TMNT #64 Review Round-up

Well, I knew this one would probably be the most divisive when it came to the reviews, but Tales of the TMNT #64 -- my last Ninja Turtles comic (with Mirage at least) -- has hit the comic stores around the world and reviews have finally started hitting the web.

I was most interested in seeing how this one flew, as it's substantially different to all my other stories so far. A good friend of mine, and fellow TMNT writer Will Tupper told me it was my best book out of the lot(as have a few other people), which I was really pleased to hear, as I probably had the most fun writing this one and was worried I may have had TOO much fun along the way.

Anyway, here are the first lots of reviews.

The best place for all TMNT news - GoGreenMachine.org.

Mark Pellegrini's TMNT and Comic Review blog.

Mechanistic Moth's Comic Review journal.

Walt Kneeland, of ComiXtreme.com's review.

WednesdayInReview's Ian Perez's review.

Hopefully there'll be more, be they good or bad.

Super Secret Awesome Sauce!

We Be Fast...

Okay, so, I just beat "Ghostbusters" on the PS3! Probably the most fun I've had playing a video game since... well...

Hmm...

I guess since "Twilight Princess" first hit! That might not mean much to some, but my TMNT fandom is only outdone by my love of "Indiana Jones", "Ghostbusters" and the "Legend of Zelda".

Anyway, here's my mini-mini-midgety review:

Shitloads of fun. As I said, the most fun I've had playing a video game in a LONG time. The story is great, and really feels like "Ghostbusters". The dialogue and scripting is fantastic, but one should expect no less from Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd themselves (they did write both movies, remember?). There is one fairly jarring chunk of exposition that probably could have been done away with and replaced by another level that would have covered it and extended the relatively short game a bit more.

The multiplayer is also a HEAP of fun, and if anyone wants to play, my ps3 callsign is DoomButton (one word, 'zactly as written there), so add me to your PSN buddy list and I'm more than happy to have a muck around when I get the chance.

There is a very neat explanation for a lot of the things left dangling in the films too, but I'm kinda glad they didn't explain how Stay Puft comes back properly (if I ever got the chance to write the comics I have an explanation up my sleeve that I'd love to use).

No news on any Turtles comics, or anything else. At the moment work is dry (read: none) so I'm working on a book with Andres Ponce at the moment -- tentatively titled "Dirty Deeds". Kind of an adult-oriented "Star Wars" sorta thing with a bit of "Gunsmith Cats" and a bit of "Cowboy Bebop" also thrown in for good measure. I've already put up some teaser artwork, some of which was originally planned to go with a Turtles pitch, but that's since changed (nudge-nudge, wink-wink)

IGN Comics Digs It

IGN Comics just reviewed Tales of the TMNT #56, so click here to check that one out! Thanks to everyone who let me know!

Tales #56 hits THIS WEEK!

The official TMNT website has posted a preview of Tales #56, which will be hitting stores THIS WEEK (according to Midtown and Grahamcrackers Comics)!

Check it out!

Early #56 Review!

Comicsbulletin.com has posted the an early review of Tales of the TMNT #56! Check it out!

The Sailor Man

I just had a thought that I can't believe never hit me before: if anyone comes here looking for information on the famous writer/sailor and finds themselves rolling their eyes at my fountain of drivel, please post a comment! I'd be interested in seeing how many people actually do (come by here looking for the other substantially more famous Tristan Jones).

TMNT25.com Blogging redux

Alright, so my first blog for TMNT 25.com went up. You can check that out by clicking right here.
Keep in mind that this was written a little over a month ago, when I'd just finished the script for "Burning Man" (in stores November). Probably nothing you didn't already know, but I did try to drop a few little morsels here and there. There will be one focusing on Hun and another about my work on the Fast Forward books for Titan.

Hunter Mason to See Release in Under a Month

Just got word from Mr. B over at Mirage: "Tales of the TMNT" #56 will ben in stores March 23rd! Tell your friends, and if you don't have a comic shop nearby, check out this link for the best places to order online!

Exposition on "Exposé"

Looks like #59 went up on the official Ninja Turtles website this morning vilsht I vaz shleppingk!

Tales of the TMNT #59

Ship Date: June, 2009

Format: 32 B&W pages, full color cover, standard size comic

Retail Price: $3.25

Cover art by Paul Harmon and Steve Lavigne; script by Tristan Jones, art by Paul Harmon

"Exposé" - Journalist Lauren Stanton investigates the suspicious circumstances surrounding the early release of notorious criminal Hunter (Hun) Mason from prison and its connection to the mysterious Foot Clan. As Stanton delves deeper into New York City's underworld, she'll discover unfathomable evil lurking in the darkness and her only hope to escape might not be entirely human...

Critically acclaimed creators Tristan Jones and Paul Harmon return to further explore the seedier side of the Mirage Universe, introducing an insidious new villain and giving readers a fresh look at the TMNT themselves. A perfect jumping on point for new readers!

...

Can't wait, I'm really excited about this one! Hun comes back, Lin comes back (google Tales of the TMNT #36 for more info), and a brand new villain makes his debut! Nasty bastard too... Oh, and there are explosions and lots of big fights involving heaps of people. There's no real need to know anything outside of who the Turtles are if you're new to the whole thing, but if you want to get the full THX style experience of this one and really milk it (like the cameos and whatnot), you might want to see if you can dig up Tales #36 & #50, and maybe pick up Tales #56 when it hits next month (nudge-nudge, wink-wink)!

It Is Done

I just got an email from Paul...

The art for Tales #56 is complete!

All that is left to say really...

Tales of the TMNT #59 aka Why I'm a Writer and Not An Artist

I feel terrible for Paul. We were brainstorming some layouts for our next Turtles book (as he's making the jump from #56 to #59 as we speak) and I said I'd run off a few so he could go straight on to penciling without having to to do all the puzzle work. Now, I wrote the script to this, and I found this hard!

Here are my horrendous thumbnails/layouts. Not really much in the way of spoilers... just prepare your eyes to be hurt.



Thank you for sitting through that arduous session of optic abuse. Here is a present.

Exposed

This is the cover to what was originally going to be the immediate follow-up to Tales #36. It's not a sequel, but this was the first story I had in mind after Serve and Protect. This story stands on its own, but there are threads that make it flow immediately on from #56 and reference City at War and #36. Where #36 took the POV of the police, this looks at it all from the media perspective. Paul has done a scarily awesome job of making the main character look the way I imagined her!

Tales #36 - The Story Continues...

Navajo Word for Cursed?

If anyone knows or can find out, please let me know!

Tales #56

Peter Laird emailed me regarding the follow-up to last years Tales of the TMNT #36. The turtles once again take the backseat for April and Casey in this one, with a big new villain taking centre stage. A few tweaks needed to be made with a couple of bits of dialogue and some grammar (mine is rather poor if I get on a roll and just have to get ideas out as they come), along with a couple of slightly confusing panel descriptions. I can tell you now, this will be a brutal book. Casey will be pushed to his limits, and not just physically either.

Just came back from another extremely satisfying session of Dungeons and Dragons too! Love it! Such a nerd!

I also just realised: Tales #36's sequel happens exactly twenty issues later!

Good News

As things stand at the moment, I will be writing 3 Tales of the TMNT comics in 2009. All three are already in production, one of which (actually two of which) I have been teasing here. At the moment, the three stories are tentatively titled "Expose`", "Them Again", and "Scarred". The last title is likely to change though.

All can be read on their own, all link in to Tales #36, and one will be loosely linked to #50 (which will in turn, link #50 to #36).

I know for sure that Paul (Harmon) is going to be tackling two of these stories once we finish up #50.

X vs X

I just wrote what could become my favourite panel of all time. If it makes it through, Turtle fans will see something really cool come #56.

Li Xiao Yoa & Xiaolong

The Big Guy