately entertaining anniversary anthology that takes us on a tour of various TMNT continuities, from the original Mirage comics through Rise of the TMNT (plus a few unexpected side trips like the Image continuity). Several of the stories act as epilogues to the last stories in those continuities, which hopefully gives fans of those eras some closure. (B)

[Kyle Best · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly wonderful and heart warming to see the 2003 TMNT again after so long. Many touching stories honouring the rich and wonderful TMNT’s past

[Vijay Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

So great to see all these iterations of the TMNT.

The April Casey meet-cute was well…cute, but “Father’s Day” got to me.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one-shot celebrates the many comic book and animated interpretations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, including TMNT Adventures. Issue 45 of that series, which was at least initially inspired by the 1987 cartoon, served as my gateway to the comics medium. After picking it up from grocery store spinner rack, I started a lifelong obsession with floppy books featuring words and pictures. This nostalgic love means I particularly enjoyed the Chris Allan and Ken Mitchroney contributions to the this anniversary through a short story and a pinup respectively. Both fit the spirit of that initial series that mesmerized me as a kid.

The book also sports a great and previously unused cover image from master co-creators Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman. The latter uses Edgar Allan Poe’s “Alone” to connect his initial co-creation to The Last Ronin series. This and so much more make for a great celebration.

[LatinaBunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good short comics. Wished it was longer…

Very good collection of very short little comics for various iterations of TMNT. A few father (Splinter)-oriented ones were the ones that tugged at my heartstrings the most.

Cool to see the different tiny bits of the various turtle universes.

Only issue that some comics felt too short, and that there should be more comics or longer ones.

Still, it’s a nice small bite sized look into the different turtles and to see the different art styles. :)

[Spayde · Rating 5 out of 5]

40 Years of Teenage Mutants!

A fantastic collection of short stories paying tribute to the world of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The artwork is stunning and easy to follow, while the stories are engaging and enjoyable. Personally, the "Father's Day" story stood out as the best for me, personaly.

The downside is that some familiarity with past and current work for TMNT series is needed, as certain stories, like the IDW one, contain potential spoilers.

[Victoria Timpanaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great anniversary anthology book from IDW like the Godzilla one I read over the summer. This collection of short stories celebrating 40 years of the turtles is a fun read for fans that embraces all the incarnations from comics to cartoon shows and movies too. The bonus art gallery in this deluxe hardcover edition is well worth the cover price. I highly recommend to fans, especially those who remember most of those 40 years.

[Tiffany Alford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice Tribute to TMNT

Overall, this was a nice tribute to the Ninja turtle franchise. My only compliant is that the tribute to the 2012 Ninja turtles seemed very thoughtless and lack the heart that the other stories in this comic had. I wish more depth would have been put into the 2012 story.

[César Pozo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm new to the mythos of the TMNT and this seemed like a great overview about the whole spectrum of stories and adventures that these brothers have lived so far. And the art for the stories and covers is 🤌🤌💯

Tbh I was hoping to see the other villains I've heard about, but this seemed to focus on the dynamic of the brothers which I understand. This book is a celebration about them after all!

[Janine Islam · Rating 3 out of 5]

variable quality

As to be expected with multiple artists and writers, the quality was variable. Some were worse than popular fanfics and some better. I’m looking forward to some of the future comics based on this.

[Christoph Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got two covers because why not?

I liked many of the stories, some not so much, mostly because they were to interwoven in different stories/timelines. I really enjoyed the ones that can stand on their own.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed seeing this different iterations again, but their stories should have been longer. Should have been a thicker book so that some of these stories would have more of a staying power than they did.

[Bevan Boychuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s an anthology of short stories. Some are better than others. But all of the art styles from all of the different eras are fun

[Norrin Shearer · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most enjoyable comics I’ve read in a while. It’s an absolute celebration of all things turtles and every story inside is a banger. Not a single miss. Loved it.

[Cristhian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Father's Day is one of the best short stories in comics for 2024. Period.

[Leslie Carnahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really fun! Lots of cool short stories by different artists and writers. A perfect anniversary gift to us turtles fans.

[Cyril · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5
"stories" are too short to be anything but collection of art styles. wasted potential.

[Gold223 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great little assortment of the different eras of Ninja Turtles comics, my personal favorite was the 2003 version and for once I didn’t mind Tom Waltz’s writing.

[MannyLikesPie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got cover e, so amazing

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tribute to 40 years of tales

[Andrijana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid compilation of stories and various drawing styles throughout the years. The "father's day" one was definitely my fav.

[Pug · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of these basically sucked, and some of them seriously sucked.

But I do love me some Splinter: "And how could I have imagined that most incredible transformation of all?! Here I speak not of mutation... but of my sons. Never has there been a father prouder of his children."

Awww, tugs at the heart strings!

[Zian B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this comic specifically because there is a variant cover that has all (or if not all then most) of the villains from the 2003 animated TMNT series. I adored that show and knew I had to own that comic variant cover the moment I saw it.
After actually reading through the comic, it was really fascinating seeing the varying art styles and each of the different depictions of the turtles. While I didn’t understand most of the stories, since I’m only familiar with the 2003 TMNT show, all of them were very enjoyable to read.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know that this is any longer than the regular edition as far as actual comics though. It does collect the 40 different covers but the content of the anthology is still only about 100 pages. I did like how they got most of the creators from all of the different iterations of the Turtles to return for stories. The stories themselves are all pretty short and inconsequential. The idea to bring all of these creative teams back though was a good one.