History ComicBook / TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles

The TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles began in comic books, and the medium has been where several of the franchise's incarnations have taken place. Here are the most prominent ones:

* [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage The Mirage books]]: Includes the original Eastman and Laird comics, their spin-offs, and the Image series that served as a continuation.
* [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures The Archie books]]: Initially published as a tie-in to [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 the original cartoon]] under the title ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures'', they eventually went into their own odd direction.
* [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIDW The IDW books]]: The first new incarnation of the turtles since Nickelodeon bought the property, it mixes and matches elements from the turtles' history.

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* [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures The Archie books]]: Initially published as a tie-in to the original cartoon under the title ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures'', they eventually went into their own odd direction.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles began in comic books, and the medium has been where several of the franchise's incarnations have taken place. Here are the most prominent ones:

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tmnt01fullcolor.jpg
[[caption-width:226: The original turtles.]]

The original incarnation of Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the one that got the ball rolling. The first issue appeared in May, 1984.

After the unexpected success of their first issue, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird continued expanding their universe in a somewhat haphazard manner, both in the regular series and complementary books such as ''Tales of the TMNT'' and various one-shots and specials. Over time, an overall arc emerged, dealing with the turtles' enmity with the Foot, which is at the heart of the book's four major stories: the initial issue, which featured the Shredder's death; a two-parter which featured his return and the turtles' exile from New York; "Return to New York", in which the Shredder is killed off for real, and "City at War", which dealt with the aftermath. In between those stories, the book would focus on mostly stand-alone stories created either by Mirage employees themselves or guest creators. These stories would fluctuate wildly in tone and content. Several, particularly those by guest creators, now have dubious canonicity. This first series concluded with the aforementioned "City at War", which ended the Foot/Turtle conflict, introduced regular characters Karai and Shadow, and is considered by many to be the definitive TMNT story.

Soon after, a second incarnation of ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' was born, written and drawn by long-time Mirage employee Jim Lawson, and, unlike the first volume, in full color. This second series featured the return of Baxter Stockman and Nobody, introduced government organization D.A.R.P.A., and Mr. Braunze, the mysterious man with psychic powers living in April's apartment building. However, the series proved short-lived, folding after only 13 issues.

The book was soon revived under a third volume, published by Image Comics as the official continuation of the Mirage continuity. It is mostly remembered for mutilating three out of the four turtles: Raph lost an eye and got various facial scarring; Leo lost a hand; and Don was so badly hurt he was forced to become a cyborg. Other notable events include Splinter's transformation into a bat-like creature; the introduction of Pimiko, a female ninja who was eventually revealed to be the Shredder's daughter; and the expansion of Shredder mantle to a full-blown legacy, with both Raphael and an unknown female (Karai, according to [[WordOfGod word of god]] after the fact) taking on the identity. The series ended inconclusively with cancellation, and although it was subsequently removed from canon, nods to it appear once in a while.

The year 2001 saw yet another version of the book, this time helmed by turtles co-creator Peter Laird. Fifteen years after the events of volume 2, the turtles have now returned to the sewers, Casey and April are now married, and Splinter lives in Northampton with Shadow, who is now a teenager. The Utroms have announced their existence to humanity and have opened Earth up to interstellar trade, meaning that the turtles can now live in the open. It has proven controversial, thanks in part to plots such as the death of Splinter and the revelation that April was not actually born, but rather a drawing come to life.

Midway through its run, the book was joined by a second incarnation of ''Tales of the TMNT'', this time as an anthology book telling stories set through the turtles' lives, told by a variety of writers and artists.

In 2006, the regular ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' book ceased regular publication, thanks to Peter Laird's other duties, creative burn-out and the economic disincentives of publishing a money-losing book. While new issues are still being released online once in a blue moon, ''Tales'' become the de facto main book until the series' cancellation and the sale of the TMNT property.

In 2011, Nickelodeon announced that they'd licensed the rights for TMNT comic books to IDW, and that they'd be producing comics that would retain the tone of the Mirage comics, but in a continuity separate from both it and the Nickelodeon-produced cartoon. Creators have been announced, including, most interestingly, the return of ''Turtles'' co-creator Kevin Eastman as co-plotter and lay-out artist.

See also: ''TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' for information on the franchise in general.

! The Mirage comic books series provide examples of:

* AbortedArc: A handful, most notably a story involving a group of villains interested in Splinter, and another featuring a ninja with a vendetta against Hamato Yoshi.
* ActionGirl: Shadow Jones.
* ADayInTheLimelight
* AlienAmongUs: The Utroms
* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: The Foot's attack on April's apartment.
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent
* AlternateUniverse
* AnachronicOrder: ''Tales of the TMNT'' Vol. 2.
* AnimalNemesis: The feud between Oroku Nagi and Hamato Yoshi is taken up by Nagi's brother and Yoshi's pet rat, respectively. The Turtles themselves also become part of this, of course.
* {{Antivillain}}
* {{Area 51}}: Site of a D.A.R.P.A. base.
* ArmsDealer: Ruffington.
* ArtInitiatesLife: Kirby's crystal. April O'Neil is the result of this.
* ArtifactTitle: As of vol. 4, the mutant ninja turtles are no longer teenagers.
* AvengingTheVillain: The reason behind the Foot's vendetta against the turtles.
* BackFromTheDead: The Shredder; Sloane, a werewolf friend of Shadow's.
* BalefulPolymorph: In Rick Veitch's "The River", Raphael is forcibly devolved into a normal turtle.
* BeneathTheEarth
* BlackSheep: Sid, Casey's cousin.
* {{BLAM Episode}}: Many of the guest issues in volume one ended up like this, with varying results. Especially any issue by Rich Hedden & Tom [=McWeeney=].
* BlindAndTheBeast: Occurs with Raphael and an old woman in a one-shot special.
* BrainInAJar: Baxter Stockman, eventually.
* CanonDiscontinuity: Volume 3.
* CanonImmigrant:Hun, the Battle Nexus, Bishop via WordOfGod cameo (4Kids Cartoon); Cudley the Cowlick ([[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures Archie comics]]) and Charles Pennington ([[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles first movie]]) make up the short list.
* CommissionerGordon: Lt. Gordon Miller, in recent issues of Tales.
* CreatorBreakdown: Peter Laird stopped volume 4 and later sold the franchise to Viacom because he was burned out. Many posts on his blog reveal how, ever since the merchandising and cartoon started circa 1988, things spiraled out of control, and he ended up neglecting his own family.
* {{Crossover}}: Several, notably with [[UsagiYojimbo Miyamoto Usagi]], {{Cerebus}}, the WildWestCOWBoysOfMooMesa, The FlamingCarrot, and TheSavageDragon, among others.
* CycleOfRevenge: And how.
* DarkerAndEdgier:the comic is very much this compared with the 80's cartoon and the 2000's cartoon.
** Lampshaded in the movie Turtles Forever where the 80's turtles and the 2000's turtles were scared of the Mirage turtles.
* DaEditor: Charles Pennington.
* DeathByChildbirth: Occurred to Casey's first wife, Gabrielle.
* DeusExMachina: Employed surprisingly often.
* DiscontinuityNod: The appearance of an Utrom called "Dr. X" in issues of ''Tales''; the name had been used by an Utrom in the discarded volume 3.
* DivergentCharacterEvolution: The turtles themselves.
* DownerEnding: The turtles' life story, if the tales set in the future are any indication.
* DumbBlonde: Renet.
* DyingAlone: In Volume 4 Issue 10, Splinter dies of old age (presumably of heart failure, as he clutches his chest) while preparing a drink for himself. He is later found by Leonardo.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The overwrought narration from the first issue is gone by the second one, and never really appears again.
* {{Elseworld}}: The Michael Zulli three-parter in the first series.
* EnemyCivilWar: The "war" in "City at War", with different factions of the Foot fighting each other.
* EnemyWithout[=/=]GrandTheftMe: Casey's darker self, which takes over a shapeshifting alien in an issue of ''Tales''.
* EnigmaticMinion: Lin, a member of the Foot Clan who has been seen helping out other parties for unknown reasons in recent issues of ''Tales''.
* EvilOverlord: Savanti Romero.
* FantasticRacism: A prominent theme in the series after aliens arrived on Earth.
* FirstLawOfResurrection: Eastman and Laird, not figuring that their comic would last past the first issue, killed off the Shredder by having his own grenade explode on him. Once they realized that they wanted him back, they had to resort to worm-based cloning to do so.
* FishPeople: Several.
* FlyingBrick: Nobody/The Herald.
* ForTheEvulz: This is the reason why Baxter Stockman decided to use his Mousers for crime when he'd already made a legal fortune with them.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Complete Carnage.
* FunWithAcronyms: The Committee to Restore American Patriotism, a.k.a., "C.R.A.P.".
* TheFuture: Has played a part in several stories.
* GoingForTheBigScoop: Reporter Lauren Stanton, in the issue "Expose".
* {{Golem}}: Featured in the Tales issue titled "Kaddish", with nods to the original Jewish legend.
* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction: D.A.R.P.A., which is a M.I.B-style organization instead of what it actually is in real life.
* HappilyAdopted: Shadow, technically, since neither Casey nor April are her biological parents.
* IncredibleShrinkingMan: Donatello's current status in the books.
* InterspeciesRomance: Michelangelo/Serilicus (Mutant Turtle/Styracodon); Leonardo/Radical (Mutant Turtle/Human)
* IntrepidReporter: Lauren Stanton in recent issues of ''Tales''.
* KilledOffForReal: Splinter, Oroku Saki, Baxter Stockman.
* {{Knight Templar}}s: A group of rogue Utroms called "The Illuminated", whose purpose is to eliminate all violent races from the universe.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Mr. Braunze does this to the turtles at the tail end of volume 2.
* LaserGuidedTykebomb: The turtles themselves, who were trained by Splinter to eventually kill the Shredder.
* LoveTriangle: Oroku Nagi, Hamato Yoshi and Tang Shen.
* MeaningfulFuneral: Splinter [[TearJerker receives one]] after his death.
* MedievalJapan
* MistakenForAliens: After the Utrom arrival on Earth.
* MoodWhiplash: A common occurrence in the current ''Tales of the TMNT'' volume, thanks to wildly different writers, artists, and stories.
* TheMole: Lin, who [[spoiler: was a Foot ninja under orders to infiltrate the NYPD as a detective.]]
* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Dr. Dome.
* TheMultiverse
* NoDialogueEpisode: The first issue of "City at War".
* OpeningMonologue: Every issue of ''Tales'' begins with one, ending with the line "Let me tell you a story..."
* OutOfFocus: The Turtles themselves, especially in Volume 1, often take a back seat to their various guest characters.
* PhysicalGod
* PinPullingTeeth: Raphael does this a few times in the story arc "Body Count".
* {{Posthumous Character}}s: The Hamato Yoshi/Tang Shen/Oroku Nagi trio. Professor Obligado.
* TheProfessor: Professor Honeycutt, the Utrom Glurin.
* RaceLift: Although April O'Neil's race was never established during the original comics, or even agreed upon by the creators, Kevin Eastman used to draw her with distinctively non-caucasian features, which went away when he stopped drawing.
* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: The antagonists from the volume 1 story "Survivalists".
* ScarsAreForever: The turtles' mutilations in volume 3. Foot Ninja Cha Ocho sports a scar left by Leonardo.
* ScheduleSlip: All the time; during the first series the creators joked that you could tell it was a Mirage book if it was running late.
* SecondLove: April, to Casey.
* StoryArc
* SdrawkcabName: When Baxter Stockman uses his Mousers to hold the city at ransom, the genius chooses the Rextab building as his first victim.
** Presumably also a ShoutOut to the Comicbook/FantasticFour's headquarters.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Pimiko's costume.
* TemporaryBlindness: Subverted in the "Blind Sight" arc.
* TimeSkip: Volume 4 takes place roughly fifteen years after the previous canonical volume.
** Several issues in, the series jumps another six months ahead to show how things have changed since the Utroms unveiled themselves to humanity.
* TimeyWimeyBall
* {{Tsundere}}: Princess Serilicus.
* TwoLinesNoWaiting: The basic structure of "City at War", with separate storylines for the Turtles, April, Casey and Splinter.
* UncannyFamilyResemblance: Between Battling Bernice and her daughter Ananda.
* TheUnmasquedWorld: After the Utroms open up Earth to alien commerce.
* VagueAge: Karai, who was old enough to have a teenaged daughter when introduced, and yet looks no older than 45 in the current comics.
* VolleyingInsults: Casey and Raph do this in issue #11 of the original book, in a scene that was later adapted to the movie.
* WesternTerrorists: The Committee to Rebuild American Patriotism, the antagonist group in an early issue of the original series.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Tatsu was suppose to show up in the comics after "City at War".
* WhatTheHellHero: After Raphael almost kills Mikey in an early issue.
* WingedHumanoid: Raptarr.

<<|ComicBooks|>>

* PhysicalGod
* PickOnSomeoneYourOwnSpecies: The feud between Oroku Nagi and Hamato Yoshi is taken up by Nagi's brother and Yoshi's pet rat, respectively. The Turtles themselves also become part of this, of course.

* LoveTriangle: Oroku Nagi, Hamato Yoshi, and Tang Shen.

* CreatorBreakdown: Peter Laird stopped volume 4 and later sold the franchise to Viacom because he was burned out. Many posts on his blog reveal how, ever since the merchandising and cartoon started circa 1988, things spiraled out of control, and he ended up neglecting his own family.
** Did he ever think about what could happen should he sell the franchise to anyone? That maybe they would bring back VENUS?

* {{Crossover}}: Several, notably with [[UsagiYojimbo Miyamoto Usagi]], {{Cerebus}}, the WildWestCOWBoysOfMooMesa, The Flaming Carrot, and TheSavageDragon, among others.

* {{Crossover}}: Several, notably with [[UsagiYojimbo Miyamoto Usagi]], {{Cerebus}}, the Wild West C.O.W.boys of Moo Mesa, The Flaming Carrot, and TheSavageDragon, among others.

* {{Crossover}}: Several, notably with [[UsagiYojimbo Miyamoto Usagi]], {{Cerebus}}, the Wild West C.O.W.boys of Moo Mesa, and TheSavageDragon, among others.

The original incarnation of Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the one that got the ball rolling.

After the unexpected success of their first issue, Eastman and Laird continued expanding their universe in a somewhat haphazard manner, both in the regular series and complementary books such as ''Tales of the TMNT'' and various one-shots and specials. Over time, an overall arc emerged, dealing with the turtles' enmity with the Foot, which is at the heart of the book's four major stories: the initial issue, which featured the Shredder's death; a two-parter which featured his return and the turtles' exile from New York; "Return to New York", in which the Shredder is killed off for real, and "City at War", which dealt with the aftermath. In between those stories, the book would focus on mostly stand-alone stories created either by Mirage employees themselves or guest creators. These stories would fluctuate wildly in tone and content. Several, particularly those by guest creators, now have dubious canonicity. This first series concluded with the aforementioned "City at War", which ended the Foot/Turtle conflict, introduced regular characters Karai and Shadow, and is considered by many to be the definitive TMNT story.

* EgomaniacHunter: Jack Marlin.
* EldritchAbomination: At least one.

* HilariousInHindsight: The comic was meant to parody FunnyAnimals, [[{{DarkerAndEdgier}} Dark and Gritty]] comics, among other things that were popular; ironically, this comic ''started'' the fad of animal teams.

* MrMagooAndTheMonster: Occurs with Raphael and an old woman in a one-shot special.

One final note: Through the years, the book has proven incredibly resistant to RetCanon. Despite the popularity of {{Canon Foreigner}}s such as Krang, Bebop, Rocksteady, and Agent Bishop or concepts such as color-coded bandanas, these have not become part of the Mirage Universe. Although the policy has been slightly relaxed in recent years, it has led to a comic book that is drastically different from any subsequent incarnation it spawned, which has led to a lot of stunned faces among those not aware of these differences.

! These comic books series provide examples of:

In 2006, the regular ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' book ceased regular publication, thanks to Peter Laird's other duties, creative burn-out and the economic disincentives of publishing a money-losing book. While new issues are still being released online once in a blue moon, ''Tales'' has since become the de facto main book.

* CanonImmigrant:Hun, the Battle Nexus,Bishop and Shredder's armor from the 4Kids Cartoon (Ditto) Cudley the Cowlick ([[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures Archie comics]]) and Charles Pennington ([[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles first movie]]) make up the short list.

* DiscontinuityNod: The appearance of an Utrom called "Dr. X" in an issue of ''Tales''; the name had been used by an Utrom in the discarded volume 3.

* CanonImmigrant:Hun, the Battle Nexus,Bishop and Shredder's armor{{4Kids Cartoon}} (Ditto) Cudley the Cowlick ([[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures Archie comics]]) and Charles Pennington ([[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles first movie]]) make up the short list.

* CanonImmigrant:Hun, the Battle Nexus,Bishop and Shredder's armor(4Kids Cartoon) (Ditto) Cudley the Cowlick ([[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures Archie comics]]) and Charles Pennington ([[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles first movie]]) make up the short list.

* CanonImmigrant:Hun, the Battle Nexus,Bishop and Shredder's armor([[4Kids Cartoon]]) (Ditto) Cudley the Cowlick ([[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures Archie comics]]) and Charles Pennington ([[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles first movie]]) make up the short list.

* CanonImmigrant:Hun, the Battle Nexus,Bishop and Shredder's armor{{2003 TMNT Cartoon}} (Ditto) Cudley the Cowlick ([[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures Archie comics]]) and Charles Pennington ([[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles first movie]]) make up the short list.

* CanonImmigrant:Hun, the Battle Nexus,Bishop and Shredder's armor{{4Kids Cartoon}} (Ditto) Cudley the Cowlick ([[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures Archie comics]]) and Charles Pennington ([[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles first movie]]) make up the short list.

* CanonImmigrant: Hun ([[TMNT2003 2003 cartoon]]), the Battle Nexus (Ditto) Cudley the Cowlick ([[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures Archie comics]]) and Charles Pennington ([[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles first movie]]) make up the short list.

* Creator Breakdown: Peter Laird stopped volume 4 and later sold the franchise to Viacom because he was burned out. Many posts on his blog reveal how, ever since the merchandising and cartoon started circa 1988, things spiraled out of control, and he ended up neglecting his own family.