The TMNT Comics that Showed the True Character of the Ninja Turtles

Not many people are familiar with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle comic books that were available in stores before the original cartoon ever aired on television. In fact, when people think of the heroes in a half shell, they think of those cute turtles that wore multi-colored bandannas. Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael wore red bandannas before they became a pop culture phenomenon. The only way you could tell them apart was from their ninja weapons. Their faces were pretty much identical, but you would always see a grin on Michelangelo face. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics were mainly published by Mirage Studios according to www.ninjaturtles.com. The comics were also published by "Image Comics" which displayed an angrier version of the Ninja Turtles. Image Comics also introduced Cyborg Donatello who was in a terrible accident during one of Turtles' adventures.

First and foremost, the TMNT comics fans cannot miss out on would be from the first volume. This volume contains some of the most informative comics of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The first comic from volume one partly explains the origin of the turtles and how they came to be. Human characters such as April O'Neil and Casey Jones are introduced in volume one. Casey Jones is the hockey mask wearing vigilante best known for teaming up with Ninja Turtles early on in the comics. The infamous mousers also make their first appearance in the second issue of volume one. These mousers were assembled by the evil scientist known as Dr. Baxter Stockman. Unlike the animated cartoon from the 1980s, Baxter Stockman was actually an African American. The children's show wanted to avoid controversy by not having the black Stockman take orders from the Shredder so they decided to make him a Caucasian male instead.

My favorite TMNT comic from volume one was issue number five because it was the first comic to introduce Fugitoid aka Dr. Honeycutt. I do not want to get into any details on this issue because I do not want to spoil it for those who have not read it. It is one of Eastman and Laird's best and cannot be missed. These issues can be purchased at www.miragelicensing.com and www.eBay.com for excellent prices. I suggest buying the reissues since they are much cheaper than the valuable originals.