Published by: Mirage Licensing
Publication date: Spring, 2003
Art: Michael Dooney (TMNT), Dan Berger (characters), Eric
Talbot (vehicles), Dario Brizuela (headquarters), 4Kids production staff
(“other”)
Coloring: Eric Talbot
Design: A.C. Farley
Text: 4Kids production staff and Steve Murphy
Editor-in-chief: Gary Richardson
Contents:
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
Leonardo
Michelangelo
Donatello
Raphael
Allies:
Master Splinter
April O’Neil
Casey Jones
The Sewer Lair
TMNT Vehicles:
Sewer Slider
Shell Cycle
Battle Shell
Foot Headquarters
The Foot Clan:
Shredder
Hun
Dr. Baxter Stockman
The Foot:
The Tech Division
The Ninja Division
The Elite Guard
The Mystic Division
The Purple Dragon Gang
Turtle Tips:
*There was no Vol. 2, at least so far as I know.
*This book was available only in Toys “R” Us stores. It also came with a set of 4 TMNT trading
cards from Fleer.
Review:
Hey, here’s one of those things I forgot I even owned. Digging through my long boxes for some
peculiar odds and ends, this little promotional comic (that cost $2 at retail)
popped up with the other miscellaneous publications.
Based on the 4Kids TMNT cartoon from 2003, this
sourcebook is a neat little thing and I do wish they had made more of
them (DID they make more of them? I can’t
find any info). It isn’t nearly as meaty
as Archie’s TMNT Mutant Universe Sourcebooks, but it does cover all the basics
from the first season of the 4Kids cartoon and the write-ups are generally
pretty informative (though restricted to bios and lacking any technical data).
I imagine the text was taken mostly from the series production bible
with additional flourish by Steve Murphy (the credits imply as much). The biographies summarize the basics of the
characters, though neglect any sort of in-depth life stories; the show was just
getting started, after all (for example, Shredder’s write-up hints that he’s
more than he seems, but doesn’t elaborate).
On a few occasions, the bios seem at a loss to find
anything noteworthy to say about a character.
I think the worst is Donatello’s bio, almost a third of which is a generic
retelling of the TMNT’s origin while the remainder is an exercise in the
different ways one can word “does machines”.
Splinter’s write-up also has an unfortunate spelling error, identifying
his previous owner as “Hamoto Yoshi”.
And because Steve Murphy cannot help himself, he manages to slip some public
service announcements into a couple of the entries. Apparently, the Shell Cycle has “anti-pollution
exhaust pipes” and the members of the Purple Dragons are only in a gang because
they’re too stupid to know that gangs are totally uncool and you should avoid
them, kids.
There are a few nuggets of characterization present in
these write-ups that don’t seem to have found their way into the actual
show. Michelangelo’s bio is full of this
stuff. Did you know that he’s the most
naturally skilled athlete of all the Turtles?
His lack of training discipline offsets that talent, however, which is
why he only levels out to “average” amongst his brothers. He also apparently loves music and mastered
playing the guitar with only three fingers (THAT never showed up in the
cartoon). April’s 23, in case you were
curious. And apparently, the Mousers
were originally intended to be used to rescue people trapped in wrecks or under
fallen debris, hence their tunneling powers and prodigious jaws. I guess by the time the cartoon got around,
their function was rewritten into being rat-catchers.
At only 15 pages (16 if you count the credits page), it
was reasonably priced at $2, I suppose. And
hey, a sheet of uncut trading cards, if you’re into that stuff. As a sourcebook, it could have been much
better, but it’s clear that this book was aimed more at little kids and needed
to keep the info uncluttered and brisk.
You get to see all the Mirage guys drawing in the 4Kids style with
credits as to who did what (I knew Dooney designed the Turtles for that show,
but wasn’t aware of Berger’s, Farley’s, Talbot’s and Brizuela’s contributions
to the design work), so even I found it somewhat informative and insightful.
Grade: I dunno… I don’t really grade sourcebooks.
