Hi, this is Bobby Curnow, Chief Turtle Editor
at IDW Publishing, and you are listening to the
Geekcast Radio Network. Hey, this is Tom Waltz,
IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle writer, and
you have jumped inside the pull bag. You've just
jumped inside the pull bag. Join TFG1 Mike and
the rest of the comic crew here at the GCRN as
they make their great escape into comics. From
DC, Marvel, and Image to IDW, Boom Studios, and
Xenoscope, we have everything right here. We
cover things like Transformers, He -Man, Super
Heroes, TMNT, and Radiant Black. Yeah, we have
all that and so much more. It's all inside the
pull bag here on the Geekcast Radio Network.
So, without further ado, it's time to talk about
the comics we're reading right now. Here inside
the pull bag. How you doing? Hi. Nice night.
Mm -hmm. Pizza dude's got 30 seconds. Mm -hmm.
Hi, folks. My name is Michael Alan Blanchard.
I've been a podcaster for nearly 17 years. As
of December 8th or 12th, we can't decide which
date it actually was back in 2008. So December
2025 will be 17 years for me. I go by TFG1Mike
on all of my podcast endeavors and everywhere
online. In 2012, Steve Megatron showed me a picture
of the new 52DC Comics Batman number 13 cover.
This is the cover with the Joker with his face
kind of coming off or going on or we can't really
tell, but it's this really gruesome face. of
the New 52 Joker. This was starting the Death
of the Family story arc by Scott Snyder, Greg
Capolo, and others, and it got me into comics
full -time. From October 2012 to March of 2013,
Steve Megatron and I covered the Death of the
Family run in the Batman New 52. As I just mentioned,
after finishing the recording for Batman number
17 on Geekcast Radio, our flagship podcast, Steve
basically told me, in bold, all caps, underlined,
told me that we needed a specific place for comics
if we were going to continue comics. The first
thing we needed was a title. Thankfully, after
many, many failed attempts at thinking on my
own, because back in 2012 and 2013, we still
thought on our own. I prefer actual intelligence
to artificial intelligence. Thank you very much.
Thankfully, a good friend of Steve's and a good
friend of mine and a good friend of my co -host,
who I will introduce at the end of all of this,
because he will come in much, much later at this
point. But thankfully. Michael Powers, that good
old Booth Ninja 81, came up with The Pull Bag.
And so on March 5th or 6th, we can't decide because
I don't remember which actual date it actually
published on in 2013, The Pull Bag was unleashed
into the podcasting world. Twelve years ago today,
The Pull Bag went online. Twelve years and 575
episodes. What a journey. Thank you to everyone.
Steve Megatron for all of the stuff he has done
with the editing in the beginning, and then I
took it over with all of the arts he has ever
done for this podcast, for coming on and doing
all of the co -hosting that he's done with me
for this. Michael Powers for doing some of the
podcasts that he's done on here, as well as obviously
coming up with the title. Ryan, The Uneven Flow,
JT from Saskatoon. the person I will introduce
later, but I'm going to mention him now, Mr.
Joe Reed, and so many more, plus all of you lovely
listeners. Thank you for everything. As far as
the TPB TMNT coverage, it was January 22, 2014.
We released TPB Back Issue Classics, IDW, TMNT
Volume 1. I remember when Joe first told me about
this, I had a very visceral reaction. You see,
dear listener, I was a cartoon TMNT kid, not
a comics TMNT kid. I hated that they all wore
red bandanas in the books because I was so used
to the multicolored cartoon awesomeness. Clang?
Did you say Clang? Obviously, 11 years later,
since we started the TPB TMNT coverage and released
45 podcasts covering everything in the main IDW
series, I've obviously changed my mind and think
that the IDW continuity is the end -all, be -all
of emotional TMNT storytelling. We are continuing
that inside 2025's Mutant March as we finish
off the original run from Reborn Volume 5, Mystic
Sister, to Reborn Volume 9, Once and Always.
And after that, later on in this year, we're
going to bring it back to Sewer Surf in September.
when we will start reviewing the Volume 2 IDW
TMNT coverage when Jason Aaron takes over the
writing. And, man, we can't wait for that. So
I'm pretty much almost out of breath here. Joe,
any thoughts on this history of all of this before
we get into the Mystic Sister story arc? The
years you're throwing out there, it's like my
oldest child was not born when this was happening.
How old am I now that we've been doing this for
this long? Well, if I'm 45, you're close to it,
or maybe a little older. Yep. What? Yeah, so
I have to do a little bit of math. Let's see.
45. Yeah, I'll be 45 in a month. Happy early
birthday. Yeah. Gosh, yeah, and 14 years ago,
I didn't know what a podcast was. Absolutely.
Yeah, so, folks, it's been a long journey, and
we have been trying to get back to it. 2024 was
a rough year. I didn't do hardly anything with
this podcast last year. But Volume 5, Reborn
Volume 5, I should say, collects issues 124 to
130. The story was done by Sophie Campbell. The
art was done by Ken Garing for Part 1. Parts
two to five and seven was Pablo Tunica. Part
five, Sophie did some stuff. Tony Gregory did
some stuff in part six. Additional inks was Patrico
Del Peche, and the colors obviously were done
by Rhonda Pattison. Rhonda, I owe you a big apology.
I am so sorry. For 11 years, I have been saying
Rhonda Pattinson. I have been getting your last
name wrong for 11 friggin' years, Rhonda. I am
so sorry. It is Rhonda Pattison. I'm sure she
gets that all the time. And well, you can you
can rest assured and comforted that I'd never
heard you say I never heard it like, you know,
it always just rolls out of our mouth. So but
I just make sure that I said it right. I'm sure
I typed it wrong a couple of times, too. Are
you related to that vampire guy? Some nut who
thinks he's Batman. letters done by sean lee
story consultant kevin eastman and tom waltz
on this arc and boy what a story oh my god yeah
oh boy this book i think when the press releases
came out for this arc like you know it caught
the internet nerd rooms on fire for a couple
of days yeah issue 124 specifically Hey folks,
Editor TFG and Mike here, and I need to put a
correction here, and this correction will serve
as a correction for myself anytime I say 124
for the issue number for the rest of this episode
of The Pull Bag. Venus did not technically debut
in 124. Her return was issue 127 of IDW Publishing's
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That's what the
press release was for. Issue 127. So this right
here, is where I initially had stated it in the
first eight and a half minutes of the podcast.
So that's where I first noticed it in the editing.
So, correction made. It was issue 127 when Venus
returned to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
IDW Publishing comic run. Now, back to the show.
Because they announced it as Venus is back, baby.
They threw Venus. Out of all the characters that
they could have ever brought into IDW, I was
never expecting Venus. I didn't expect Venus
either. And I think it comes from just the decency
to know that there are some characters that don't
hold up well or didn't get a... Good shake. The
audience responded badly. And it felt for years
like one of those rules that you're just not
going to break. Like you you can't bring Uncle
Ben back. You can't kill off Alfred. Like there
are just some rules that you can't break. And
bringing Venus into the comics felt like one
of those rules. Peter Laird notoriously hated
the character in that live action show. I think
he was sole owner by that point. I think Kevin
has been kind of indifferent. They both did want
a fifth turtle at a point, and it was going to
be Kirby based off Jack Kirby. But gosh, and
I think about a fifth turtle, too. The first
time I remember ever seeing that was when in
one of the Archie turtles, April got mutated.
It was it was like a summer special. It wasn't
part of the main continuity. But yeah, they've
always been trying to do that. And then. They
did it in the live action series. Next mutation.
Yep. I still haven't watched all of that. I don't
even know how many. I don't know. I don't know
how I need to look into that. I'm not going to
probably watch it, but I just know that it was
so polarizing with the fans and with everyone
else that it's just the interesting takes at
the time for that were that. with the turtle
the main turtles they were ninjas from japan
she was mutated in chinatown and had the kung
fu chinese background and gotcha was more tied
to mysticism and magic which was okay interesting
um but yeah i think there was that well when
you create a character like that at that time
in the world and i'm not talking about now with
right The Mary Sue with the weird accusations
that people throw out there. But at the time
they threw that character out there because,
you know, we need a girl turtle because girls
don't watch our show. And surely if we put a
girl in there, the girls will watch our show
and our toy sales will double. I mean, that was
obviously why she was put in there. Yeah. And
what IDW has always done with everything they've
ever touched is that they've taken characters
and situations. that are either cheesy or not
good or uh from a a funny book and they've translated
them they've updated them and they've put them
back in the book in a way that makes them cool
relatable fit naturally and you know it's like
so these people that are complaining i doubt
they had ever read any of the idw turtles to
know with how much love they put these characters
back into the comic yep Pigeon Pete is a great
example. Absolutely. Pigeon Pete rocks. And I
have to apologize to everybody at IGW as well,
because when I saw the title of the trade, I
saw the title, and I was like, no. My first thought
was kitsune. I thought it was going to be a kitsune
story again. I didn't even look at the cover
of the trade. I just looked at the title. And
the cover is basically Venus basically robot
party. She's basically Pinocchio'd. She's basically
trussed up. She's basically strung up. But just
when I hear Mystic Sister, when I hear Mystic
Anything, the first thing I think of is Pantheon,
Rat King, Kitsune, all that. But yeah, no. No,
and IDW always has and always will, with the
Turtles, do their best to give us unexpected
awesomeness. It just will. All of the comics
and movies and books, media of any kind that
I enjoy most is done by the creators that love
what they're doing or that love the characters.
They love the story. There's something about
it that they love. And with Sophie writing this
book, Sophie liked Venus. Yeah. And felt maybe.
Like at the time in the old show, maybe that
she got done dirty and this was her time to redeem
the character. And I think she did. And I, I
don't, you know, Oh, I'm so far behind reading.
That's a whole other story. I don't know if she
comes back. I hope she comes back. I hope she
gets like a complete arc. I'm not that this isn't
a complete arc, but I hope she gets more arcs.
Yeah. Cause I'd like to see where that character
goes. So, folks, what I can tell you right now,
what's going to happen. Here in Mutant March,
we are going to finish off the main run, the
original run. So, Volume 6 is Game Changers,
Volume 7 is Isolation, Volume 8 is Damage Done,
and Volume 9 is First, Last, and Always. That
takes us through Issue 150. And after that, when
we go to Sewer Surf in September, is when we
will start the jason aaron run i have read the
first two issues of that i did too i don't oh
well i mean you know what it is what it is it's
i don't know it's fine but it's far enough away
that yeah no yeah absolutely no no it's fine
but the thing and and you know us you you know
this better than anybody else we've been doing
this for 11 freaking years dude we don't worry
about spoilers here because we cover it enough
After the fact that people should, if you haven't
read it by now, stop listening to this podcast
at this very moment, not for this episode, but
like when we get to that specific thing, if you
haven't read those, stop, go read the issue,
come back and listen to it. That's the greatest
thing about podcasts. If you're listening to
a podcast and we sit here and tell you there
are going to be spoilers. The first thing you
should do is, okay, they've told me they're going
to be spoilers. I shouldn't be upset at that
podcast because they specifically said there's
going to be spoilers. What I should do as a responsible
podcast listener is stop the podcast, go read
the comic for myself and come back and listen
to their opinion later. Yeah, we'll still be
here. Yeah, we'll still be here. We ain't going
anywhere. Not yet anyway. But the thing of it
is, is my point is that I read those when they
first came out and I enjoyed them because. It's
sort of a 151, 152 thing, but they're kind of
not. They're still continuing with our characters,
but it's also still a reset. I think 1, 2, 3,
and 4, I don't know about 5, but 1, 2, 3, and
4 feel like a reintroduction of kind of like
how we had the Micro series. Micro Leo, Micro
Raph, Micro Mikey, and Micro Donnie originally.
Like, it's character. It's like a character one
-shot for those first four issues, I think. I
think. I could be wrong. I don't remember, folks.
But I liked what I read. And I don't dislike
Jason Aaron. I haven't read enough of his stuff.
But what I read in those first two issues, I
really dug. So we're going to still have fun
with Turtles, folks. Mystic Sister, where should
we begin with this? Because everybody's out in
Mutant Town. Yeah, this was a hard... As I flipped
this open to read it, I thought, this is going
to be a hard one to talk about because there
aren't any words in it. Yeah. It kind of read
to me like the Christmas episodes or Christmas
issues where we just kind of check in on all
the characters. Yeah, it's a check -in issue.
But yeah, I forgot when Mystic Shredder, Orokosaki...
astral planing around keeping everybody safe
showed up, but we've talked about it. So I needed
to be reminded that he's there. I like that he's
there. Without Stranger, I like that he's there.
When the story goes on for so long, you have
to be okay to change the status quo of the characters.
These realistic depictions, these emotional depictions
of these characters, they've got to grow. It's
neat to see Orokosaki grow into a different individual.
Yep, absolutely. I think the only words in this
entire issue are the words on the missing poster
for the three little rascals there. Well, Alopex
goes out looking for them. It's Christmas. They
know the weasels are missing. Shredder follows
her. They eventually find Old Hob and... uh the
the weasels and they're romping around they're
playing it's christmas there's a christmas tree
and and shredder's seeing them on the astral
plane and realizes i don't think alopex finds
them but uh shredder writes the note and puts
it on the door of the dojo that the weasels are
with hob but they are safe and happy signed a
friend yep yeah i like this and again they're
they're doing something here that not a lot of
comics would do. They're telling you a story.
They're telling you a visual story. You don't,
like I said, you don't need, like I knew every
bit of this story. I mean, like I said, you,
you, you have the, the, the missing poster that
like you, you don't even have. Mutant Town, 3am,
and then The Missing Poster. You don't even have
any of the... What's the word? Exposition. No,
you don't have the placeholders, the... Oh God,
my brain is failing me. The location type stuff.
Yeah. The captions, the K, the caption type stuff.
You don't even have that. You just had. But you
can like when we get to the panel where it's
I think it's Leo. Maybe it's Leo. He's got blue
slippers where the kid is is giving him the cup
of coffee or hot chocolate or whatever. You know,
OK, the kid's giving him a cup of thing and whatever.
And it's like, here, come, you know. share and
and do this and do that and it's it's christmas
and we should all be together and then you got
you know ghost shredder going around and checking
in on everybody which is great because he's kind
of keeping everybody together keeping an eye
on everybody and it's cool and this issue actually
reads really fast if you really think about it
because there are no words whatsoever other than
it's an advanced technique to read the pictures
like you can't just look at the pictures and
not have the story completed for you i think
it takes a lot of skill yeah to do the pacing
and to you know make sure that it makes sense
from panel to panel but i do know people that
will look at an abstract piece of art not a non
-objective piece but something that actually
has things in it that looks weird and they they
don't read the art piece they they see it as
just the shapes on the canvas but no if you look
at that and if you see how the shapes relate
and how the characters are relating and this
and how the actions are relating and where they're
going you can make sense of it without the need
of words i think that's that's really kind of
cool yeah you can't you couldn't really do that
with any of the other talents that it takes to
do a comic like you can't You can't take away
the pictures and just have the words because
then it'd be a novel. And you can't do just the
colors but not the inking and the words because
then it'd just be painting. Yep. Sorry, no turtle
waxing today. Yeah, this 124 is awesome for the
visual story that it gave us. So we get into
120. Is that correct? Yeah, 125. We started out
at Burnout Island months ago. Oh, boy. Which
I didn't see coming. Yeah, we're going back to
the past, everybody. How long have you been feeling
unwell, Commander Zom? Oh, boy. Commander Zom
is at the baby doctor. Yeah, we didn't... As
soon as I read that, I'm like, uh -oh, she's
pregnant. One of the... Krang's later, not Krang,
let me, Utram. Utram, yep. One of the Utrams
later, sorry, I was living in 2012 land. One
of the Utrams later says that the Triceratons
do not produce sexually or they don't have babies,
they're clones. They don't have the equipment.
And so it's kind of a miracle when we find out
later this issue that she's pregnant. And. Oh,
I forgot the evil cranky one's name. Uh, Shirell.
Sure. Yeah. Shirell. He's the shredder in the,
uh, 2003 series. Uh, later he's saying that these
dead husks of Triceraton soldiers would be perfect
to incubate new crank. And so just seeing that
there's a reproduction issue with both of these,
uh, species, uh, that are living here on earth,
they've, they've got, issues with that and uh
no it's barbaric to use our dead bodies they're
soldiers we need to burn their bodies but we
need more baby utroms how else are we going to
do this so there's a debate there's unrest yes
there's unrest please forgive the interruption
sorry doctor what is it the final tests are complete
and yep you're pregnant you're preggers you're
preggers We go back to the present day and we're
in the sewer. We're in somebody's apartment with
April. And who is that? Oh, God. What's it? Mona.
I think it's Mona. Yep. And hey, look, it's pepperoni.
Mayor Stockman. Oh, God. Mayor Stockman. That
guy. Would have been better if he just flew off,
buzzed off like the fly he used to be. Yeah,
I wonder if we're ever going to get him as a
fly. I don't think we are. I could be wrong,
but I don't think so. Yeah, we almost got it,
and I thought it was coming, but it looks like
the turtles are getting ready to train. They
must be at the Splinter Dojo. Yep. Training Carmen,
their first human trainee. Yep. So they're training
Carmen, and whoa. jennica and what's the alopex
no not alopex the um sheena sheena sheena sheena
is off by herself and she goes to frankenstein
yeah yeah she goes to dr frankenstein so we have
a new character here dr barlow yeah later admits
that he is A human turned mouse who has been
performing surgery on himself to remove his mouse
like features. And he's been helping other mutants
of mutant town, both experimenting and working
to turn them back into humans again. But just
the way that he's drawn and the way that his
repairs appear to be done all over the page right
here from the go. Like he's just a little he's
out there. He's got different strategies. So
this book basically turns into, even though his
name is Dr. Barlow, and even though this book
is titled Mystic Sister because of things that
happen later with Venus and certain powers that
she has, it basically turns into Dr. Frankenstein
because he is Dr. Like, look at his design. Like,
seriously? Like, he's... I would rather have
a mouser operate. The mousers are scary. They're
scary robot mice. But this guy, like, I'm like,
oh, boy. I hope the next trade is not this. This
was like a horror movie the whole time. There
are some parts that were, like, just a little
over the edge for me later. Yeah. Every time
he is on panel, it's like, we are going to horrify
you no matter what. Casey gets caught by the
frogs. Oh yeah, he got put out during training.
He's kind of fallen apart a little bit in this
arc. He's drinking and a little too violent.
Yeah, Casey's turned into a little bit of a lost
soul. Casey is... I hope he gets redeemed. I
hope there is a saving grace for Casey because
we do not want to see Casey go the way that his
old man went. And I even say that... I think
it's in this trade that they say. He's already
leading the Purple Dragons. How much more like
his father does he need to be? All the way. So
we got Casey versus the Frogs. Which we're not
mentioning. They're the punk frogs, which this
particular issue of the singles got rebranded
Teenage Mutant Ninja Punk Frogs. Did it really?
Yep. It's Genghis, Attila. And I'm like, wait
a minute. I had action figures and they were
in the cartoon. So these are the punk frogs that
Shredder mutated in the old cartoon. Yep. In
a manner of speaking, it's their evolution. Yeah.
Mutant Town gave them not permission, but it
gave them. space to do a lot of those characters
that we haven't seen yet absolutely i love that
it's them um so yeah it's them uh jenny basically
tells them dojo's closed guys and uh what's his
name clyde it was that one the one with the weird
shell he's the one who i saw took bonnie and
he's talking about donatello i just got it bonnie
and clyde So there's more than four of the frogs,
and the frogs that Shredder named were Genghis,
Attila, you know, the really dirtbag people from
history, Napoleon. Yep. But now, since there's
more than four of them, yeah, Bonnie and Clyde.
Bonnie and Clyde, yep. Yep. Yeah. I didn't even,
until you said it, I didn't even put it together,
because Clyde was annoying as hell to me throughout
this whole trade. He's like, go home, Clyde.
Yep. Clyde's the one that, well, so the frogs
bust into the dojo and say, dude, our friend
Bonnie is missing. And Clyde's, I saw him with
a turtle. I saw him with a turtle with a metal
shell. And they think it's Don with his synthetic
shell. So they show up at the dojo and basically
just start a fight. Yeah, the fight breaks out.
Fight breaks out. Fire breaks out. The dojo goes
up in flames, essentially. uh the whole yeah
the whole building burns yep oh man and there's
some there's some neat homages so they've got
the the fight going on uh the flames are all
around them yeah and rafael at that point had
gone out i think to look for casey or to look
for somebody sheena out there because he's the
constable that's kind of his job yeah but jennica
says the line oh we could really use ref right
about now and like yeah hey but then and then
the door gets kicked open and in that kind of
Tatsu arriving with more. Oh, no, it does. It
is Casey. Casey does show up. Yeah, Casey shows
up. Yeah. You want to tell me what you're doing
with my little green pal over there? Oh, hey,
who's the babe? Wayne Gretzky? On steroids? God,
that movie lives in my head. I tried to watch
that with my kid and I'm saying every line like,
Dad, you got to stop. So sorry. I'll have to
say this. Are you on Instagram? I don't know
how much Instagramming you do. Mr. Reed's Hawaiian
shirt. You and your Hawaiian shirts, Mr. Reed
Magnum P .I. There's an account on Instagram.
It's a music account. I forget what the guy's
name is. I'll have to I'll have to send it to
you. He's basically this guy who does the dad
rock thing. And he'll do these videos where it's
like dad shows up to pick up his kid from a party.
But the party is playing 90s hits and the dad
starts jamming out. And he puts little captions
about the kids saying, oh, dad, please go home.
Like he's just dropping his kid off at the party.
But the dad wants to stay. Oh, it's hilarious.
It's so good. It's hilarious. No, dude, 11 frigging
years. Look, folks, we've been covering this
series for 11 frigging years of this podcast.
And any time they reference it, I swear to God,
if they pull. Anything from the first or second
movie. Even the. I swear. If they pull out a
Burt pizza. Frisbee. Also good. I swear to God.
We're going to quote it. Because we know it.
I can't remember what I read last week. Let alone
what I had for breakfast yesterday. You sit here.
And you give me. You know. These lines to say.
especially like as soon as i saw that as soon
as i like i didn't even zoom i didn't even do
guided view as soon as i saw the burning page
i'm like it's it it's second time around yeah
it's not it's the building is not second time
around it's their other fort it's their other
headquarters it's the splinter clan it's what
it's not the set but it's basically Them homaging
the second time around. And like you said, Jennica
says, ah, we could really use Raph right about
now. Literally, she's line for line. And this
is why right now, folks, this is why we love
and have loved and will always love everybody
at IDW. Because they know what to do, when to
do it, and when to pull the punches that they're
pulling. They know when to throw the lines that
we love. And it's in a moment. Like, normally
in certain battles or certain fights, it's like,
okay, punch, punch, kick, kick, whatever. Do
a quip, do a this, do a that. Oh, he said this,
or oh, he said that. But, you know, in the middle
of this battle. If Mikey goes to a phone booth
and says, yeah, I'd like a large blah, blah,
blah. Oh, by the way, no anchovies. You put anchovies
on this thing and you're in big trouble. It's
going to get us because it's going to pull us
right back to 1990 and that movie because that
movie, number one, we grew up on it. Number two,
it's the best Turtles movie. Uh -huh. Still,
I wonder what the reader base was for this. Like,
it has to be men our age. Like, that's got to
be my primary population of readers. But I do
wonder how many people are reading that and not
getting the reference. I mean, some people might
just miss it because they don't have the movie
memorized like you or I. But, like, who wasn't
there in 1990 to read that to get the reference?
That's still reading this book. Yeah, Oliver
has read the first trade paperback, but he hasn't
gone further. Like, dude, you got to keep going.
I got them all. They're right here. Oliver, your
father has an entire library of Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles comics in his basement. You can
read them for free. You don't need to bring them
back within seven days. They're there all the
time. Multiple printings of all of them. That's
right. That's right. But, yeah, he'll read it
someday, I'm sure. Someday. Let's see, what was
that old man talking about? What was he? Oh,
this is good. What do we do? Nothing we can do.
Can you see? I can't believe Raph wasn't here.
I can't believe it. And, yeah, we go to a giant
egg. Commander, it's beginning to, oh, it's the,
yeah, it's the Triceratops. Speaking of another
movie from the 90s that I can quote. Line for
line. Oh, push, push. That's right. I've been
present for the birth of every living creature
on this island. I like to be there when they're
born. Helps them recognize me. That's a good
gold bloom. No, no, that was that was Attenborough.
Richard, was that his name? Oh, yeah. It's still
Jurassic Park. Yeah, it's still Jurassic Park.
Oh, boy. My Jeff Goldblum has gotten crappy over
the years. Yeah, as Richard Attenborough. I had
to type that in to check. Yeah. Yeah, so the
Triceraton baby is born. But, Colonel, this is
only one child. Yes, Cleve, but it's nonetheless
alarming. Oh, yeah, that story they're talking
about when the slaves outnumber the masters.
And it is most likely a sign of more to come.
Her name will be Ciri. Aw, it's a baby Triceratops.
That's right. Just don't say that too loud, folks.
Hey, Ciri. I know, right? Wait, if I... And that's
how we end this issue with them kind of conspiring.
Cover artist is on 126, because that cover on
my issue is really nice. Who did that? Which
one from 126? Pablo Tunica. Yep. I should recognize
that. Oh, man, the alternate cover on, I don't
know if you've seen this, but the alternate cover
by, oh, wow, that's what? That's Eastman? Really?
It's so crazy to look at anything he illustrates
that's not Turtles. He's done some Wolverine
covers, some Daredevil covers. Oh, Kevin? Yeah.
No, no, no, no. It's always so weird to see him
drawing anything but the Turtles. You know how
the trades work. The trades have the alternates
at the back of the end of the issue. Just send
it to you on Facebook. But it's the black and
white, like, I've never seen an Eastman cover
like that. That's cool as hell. Yeah, that must
not be. I'm going to have to check that out.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. I was like, who did that? And
I looked up at the right -hand corner. I'm like,
ooh, Kevin did that. Very cool. But yeah, Pablo
Tunica did the one for 126 for the frogs. And
we start this issue at Burnell Island. It was
so weird for me to be jumping back and forth
between this and the turtles story. Like I'm
waiting for them to tie in and I can't see how
it's going to tie in. And I think ultimately
they're setting up the next arc. Should I call
it jarring? Was this the place for it? I don't
know, but at least it's interesting. I thought
because of the way they're setting it up, I thought
that things were going to go faster. Yeah, yeah,
yeah. I thought we were going to encounter them
before the end of the arc or something. Yeah,
I thought that we were going to... Honestly,
I thought that we were going to encounter Venus
in 124. We don't. We only see the beginning of
Dr. Barlow's stuff. We don't really see Venus
in 124. We only meet Dr. Barlow in 124. We kind
of get the mystery of something shady is going
on with Dr. Barlow because he's a Frankenstein
doctor. And then we get this Triceraton baby
stuff with this thing and with the U -troms.
And everything else. And that's fine. I like
it. I think it's character building. I think
it's them juggling the various factions, which
is fine. I don't find it jarring. Because for
me, jarring is like if they were jumping back
and forth in time. Like if this was six months
ago, six months later, three days ago, four days
ahead. If they were doing something like that,
I would really have a problem. But they're not.
Yeah, it all hasn't come together yet, but they're
giving us enough of, like, where we kind of end
this U -Tron thing here where I think it's Shirell.
First, we must take care of the meddling regenta.
And you see the doctor have the shock face. And
then we cut to... Mona? I always forget her name.
Yes, it's right there. Mona. Well, thanks for
letting us sleep at your place, Mona. Sure thing.
What a mess, you guys. So the transition between
the end of the Uhtram part here going into where
Mona's place is, I find that easy. I find it
interesting. And then we get into Dark Casey.
Yeah, well, so what are we going to do about
these frogs that came in and burnt the place
down? Casey goes, revenge. Yeah. And then the
next panel, Leo goes, yeah, revenge. Which Jenica
says, dang, Leo, I didn't expect it like that.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you come into my house and
burn it down. I think I understand why. Absolutely.
So, okay. I know. We all know. Okay. We get it,
that they're at home, they're not going to have
their bandanas on, and as long as you see a bandana
around their neck, I guess, no, technically,
Alopex doesn't have hers on either. But, like,
I see Donnie's around his neck. Okay, Donnie
wears purple. Alopex and Raph are together. Raph
has his on because he's the constable, and Raph
has gone from red to black. I don't really like
that. Yeah, I kept thinking he was Leo sometimes.
Like Dark Leo from back in the day. Yeah. I kept
thinking he was frigging Ronan. Oh, yeah. Like,
it's just overall, it's a small complaint. And
at the end of the day, it's not going to really
jar me because of how the conversation goes between
Leo and Raph, because we know how Leo and Raph
talk to each other. The only time it got me was
that the silent issue. Because we didn't have
the verbal cues, and if you're not... I mean,
I've gotten to the point where because of Rhonda's
coloring them so consistently, I can tell which
character's which just by the green. But nope.
In that issue, I didn't have enough context.
Yeah. In this issue, I don't mind... I love the
coloring. I will always love Rhonda's coloring.
However, I do have a problem with how Casey is
drawn. I don't like the way he looks. He just...
I don't know. He just doesn't look like Casey
to me. I'm not saying he has to be super slick
human looking. I know he can look disheveled,
but it's just the way... I don't know, it just...
It just doesn't like in the panel where Raph
said where he and Raph are going at it. Sorry,
man, but you ain't stealthy at all. You're a
beat up and you're loose. You're a loose kid.
And look who's talking. Like, I understand that.
I forget who's the artist on this, but Pablo
Tunica. Is it Pablo? OK. It's not that I don't
like Pablo's art because I love how Pablo draws
Raph here. I think that's cool. I just don't
like the way he draws Casey because I understand
what he's doing. He's trying to show that Casey
is, like Raph says, beat up and drunk and all
of that. Casey and Dr. Barlow could almost be
doppelgangers in this to me. I don't know. It's
I guess they wanted this part. And even even
the way the couple panels later here where Alopex
is kind of yelling where she says, Raph, can
you not be the constable for like five minutes,
please? Like, I don't know. It just. I don't
know. I'm here. Also, I got the sense that this
arc was rushed or that it was. Again, I think
we're almost still dealing with pandemic delays
at this point in the series, or at least recovering
from them, trying to get the story and artists
back, kind of working together at the same time.
And parts of this arc felt rushed, and I wonder
if anything like that is a result of that rushing.
And so I can't, I don't think I want to judge
it. as harshly as, as I would, but you know,
Hey, I mean, at the end of the day, I'm not trying
to judge it harshly. I'm just saying that it
just doesn't, I don't know. It just doesn't,
it doesn't look like the character. Yeah. And
I'm trying to see here. They all draw better
than I do. Okay. Yeah. But like, I'm trying to
see if I can see the copyright. I can't see the
copyright. I will. I got that right here. Let's
see here. Sorry, folks. 2022. No, they were way
out of the pandemic. It just feels like it because
Sophie's Ark started during the pandemic. Yeah.
We had the issues. Mutant Town was... Yeah. I
don't know, man. It just doesn't... At the end
of the day, art is art. And this is the choice
they made. And that's fine. I just don't like
the choice. I don't like the design and that's
okay. I still love the story. I still love the
story that they're telling. I mean, you know,
it's like how we've always talked about the art,
how the arts change. Like we love certain artists.
We were not so big in other artists and that's
okay. Like I'm not sitting here. Say I'm not
one of those idiots on the internet. This is
the worst art ever. I'm going and I'm being facetious
here, folks. I'm sarcastic. I want to make sure
people understand I'm being sarcastic. This is
the worst art ever. I'm going to hunt this artist
down because they suck and I don't want them
to ever do art again. No, I'm not saying that
at all. I'm just saying to me, it's a little
more horrifying looking like. I miss the way
that Raph and Alopex, like, I like the romantic
way that, so stupid, but I like the way, the
romantic way that Raph and Alopex looked like
back in Northampton. If that makes any sense.
Like, I don't know. It is what it is. Like, okay,
so again, on the same page, it's page 57 of the
trade, but it's that same page where she says,
Raph, can you not, uh be the constable for like
five seconds it's that like second panel to the
right where she says where he says where she
says there's a time and a place for everything
just give it a rest right now it looks like to
me she's going to bite his head off and i don't
mean it looks like to me she's going to basically
rip his eyes out with her teeth like it just
Yeah, there's some facial proportions that don't
quite get it. Yeah, it just doesn't, I don't
know. I think that's where I feel like it's rushed,
because the cover is beautiful, and there are
interior panels that are beautiful. There's just
a page here and there where it looks like it
just needed to get done. Yep. So we go back to
the punk frogs and Mikey and Alopex. I don't
remember where they say it, but Mikey being more
emotionally aware and sensitive and more of the
listener than everybody else. He's gotten the
idea that they need to talk to these frogs. He
senses something is not right. He doesn't want
to go in there swinging. He doesn't want to go
in there with revenge. And somebody in the background
says, man, I like leader Michelangelo. Yeah,
there's my growth. yeah but mikey has always
had that growth yep yep i mean well but i don't
usually you don't get to hear him be referred
to or thought of as any kind of leader and so
that was i'm hoping that we get to see that more
someday i mean like he him acting as leader yeah
like he did with the kids saving them yep absolutely
so we get the We get the frogs versus the turtles.
We get all that. I like how this looks. I think
that's cool. Yeah, these are some good pages.
Yeah, these are very good pages. Very, very,
very, very cool. We get back to the sewer here.
We see a Triceraton in the sewer? Because it's
Dawn and Alopex, and they're looking in on...
Oh, yeah, they go... They're finding... They
fell in somewhere. Hard to tell. how they got
moved around and separated there, but they are
in Dr. Barlow's area. Yep. Oh, two of Dr. Barlow's
assistants. It's Dirtbag and Groundshuck. Yep.
The two action figures that I don't remember
if they were in a cartoon. Yep. Bingo. We're
dealing with a real mind here. Yeah, because
who says it? Raph and Leo. Raph says, we need
to find Donnie and Alopex. Yeah, then let's get
the hell out of here. Come back with reinforcements.
And then we see Alopex. You okay? And then they
go hunting and they find Dr. Barlow. And, yeah.
Donnie. I can't say that I have, but we... Are
you here for a consultation? Oh, my God, no.
And we go back to the U -Trubs and the Triceratons.
Maybe if you cleaned your doctor vest shirt.
Yeah, really. Absolutely. Clean your doctor vest.
Scrubs. Yeah. Scrubs. There you go. Superman.
That's all I can remember off the top of my head
from Scrubs. Da -da, Superman, the theme song.
I need to watch that show again. That was a good
show. So, the Triceraton, we basically end with
the U -Troms and the Triceraton fighting over
the baby. Jor -El says, what did he say here?
You aren't going anywhere, Commander. I've had
it with this. so -called truce that favors your
people and dooms mine. That's not true, Jor -El.
Please stand down, Jor -El. And he says, I don't
believe I take orders from you. And he goes to
fire. He kills the Triceraton. The baby goes
up and up and up. As the Triceraton, as Zom,
goes down and dies. And that's how the issue
ends. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. I'm glad I wasn't reading
this monthly, because waiting 30 days for that
would have been a killer. I'm hoping I get back
to the point where I can read these in the car
again. Oh, God. You and your car. No. Wait for
the trade, folks. Wait for the trade. Read the
whole story all at once. So we begin the next
one. Morel, go! And keep Ciri safe. And Morel
goes. And the Triceratons attack for the herd.
And we have an all -out battle. And Morel takes
Ciri under the thing here and takes her away.
puts her in a Superman -like spaceship. It's
not a Superman -like spaceship, folks. Actually,
it's a age -uppinator. Yeah. There's a Superman
thing in the movies where they have all the biopods
in there and they do things like that. But yeah,
it's an age -uppinator. I can't believe I get
a Doofenshmirtz reference in a Turtles podcast.
Oh, boy. But basically, yes, it's an age progression
machine. Growth rate, two years, three years,
five years. We go back to Dr. Barlow's. Meanwhile,
in Mutant Town, we got Donnie, Dr. Barlow, and
Alopex. all of the other turtles and Casey. Dr.
Barlow wants to tend to Leo's injuries. It's
for Casey, though. He's human. We don't serve
your kind here. Yeah. Ding, ding, ding, ding,
ding. An hour in, folks. We get a Star Wars reference.
That's right. It's for your kind. That panel
where he introduces himself. Oh, God. Horror
movie character? Yeah. He's just... so off -putting.
I think we're glancing over the fact that Donatello,
with the synthetic shell and hearing about this
guy who's performing plastic surgery on mutants,
is interested in what he's got to say. He doesn't
seem to be as horrified by the filth everywhere
and the mutilations that this guy has done to
himself. Like, oh man, Donnie, are you seriously
considering this? And how sorry, sore off must
you be to want that? Yeah, Donnie must really
be in a lot of pain because, yikes. Yeah, I think
you're right. It's not that it's bothering him
from a spiritual point. No, he's experiencing
pain. He's got this hunk of metal hanging from
his back. Did not grow there. Yeah, it's not
natural. Yep. We get a Dr. Barlow says to Donnie,
I'll be happy to schedule a consultation for
you to discuss further. I'll be honest, doctor.
I find this all very grisly, but I am interested
to hear more. Like you said. Oh, boy. And we
get an argument between Donnie and who's in the
red in the red. Is that Leo? yeah okay because
way to go you know that's like hey come on i
can't tell it's look for the scarred eye the
scar that's yeah that's true that confirms it
i wasn't sure but Yeah, I wasn't sure either
because I couldn't see the scar over his eye
because I was looking at where Raph was yelling
at him, where Raph says, we can't just go into
sneaking into people's houses without harder
evidence. I was trying to figure out what the
argument was because it started with Donnie,
but I was trying to figure out who was, yeah.
So they all get into an argument. And then Alopex
yells at Raph. She says, I don't know about laws
or regulations or anything about how much more
do you need. Raph, you and me were both experimenting
on. You should be breaking down the guy's door.
LFX, quiet. Don't ever talk about that. Yeah,
but it's such a sore spot for him. Very sore
spot. Hey, instead of crashing with Mona again,
what if we stayed at the old church bunker? Mikey's
trying to keep it light. I love how they all
grin after his suggestion. Yeah, I totally forgot
how much potential this old church had. We could
even have the new dojo here, make it a community
center. Like, yeah, that would have been a great
lair for a TV series. Yes, it would have been.
Wait, who the hell is he talking to? Who's this?
Barlow. Who's he talking to on the phone? Oh,
I think I know. And I don't think they tell you
yet. But I think it's Null. So my audience, dear
audience, I've had this weird flashback experience
reading this. There are pages where I know I
have never seen before as I reread it for this
podcast. And then there are pages that I know
what's happening and I know what's going to happen.
And I don't know how. But like, I don't know
how I know that that's null. bad team of ninja
turtles yeah um and that's why bartle's mentioning
that he was commissioned to make these turtles
and he's letting this person know over the phone
that he's got donatello hooked and that that
might lead to something and i think alopex saw
uh failed experiments on turtles earlier that's
right that's right okay gotcha gotcha uh -huh
And as this issue progresses, he shows Donnie
his horrific experiments. Oh, boy. Yeah, so Don
and Alopex go back, and Alopex is sneaking around
while Donnie has Dr. Barlow distracted. But Barlow
shows him red dragon scales from issue 100. The
whole thing that I... forgot happened. It was,
oh yeah, there's a giant dragon in New York City.
So the EPF had cleaned that up, but Barlow says,
these are a few pieces that I've gotten and they're
radiating this weird energy that we can't tell
while that's magic. And meanwhile, the panel
that did it for me was at the same time Alopex
is down in the basement finding body parts and
corpses and dissections. And I was like, oh,
okay. If that were drawn with any more detail,
This would have to be a mature section. Yep.
Yeah, she's running through the basement and
catching all this stuff and seeing all this stuff.
And she opens the door. Oh, God. Here she is.
I call her Venus. What? An interesting take on
this character now that we've actually seen her.
Yeah. Like the full panel of her. Oh, my God.
Yeah, she's for readers that have not looked
or are relying on us. She's been Frankensteined
together out of frog parts, it seems. But she's
got a fake metallic plaster on the belly shell.
part of the turtle. Her arms and legs are missing,
her head's been stitched together, and she's
glowing mystically, so there's more than just
surgery happening here. Yeah, there's definitely
more than just surgery happening here. Oh boy,
so we get to the next issue. Which has a beautiful
cover. Yep, this is the main cover of the trade.
Done by Pablo. Suspended. Hanging. Oh, kind of
like in one of the Infinity War movies. Oh gosh,
Blue Robot. Played by Karen Gillian. When he's
got her hanging and dismantled. Nebula. It was
on the tip of my tongue. So very up that alley.
Yep, yep. With the dragon scale being lowered
into her shell. Yep. We begin this one on Burnout
Island. Siri has been aged to 18 years. Yep.
And... She's all grown up and you need to command
one of your people's scout ships and escape.
I understand. Siri, take this. She hands her
the thing. She goes to escape. She drops the
thing. And then they're found by Shirell in his
murder mech. Yeah. Definitely a murder mech.
Flashback to Mutant Town, and Alopex is in a
battle for her life with... Gosh, I always got
their names mixed up. Groundchuck? Dirtbag. Dirtbag
the mole. Yep. And Groundchuck the woodchuck.
How much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck
could chuck wood? Oh, boy. I can't believe I
did a woodchuck joke in February, folks. Even
though you'll hear this in Mutant March. Oh,
boy. So, yeah. So we get Venus and Dr. Barlow
and Donatello. And we see her frog limb. And
we see Donnie kind of attack Dr. Barlow a little
bit here. Donnie realizes the extent of his horrific
experiments on dead things. Yes. And this Venus.
new turtle actually was bonnie the punk frog
well she was dead when i started operating her
we just brought her back to life with the dragon
scale so we definitely are frankensteining this
together yes very much so that is not cool dr
barlow that's not cool at all i think i used
to be bonnie but my memory is fuzzy there's a
fight that breaks out she has some sort of memory
and then we get to alopex It's not Jenica, is
it? No. Sheena. I know it's Sheena. Who's the
green one? Oh, that's Donnie. He's waking up.
Oh, it's Donnie. Yeah, okay. Donnie, Alopex,
and Sheena. Okay. And so Venus is now connecting
with him telepathically. They now have a telepathic
connection. and they are going to help each other
escape. And that's essentially what the next
few panels are, is Dr. Barlow trying to stop
that from happening. He's trying to experiment
on Donnie. She's telling him how to get through
the experiment and don't let it overpower you.
Basically, flow within it. Be within it like
a river. And Donnie goes to the astral plane.
And Donnie runs into Venus in the astral plane.
Runs into his dad, Hamato Yoshi. Uh -huh. Yep.
He's watching all of this happen, but the person
he's conversing with is still Jennica. She's
guiding him around. Or Venus, not Jacka. Thank
you. Oh, my gosh. She's the lady turtle. Oops.
Yeah, well, now we have two of them. Now there
are two of them. Oh, and Sophie did these pages.
Yes, she did. And we get back to the Triceraton
-Utron fight. See, even I do it. You know, folks,
when something in 2003 names something and it
becomes a part of the culture, sometimes you
just can't forget that. It's hard. And change
may be constant, but it's difficult sometimes.
So we get Ciri. She's going to take off in the
ship, and she eventually does take off in the
ship. And that's how this one ends. And I'll
avenge you. Shirelle will pay, I promise. And
so she's been aged up, but she also can speak
and has ideas of concepts. So one, I think they
mentioned earlier that. She was picking up things
as an infant earlier than they expected her to.
She was understanding people's people speaking
even as an infant. And so between the technology
of that pod and and mystical Triceraton hand
wavy, she's quite coherent and aware of what's
going on. Absolutely. Absolutely. And, yeah,
so we get her taking off, you know, blasting
off again. At the speed of light. That's right.
And we get an alternate cover of, it's done by
Kevin, I think, of Hamato Yoshi and one of his
sons. So there's that. And then the main cover
for the next one is the Triceratons and the U
-Troms done by Pablo. And we start in the day
of the mutagen bomb. Flashback. Yep, flashback.
Nuts, what are we going to do until nine? I don't
know. I don't know. Come on. Oh, this is the
origin of the frogs. Yep. This is when they were
human. Okay, okay. They're waiting for a punk
concert. Yep. And then they became frogs. So
that's how they became frogs. Raph goes to Casey
in the present. They have another little debate,
which this is going to continue on for a few
panels or it's going to happen in the background
as we flash forward. But my favorite thing to
come out of that debate or out of that fight
is, yes, they're beating the tar out of each
other and saying really cruel things to each
other. Like you mentioned earlier, you're ending
up like your father and that just sends them
off. But at the end of it. They're friends again.
Yeah. And Casey's redeemed. Like, that's so very
Raph and Casey that all it takes is for them
to beat the snot out of each other. And then
they're good. Then they're good with each other
again. They understand. Absolutely. It's kind
of like that old movie from 1990 with, you know,
sitting in a truck. You know. What letter are
we on? Dome head, elf lips, gack face. All right,
hose brain. What letter are we on? No. Absolutely.
100%. So, yeah. So we get them fighting. The
fight is going on. And then we cut back to Dr.
Barlow's lab. Yep. With him working on Venus
and her tricerat... Why did I almost say triceraton?
Her dragon scale infused shell. Oh, boy. Interesting
connection here, too. He flashes back for a moment
to some black market stuff, and he finds these
shell fragments from a mutant that he takes and
studies and uses the dragon scale to bring back
to life. And we have a sneaking suspicion that
might be the fragments from Donatello's shell
when that was broken in issue 44. 99 .99999999
% sure that that's what those are. Yep. Yeah,
there's a chance that it could be another dead
turtle mutant that we never met, but no. No.
Until Bobby or... Oh, wait. 575th episode. This
is the first episode we've been back. Have we
said... I don't think we've said this. No, I
don't. It's been an hour and 20 minutes or almost
an hour and 20 minutes. But congratulations,
Bobby Kernow, editor in chief, IDW Publishing.
I wrote him a message on one of the social media
things saying, all right, you're back, man. That's
right. That's right. Bobby's back, baby. And
I said, yeah, you know, he's not going to. I
made a thing saying like it's it'll be good to
have you kind of. keeping your eye on the book
again he's like all right yo i've got a lot of
um books a lot of different books to watch i
can't do that but you know i'm sure he's got
a he's got a soft spot for the turtles and so
that that's good yeah yeah and honestly the turtles
are in good hands oh yes they i don't yeah i
mean i it's only about getting the gang back
together that i that i say like oh yeah Yeah,
absolutely. Yeah, 100%. But like the fact that
he's editor in chief at IDW, that's amazing.
Yeah, I have over the past year, I've been very
worried about what IDW has been going through.
And I have messaged a couple of the artists and
writers. trying to like piece together what's
going on and nobody knows which is not good and
people are leaving and getting moved and getting
taken off of books and uh it's it's some it's
some crazy stuff but i'm hoping that with him
coming back as editor -in -chief that that's
a step in the right direction yes um because
that idw has lost a lot of good properties it's
lost a lot of good books and it's it's still
the fact uh that that ninja turtles is what's
keeping the lights on Yep, absolutely. So we
see more of Dr. Barlow working on the show. We
get over to the turtles and Carmen and the hippo.
Who's that? What's the hippos? Oh, you just said
what their names were. Ratchet and Clank. No,
that's not right. Dirtbag and Groundchuck. Yeah,
there you go. Dirtbag and Groundchuck. So we
got that. We got Raph and Casey finishing up
their fight. So there's that. So that's done.
They're friends again. And then enter Grandfather
Oroku. Oh, yep. So back at the... Donatello is
trying to astral plane project himself on purpose
to go get Leo to tell them where he's at. They
stumble on Orokosaki because I'm sure his life
force is just shining like a beacon on the astral
plane right now. Well, OK, so you got to think
that the turtles, at least Donnie, isn't like
they're not. They're just learning the astral
planning stuff still. And Shredder, Orokosaki,
whatever. He's known this stuff for thousands
of years. So, I mean, the fact that Donnie ran
into him first instead of Leo, you know. I think
they make a, what's it say, you know, my astral
presence is so strong you were drawn to me. Yep.
So that was how that happened. They're like,
hey, Donnie, you're doing the astral projection
thing. He says he used to have trouble with that
being the technology mind. But Venus says it's
all kind of the same thing, just working on a
different level. Yep. And we get back to Leo
and he calls the constable Raph. We found them.
On our way. Raph and Casey and everybody gear
up. And it's turtles versus frogs. Where are
Alopex and Donnie? You got them somewhere. no
you've got it wrong and i think i don't even
have to remind myself mikey is probably somewhere
saying no no dudes this is totally not right
we're you know misunderstanding absolutely that's
definitely what mikey would be saying and uh
yeah we um we get that fight we get uh um Sheena,
Donnie, and Alopex trying to escape. And then
we get the spaceship crash landing because it
is Siri. Yeah. And she crash lands to end this
issue. It crashes right on top of Dr. Barlow's
surgery. Doctor, what do you call it? Hospital.
Sure. Because that's where the turtles are, and
she was homing in on their signatures. Yep. Man,
this arc has got so much in it, and it is so
good. The writing is solid as always. Yeah, we've
already said about certain art choices aren't
at least my favorite, but overall, it's still
the turtles we love. It's still the characters
we really, really enjoy. It's introducing new
characters for us to enjoy. And making them not
suck. Yep. Absolutely, absolutely. So we get
Mikey going after Genghis. Because this is where
Mikey's like, wait, let's be friends. Why would
you want to be friends with someone who burned
down your house? You know who Michelangelo would
really get along with? Who's that? If we cross
alternate universes, I think him and Squirrel
Girl would get along. Yeah, that'd possibly be.
Because she's all about talking her way out of
fights and turning villains into friends. In
that way. I think they'd get along. Totally out
of left field there. Absolutely. As we get deeper
into this issue here, we get back to... We get
Clyde back to the frogs and we see Venus and
Clyde's like, Bonnie? Leave Bonnie alone, you
dumb cow. This giant cow thing. mutant thing
fighting and uh it's sheena leave us alone never
again leave us oh yeah that was sheena stop yeah
that was um very very angry sheena this page
was a bit much for me and i'm i was surprised
that uh reading this i was surprised that nickelodeon
didn't stop them from doing this just you know
between sheena going too far and the frog in
the next panel yeah i don't know how they got
this by nickelodeon but they did um but again
like sheena here leave us alone leave us alone
like her being this violent is this the most
violent we've ever seen this book Not really.
Look what they did to Donnie in issue 44. I mean,
come on, man. This isn't the worst thing that
this book has ever done. And I'm not saying this
book has to be violent or doesn't have to be
violent. It's definitely more than I expected
from that character. Oh, yeah. I think they're
pretty adamant that the turtles are not going
to be able to kill anybody. like from a mix modian
standpoint oh absolutely yeah yeah yeah yeah
they didn't say anything about anybody else let
them have it sure so Clyde's kind of confused
with this whole Venus thing and Venus is not
Bonnie and Bonnie is gone and all that and Clyde's
kind of sad and he takes her arm away and all
that And we see a group shot of everybody. We
see Raph and Casey. And Casey's got his golf
bag with his instruments. And Jennica's like,
are you okay? The doctor's house blew up. And
Sheena says, no, not really. So we have all the,
again, nice, nice moments between everybody.
And we have, who is that? Please help, please
help. Which one? Who is that? Doctor's house
blew up? Yeah. Mikey's hugging. Mm -hmm, but
who's that? That's Donnie. That's all bandaged
up? Yep. Okay, so Donnie is the one that saves,
okay, so Donnie's the one that saves Siri. So
thank you. Who are you? Yep, that's us. I'm Michelangelo.
One thing after another, huh, babe? Yep. Oh,
boy. So we get that introduction, we get Donnie
and Raph. Hey, man, you okay? I know you were
kind of hoping to be friends with that Barlow
guy. You don't even seem interested in what this
Triceraton chick's all about. Yeah, he's totally...
I'm fine. Rips off his bandages. A little heartbroken
that he couldn't get his shell fixed. I think
that's actually secondary to the fact that he
offered Venus a place, a home to stay, and she
chose to be alone. Yep. Because he was really
feeling the connection with her that I think
comes from both going to the astral plane, but
also the fact that that was... That was probably
his shell that she was partially grown from.
So there's more of that to that. And as everybody
walks away and into the sunset, so to speak,
Venus comes back and picks up Donnie's bandages
and then braids them into her iconic braided
bandana tail that she hangs from her neck. Oh,
that's cool. Okay. And that's also kind of the
fun thing about how Little things like that get
brought out that characters take with them and
it becomes important, like Slash's black bandana
being Leo's from Dark Leo arc. And then these
bandages, which become the symbol tying Donatello
to Venus, becomes her symbol. Those little things
have been really cool. Yeah, it has. And it's
part of what makes these formerly... garbage
characters into awesome characters for us now
yep absolutely and then bludgeon comes along
i didn't see him coming me either clyde returns
to the frogs bonnie's dead shows the arm poor
bonnie ew that's her arm show some respect bloody
mary so she's really gone Yeah, Zayden, she's
really gone for real. The turtles didn't do it.
I messed up. It was all a big stupid mistake,
and I'm sorry, guys. Clyde, you butthead, pull
yourself together and let's go. That turtle cop
will be gunning for us. We gotta find a new hideout,
Attila. Bye, Venus. Yeah, then we're gonna find
a way out of Mutant Town. And into another story
arc someday, I hope. Hopefully. I never should
have let the students come along, April. But
Sensei... Wanda, not now. That's a very motherly
way to say that, April. I'm sorry, Father. I
thought I was ready. I thought we all were. Oh,
no. Shredder! Not anymore. Guess all that hardware
is for making coleslaw. It is now. I mean, you
can retire it. Oh man, they could go into business
and he could shred all the cheese? Uh -huh. And
I am just Orokosaki. Fine, what do you want,
Orokosaki? There is something important we must
discuss, all of us. I'll tell the others. And
then we get the EPF. I was not expecting them
to show up. And Dr. Barlow, my patients, I'm
so sorry to all of you. Dr. Barlow here, my companions,
my family home, my research, it's all gone. That's
a shame. Did you manage to... Talking on the
radio, I had to read this a couple times, seeing
the speech balloons not coming from his mouth.
Yeah. Like, wait, what am I looking? Oh, so yeah,
Dr. Barlow here, my companions, my family home,
it's all gone. That's a shame. Did you manage
to save anything? And he did manage to save a
blood bag of Donatello's blood. To which this
person says, bring it to my office immediately
and we'll discuss it. And the red outline is
what made me think. oh, wait, it's Null. It's
that weird skull. Devilhorn lady from the RGX.
Yep. And I don't know what possessed me to read
it like this in my head. So it says Don, D -O
-N, so Don as in Donatello, Donnie, whatever.
It says Don -1. In my head, I read it like Don
Juan, like as in Don Juan DeMarco. I'm like,
oh, God, no. And then I will be there shortly
to be continued. And then we get the cover gallery.
Oh, man, this is this trade. It's a little bit
too much horror for me in it. Yeah. But overall,
I still really enjoyed it. I'm very interested
to see where the story goes from here. I like
the story goes. Okay, well, that wasn't enough.
Yeah, I think I'll save it for the next one.
Yeah. I'm looking at a really interesting next
month page here with the Shredder. Yeah, I see
on mine they give you the cover of the next issue.
Oh, yeah. And it's Shredder training with the
Ninja Turtles. out in the woods which whenever
i see out in the woods ninjas training i think
they're up in northampton again and so where
are we going we're not a mutant town anymore
i brought marshmallows put those away yes they're
toasting marshmallows on their their astrobly
projected flame father there michelangelo put
those away i am not for toasting That's right,
that's right. Volume 5, Mystic Sister. Outside
of my just not really that into the horror part
of it, I enjoyed it because I love the character
stuff. I love that they took a character in Bonnie
and made a story with her and essentially turned
her into a classic character. That got a redemption
arc. That got an actual story arc. That wasn't
just. Oh my god. I hate it when he ruins my dramatic
moments folks. I really hate it. Sorry. I stepped
on it. But no. This was a good book. 124 to 130.
Good story arc. Really really awesome and fun.
Folks. Volume 6, Game Changers, I... Yeah, we're
facing an interesting challenge with Volume 6.
Yes. All right. So I'm looking at the thing here.
Okay. I think what we're going to do is what
we always do. Like we did with Casey and April.
Like we did with Mutanimals. Like we did with
other miniseries. Like we did with Ghostbusters.
We are going to cover them, but we're going to
do their own episode for them. So Armageddon
Game, which is... Okay, you know more about this
than I do. Give me the briefest of brief synopsis
of what Armageddon Game is. Armageddon Game is
an arc that finally deals with everything the
Pantheon has been working on since we met them.
Oh, fuck. Yep. and it involves yeah then it's
going to be its own issue it's going to be its
own separate episode by itself here's here's
the thing and i i need to dig back into it again
but i almost suspect that they have to be read
in the order that they were shipped to stores
that it they they tie together chronologically
between the series you read you read volume six
and only volume six I'm going to try to read
them an issue or two, mixing it in, issue three
or four, mixing it in, and see if they do need
to be read chronologically. And if they do, I'll
say, hey, no, no, dude, we gotta, it's weird.
But if they can be read independently, I think
you're right. We should just do them independently,
like the trade, by trade. There will just be
weird jumps because, you know, if a big battle
goes on in Armageddon game three, When we go
back to read the sequential issue, it's probably
going to be after that battle. And honestly,
this is the thing, audience. I struggled reading
these books as they were coming out because school
and life and mental health and all of that. But
when I started to get back into it, I got up
into Armageddon Game and... My store had a hard
time pulling some of those other issues because
while the series was going on, they also then
drop opening moves, the pre thing. And then there
was a free comic book day catch up that also
weaves in there. And I couldn't I couldn't figure
out what the order was that they hadn't updated
the continuity list because the series was still
coming out. So between all of that, it just like
fouled my taste for the book. Oh, OK. Not that
it's bad. Right, right, right. It was not a good
time for me to mentally wrap myself around it.
Okay, so let me see here. Okay. Question. Yep.
Yeah? Do you like penicillin on your pizza? Is
there a way to... Does Armageddon Game have any
consequence to... Issues 131 to 140. I need to
reread that. What does the... My thinking is
we can do an episode for Armageddon Games specifically
between Volume 8 and Volume 9. So Volume 9 is,
if I remember correctly, let me look in our messages
because I don't remember. I'm too old for this
shit. Yeah, I have the reading list. We should
put a link to that in show notes or something.
Oh, I will. Uh, it is the, the, the, yeah, it's
always in there. You know what you're doing.
You've done this. Okay. So episode five 78 of
the pull bag is reborn volume eight damage done,
which includes annual 2023, 140 to 144. 579 is
Reborn Volume 9, First, Last, and Always, which
is 145 to 150. That's the finale. So between
144 and 145, can we put an episode there in between
578 and 579? Can I put something there that can
just be all of Armageddon game? I think that
might work. okay good that's what i'm doing because
that's gonna be the easiest friggin thing and
that way we don't have to worry about weaving
it into whatever because it's just oh yeah that
would suck for you for doing if if it's required
and i can't believe that they would put the trades
together in a way that would make it required
where you'd read 20 pages of the trade and then
have to put it down and pick up another trade
like no way maybe maybe when it comes out in
omnibus they would do that but no well yeah when
they do the omnibus with story order hopefully
they'll they'll throw it all in together once
they do the the full big hardcover thing yeah
anyway folks this has been behind the scenes
at the pull bag we're gonna enjoy yeah exactly
this is that's where i would be riveted Podcasting
at its best here at the Geekcast Radio Network.
Only inside the Bullbag. We're going to go to
a quick ad break. Here's some podcast ads, some
other stuff. We're going to come back to close
the show right after this. You can edit all of
that out if you want. I will understand. But
yeah, that was fascinating. This is what we have
to deal with, people. Hello, geeks and geekettes!
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Stand by for soundtrack transfer. I am Maggie.
And I am John. And we are trapped, hurtling through
space in a ship shaped like Rodimus' head. The
ship, for reasons we haven't been able to determine,
contains the entire run of the IDW Transformers
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Stand by. Upload complete. Now. Look for us at
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till all are one. Till all are one. On the Simplistic
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We talk... Hello, Julie, what the heck are you
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I'm sure your insurance company will cover that.
No, they won't. No, they probably won't. All
right, folks, we are back here in the 575th episode
of The Pull Bag. 12 years, holy crap, 575 episodes.
Once again, thank you to everyone, anyone who
has helped us along the way with this podcasting
journey. Like I said at the top, Steve Megatron,
Michael Powers, lovely turtle brother, Mr. Joe
Reed here, all the listeners. You want to say
that again? Woo -hoo! Everybody, I appreciate...
Everything anyone has ever done for us here at
the Geekcast Radio Network and as well as here
inside the pull bag. Anything you want to say,
sir, before I close out the first episode of
Mutant March 2025 with the outro? Yeah, this
month, a couple of days ago, IDW released Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles The Mirage Years 1993 through
1995, a collective trade paperback of Mirage
Volume 2. And over my many years being a Ninja
Turtle fan, I have been in contact with Jim Lawson,
one of the original Mirage artists, back and
forth. I've gotten commissions from him and met
him at a convention once, met his fantastic wife,
who has now befriended my wife, and they like
private message each other back and forth. And
I talked to Jim about my motorcycle sometime.
He's just this awesome dude. And volume two.
the Mirage issues that came out from 93 to 95
were basically all him. It was when Peter and
Kevin, the licensing was getting big and they
were off doing their own thing and the book was
handed off to Jim. And these are his issues.
He wrote an extraordinary introduction to the
book. I think that's kind of how IDW pays these
guys for basically using their content that they
own. IDW owns it. But, you know, realistically,
from a creative standpoint, the original creators
deserve something. And so they pull them back
in to write the intro and they get a little bit
of money for that. But at the time that Jim was
writing that intro, I was posting something in
a Facebook comment and I started to wax all sentimental
about the turtles and what they mean and what
they meant to me. And Jim's wife commented on
it. Because it was in some Ninja Turtle group
that they're all a part of. And then I get a
private message from Jim on Facebook saying,
dude, I just read that. Can I use this in my
intro? And me as like the little fanboy is like,
whatever you want, sir. Yes, please take it.
And so like, oh, my gosh, it's in the book. And
so he said it, sent it up, typed it up, wrote
it up. And then we share Google docked it back
and forth. And like I. tweaked my words because
he just copy and pasted it. And, uh, we had a
little Google editing back and forth and I helped
him his part and he helped me with mine. And,
and that's what got sent to the publisher. And
so like, my name is now a part of Ninja Turtles
history in the introduction of this, that Jim
immortalized in that thing. And, uh, I would,
you know, ordinarily this would be all over.
I don't know. Realistically, what's the word?
If I weren't somebody to keep myself contained
in public, I would have just blasted all of this
all over my social media saying, I'm in this
book. I'm history. Instead, I've been containing
it and just letting it out here in this podcast
at this moment. That I'm a part of a turtle's
history now. My name is immortalized. And please
go buy this book, listeners. Please go out and
buy this book. Mirage Volume 2. There was really
weird time for the turtles. But Jim's awesome.
His art was what the turtles were from 93 to
the end of the Mirage run. It was all his art.
He came back to write it eventually. It's interesting.
It's neat. It was color. It was in color back
in the day, but definitely please support it
and read that intro. It's awesome. Yeah, you'll
have to send me a link to that so I can put it
in the show notes. Okay. And yes. Shout it out
across the internet, dude. You deserve to shout
that out because that's amazing. You know how
many times I've shouted out issue 55 of IDW?
We're on the cover, dude. That's my podcast.
Fucking hell. I've gone up to strangers who have
no idea who I am. That's my podcast. Can I sign
your book? Yeah, exactly. Like nine years ago,
how the hell was it nine years ago that happened?
If you've ever been any kind of TMNT fan, you
need to be reading this book. Dash Geekcast Radio
is on issue 55 of IDW TMNT. Which was Ben Bishop's
first cover on one of the variants. I brought
that to him to sign. Did he want me to sign your
copy? Because that's my podcast. No, he didn't
want me to sign it. Ben, come on, man. I know,
right? Come on, Ben. I love you. Come on, Ben.
Damn, man. I got to figure out how to get Ben
on the show. We got to get him. We got to have
him go through the pullback origin questions.
That would be fun. To have him go through those,
that would be very, very cool. All right, folks,
575th episode. We are 25 away from 600. We are
on the road to 600 and 700. I don't know if we're
going to get to 700 this year, but I know we
will definitely be getting to 600 episodes this
year. We only got 25 to go. I don't know how
it's going to go. After Mutant March, I know
we've got Mutant March going on. Dynamite Comics
has the Silverhawks license. They started a Silverhawks
book, so my buddy Optimus Solo and I might be
covering the Silverhawks and Thundercats comics
that they're doing. So that's maybe what's going
on. Obviously, Joe and I will be covering Turtles,
as always. Joe and I will also be getting back
to Radiant Black at some point. We've got to
do that, too. That's still going on. They're
in their rebuild era now. So that's going on,
but we've got to catch up with that as well.
So thank you for joining us inside the pull bag.
If you'd like to get in contact with us or leave
feedback for the show, there are several ways
to do so. Visit the website, geekcastradio .com,
where you can listen to and comment on all of
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We have all kinds of stuff. Shop .geekcastradio
.com. You can check us out in any of the podcatching
clients you choose to use. You can follow us
on X at Geekcast Radio, at The Pull Bag. I am
at TFG1 Mike. I think you X'd out of X, didn't
you? I was never big into it, but I am on blue
sky. I don't remember what my username is, but
you can find me on Facebook, um, through the
geek stuff garage sale. Uh, so facebook .com
slash geek stuff garage sale. And you could find
me on Instagram. Uh, I am at Mr. Reed's Hawaiian
shirt. I think there's some underscores between
those letters, uh, between the words, but, uh,
that'll find me. Very cool. Very cool. I will,
uh, have Joe's links in the show notes folks.
I'll try to have them in there. Become a fan
on Facebook. Go to facebook .com slash geekcastradionetwork.
You can also check out the pull bag over there
as well. Join us next time here in Mutant March
when we will be discussing TMNT Reborn Volume
6 Game Changers. For now, I am TF2 and Mike with...
Joe Reed. As always, make your greatest game
into comics and we will catch you next time.
What the hell was that? I don't know. Well, that
was a crime, you cursed scrubbing pukes. And
this is the penalty. Two minutes for slashing,
two minutes for hooking, and lest I forget my
personal favorite, two minutes for a high stick.
How about a five -minute game misconduct for
roughing, pal? Hey, bogey, now who died and made
you a referee? You did your job, now get out
of here and let me do mine. These JV lowlifes
need to be taught a lesson. Not like that, they
don't. Not from you. Well, it looks like you're
the one who needs to be taught a lesson, pal.
Class is paying 101. Your instructor's Casey
Jones. You've just heard the latest episode of
The Pullback. the GCRN's first comic review and
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until next time, make your great escape into
comics and unleash the geek in you. Look, I don't
want to fight you. Well, tough rocks, pal. A
Jose Canseco bat? Tell me you didn't pay money
for this. That's it. Just a one sale, pal.