''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', called ''Tales of the TMNT'' in its later Volume 2 incarnation, is an anthology comic book series published by
Mirage Studios
Mirage Studios was an American comic book company founded in 1983 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in Dover, New Hampshire. The company was best known for the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') comic book series and the subsequent franc ...
, starting in May 1987, presenting additional stories featuring the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...
and their supporting cast as a companion book to the main ''Turtles'' comic series filling in the gaps of continuity in the ''TMNT'' universe. It was published in two distinct volumes''.''
Volume 1 (1987–1989)
The title's first run was from 1987 to 1989, released in alternating months with the regular Eastman & Laird book, with Ryan Brown and Jim Lawson handling the writing and artwork.
Although only seven issues of Volume 1 of Tales were published, it provided an opportunity to expand the TMNT character roster to include characters such as
Nobody
Nobody may refer to:
* Nobody, an indefinite pronoun
Nobody may also refer to:
Fictional characters
*Nobody (Kingdom Hearts), Nobody (''Kingdom Hearts''), a race of beings in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' video game series
*Nobody, a character in the ...
,
Leatherhead
Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...
,
Rat King
A rat king is a collection of rats whose tails are intertwined and bound together in some way. This may be a result of an entangling material like hair, a sticky substance such as sap or gum, or the tails being tied together. Historically, thi ...
, Complete Carnage, and Radical – most of whom went on to feature in the main title. Tales is also notable for borrowing a unique tradition that originated in ''
Creepy
Creepiness is the state of being wikt:creepy, creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or wikt:unease, unease. A person who exhibits creepy behaviour is called a creep. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others. The ...
'' magazine: an opening
splash page
Splash page may refer to:
* Splash page (comics), a comic book page that is mostly or entirely taken up by a single image or panel
* A splash screen on a website or software
See also
* Splash (disambiguation)
* Page (disambiguation)
Page most ...
would feature an introduction by a TMNT character and conclude with the ominous line, "Let me tell you a story". This page also served as a showcase of sorts for a variety of guest artists. The title ceased publication in 1989 when the TMNT became a licensed property. Jim Lawson moved to Mirage's ongoing TMNT series while Ryan Brown shifted toward art and design work for TMNT licensees, including the ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures'' is a comic book series published from August 1988 to October 1995 by Archie Comics, based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It is mainly based on t ...
'' title from
Archie Comics
Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.Stephen Murphy, a relaunch of the series began publication in January 2004. The new ''Tales of the TMNT'' (as the covers read) focused on events that occur throughout the Turtles' lives, including some of the "lost" thirteen years occurring between TMNT Volumes 2 and 4. Issue #25 featured the return of the original Tales creative team of Brown and Lawson. This revived title maintained the tradition of including a "Let me tell you a story" splash page at the beginning of every issue, in homage to its 1980s predecessor. In May 2010, the second volume ended its run with a total of 70 issues, ten times as many as its predecessor.
Collected books
The original series' entire run has been collected twice as trade paperbacks, first in 1989 and again in 2007. Each version of the trade features new story contents, with the 1989 collection featuring a new 10-page back-up story at the end written and drawn by Jim Lawson. The 2007 collection features a new 27-page story by Lawson entitled "Spinal Tapped" with this story taking place after issue #7 and a 4-page epilogue by Murphy and Lawson. The 2007 edition does not include the new back-up story from the 1989 collection. Additionally, the 2007 collection also features new opening splash pages, omitting the original opening splash pages completely.
Five volumes of ''Tales of the TMNT'' Volume 2 have been collected by Mirage Studios from 2006 to 2008, selecting random issues, or based on linked themes/characters.
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...
would later also collect issues of both volumes of ''Tales of the TMNT'' (reprinted in color) after acquiring the comic book licensing rights from new franchise owner Viacom.
Volume 1:
*''The Collected Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 1'' (Dec. 1989)
*''Tales of the TMNT: Original Vol. 1 Series Treasury Edition'' (Nov. 2007, 256 Pages, , $18 US/ $20 Canada)
Volume 2:
*''Tales of the TMNT: The Collected Books'' Vol. One – reprints ''Tales of the TMNT Volume II'' #1, 10, 16, 18 & 26 (Oct. 2006; 142 pages; ; $12 US/ $13 Canada)
*''Tales of the TMNT: The Collected Books'' Vol. Two – reprints ''Tales of the TMNT Volume II'' #5 and all four issues of ''"Tales of Leonardo: Blind Sight"'' (Jan. 2007; 142 pages; ; $12 US/ $13 Canada)
*''Tales of the TMNT: The Collected Books'' Vol. Three – reprints ''Tales of the TMNT Volume II'' #6, 20, 24, 27 and 28 (June, 2007; 154 pages; ; $12 US/ $13 Canada)
*''Tales of the TMNT: The Collected Books'' Vol. Four – reprints ''Tales of the TMNT Volume II'' #3, 4, 13, 14 and 33 (Sept. 2007: 128 pages; ; $13 US/ $14 Canada)
*''Tales of the TMNT: The Collected Books'' Vol. Five – reprints ''Tales of the TMNT Volume II'' #2, 9, 15, 17 and 25 (Feb. 2008; 148 pages; ; $13 US/ $14 Canada)
Volume 1+2 IDW Imprint:
* ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1'', ''Tales of the TMNT Volume I'' #1–4 + Extras (December 2012)
* ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 2'', ''Tales of the TMNT Volume I'' #5–7 (April 2013)
* ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 3'', ''Tales of the TMNT Volume II'' #1–4 (October 2013)
* ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 4'', ''Tales of the TMNT Volume II'' #5–8 (May 2014)
* ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 5'', ''Tales of the TMNT Volume II'' #9–12 (August 2014)
* ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 6'', ''Tales of the TMNT Volume II'' #13–16 (November 2014)
* ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 7'', ''Tales of the TMNT Volume II'' #17–20 (August 2015)
* ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 8'', ''Tales of the TMNT Volume II'' #22–25 (April 2016)
* ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 9'', ''Tales of the TMNT Volume II'' #26–30 (January 2017)
* ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Omnibus Vol. 1 -'' reprints ''Tales of the TMNT Volume I'' #1–7 & ''Tales of the TMNT Volume II'' #1–8 (May 2018)