Monday, February 23, 2015

Peter Laird vs. Dave Sim, preserved in amber


So recently a bunch of coincidences lined up in my favor.

A while ago, I was reading the letters page of TMNT (Vol. 4) #9 before writing my review.  There, I noticed Laird's first mention of "The Paradox of Chudnovsky", the story that was meant to replace TMNT (Vol. 1) #8 in Mirage continuity.

Then yesterday, I was browsing some scans of Dave Sim's Cerebus comic that someone posted on an image board.  I just happened to notice a photo of Eastman and Laird in one of the letters page thumbnails and when I read it, low and behold, it was Sim's open letter to Laird re; the publishing rights to TMNT #8.  Neat!

And just now, while I was reading through the letters page of TMNT (Vol. 4) #16 before writing my review, guess what?  Laird's response to Sim's open letter!

So you can read the whole exchange here, added to my review of "The Paradox of Chudnovski".

It's a bit funny in hindsight; Laird swears on a stack of Bibles that TMNT #8 will be stricken from the record and "The Paradox of Chudnovski" is the new canon.  And looking down from the year 2015, we know that he actually wound up reprinting TMNT #8 and shelving his substitute story.

Anyhow, while you're enjoying that, I'm going to finish up my review of TMNT Volume 4 #16.