Issue Description

This was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' first battle with Shredder.

Continued from Leonardo #1.

As everyone is reacting to Leonardo's battered body being thrown through April's apartment window, a cadre of Foot Soldiers crash through the remaining apertures in hot pursuit of the fallen Turtle. A fierce battle takes place and April's home is trashed. The wonderful Holiday spirit that had pervaded the apartment mere moments before has been shattered as easily as the panes of glass.

The Turtles retreat to the first floor of April's building, fighting Foot all the way. Leonardo is badly hurt and can barely move, so April helps him walk. O'Neil is nearly killed as she opens a door, but she's saved by Leo's quick reactions. The exertion causes him to collapse again, but our heroes make their way to April's ground floor junk shop (which she inherited from her father). Unfortunately they find the Shredder and numerous Foot Soldiers waiting for them!

Before the battle can erupt, a hooded stranger emerges... it's Casey Jones ! Casey attacks and Raph joyously joins in... much to everyone else's surprise. The battle now favors the Turtles thanks to Casey and they begin to kick some serious butt. Casey actually gets the better of the Shredder and sends him flying with a kick! Don, however, doesn't fare so well against Shredhead later in the fight. Fortunately, as Shredder is about to make mincemeat out of Don-san, Mikey hurls a Foot Soldier into the villain, proclaiming "You forgot one thing... our teamwork!"

As things begin to look hopeful for the TMNT and crew, the Foot blast a hole in the ceiling of the shop and more enemies drop into the melee. April remembers that her father had done a poor job of sealing an opening in a defunct walk-in freezer (the shop had once been a grocery store), so everyone heads there to escape.

The blast in the ceiling has created a fire, and the smoke alerts the local police. As the sirens wail and the building burns, the Shredder and his Foot make their escape.

Casey, the Turtles, April and Splinter manage to get out of the burning building by way of the freezer. They decide that they can't take the van due to the police presence and head out on foot (no pun intended). From a rooftop several blocks away, our heroes watch April's building burn. April falls to the ground and cries.

In the next scene, we find the group driving out on the highway in Casey's '57 Chevy with a U-Haul trailer in tow. April rides in the car with Casey while Splinter, Don, Raph and Mike do what they can to attend to Leonardo's injuries inside the trailer. The group take the Northampton, Massachusetts exit...

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1984)

Publisher

Mirage

Volume Description

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol.1

The first TMNT Comic book series. Created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and self published, the comic sold surprisingly well and kicked off the independent sales boom of the eighties. Eastman and Laird both wrote and illustrated the first eleven issues of the comic before taking a break from collaborating with each other and took turns (along with other Mirage staff) to write solo stories and collaborate with others. The nineteenth issue saw both the creators reuniting on writing duties with Jim Lawson providing the art for the the three part "Return To New York" story.

By now the turtles had become huge in the mass media thanks to an animated series and merchandising blitz. This however left little time for the Eastman and Laird to participate in the comic as they were overseeing numerous licensing deals as well as fending off lawsuits from greedy opportunists. The comic soon became an anthology book with a revolving door of guest writers and artists showcasing up and coming talents such as Richard Corben, Michael Zulli, and Rick Veitch among others, some of which worked within the Mirage continuity, while others did their own vision of the turtles, ranging from ultra comedic to ultra serious and the downright bizarre. During this time Mirage regulars such as Michael Dooney and A.C. Farley also did several issues.

The forty-eighth issue saw the return of Eastman and Laird as writers. Lawson once again provided the art for the two part "Shades of Grey" story. The fiftieth issue was first part of a thirteen part "City at War" story and was a silent issue with no text whatsoever that was written and drawn by both Eastman and Laird. The rest of the story was once again drawn by Lawson. This multi-part epic ended the first volume of the TMNT. The book was relaunched with a second volume a few months later this time published in color.

Collected EditionsTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 1 (#13 & "Shell Shocked")Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 2 (#16 & 22-23)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 3 (#27-29)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 4 (#32, 33 & 37)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 5 (#34 & 38-40)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 6 (#42-44)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 7 (#45-47)

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