Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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 and Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the same time continuity, and are canon to each other. The title 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 from Archie 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" 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.

External links

* [http://www.ninjaturtles.com/html/comic.htm Official site]
* [http://www.mikeystmnt.com/comics/comics.php Comic series overview]
* [http://www.thetechnodrome.com/comics/ Comic cover archive]