TMNT: The IDW Collection Vol. 1

I was introduced to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, like many, via the 1989 cartoon series. The series, of which I was a ravenous fan of as a child, has not aged quite like fine wine. More like stale pizza. Ripe with animation errors (that can mostly be forgiven), the series also unfortunately lacked a shred of seriousness. Wall-to-wall with corny jokes and constant meta references, and populated by not particularly threatening villains, its promise of mutant ninja action enticed the imagination more than the show ever actually delivered on that promise. However, the live action film that hit cinemas in 1990 was a revelation. Fun and lighthearted enough but counterbalanced with a sharper, more serious tone than its animated counterpart, relentless combat action, genuine stakes, and legitimate villains, it would cement me as a TMNT fan for life. Eventually, I would check out the comics. First, the Archie series as a kid, then later, any Mirage issues I could get my hands on at the second hand comic shop, as well as the black and white Image series. I enjoyed all of them. More recently, I picked up a few issues of the IDW series... I started around issue 145. Good reads but by this point, the series is knee deep in its own lore. I liked what I saw enough to go back to the beginning and check out what I've missed. Boy am I glad I did. I was planning on only buying the first one of this set, but after finishing it, I have already ordered Vol 2 and will probably order a few more volumes after that. First, the product itself: beautiful, large, hardcover book, great binding, lovely large, colorful pages. And collects 17 comics! Second, the content: a reboot of the franchise, this series takes a little from the animated series (Beebop and Rocksteady, the Turtles love pizza), a lot from the comic series that came before it , and does a lot of its own thing (a unique take on the Hamato Yoshi/Oroku Saki backstory and mutation origin story). The results are an absolute blast! Nice characterizations, awesome artwork, sharp action. This is not a dark and deeply serious book, but at the same time, it's not all ridiculousness and goofiness either. It finds that sweet spot, that neat balance between the two. It's also appropriate for younger readers. Yes, there is violence and there are some mature themes (child abuse, murder, etc.) but it's all handled thoughtfully and nothing is over the top. Highly recommended.

After being blown away by the legendary "The Last Ronin", most are going to want more to appreciate that story further, or just understand where it all began. This is possibly the best place to start that leads to that story, people. What you find here is one hell of a reboot with fascinatingly fresh origins, gripping storytelling, and outstanding one-shot issues with the Turtles + Splinter. Absolutely adore, can't recommend enough! IDW does something absolutely unheard of in the comic book world by not just rebooting the TMNT line involving the original creator(s), but more impressively, by also releasing these collections in the recommended reading order...including tie-ins plus one-shots. I mean, BRAVO! (Take notes, DC, Marvel, and other comic book publishers. Streamlining the reading order is not just appreciated, it's like divine intervention for us newer and older comic book readers making our lives much easier to read + collect.) I've seen reviews here citing binding issues. I'm happy to note that my order late Feb 2024 got me the December 2022 version (11th printing) of this book, and it feels solid throughout. I'll happily revisit the review if it ever comes apart, but for now, zero issues. Now, the never-ending battle has commenced with volume 1. The good ol' burn-the-wallet-until-broke game to collect every single book in the series...haha! Build details of the edition I received: Format: Hardcover. (Oversized. Sized like a DC deluxe edition aka normal omnibus size.) Binding: Sewn and sturdy. Made in China. Pages: Thick paper, slightly glossy. Gutter loss: Little to none. Slipcover: None Dust jacket: None Page numbers: None Table of contents: Yes Bookmark included: Yes Packaging: It's an extreme rarity to get ahold of books in a collector-friendly condition from the Amazon warehouse. And what do you know? Got lucky this time, as it arrived in near mint condition!

5 Stars for content. As a collector and reader of the "TMNT the Works" run/reprint of the classics I gave the New Ongoing a shot. I was not let down. Great reading whether your brand new to TMNT or grew up with them from the 80's. Worth the buy in content alone. 5 stars all day. After reading other reviews and receiving my copy, yes this is another crappy constructed book by IDW. It's a shame. All glue (like the, TMNT The Works series), only held in by the front and back cover page (afraid it may tear apart any second), & it pops with every page turn. Be careful handling these books or any IDW hard back for that matter. ( this is the 5th IDW book I own and they're all just as equally crap bound) It's a shame as the pages are high quality and the content is amazing. The ongoing series will be the next TMNT classics like the, The Works already are. It's just tragic that IDW refuses to make a quality book that you aren't afraid of it getting dinged up, just by looking at it or have the fear of it falling apart at any second just by reading it. I've read worse content from DC and Marvel with 10x the construction. These books need to be made like either anything from Vertigo or Dark horse (best bound books money can buy), any DC absolute edition or at the least constructed like a Marvel Omnibus (still amazingly bound). Instead IDW cuts corners and puts reading gold in a turd of a bond book. Honor your artisits that make you rich and sew bind a damn book. At the very least do it for your fans. Then again I bought it (even after the crappy bound the works books) and I'm still going to reccomend you do too and IDW will still make a crappy bound book with amazing content. If you like TMNT, have or haven't read the classics or just want to dive in.... this is for you.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The IDW Collection is a fantastic deal. For, at the time of writing this, $35.00 you get the first twelve issues of the series AND six micro series one shots that provide much needed context to the story at large, as well as being a ton of fun to read, like the rest of the series. I held off reading the series until this collection came out and I am glad that I did. On top of providing you with the one shots, they're even organized chronologically into the book so your reading experience is seamless. The most impressive thing about the series, for me, is the way the personalities of the characters have remained faithful to the way you remember them, if you're already a fan, but are given much needed back story and context as to WHY they are the way they are. The story as a whole is well written, easy to follow, and completely in line with what came before. The art, for me personally, is gorgeous throughout, whether it be during the kinetic action scenes or the quieter, character building moments. The book itself is well laid out. The cover is solid and won't smudge as easily as many collections. The pages are easy to read; not once did I find myself wishing I could open it wider to see the art inside, a problem many other collections never seem to address. It even comes with a ribbon to serve as a bookmark. All in all, TMNT: The IDW collection vol 1 is a perfectly laid out, incredibly well written steal of a book and is required reading for fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or comic fans in general. An absolute buy. *UPDATE* While I have not had a problem with the construction of my copy, several newer reviews have shown that the quality of some of these books is poor. I am not going to change my score, seeing as my copy seems to be quite good, but I feel it is important to give prospective buyers as much information as possible. The storytelling, art, and enjoyment of this collection is quite high but now that it is known that some copies are inferior, consider buying the cheaper paperbacks instead. $25 or so dollars is too much to spend on a product that may fail you soon in the future.

Honestly I wanna give this a 5 star review just based on the actual hardcover itself, really good artwork, the spine is designed to look like the hilts of the Turtles’ weapons, just overall a beauty to look at. However there’s a story attached to this also, so I gotta consider that too. Now I’m not a huge Ninja Turtles fan, not because I dislike them in anyway, I just never got into them all that much. With that said, this works well for fans of old and newcomers who might be looking for a starting point as this story is a reboot of the familiar Ninja Turtle story, but with a new narrative. Overall I really like it and its takes on all of the characters (Splinter in particular has been a huge highlight in my opinion as he gets quite a bit of focus on his role in the Turtles’ lives). I highly recommend this if you’re at all curious or interested in TMNT and are looking for a place to start.

The turtles are back! This was a spectacular start to the series. It hooked me right away with it's great art and engaging story. Collected in a nice hardcover book with quality paper.

Great and exciting story line! It leads to the last ronin which is something I PERSONALLY look forward to for sure

I love this series. It brings back fond memories when I use to watch the cartoon show every Saturday morning.

disappointing as I received my item damaged

El mejor recopilatorio de la serie de las TMNT que está publicando IDW en América. Está en inglés y recoge tanto la serie principal como los comics transversales de los personajes (One-shot) en el orden correcto de lectura, lo que ayuda mucho. Contiene los doces primeros números y los One-shots de Leonardo, Miguel Ángel, Donatello, Rafael y Splinter. Al parecer éste tomo tubo problemas con el montaje y a muchas personas se le despegaban las hojas. Yo lo recibí hace unos días pero de momento no he tenido ningún problema, por lo que seguramente éste percance lo deben haber corregido. De momento un 10 al cómic y a la edición.

The book came in the best condition possible, very happy with my order

Os desenhos, os diálogos e as referências aos games... perfeita! Personagens muito bem caracterizados. Mal posso esperar para ler as demais.

incredible. Huge TMNT fan but the movies are terrible, just recently discovered that the comics are amazing after reading last ronin. i am now on issue 11 of this series and its awesome.