Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987)
Archie Comics: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures” aka ‘Heroes in a Half-Shell!’ #1-3, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures” (1988) #1-72, “April O’Neil” #1-3, “April O’Neil: The May East Saga” #1-3, “Donatello and Leatherhead” #1-3, the “Merdude” trilogy [Michaelangelo, Mondo Gecko, Ray Fillet], “The Year of the Turtle” #1-3, “The Mighty Mutanimals” (1991) #1-3, “The Mighty Mutanimals” (1992) #1-9, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures Special” #1-11, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Meet Archie” #1, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Meet the Conservation Corps” #1
Age rating: E for everyone. This is based on the children’s cartoon from the 80s, meaning it’s custom built for younger kids, though with anything from more than 10 years before present day, things that were “for kids” then may not be so “for kids” now. That said, it gets darker and more serious as the run goes on in the way that all the best “for kids” cartoons do. OK. Maybe it does push closer to E-10+ just a teeny bit by the end.
Start here if: you want to experience the sensation that shook the nation and rocketed the series to the stratosphere and (re)live the glory days of the Turtles’ time on the airwaves, or at least read the comics that spun out of that show and told a pretty compelling narrative along the way.
Welcome to the “Elias has never seen the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon” corner. Despite doing this whole thing, I don’t have much nostalgia for the Turtles, at least not in this incarnation. I grew up catching the 2003 series every so often and then I watched the highly underrated 2007 CGI film. All star cast that film had!
Anyway, these comics were really my first introduction to the TV show. That may be the case for many of you too! More likely, they’re a curiosity. You can also probably guess the story behind the comics.
Because the original “TMNT” comics were just a skoosh darker than the show was presumably envisioned to be and definitely allowed to be in the mid-80s, there was a market for a tie-in comic adaptation that hewed more closely to the cartoon’s choices and aesthetics, such as being in color. To that end, Mirage licensed out the Turtles to Archie Comics, who started the series off by adapting some episodes and then branching off into their own continuity, complete with a bunch of spin-offs and backups. It never quite had a true “ending” but it got close, with “Year of the Turtle,” and there’s been talk of finally putting together the final arc that got canned “The Forever War.”
Unlike Parts 1 & 2, and to an extent 3, I’ve yet to confirm the inclusion of certain stories in the various trades; I simply haven’t had the time to read them. This will be true for most of this part, though I have done my best to check copyright pages and tables of contents when accessible and have made my way through a fair number of them. The demise of ComiXology has made it a lot more difficult.
Moreover, for the Archie Comics at least, they’re not organized in an easily accessible way, with no table of contents and a copyright page that cites issues but not always 100% clearly and certainly with no note about backups. They are there, however. Volume 11 had the ‘Megadeath” backups included for their respective issues, even though they were relegated to the back of the trade instead of bundled with the issues themselves, so I have little doubt the others aren’t also collected.
Even though the order is pretty straightforward, there are enough issues missing that I feel I can have two lists here: Trades Only and Marshmallow & Pepperoni Completionist.
Trades Only
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 1 – “TMNT Adventures” #1-4
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 2 – “TMNT Adventures” #5-8
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 3 – “TMNT Adventures” #9-12
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 4 – “TMNT Adventures” #13-16
Continued below
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 5 – “TMNT Adventures” #17-20
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 6 – “TMNT Adventures” #21-22, “Mighty Mutanimals (Mini-series) #1-3
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 7 – “TMNT Adventures” #23-27
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 8 – “TMNT Adventures” #28-31
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 9 – “TMNT Adventures” #37-40, “Mighty Mutanimals” (Ongoing) #6
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 10 – “TMNT Adventures” #41-44, “Mighty Mutanimals” (Ongoing) #7
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 11 – “TMNT Adventures” #45-50
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 12 – “TMNT Adventures” #51-54
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 13 – “TMNT Adventures” #55-57, “Mighty Mutanimals” (Ongoing) #8-9
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 14 – “TMNT Adventures” #58-61
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 15 – “TMNT Adventures” #62-66
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 16 – “TMNT Adventures” #67-72
Uncollected main issues: “TMNT Adventures” #32-36, “Mighty Mutanimals” (Ongoing) #1-5.
Marshmallow & Pepperoni Completionist
While not as complicated as the Mirage list from the same time, the Archie continuity has its fair share of spin-offs, specials and short-stories that are either uncollected or partially collected. Below you’ll find them in publication order, unless specified otherwise. Honestly, you can read every one of the minis anytime after their original issues are published. The crosscutting is purely by date. I say this at the top so I don’t have to say it each time later on. The only exceptions are the “Mutanimals” series, which crosses over with the main title a couple times.
As for all the backups, I’m only listing them by name if I’ve separated them out from the main title. Assume that if an issue is collected, its backup is too, as they’re less ‘short story’ additions like they are in “TMNT” (Vol. 1) and more like an A story and a B story that eventually converge. At least it’s that way for #24-27’s backups which lead directly into the events of #28. For other, like ‘Megadeath’ in issues #47-54, they’re at the back of the trade instead of directly after the issue in question. I dunno what to tell you. The IDW collections of the Archie comics are weird.
“TMNT Adventures: Heroes in a Half-Shell” #1-3 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 100-Page Spectacular”
(Technically, this is a large single issue that IDW put out about a decade ago. It is out of print but is available digitally. This is, as far as I can tell, the only available version of this intro mini outside of the bargain bins, probably because it’s a straight up adaptation of the 1987 show’s episodes. That’s enough for me to have it be the primary means to reading the mini, even if it’s not ideal.)
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cereal Mini-Comic” #1-3 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
(I could have left these off the list entirely. They were prizes that came with the TMNT cereal. However, as they are “TMNT Adventures” related and came out nebulously in 1989, they fit perfectly in between the mini and the main series. This also, technically, makes them the first comics appearance of both Wingnut & Man Ray (aka Ray Fillet) so it would be silly not to have them somewhere. Bleeding Cool seems to have scans of them for the curious among us.)
“TMNT Adventures” #1-4 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 1
“TMNT Adventures” #5-7 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 2
‘A Forgotten Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Adventure’ [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only – “Mirage Mini Comics”
(This story literally takes place in-between two panels, the first two on page 27 of issue #7. Interestingly, this specific inclusion seems to pin down “Mirage Mini Comics’” release date to November or December of 1989, though it could’ve come out earlier. If you read Part 1’s Original Completionist list, this may help clarify why the “Ultimate Collection” Book 6 was so confident. I still stand by my ‘Lasagna Loves’ placement choice.)
“TMNT Adventures” #8 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 2
“TMNT Adventures” #9-12 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 3
Continued below
“TMNT Adventures” #13-15 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 4
“TMNT Coin-Toon” #1 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
(Much like the Cereal comics, this was another merchandise tie-in and I didn’t know if it should be included here or not. In the name of completion, I threw it in but just know it can be skipped and nothing is lost.)
‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas’ [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only – “Ladies Home Journal” Dec 1990
(You read that right. This was a “TMNT” comic in the entirely unrelated “Ladies Home Journal” magazine. It’s a short four pages, in the style of “TMNT Adventures,” and is essentially a retelling of the “Michaelangelo Christmas Special” from “TMNT” (Vol. 1.) Give it a nose if you’d like.)
“TMNT Adventures” #16 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 4
“TMNT Adventures” #17-19 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 5
“Mighty Mutanimals (Mini-series) #1 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 6
(I have a small bone to pick with the IDW reprint trades: they don’t make much of an effort to interfile issues. “Mutanimals” (Mini) #1 actually came out before “Adventures” #20 but isn’t collected until after “Adventures” #22 in the next volume. There’s an explicit reference and recap too! Come on. At least that’s the only real overlap between the series until the end.)
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Meet Archie” #1 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
(I wasn’t sure whether to put the short stories as the primary title in “TMNT Meet Archie” or the full issue since half of the stories in the volume are republished as backups later and one is a reprint itself. Funny story about that reprint. It’s of a comic they did for the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project in 1990-1991: ‘Storm Drain Savers.’ Originally in black and white, it was reprinted in color both here in this issue AND in the “TMNT Classics Digest” #6 that Archie put out in August 1994, collecting issues #20-22.
As for why I didn’t split the issue into individual stories, I did it for simplicity and because there’s one story that’s exclusive to “TMNT Meets Archie” and has never been republished – ‘Green Legs and Gams.’ If they’d all been split apart and collected elsewhere, and if the “Adventures” trades didn’t include the backups alongside their respective issues, I would’ve pulled a “Turtle Soup” and listed story by story.)
“TMNT Adventures” #20 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 5
“Mighty Mutanimals (Mini-series) #2 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 6
“TMNT Adventures” #21 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 6
“Mighty Mutanimals (Mini-series) #3 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 6
“TMNT Adventures” #22 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 6
“TMNT Adventures” #23-27 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 7
“TMNT Adventures” #28 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 8
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Meet the Conservation Corps” [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
‘Paper or Plastic?’ [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only – “30th Anniversary Special”
(As with the other “30th Anniversary” stories, I’m placing this one far, far away from its publication date. Slotting it in next to the “Conservation Corps” issue seemed the most logical since the two compliment each other tonally. Or at least I assume they do. ‘Paper or Plastic?’ has an environmental PSA message and “Conservation Corps” are an ecological team. A match made in heaven)
“TMNT Adventures” #29-31 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 8
“Mighty Mutanimals (Ongoing) #1 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #32-33 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“Mighty Mutanimals (Ongoing) #2 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #34 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures Special” #1 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
(The “TMNT Adventures Specials” are an odd bunch in their relation to the main title. An anthology that published two stories quarterly, they’re not quite like the Mirage Specials of “TMNT” (Vol. 1) but they are still essentially siloed off from the events of the main title. It’s kind of like a “Shadow of the Bat” to the main “Batman” title situation. What makes them even odder, and worth mentioning, is that the comic had its own continuity, with recurring characters and stories that followed up on previous ones. It’s a shame they’re not collected on their own or with the main title.
Continued belowPlacement-wise, as a quarterly I had some wiggle room and tried to place them near the start of the seasons and in a relatively unobtrusive place with regards to the surrounding main title issues/volumes. If you don’t love the placement and want to clean off a volume before moving on, that’s fine too.)
“TMNT Adventures” #35 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“Mighty Mutanimals (Ongoing) #3 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #36 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“Mighty Mutanimals (Ongoing) #4 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
(You’re probably wondering why these issues are uncollected when all the “Adventures” issues before and after have been collected by IDW. The short answer is these issues are…kinda racist. The turtles take a trek across Asia, specifically through Tibet & China, and I think you can guess how that goes. As far as I know, it’s mostly insensitive rather than actively hateful but both are harmful.
I’m split on this because it’s good a company isn’t uncritically reproducing clearly problematic and racist stories and profiting off them. However from an archival and cultural preservation perspective, it sucks these comics can’t be readily accessed for dissection and discussion. Disclaimers before problematic media are pretty common nowadays – the 90s main-line “TMNT” titles all had them – and excising these tales from the record only serves to bury our problems & pretend our past was rosier than it was. I guess it’s more sensitive since this is for a younger audience. I get it. It’s just not ideal.
Honestly, my preferred reaction would be to release all the issues into the public domain so no one is profiting off them, they can be archived and accessed easily, and anyone wanting to take this run as a whole – the good, the bad, and the EESH – can. There’s already plenty of all three in the issues that did some out after all.)
“TMNT Adventures Special” #2 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #37 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 9
“Mighty Mutanimals (Ongoing) #5 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
(Even though this issues is uncollected, it leads directly into the events of “Adventures” #38. As such, it doesn’t have the same luxury as some of the other minis or specials in terms of placement wiggle room.)
“TMNT Adventures” #38 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 9
“Mighty Mutanimals (Ongoing) #6 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 9
“TMNT Adventures” #39 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 9
“TMNT Adventures” #40 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 9
“TMNT Adventures Special” #3 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“April O’Neil” #1 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #41 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 10
“April O’Neil” #2 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“Mighty Mutanimals (Ongoing) #7 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 10
“TMNT Adventures” #42 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 10
“April O’Neil” #3 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #43 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 10
“Mighty Mutanimals (Ongoing) #8 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 13
“TMNT Adventures Special” #4 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“April O’Neil: The May East Saga” #1 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #44 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 10
“April O’Neil: The May East Saga” #2 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #45 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 11
“April O’Neil: The May East Saga” #3 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“Mighty Mutanimals (Ongoing) #9 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 13
(I honestly have no idea why IDW chose to collect the final two issues in volume 13. It makes no sense. But that’s where they put them.)
“TMNT Adventures Special” #5 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #46 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 11
“Donatello and Leatherhead” #1 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #47 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 11
“Donatello and Leatherhead” #2 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
Continued below
“Conservation Corps” #1 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
(This is probably the most tangential of all the minis on this list. I dunno if it “counts” but at only three issues, I would be remiss if I didn’t include their series here. You can probably skip all three issues seeing as how I think not a single “TMNT Adventures” character appears outside of the flashback to the “crossover” issue from earlier. BUT Eastman and Laird apparently inked issue 1. So. You know.)
“TMNT Adventures Special” #6 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #48 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 11
“Donatello and Leatherhead” #3 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“Conservation Corps” #2 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #49 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 11
“Merdude and Michelangelo” #1 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #50 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 11
“Conservation Corps” #3 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“Merdude and Mondo Gecko” #1 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“Merdude vs. Ray Fillet” #1 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
(I moved up the final “Merdude” one-shot a little since putting it after “Adventures” #51, which came out the same month, would otherwise split volumes. I also figured it’s better to finish the two at once than have the “Special” interrupt. )
“TMNT Adventures Special” #7 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #51-54 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 12
“TMNT Adventures Special” #8 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #55-57 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 13
‘Gary’s Gag Pages’ [UNCOLLECTED] – Archie Digest Trade Only – “TMNT Classics Digest” #5
(Much like “TMNT Meets Archie,” ‘Gary’s Gag Pages’ is actually four different one-page stories. Unlike that issue, this was a backup set for one of the digests released by Archie collecting three “TMNT Adventures” comics, in this case #17-19. Two of the stories were apparently used back in issue #45 (‘Meanwhile in Dimension X’) and #48 (‘What the Shredder Did for a Living Before He was an Arch-Villain’) while the other two (‘Ninja Nuttiness!’ and ‘Kooky Krang’) are unique to the digest. All four, however, are uncollected in the IDW “Adventures” trades.
“TMNT Adventures Special” #9 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #58-59 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 14
“TMNT Adventures” #60-61 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 14
“TMNT Adventures Special” #10 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #62-66 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 15
“TMNT Adventures Special” #11 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
“TMNT Adventures” #67 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 16
‘North to Alaska’ Part 1 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only – “TMNT Adventures” #67
“TMNT Adventures” #68 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 16
‘North to Alaska’ Part 2 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only – “TMNT Adventures” #68
“TMNT Adventures” #69 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 16
‘North to Alaska’ Part 3 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only – “TMNT Adventures” #69
“TMNT Adventures” #70 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 16
‘North to Alaska’ Part 4 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only – “TMNT Adventures” #70
(As it turns out, ‘North to Alaska’ is the only backup that’s not collected in these trades. My guess it that because it’s not plot relevant like most of the others, they chose to leave it out. It also features Inky, a dog who debuted in issue #32 and only appears in that batch of issues that were left uncollected. So…)
“TMNT Adventures” #71-72 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures,” Vol. 16
“The Year of the Turtle” #1-3 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
(DAN SLOTT wrote this capstone mini series. 10 years of “Spider-Man” Dan Slott. “Silver Surfer” with Allred, Dan Slott. I cannot believe it hasn’t been collected and also that this is an early Dan Slott comic.)
IDW Comics: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures” (Mini-Series) #1-4, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures” (Ongoing) #1-Present
Age rating: E for everyone. Not much more to say because it’s a homage to the previous comics but modern.
Continued belowStart here if: you’re looking for a modern take on the classic turtles, want to introduce a younger generation to the 80s version without some of the baggage, or are looking for a well-done nostalgia trip.
Oho. You didn’t think we were done with the 80s yet, did you? Now is prime nostalgia time so of course IDW is going to capitalize on that and on the new film that was, at the time, only recently announced. Basically, “Saturday Morning Adventures” is a new take on the Archie series & the original show from 2022. It was a mini that was successful enough to spawn a, as of writing, brand new series. The reading order below reflects that lack of complicatedness.
And rest assured, the new series will almost certainly get collected editions after writing.
Ice Cream & Anchovy Completionist
“TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures” (Mini-Series) #1-4 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures,” Vol. 1
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures” (Ongoing) #1 -3 – Single issue only as of writing
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)
Dreamwave: “TMNT: Animated 2003” #1-7
Age rating: YT for younger teen. You could probably get away with young readers (7-10) but this is geared more towards middle school and up, complete with 2000s kid-friendly edge. It hews closer to the tone of the original comics.
Start here if: you’re looking for some history and a little more Turtles action. Mostly read this as a curiosity since it never went anywhere or if you’re really nostalgic for this series.
I referenced this in the prologue and told you all not to worry about this era. The reason for that was it’s a strange footnote in the development of the Turtles comics, written by Peter David no less. An adaptation of the then-most-recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated show, it only lasted seven issues before being canceled and was put out by a little known publisher called Dreamwave. Dreamwave is best known for having the “Transformers” comics in the early 2000s before going bankrupt in 2005 and then having a ton of legal issues stemming from bad contacts. The more things change…
Only one list this time: the full series broken out by trade. Oh, yes. They got two trades courtesy of Titan Books in 2007, the latter of which actually collects the unfinished issues 8-10 at their varying levels of completion. Sadly I could not independently verify this fact. Good news is that the series is not, in fact, lost to time. IDW re-released them a few years back as “TMNT: Animated 2003” and they’re available for purchase digitally on their site. Why they didn’t put out a single collection confuses me though. Perhaps Titan still has those reprint rights?
Reboot Completionist
“TMNT: Animated 2003” #1-4 – Titan Books Trade Only – “TMNT: Attack of the Mousers”
“TMNT: Animated 2003” #5-7 – Titan Books Trade Only – “TMNT: Out of the Shadows”
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)
IDW: “Tales from the Turtles Lair” #1-6, “TMNT: New Animated Adventures” #0-24. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures” #1-14, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures – Carmelo Anthony Special” #1, “Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures” #1-6, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures – Robotanimals!” #1-3
Age rating: E for everyone. The show is aimed at the same audience as the other two shows but hits more like the 1987 series without the darker themes the Archie comic gets into by the end.
Start here if: you loved the 2012 show or want a semi-modern, lengthy-ish run to give to your kids.
Another decade, another “TMNT” adaptation, another comic book tie-in. This is the first series to be done after the Viacom buy-out and thus the first of IDW’s adaptations of a then-contemporary TV show. Interestingly, it’s actually two separate series with two minis to finish up the run – one being a crossover with DC Comics as a family friendly alternative to the “Batman/TMNT” comic Tynion & Williams were doing for the main-line comics and the other a regular capstone mini adventure.
As for why there were two series, the second was a reboot intended to try and boost sales by loosening the hold the TV’s canon had on the series. At least that’s the reason given why the first series ended: low sales attributed to being stuck in the canon of the TV show and unable to branch off on its own like other series before it.
Continued belowFor the reading order, I’ve decided it’s complicated enough to have two again: Trades Only and New Amazing Completionist.
Trades Only
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures Omnibus,” Vol. 1 – “New Animated Adventures” #1-12
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: New Animated Adventures Omnibus,” Vol. 2 – “New Animated Adventures” #13-24
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures,” Vol. 1 – “Amazing Adventures” #1-4
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures,” Vol. 2 – “Amazing Adventures” #5-8
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures,” Vol. 3 – “Amazing Adventures” #9-12
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures,” Vol. 4 – “Amazing Adventures” #13-14, “Carmelo Anthony Special” #1
“Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures” – “Batman/TMNT Adventures” #1-6
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures – Robotanimals!” – “Amazing Adventures – Robotanimals!” #1-3
New Amazing Completionist
“Tales from the Turtles Lair” #1-6 [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only – Preserved via the Technodrome Forums
(These six issues were motion comics released on Nickelodeon’s website as a prologue to the TV show. As far as I know, they’ve never been released on their own and sadly are no longer hosted on Nick’s website. The good people at the Technodrome Forums seem to have preserved it, though for how long is anybody’s guess.)
“New Animated Adventures” #0 [POTENTIALLY UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
(I could not, for the life of me, find out what was in this issue. This was the 2013 Free Comic Book Day prologue to the comics and it’s not available on IDW’s website or on any of the digital comics retailers I checked. I keep finding references to it being a preview, which I take to mean it’s a repeat of pages from issue #1. But since I can’t see if the pages match, I’m at a loss. As of writing, I’ve yet to check the omnibus to confirm that it’s in there at all but not properly credited, in part because the omnibus is very out of print. Dang.)
“New Animated Adventures” #1-4 – “New Animated Adventures Omnibus,” Vol. 1 OR “New Animated Adventures” Vol. 1
“New Animated Adventures” #5-8 – “New Animated Adventures Omnibus,” Vol. 1 OR “New Animated Adventures” Vol. 2
“New Animated Adventures” #9-12 – “New Animated Adventures Omnibus,” Vol. 1 OR “New Animated Adventures” Vol. 3
“New Animated Adventures” #13-16 – “New Animated Adventures Omnibus,” Vol. 2 OR “New Animated Adventures” Vol. 4
“New Animated Adventures” #17-20 – “New Animated Adventures Omnibus,” Vol. 2 OR “New Animated Adventures” Vol. 5
“New Animated Adventures” #21-24 – “New Animated Adventures Omnibus,” Vol. 2 OR “New Animated Adventures” Vol. 6
“Amazing Adventures” #1-4 – “Amazing Adventures,” Vol. 1
(This trade was also released as “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures: The Meeting of the Mutanimals.” It’s identical save for the name.)
“Amazing Adventures” #5-8 – “Amazing Adventures,” Vol. 2
(This trade was also released as “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures: Tea-time for a Turtle.” Just like above, it’s identical save for the name. It seems like these were earlier editions of the trades. Why they changed the names, I have no idea? It does make it easier to find when listed by volume # though.)
“Amazing Adventures” #9-10 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures,” Vol. 3
“Amazing Adventures: Carmelo Anthony Special” #1 –“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures,” Vol. 4
“Amazing Adventures” #11-12 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures,” Vol. 3
“Amazing Adventures” #13-14 –“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures,” Vol. 4
“Batman/TMNT Adventures” #1-6 – “Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures”
Continued below
“Amazing Adventures – Robotanimals!” #1-3 – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures – Robotanimals!”
IDW: “Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Animated” Vol. 1-7
Age rating: E for everyone.
Start here if: you really want to read the TV show instead of watch it.
I’m going to be honest with you all. I don’t think these comics needed to exist. They’re literally just stills from the episodes arranged as a comic with the dialog added in. They were released as single volumes and there are seven of them. I have little more to add and there’s just the one list: Screenshot Completionist.
Screenshot Completionist
“Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Animated” Vol. 2: Never Say Xever/The Gauntlet
“Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Animated” Vol. 3: The Showdown
“Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Animated” Vol. 4: Mutagen Mayhem
“Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Animated” Vol. 5: Choosing Sides
“Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Animated” Vol. 6: Vengeance is Mine
“Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Animated” Vol. 7: The Invasion
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2017)
IDW: “Rise of the TMNT” #0-5, “Rise of the TMNT: Sound Off!” #1-3, “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Halloween ComicFest 2018”
Age rating: E for everyone. Same as above.
Start here if: you love the 2017 show or want the most recent (as of writing) comics run tie-in that’s not 100% a nostalgia trip. No shade to “Saturday Morning Adventures” though.
Here we have the final cartoon and the final adaptation, at least as far as TV is concerned. Where we go from here with the success of Mutant Mayhem is an open question. Now, “Rise” is not a sequel series to “Animated Adventures” but it was released right on the heels of that series’ completion. It’s pretty simple, all things considered, so there’s only going to be one list: Rising Completionist.
Rising Completionist
“Rise of the TMNT: Halloween ComicFest 2018” – ”Rise of the TMNT: The Complete Adventures”
(I said this would be simple but then I found out about this issue and I nearly lost my mind trying to verify its contents and where/if it was collected. I finally managed to peek into the “Complete Adventures” and lo-and-behold, there are the credits for this comic – ‘Getting Meat Sweats,’ not to be confused with issue #4’s subtitle ‘A Bad Case of the Meat Sweats’ – and a copyright entry for “Rise of the TMNT Promo,” which is this issue.
Additionally, the story that supposedly is included in this volume – ‘The Hidden City’ – does not exist. There is no story titled ‘The Hidden City’ in the volume nor is there any evidence of one being published elsewhere. It seems to be a typo on official solicitation, which is what was used for Amazon and the like. The back of the collection simply has it listed as a “never-before collected short story from Rise co-creator Andy Suriano with Dale Malinowski, Ida Hem, and Brandon Cuellar.”
As for placement, since it came out in October of 2018, I’ve put it between #0 & #1. The “Complete Adventures” has it at the start. It doesn’t really matter where you read it.)
“Rise of the TMNT” #1-2 – ”Rise of the TMNT: The Complete Adventures” OR “TMNT: Rise of the TMNT,” Vol. 1
“Rise of the TMNT” #3-5- ”Rise of the TMNT: The Complete Adventures” OR “TMNT: Rise of the TMNT,” Vol. 2
“Rise of the TMNT: Sound Off!” #1-3 – ”Rise of the TMNT: The Complete Adventures” OR “Rise of the TMNT: Sound Off,” Vol. 1
The Movies (1990; 1991; 1993; 2007)
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Secrets of the Ooze,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Turtles in Time,” “TMNT Movie Prequel” [Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, April, Leonardo,] “TMNT – Official Movie Adaptation”
Age rating: PG. I mean, that’s what all the films are rated after all. Just note that PG in 1990 still ran the gamut of tones.
Continued belowStart here if: you’re really curious what the live action & early CGI movies would be like if they were illustrated instead. Also if you want to read the prologue to the aforementioned CGI film.
We’ve tackled the small screen. Now it’s time to look up and see what the silver screen has to offer. I decided to lump each of the movie adaptations together instead of splitting them up like the TV series because what good is it separating them out? They’re all one-shots, save for the 2007 film which has an accompanying prequel mini/set of 5 one-shots. Besides, you’re either gonna read none or read them all.
And I know what you’re thinking: what was the point of a comic book adaptation of a film? A TV show makes sense. Both are serialized and they can complement each other. But a film? Well, the basic answer is, before you could watch anything on demand, before Blu-rays and DVDs and even VHS’s, this was the only way to experience a story if you happened to miss it in theaters. Now by the 90s, VHS existed and films regularly played on TV albeit chopped to bits. Still, the impulse didn’t go away and it was often cheaper to get the comic than to buy the VHS (and player) and was more convenient and lasted longer than renting it or catching it on TV.
Plus, as a comic first property, isn’t it cool to see the same adventures taken out of the budget restricted zone of live action and back into four color wizardry? Probably depends on the quality of that wizardry and the story it was trying to recreate.
So here we are, with four adaptations of four movies, all done by Mirage. This makes sense since by the time IDW got the license, comic adaptations of films had pretty much died out since, well, it’s easy to see the movie itself at one’s leisure and there’s not much of a market for them anymore. For the list, there’s only one this time around – Silver Screen Completionist – since there’s really no difference between reading them in singles or in the (mostly) non-existent trades. As always, I’ll have my notes as needed beneath the issues.
Silver Screen Completionist
(Technically, this issue was collected in 2014 as “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Original 1990 Motion Picture Special Edition.” It had the main issue, new digital coloring, as well as a host of backmatter. But it’s long, long out of print and was really just a deluxe, bound version of the original comic.
It should be noted too that there are actually two different versions of this comic: one from Mirage and one from Archie. OK, two from Archie but the content is basically identical save for a different style of coloring – painted vs flat – and colorist. The Mirage trade was in B&W and had additional bonus backmatter while the Archie version was bare-bones and, as I just said, in color.
Moreover, if the description for the IDW version is to be believed, the Archie version was missing some “cut scenes” that were part of the Mirage edition. It seems that the bonus material in the Mirage edition was, or at least contained, some deleted scenes, either from the film or from the comic for page count reasons. So if you’re looking for a definitive edition of the comic, sadly there really isn’t one.)
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Secrets of the Ooze” [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
(Once again there were two editions of this: Prestige (painted colors and bonus pages) and Regular (flat colors and no bonuses.) This time, however, the prestige version came out from Tundra publishing instead of Mirage while the other was once again Archie Comics. Since they sit somewhere between the TV series and the Eastman/Laird run issues of the comics tonally, this makes sense.
What’s Tundra, you ask? It was a short-lived company headed by Kevin Eastman that sounds like it would’ve been a very interesting creator-owned publisher ala Image had it survived past 1993. My guess is that this came out through them in order to help shore-up the finances and to get the name of Tundra on the map. Alas, it was not meant to be.)
Continued below“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Turtles in Time” [UNCOLLECTED] – Single issue only
(And for the final time, there were two editions created – prestige with painted colors and better paper & a regular edition – though both were put out by Archie this time. Probably because Tundra was struggling by this point in 1993.
Fun fact: this issue was handled by the “TMNT Adventures” team whereas the first adaptation was done by the main “TMNT” (Vol. 1) team and the second was a merging of the two: Dean Clarrian from “Adventures” and Jim Lawson from Mirage.)
“TMNT Movie Prequel: Raphael” – Mirage trade only – “TMNT – The Collected Movie Books”
“TMNT Movie Prequel: Michelangelo” – Mirage trade only – “TMNT – The Collected Movie Books”
“TMNT Movie Prequel: Donatello” – Mirage trade only – “TMNT – The Collected Movie Books”
“TMNT Movie Prequel: April” – Mirage trade only – “TMNT – The Collected Movie Books”
“TMNT Movie Prequel: Leonardo” – Mirage trade only – “TMNT – The Collected Movie Books”
“TMNT – Official Movie Adaptation” – Mirage trade only – “TMNT – The Collected Movie Books”
(Of all the adaptations, this one is the most interesting to me and not only because I have a soft spot for the TMNT film. It’s actually based on an earlier version of the film’s script, has an entire prequel mini series, and is entirely in black and white. It’s also the only one to have a proper collection which IDW has sadly yet to re-release.)
Next time, we finally arrive at the modern day and the second main-line series to be done outside the auspices of Mirage.
