Despite it performing really well at the box office, you knew that Michael Bay’s new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles wasn’t going to be all that great. The reviews were lousy and let’s be honest, it really lacked the heart of the original first film, among other things.
Rather than be disappointed, lower your expectations, check out the film for the sake of your childhood but then head over to a book store and buy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Visual History by Andrew Farago (from Insight Editions; Farago has previously written for Marvel Comics, the Looney Tunes and the curator of San Francisco’s Cartoon Art museum).
Released on June 24, the nearly 200-page book is jam-packed with behind-the-scenes information, tracing back to its comic book roots in 1984 to the massive success in television, film and merchandising. The book features interviews with co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird (Laird also does the foreword), Fred Wolf (who was behind the classic television series) and even Vanilla Ice!
Special collectors items include fan club letters, a complete reprint of the very first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book and a poster of the book cover (which was created by Eastman and artist Ryan Brown).
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Visual History is currently priced at $39.19 at Chapters & Indigo.
Bonus: Be sure to also check out Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Netflix. The documentary’s got interviews with comic book artists, toy designers and film/cartoon crews.
