Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Picture by Fujis. TMNT control art by Basement #24. Original image “The Sewer” by Malcolm Hee. All characters, likenesses, logos, etc. are the exclusive property of their respective owners and as such are protected under all applicable copyright laws.
By Fujis
As soon as I saw Barry’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle control art I was worried. Worried because they looked so good, so accurate, so official that I knew I would have to spend some time clarifying the situation. So here goes…
This is the fourth installment of a monthly feature called It Came From the Basement in which Barry Bradfield (aka Basement #24) showcases his Minimate designs which focus primarily on characters from properties that Art Asylum doesn’t hold the rights to. Past issues have including hockey players, characters from Image’s Invincible, and a G.I. Joe box-set (all of which can be found under It Came From the Basement…in the Categories section).
And to clarify further since there has been some confusion in the past: I am not Basement #24. Basement #24 is the name of Barry’s website which features his artwork as well as an extensive catalogue of his past Minimate designs and it is also his handle over on the Minimate Multiverse forum. He was previously known as gra007 on one of the past incarnations of the Art Asylum forum where his Minimate designs first surfaced.
Man, full disclosure is exhausting!
Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo, and Raphael by Basement #24.
So, unfortunately, the TMNT control art is not an official offering from Art Asylum or Mirage Studios but that doesn’t make it less awesome! These Turtles are kickin’ it old school thanks to Barry! I’m talking TMNT before they had different colored masks! That’s right, their masks were all red for a time but that was before Donatello became some kind of robot, before the regrettable decision to introduce a female Turtle, and before they became pizza-munching goofballs. This was the beginning. The time when the Turtles killed street thugs and members of the Foot without a second thought. When they hacked and slashed in black and white.
These 4 limited edition cold-cast statues can be assembled to depict the first group shot of the Turtles as they prepared to face off against the Purple Dragons (TMNT #1, May 1984). They are available to order here.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved the first two Ninja Turtle movies and the first cartoon show. But things started to fall apart after the abysmal TMNT III movie. Then there was the equally disasterous live-action television series The Next Mutation. And to be honest, there have been so many restarts of the series in comic book form that I stopped keeping track. Image’s version, which thankfully only made it to the 23rd issue (if I remember correctly), was awful and the latest incarnation by Dreamwave was alright, made only slightly better by the unreal pencils of LeSean, but due to poor sales the series was cancelled after the seventh issue and Dreamwave has since folded.
Dreamwave’s TMNT #1 (June 2003). Cover by LeSean and Rob Ruffolo.
I think the Turtles suffered from overages in the past: over-licensing, over-markerting, just plain ol’ overexposure, which would explain the absence of the turtles from the toy shelves and television screens in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. But there is something undeniably powerful about this green, fighting foursome. And they have certainly fought there way back into the mainstream media. I doubt this second coming will be as overwhelming as the first but now the kids who loved the Turtles are in their late twenties or early thirties and have extra cash to burn. Perhaps this is the perfect time for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Minimates.
As I said, I would love to see classic incarnations of the Turtles in Minimate form but newer versions representing the characters as they are to be depicted in the CGI movie due in 2007 are far more likely. Likely that is if Art Asylum purseus this property which I think is doubtfull, despite it’s lucrative possibilties. They have their hands full with Marvel, DC, Ghost Rider, Battlestar Galactica, Speed Racer, Streetfighter, Rocky and Kellogg’s. Adding another property to the mix might just bring the machine to a grinding halt.
An early poster of Leonardo from Warner Bros. upcoming TMNT movie (which is tentatively called Immortal).
I, for one, have my fingers crossed that Adam, Digger, or maybe even Chuck at DST have a soft-spot for the Turtles and that we might see these figures in the years to come. Hmm, the only thing I’m worried about now is what I’m going to occupy myself with before the new movie comes out…
Cowabunga!
