Tales of TMNT

In May 1987, Mirage Studios began publishing Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, with Ryan Brown and Jim Lawson handling the writing and artwork. It was published as a bi-monthly companion book to fill in the gaps of continuity in the TMNT universe, therefore making Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles andTales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the same time continuity, and canon to each other. The title’s first run was from 1987-1989, released in alternating months with the regular Eastman & Laird book.

Although only seven issues of Tales were published, it provided an opportunity to greatly expand the TMNT character roster to include such characters as Nobody,Leatherhead, Rat King, Complete Carnage, and Radical – most of which went on to feature in the main title. Tales is also notable for borrowing a unique tradition that originated in Creepy magazine: an opening splash page 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 title fromArchie Comics.

Sixteen years later, under the direction of Stephen Murphy, a relaunch of the series began publication in January 2004. The new Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(simply-titled as Tales of the TMNT Volume 2) focuses on events that occur throughout the Turtles’ lives, including some of the “lost” fifteen years occurring between TMNT Volumes 2 and 4. Issue #25 featured the return of the original Tales creative team of Ryan Brown and Jim Lawson. This revived title maintains 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 of 2010, the second volume ended its run with a total of 70 issues, ten times as many as its predecessor.

Mirage Tales of TMNT Comic Book Feed

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