Amazing Transformers/G.I. Joe Mash-up

 Check out more pictures and other custom figures on the toycutter webpage.

Suggested Reading: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1: Change is Constant
Written by Kevin B. Eastman and Tom Waltz
Art by Dan Duncan

Amazon.com Summary:

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles return to comics in their first IDW adventure! It''s a different world for the Turtles. The group is broken as Raphael wanders the streets of NYC in search of food and shelter. His brothers and Master Splinter are on the search, but so far all they can find is trouble - in the form of mutant alley cat Old Hob and his gang of criminals! The very core of the Turtles family is at stake as the new origin of TMNT is revealed! Join Tom Waltz, Dan Duncan, and TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman for the start of a wild ride!

Originally created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are firmly rooted in the popular superhero comics of it's time, most notably Frank Miller's run on Daredevil and the incredible popularity of Marv Woflman's run on the New Teen Titans.

However, like many of my peers, the original black-and-white comics were not my first exposure to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but rather the cartoon of the late 80's. Shortly after my introduction to the cartoon, I became obsessed with the action figures, and sure enough, my love for the Turtles led me to the kid-friendly Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures published by Archie Comics. I vaguely remember picking up my first issue on a trip to KB Toys (rest in peace, mall-staple of my childhood), and predates my interest in superhero comics by a couple of years.Needless to say, this franchise holds a special place in my geeky heart.

While the Turtles never really went away, they certainly waned in popularity after the initial cartoon launch and the kids of that era grew into teenagers themselves. More recently however, the Turtles are popping up in the news again thanks to a new cartoon from Nickelodeon later in 2012, a new toy line from Playmates who made the original action figures , and even a movie from Michael Bay that's been raising all sorts of controversy. And now, in addition to all of that excitement, TMNT has  alsoreturned as a new ongoing comic series and even enlists one of the original creators, Kevin Eastman, which lends quite a boost in the legitimacy of this series as a torchbearer to a new era for the Turtles.

So how does the new series hold up? Quite nicely if you ask me. While the artwork can be a bit shaky at times, the story itself is a nice blend of what's come before in Turtle lore for a good dose of nostalgia, and doesn't come off at all as stale.

The first four issues of the series have been collected as Volume 1, "Change Is Constant", which I would readily recommend to any fan open to a modern interpretation

Rating: 3.5/5.0

If you'd like to read more on the origin of the Turtles, check out this great history lesson from Comics Alliance!

Link Round-up: Week of April 9, 2012

 

With the changing of each season, there's always an uptick in entries on fashion and style blogs. This week I discovered one called Street Etiquette that had a great article on a DIY project using an old pair of canvas sneakers and a bottle of dye. Check it out, along with some other links, below:

• DIY Etiquette: Using Dye [Vol 1] (STREET ETIQUETTE) [shoes]
• Reader Q+A: Dressing well in warmer weather (Effortless Gent) [clothes]
• Meme Alert: Chandler Bing From ‘Friends’ Dances on Everything (Mashable) [humor, television]

Off to Taiwan

Things will be quiet for the next two weeks or so on the blog as the Mrs. and I take a family trip to the beautiful island of Taiwan! We'll be seeing family and will primarily be on the tour of the western side of the island. What's there you ask? I'm not entirely sure, but I can't wait to find out as there are both bustling cities and an abundance of natural beauty in Taiwan.

Man, the last time I was back in the motherland was April of 1999, this trip has been waiting to happen for quite awhile now. While my spoken Taiwanese is decent, I can't read or write, and my Mandarin is practically non-existent all the more reason why I'm thankful my mom and sister are along on this trip.

While you can expect entries for "Tuesday's Tunes" to continue, other content will be on hold until I return...

....with tons of pictures...

...mostly of food.

I'm especially look forward to trying as many bowls of Beef Noodle soup as I can, in the eternal quest to improve my own recipe.

Photo from Chow Times
I was instantly drooling after my Google Image search for this...

And while travel for me goes hand-in-hand with eating, I am really looking forward to members of my family that I rarely get to see and to experience with all of my senses the place that previous generations of my family called "home."

Suggested Reading: Morning Glories

Morning Glories, Vol. 1: For a Better Future
Written by Nick Spencer
Art by Joe Eisma

Amazon.com summary:

"Morning Glory Academy is one of the most prestigious prep schools in the country... but something sinister and deadly lurks behind its walls. When six gifted, but troubled, students arrive, they find themselves trapped and fighting for their lives as the secrets of the academy reveal themselves!"

Discovering Morning Glories was like finally being able to scratch that itch I've had since Lost finished and went off-air a few years ago. With strong characterization, the story that unravels before you fills your mind with a million questions, and like any good mystery, every time you are a given an answer...you are left with a dozen new questions. I love the twist endings that seem to be in almost every issue/chapter, which readily invoke my favorite "What the?!?" moments in Lost. Needless to say, I readily consumed the first two collected volumes. Best of all? I passed along, said volumes to my wife, a casual comic reader who has enjoyed Y: The Last Man and Fables, and she finished them faster than I did and asked for more.

While I agree with the many reviews that Joe Eisma's art can make it difficult to distinguish one character from another, a problem only exacerbated by the large cast all dressed in matching school uniforms, it's not distracting enough from the stellar characters and story that just pull you in with the gravitational force of a black hole. I know that the lasting power of Morning Glories will ultimately depend on how Nick Spencer and the team end the series, but I'm more than willing to stay on for the ride to find out!

Rating: 4.0/5.0