As a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles there is always been a sense of “childishness” about them. Although their history is as rich as any other super hero Marvel or DC have to offer and just as much history and lore as GI Joe and Transformers, turtles has always fought a sense of immaturity.
No one takes teenagers seriously. That is until now, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Visual History by Andrew Farago and published by Insight Editions treats the Green Machine with the reverence and respect their rich lore and history deserves. It doesn’t pander and beg to be taken seriously it presents TMNT as the great storytelling, rich character design and pop culture phenomenon it should be.
Visually it is a fantastic journey, spanning the creative, early development process all the way till the current Nickelodeon Animated Series. Nothing is off limits (looking at you musical tour) I especially enjoyed the focus on the early days of the turtles and the comics that started it all. While most turtle fans are aware of this era it’s not nearly as touched upon or celebrated as the first cartoon show where most of us had our first experience with them. I believe it was a concerted effort to not feature a piece from the first animated series till 54 pages in. The first bulk features some of the most iconic and awesome pieces of turtles art in their existence and really builds a base for what would be to come without filling up with turtles design you recognize or endear to. I especially love the early concept drawings and seeing how the characters changed and evolved to become the iconic designs we now relate with.
Even when we move onto the inevitable animated series the book resists the urge to fill up the section with simple screen shots from the show and instead emphasizes storyboards, cell shades and templates from the animation process which was an excellent decision. This section also features some fantastic writing on how selling the turtles to toy manufactures was such a challenge, as with most cartoons of the time a animated series came after a successful toy line. This is one of my favorite sections of the book as for me the toys and product line is some of my fondest memories. I loved the cartoon yes but it was the stories I made in my playroom on the floor with as many turtles jammed into my turtle van as I could that stick with me the most. Images of box art and lunch boxes are essential to the visual history of the turtles and represent just how much of a pop culture phenomenon the Heroes in a Halfshell had become. It’s at this section the book references the toning down of violence and the focus being shifted to humor as it was thought the “ninja” aspect and brutality of the early comics would scare parents away.
All the “dark” tones and “damns” you could ask for were on the horizon though as the big screen live action adaptation was on the way. I know for me nothing was ever the same after seeing those big rubber suits kick and fly across my local movie screen. Again here the book fights the urge to just show movie stills and gives some excellent behind the scenes looks at the development of the suits and production
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It also features some fabulous insight into the creation of the film and how it was crucial to the survival of the brand as Batman was taking over in 1989. It was strongly felt a movie had to be made to keep momentum going. It’s scary to read how close we got to having John Candy play a turtle in a comedy focused movie.
From here the book moves on as you would imagine, through two more live action movies, the revamped animated series, the TMNT CGI motion picture all the way up to now. Heck it even, despite my most sincere hopes, shows some art and shots from the live action series ‘The Next Mutation’. I’m sorry Venus but at that age I just didn’t know what to make of you. You confused me in ways I’ll never understand.
It would have been easy to make this book. Fans are starved for it, simply through some images from their favorite moments, make it shiny and call it a day. But Farago and his team cared to much to not give the Turtles the respect they deserve. It drips from every page how passionate they are about the turtles and how important it was to them to get this right. It wasn’t enough to just present a visual history, they instead tell a story about two inspiring comic artist getting together and creating some of the most beloved characters in any medium and how those characters have evolved and changed as their audiences grows and changes with them.
As a lover of Coffee Table books it is a welcomed addition to my stack and unlike some others I own had me generally intrigued to read the accompanying stories and history. As you journey through the years one thing is clear. The turtles are not going anywhere and I can’t wait to see Vol. 2 in another 25 years. (Which I guess will start with the Michael Bay movie which is a whole other thing).
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