Interview with TMNT writer Landry Walker

Today I had the opportunity to interview Landry Q. Walker, writer for IDW's TMNT New Animated Adventures and Panini's TMNT Magazine.  I also picked his brain about his creator owned series at Image, Danger Club.

I'd recommend reading the whole thing, but if TMNT insight is what you're after, just scroll down until you see the Turtle pics.

Landy's written a bunch of great books in the past (I was especially fond of Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade) and we wish him well on his future projects!

Tristan Jones on the cancelled Mirage Universe Sourcebook

The sudden and unanticipated Nickelodeon/Viacom buy-out of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise from Peter Laird and Mirage Studios resulted in a number of Turtle projects meeting the chopping block for legal reasons. Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) was already on the way out even before the buy-out occurred, but other projects in the planning stages met an untimely end, such as "The Forever War", Stephen Murphy and Chris Allan’s belated conclusion to the TMNT Adventures series, or future collected volumes of Mirage’s TMNT (Vol. 1) series.

The only cancelled project to reach solicitation stages before the buy-out, however, was the enigmatic “Mirage Universe Sourcebook”. A trade paperback-sized guidebook priced at $24.95, the solicits read, “At last, an official sourcebook to the major characters that have appeared in the pages of Mirage Studios’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books since the birth of the TMNT in 1984!”



The book also would have featured a flip cover by Peter Laird (Turtles on the front, Shredder on the back) and an exclusive book plate by Dan Berger for anyone who preordered the sourcebook from Panel 2 Panel.

The title and the summary brought back memories of Archie’s TMNT Adventures Mutant Universe Sourcebook series, but other than those vague notions, the contents of the volume have remained a mystery. As with many titles and projects that have been axed over the years, the unobtainable quality has cursed it with a level of hype and reputation that may not accurately reflect what the tome might have actually contained. Prowl the TMNT message boards and you’ll find melancholy fans citing how the trade would have “streamlined” Mirage continuity, tying together loose ends from across volumes and canonizing guest stories once thought lost to legal issues decades ago. On the other end of the spectrum, you’ll also encounter furious fans citing how the trade would have “streamlined” Mirage continuity, eliminating entire beloved storylines that didn’t meet Peter Laird’s contemporary criteria and “butchering” the continuity of the series.

As you can see, it’s difficult to gauge the actual contents and intent of the Mirage Universe Sourcebook.

The project was eventually handed down to freelancer Tristan Jones, author of Tales of the TMNT’s “Gang Wars” story arc and architect of the “Monster Island” storyline. Thankfully, he took some time out of his busy schedule working on IDW’s new Ghostbusters ongoing series (available this September!) to answer some lingering questions about the Mirage Universe Sourcebook.


TMNT Entity: Thanks for being willing to take the time to answer some questions about the aborted Mirage Universe Sourcebook you were contracted to work on.

I dug up all the info I could online, but discovered there really wasn't a whole lot to go on. Hopefully you'll be able to clear up some of the misconceptions and mysteries about its purpose and content. I've been hoping to write this article for a while.

Tristan Jones: I'll do the best I can. My memory of things isn't great due to other projects and stories I had going at the time. When I'm back at my apartment, more stuff may present itself in my files, too...


TMNTE: Here are some questions I figured might help organize the info a bit in advance, if you could take a whack at them.

Q: When Mirage approached you with the Sourcebook project, what did they describe it as and what did they initially hire you to produce?

Jones: Without having access to the old email account, I can’t be 100% accurate, but it was basically a guide to the key players in the Mirage universe. I initially assumed it to be something along the lines of a Marvel Handbook, or one of those Star Wars guidecomics/books from Dark Horse. I was to consolidate the information, contribute missing articles and edit any inconsistencies so the whole thing was as factually up to scratch as it could be at the time I started looking at it (which was roughly around August or September 2009).


Q: Besides character profiles, was the Sourcebook ever planned to include any other features?

Jones: I don't believe so. I'd gone through to find character appearances, key issues, time line references and the like just to cover my bases and make sure everything lined up, and the extra info would be there if we needed it.


Q: The widely spread online solicitation for the Sourcebook lists the creative team as Jake Black, Stephen Murphy, Jim Lawson, Michael Dooney, Eric Talbot, Dan Berger and Peter Laird (oddly, your name is absent). How much content were these other creators contributing to the project? Anything new, or were their names listed in regards to older material of theirs that the Sourcebook would be featuring (older artwork or creator-owned characters)?

Jones: The book had gone through various iterations over a fairly lengthy period of time. I have a feeling most of the names listed were the ones that had been listed since the project's inception. I believe Paul Harmon's art was going to appear in the book, along with some of the other artists that followed as Tales Vol.2 went further on. I was brought in right at the end. I believe I remember Jake telling me that he hadn't really worked on the book in a number of years prior to it being handed to me, and at the time he was working on it, it was to be an online "wiki" style database. Steve Murphy and Jake had both written up a number of profiles. I can't recall off the top of my head how many, but it seemed mainly confined to characters within the first 30 issues of Tales Vol. 2, wherever Vol. 4 was up to at the time, along with Volumes 1 and 2, and even then it consisted largely of the core, recurring characters.



Q: What can you tell us about the artwork for the Sourcebook? Would it have been a collection of older character art, all new pieces, a mixture of both? Black and white or color?

Jones: I'm pretty certain it was a mixture of both, as I remember going through a lot of art files and finding the best panels to represent particular characters. I could be wrong, there were some fairly large scale changes made just before the deal was struck with Nick and the book had to be canceled. It was black and white, though.


Q: How were you structuring the character profiles? Would the layout have been reminiscent of the Archie Comics TMNT Adventures Mutant Universe Sourcebook?

Jones: As I said, initially I was under the impression it would be a little more in depth than that, but the final product would have been similar to the Archie sourcebook.


Q: Would the Sourcebook have included any characters from the Mirage TMNT Volume 1 "guest era" (issues #22 through #44); stories such as "The River", "The Violent Underground", "Men of Shadow", etc.?

Jones: No, unfortunately. I remember talking to Dan about it when I was figuring out what was canonical and what wasn't and constructing a time line for the comics and I'm pretty certain anything with a vague question mark over the top of it was nixed (at least until they could get a positive answer either way, similar to Cerebus appearing in the omnibus Mirage released for the 25th anniversary). Though I believe Murphy's merfolk were in there.



Q: Was there a clear intention for this project to organize or streamline continuity; clearly designating which stories Mirage considered "canon" and those they did not? Were you given a specific set of approved Mirage publications you could draw from and a list of work officially designated "non-canon"?

Jones: Not at the time. Outside of the Image stuff, I went through, re-read everything, noted down every character, made annotations, worked out where everything went and then submitted a big list and then Dan made mention of the ones that definitely weren't part of it. Part of this work was also in preparation for further collected editions. It was intended to be the perfect (or near enough to) Mirage TMNT universe chronology.


Q: You've mentioned in passing that the project changed directions significantly while you were working on it. What changes were made to its direction or presentation?

Jones: The biggest change was to do with size. The book went from being a big solid trade, to a significantly smaller book that you would flip. One end of the book would contain the antagonists, the other would contain protagonists. I can't recall exactly what the page counts were in either version, I just remember the difference being surprising.


Q: Were you given any notification in advance that the Sourcebook was to be cancelled due to the Viacom buy-out? And about how much of the project had been completed by the time you heard it was cancelled?

Jones: Nope. I was working on a number of ideas and even had stories approved for the script stage not long before the announcement of the sale, but because of NDA's and the relatively sudden arrival of the sale, there was nothing that could really be done or said. There was always a chance the sale wouldn't go through in the end, and if that were the case, business would carry on as per normal. It was disappointing, sure, but that's just the way these things go. I know Dan was really bummed about it. By the time the sale was announced, I'd already begun editing Murphy and Jake's entries and had started editing my own ones to suit the final direction of the book. I can't recall the exact number of entries or the completion percentage, but a lot of work had been sunk into making sure the info was right for the characters that made the final cut.


TMNTE: Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience on the project with us!

Jones: No, thank you dude! It's great to be back in the swing of things Turtle-wise.


And don't forget to pick-up Tristan Jones's all-new Ghostbusters on-going series from IDW Publishing this September! It looks pretty sweet!

Mirage staffer Dan Berger on my Future TMNT timeline

Not long ago, I wrote an article in which I attempted to piece together the mysterious future era of the Mirage TMNT universe. Since a good many of those stories were written by the ever-talented Mirage-staffer Dan Berger, and I wanted to make my timeline as accurate as possible, I went straight to the horse's mouth and asked Dan if I got my facts straight.

Dan Berger, one of the friendliest and most approachable guys in comics, did more than just give me a "yes" or a "no" or a few pointers, but went through my timeline detail by detail offering all sorts of insights.

Normally, I'm not big on posting correspondance, but his reply offered a lot of behind the scenes info on the various issues, including concepts that were dropped from the scripts and various Mirage story guide mandates. I got his permission to share his reply, so here it is!

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I don't normally bug you guys with the stuff I write, but I kind of felt compelled to ask if I "got it right" or not?

Since we went with the multiple universes theory - everything is basically right because every outcome is possible in some divergent thread universe. :)

I was hoping you could tell me if I got the order of events correct?

I'll give it a shot - but I do need to point out that for the past eight months my brain has been focused on what I'm going to do next rather than the Mirage TMNTverse - so I've forgotten a lot of the minutia (and my memory is lousy to begin with).

And I should note that Peter Laird had ultimate say in everything TMNT while I was the managing editor, and while he did approve the stories for Tales, in the end, he could have (and still may) rewrite the Mirage universe future... so with that in mind...

1) I don’t think it would be too offensive of me to assume that a concrete concept of what that future was like was never actually specified but “made up as they went”.

That's definitely true - there was never a grand a plan, at least not one that Kevin or Peter ever outlined for the rest of the creators (they may have had one in their heads, though).

That aspect of the TMNT was wonderful for the creators because the freedom that Kevin and Peter gave them was a rare thing in the comics industry - but that creative freedom did lead to plot holes (like my own timeline goof with TMNT #45).

2) Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #45 (April, 2008), “Rocks” - During the six months in 2001 when the Utroms were establishing themselves on Earth

Trying to set specific dates is tricky. When Peter began Vol. 4, I'm pretty sure he viewed it as taking place in the "near future" rather than on our calendar year of 2001 (hence the existence of a moon base in #1) - but how far into the future was never cemented. He said a few times that the Turtles were in the mid-30s for Vol. 4, so I think that leaves a few years of play for the timeline.

3) The god tells Mike that for every lie man tells, the rocks of their planet crack. Very soon, their world will crumble from the weight of their lies and he must escape its destruction.

Wow - I'm glad you connected those dots! :)Actually - I'm glad you've connected so many dots because many of them were intentional and it's very gratifying when someone finds the "Easter eggs." :)

4) Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #69 (April, 2010), “Dark Shadows” (back story) - The Utroms came to Earth in 2001, according to TMNT (Vol. 4), with this back story taking place only “several years” after that. We see Shadow watching the Utroms leave the planet with the evacuees and she is still a teenager close to how she appeared in TMNT (Vol. 4), indicating that by “several years”, they meant “not many”.

True - although it is tough placing the 2001 date as the absolute starting point as noted above.

5) Plastron Café #1 (December, 1992), “Old Times” - Notes: The glimpse of Japan we receive paints it as a beautiful, unspoiled landscape, contradicting the flooded end of the world scenario in the “Dark Shadows” back story.

I took it to take place on a mountain top - as was Raph in #69 - my assumption was that the mountains of Japan are high enough to avoid flooding.

6) Plastron Café #1 (December, 1992), “Old Times” - Also, Don still has his eyesight (that's about to become important in a second).

I didn't have any definite plan regarding what Shad did to Don. I decided to leave it ambiguous on purpose for the reason that some people like horror novels better than horror films (the viewer's mind can create horrors far more real and personal for him/herself - so what I might have come up with may not have been as tragic as something the reader could come up with on their own). So what Shadow actually did to Don was something that could have been explored later. As you point out, we did see Don in the future with full vision (in the Plastron Cafe story) - but Don could have had a "bionic" eye implanted by that time (for those who favor the blinding theme) - although why he'd be blind in the Tales collected would remain a mystery (particularly if he had the option for bionic eyes at some point in the past). Since I had no specific plan for what Shadow did to Donny when I wrote Tales #69 - anything is possible.

That said, the blinding thing is tricky for me because I do like the idea of it for symbolic reasons - but at the same time, if everyone was going around blinding everyone else, the act becomes stale as a story element and therefore creates a dangerous game of inviting tedium into the mythos, which is another reason why I thought it best to leave it up in the air. It would also buy me some extra time to mull things over and see what other writers would be doing in the meantime (as it turns out - there wouldn't be any meantime, but I didn't know that when I wrote #69).

7) Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #69 (April, 2010), “Dark Shadows” (main story) - We learn that Casey has passed away

Not necessarily... perhaps just "absent from her life now."

I know - too vague. ;)

But again - some things I like leaving up to the reader because, frankly, I'm a romantic softy. I spend a lot of time thinking about what the reader will get outta my stories (or what I hope they'll get at the least). So if readers want to think Casey and April are still alive and well during the events of #69 because it makes them feel better, they can - but if they want to think they're both dead to add even more personal gravitas to the armageddon scenario, they can. It's up to the reader to decide how full/empty the glass is - that's a very important element for me in what I do - and it lends itself for future reading since our views and perspectives can change over time - thus potentially giving the work all new meaning at different stages in people's lives (should they ever choose to revisit the material).

8) Michaelangelo (microseries) #1 (2nd printing) (December, 1990), “A Christmas Carol” - Notes: The future-Raph seen here seems to have "gone feral", snarling and barking like a wild animal and getting distracted just as easily. Seeing as how he doesn't look as elderly as in his later appearance, "Choices", I like to think of this as happening right after his eye-gouging in "Dark Shadows". Hey, you'd be pissed, too.

I have no problem with that explanation. :)

However - it could also be Raph another decade or two into the future, where things have gotten even worse for him (should you choose to have a half empty glass ;)

9) Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #41 (December, 2007), “Swan Song” (main story) - Don is wearing goggles, which would be a weird thing for a blind guy to wear, but it’s only one panel and his eyes are closed, so there’s no saying that he isn’t blind (the goggles could also be a device he built to compensate for his blindness).

Good point. :)

10) I suppose one could just argue that only parts of the planet were ruined by global warming

That's my take. The floods arrive due to massive tectonic shifts that cause the Earth's axis to rotate. So IMO it's feasible that some areas that were underwater before the flood will rise up out of the sea and create new land masses while existing lands flood or are violently changed via earthquakes and volcanic activity.

11) Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #55 (February, 2009), “A Day in the Life” (epilogue) - The April robot is a bit strange

It was originally going to be an alien girlfriend - but Peter suggested changing it to the April robot - which I loved, particularly since it tied directly into the little robot Donny was working on in the beginning of the story, thus allowing me to come full circle on the malfunctioning robot bit. And it adds an ominous tone to what happened to April in the future (not to mention Raph's psyche - why would he even want an April bot???).

12) April was dead (or faded into the Kirby world, since she is actually a magic doodle).

Peter hasn't ever talked about it with me - but I've often wondered about that very outcome.

I proposed a story featuring that world, but Peter didn't want anyone else mucking with the Kirby story line since it was so close to his heart.

13) Kind of a morbid gift, Don.

And how! That's what makes the concept so great! The psychology behind it is fascinating. :)

14) Raph’s words about Mikey indicate he’s either lost or dead, a mystery that is never resolved, as future-Mikey is never physically seen again after this point.

That I left completely up in the air because at the time I wrote #55, I had no idea what Peter's plans for Mikey were - he was still in space with the Triceratons at the time (which is why I put in the starry sky ending - in case Peter decided to leave him out there).

15) Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #40 (November, 2007), “Silent Night” - It is the year 2060. After finding a baby in the sewers of Tokyo...

Yeah, Tokyo not being flooded is problematic for #69 - this is where you can utilize the multiple universe theory to explain away the discrepancies, as unsatisfying as that may be. Or, to go the Marvel Comics No-Prize route, it's also possible that Tokyo was rebuilt by this time (although that would beg for the city to be called "New Tokyo" like they do in all the post apocalyptic movies - although that in and of itself is reason why not to do that :) .

16) Cha Ocho was previously seen in charge of the remains of the Foot Clan, though its possible the Clan had split up at some point.

That's my theory - I love the idea of splinter cells within the Foot as it creates intrigue and seems logical since the organization is full of sneaky ninja bastards.

17) Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #38 (September, 2007), “Triptyche” (framing device) - At best guess, I’d say this story takes place between the main story seen in “Swan Song”, after Leonardo vanquishes Complete Carnage and swears off killing, and his appearance in “Loops, Part I” where he lives in the Mt. Fuji temple. I suppose he just decided to live in a futuristic apartment between those stories.

Anything is possible with this one - I didn't write it, so I don't know - I took it as Leo living on one of those ocean-housing structures (since the Earth appears to be flooded).

18) Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #41 (December, 2007), “Swan Song” (framing device) - Notes: The implication at the end is that Leo is laying down to pass away peacefully in his sleep

I didn't write it, so I can't say for sure what the intentions were - but during my tenor as managing editor, Peter didn't want anyone but himself writing death stories - I don't know if this order existed when Murphy was the managing editor, and the "next life" line does imply he's on his way out - but my orders were "no death stories" for the Turtles... FWIW.

19) Tales of the TMNT Original Vol. 1 Treasury Edition (2007), frontispieces and epilogue - Notes: The implication I got from the end of this story is that Don won’t be waking up again, much like the end for Leo in “Swan Song”.

Again - I dunno since it was written before I got my standing orders from Peter.

20) Apocrypha: There are other stories that take place in the future of the Mirage Turtles, but they either don’t directly relate to the timeline of the Turtles themselves or are so contradictory that they must take place in an alternate future.

As unsatisfying as that may be for the reader, alternate timelines are pretty much unavoidable at times regarding the mostly "editorless" TMNT comics.

21) The story “Road Hogs”, published in the Palladium Books “After the Bomb” supplement, features Raph in a post-Apocalyptic future mentoring a new generation of mutant turtles

I reckon this is the sort of thing that was done for a licensee to tie into their product more than to tie into the Mirage continuity.

22) Conclusion: Well, it’s all very depressing, isn’t it?

So the glass is half empty after all? ;)

Hope that's of some help. :)

Cheers!
Dan

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And let me offer many thanks to Dan for taking the time to provide such great commentary! I know *I* found it fascinating! Good luck with all your future endeavors!