Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

What does your favourite superheroes' colors tell the audience about their personalities? Using the same color theory people use to group-think a corporate logo, or paint their room, we've been exploring what it means to superhero comics. Last time we mentioned that The Invisible Woman's blue and white is wise, and elemental, but what does invisible mean as a color? The Wasp's one constant through her many costume changes has been her transparent, flighty wings. And while Kitty Pryde, who also can't seem to settle on a costumes (or a name), isn't transparent as a color, she does actually pass through things.

As far as opening lines go, "This is bad, right? Bebop and Rocksteady just traveled through time to who knows where!" is probably one of the more ominous starts that a comic has ever had. I mean, really, considering those two dudes can't even walk into a building without bringing the whole thing down around their heads, giving them access to the time stream can only be bad. For the people in that universe, I mean. For those of us here in this dimension who are reading the comic, we're in for a treat as Ben Bates, Dustin Weaver, Sophie Campbell, Giannis Milonogiannis and Bill Crabtree chronicle the second stop on the destructive duo's trip through the time stream: A journey back to the distant past of the year 2000 (and another journey back to dinosaur times for a team-up with the demonic master of the Cretaceous, Savanti Romero! Check out a preview below!

If there are two things I find fascinating in the world of comic books, it's bizarre crossovers and Archie comics where everything turns weirdly serious. They're the things I look for when I hit the back issue boxes at conventions, and while I usually have to settle for getting those two fixes separately from stuff like those Life WIth Archie comics from the '70s where Betty gets attacked by a bear, every now and then, I'll find something that fits both. And every now and then, it's even weirder than I expect. Case in point: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Meet Archie, in which... well, you can probably guess what happens just from that title. What you might not guess, though, is that it involves a kidnapping at gunpoint and a giant floating interdimensional cow head.

Platinum Games and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: a company and a property that should be a match made in heaven. Platinum has made a name for itself with fast paced, high adrenaline action games and Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo perfectly fit that mold being a fearsome fighting team and all. Why then, as I sit through Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan, does this marriage made in heaven bore the hell out of me?

Here’s a question: Why do the Ninja Turtles wear masks? What could they possibly have to hide? Are they worried people will discover their secret identities as mutant turtles who work as, like, electricians or tech support?

You could probably be forgiven for thinking that Sideshow's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "Premium Art Print" wasn't that big a deal. I mean, given that Sideshow is mostly known for their high-end action figures and collectibles, I spent the first few minutes after I saw this thing wondering why they were charging a hundred bucks for a photograph of a bunch of statues. But then I realized that it's not a photo at all, and is actually a brand new piece of art by the truly amazing Paolo Rivera, printed from an original oil painting. Check it out below!

Where were you on World Turtle Day 2016? That is not a sentence I expected to type out in my lifetime, but I'll remember where I was for one reason. Well okay, I'll remember where I was because I'm in the same place I am every Monday --- plastered in front of my computer writing about games and toys --- but in this case, I'll remember specifically because it was the day NECA announced a new set of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles based on the 1989 arcade classic. Many die-hard TMNT fans might remember NECA once had a go at the Turtles just about eight years ago. The figures were based on the Mirage Comics incarnations, and while a whole line of figures was planned, only the Turtles and the Mousers ever saw the light of day. There were even black and white variants made to mimic the appearance of the original comic art, which in turn inspired a number of imitators, but that was the last anyone saw of NECA's Turtles. Now, ahead of San Diego Comic-Con 2016, NECA's at it again, bringing those tubular heroes to life in one of the company's signature lines, the Classic Video Game Apperance series.

With a new movie on the horizon, it should come as no surprise that there are some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes Mega Blok sets coming out to tie into the release. Though some have already started hitting stores, Mattel and Mega Block have officially announced a handful of upcoming building sets and micro action figures that will see the existing TMNT line expand with new vehicles, playsets and characters. Some of the smaller sets are certainly nice, and I particularly like the modest TMNT Party Van that's hitting shelves as we speak. However, it's the bigger movie-related sets that currently have my attention. While the Battle Truck and Jungle Takedown sets won't be available for a few months, I'm already eyeing up some shelf space in my office.

In all honesty, the main thing that's going on here isn't that the New York Knicks' own Carmelo Anthony is appearing in a special issue of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures comic where he ends up being mutated by the Foot Clan, even if that's what we're here to talk about today. No, for me at least, the big thing here is that somehow, this is not a thing that happens all the time. I mean, really! The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been around since 1984. You'd think that over the past 32 years, celebrities would be lining up around the block to team up with them! But then, maybe it's not that they don't want to. Maybe the Turtles have standards so high that you need to be the leading scorer on the United States Olympic Basketball team to get to hang out with Michelangelo. Either way, it's happening now, and you can check out a preview!

Not long ago it was rumored that SNL vet Fred Armisen would be the voice of Krang in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (they really couldn’t go with a shorter title there, huh?). We’ve seen the beloved brainy villain in the trailers for the sequels, but we haven’t heard him speak just yet — and there may be a reason for that, as Armisen has apparently been replaced.