Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles


Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, called Tales of the TMNT in its later Volume 2 incarnation, is an anthology comic book series published by Mirage Studios, starting in May 1987, presenting additional stories featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their supporting cast as a companion book to the main Turtles comic series filling in the gaps of continuity in the TMNT universe. It was published in two distinct volumes.

Volume 1

The title's first run was from 1987–1989, released in alternating months with the regular Eastman & Laird book, with Ryan Brown and Jim Lawson handling the writing and artwork.
Although only seven issues of Volume 1 of Tales were published, it provided an opportunity to expand the TMNT character roster to include characters such as Nobody, Leatherhead, Rat King, Complete Carnage, and Radical – most of which went on to feature in the main title. Tales is also notable for borrowing a unique tradition that originated in Creepy magazine: an opening splash page would feature an introduction by a TMNT character and conclude with the ominous line, "Let me tell you a story." This page also served as a showcase of sorts for a variety of guest artists. The title ceased publication in 1989 when the TMNT became a licensed property. Jim Lawson moved to Mirage's ongoing TMNT series while Ryan Brown shifted toward art and design work for TMNT licensees, including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures title from Archie Comics.

Volume 2

Sixteen years later, under the direction of Stephen Murphy, a relaunch of the series began publication in January 2004. The new Tales of the TMNT focused on events that occur throughout the Turtles' lives, including some of the "lost" thirteen years occurring between TMNT Volumes 2 and 4. Issue #25 featured the return of the original Tales creative team of Brown and Lawson. This revived title maintained the tradition of including a "Let me tell you a story" splash page at the beginning of every issue, in homage to its 1980s predecessor. In May 2010, the second volume ended its run with a total of 70 issues, ten times as many as its predecessor.

Collected books

The original series' entire run has been collected twice as trade paperbacks, first in 1989 and again in 2007. Each version of the trade features new story contents, with the 1989 edition featuring a new 10 page back-up story at the end written & drawn by Jim Lawson. The 2007 edition features a new 27-page story by Lawson entitled "Spinal Tapped" with this story taking place after issue #7 and a 4-page epilogue by Murphy & Lawson. The 2007 edition does not collect the new back-up story from the 1989 edition. Additionally, the 2007 edition also features new opening splash pages, omitting the original opening splash pages completely.
Six volumes of the Tales of the TMNT Volume 2 series have been collected, selecting random issues, or based on linked themes/characters.
Volume 1:
Volume 2:
Volume 1+2 IDW Imprint: