Bodycount

I borrowed the four-issue TMNT Bodycount series from a guy at work a few weeks ago, and just got around to reading it today.

Was there a point to this?

It seems like creators think they have to legitimize things they enjoyed when they were younger by making them “dark”. Why do they feel this is necessary?

Then again, I guess the turtles started out “dark”. But this is “dark” for the sake of “dark”. There’s no reason for it other than to make the turtles more badass, to distance them from the cartoon.

The only character development we got was in book 4 when Raphael sees Casey get shot and suddenly doesn’t think guns are quite so cool. But even then he doesn’t really seem to be in character–he starts crying immediately, for example. I don’t think Raph is all talk; I don’t think he’s the type to bawl like that. Regardless of the fact that he’s a teenager.

The series is supposed to be funny, in a macabre way, and it’s full of homages to Hong Kong action flicks, but ultimately there was nothing there that moved me. Did I expect more out of it than I should have?

Final thought: for a story about a ninja turtle, Raph didn’t get as much face-time as I would have expected. But I guess that’s a good thing, because the artist sure made everybody ugly.

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Don’t give in and go sour

I just heard what may or may not be the theme for the new Transformers movie. (Autobots are watching over you!) Willis describes it as “awesomely terrible, and reminds me of ‘Turtle Power’ in almost all the right ways.”

Ah, “Turtle Power”. Do you want to know something horribly embarrassing about me? Back in the day, I loved TMNT. No, I mean really. I wanted to be Donatello, enough that I had gender issues in gym class when it came time to go to the locker room.

:>

Anyway, it always bothered me that I could never be Donatello because I wasn’t male. (The parts about not being a ninja or a turtle were secondary I guess.)

But then Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles–the movie–came out. One day I was sitting in the family room listening to the music over the end credits, and it happened. There was a break in the music, and the rapper spoke these words like a blessing:

“If you stand for what you believe in, and have the strength to do what’s right, that’s Turtle Power.”

So there it is, one of the most life-affirming moments in my adolescent years.

The pointing and laughing may commence…now.

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TMNT

I don’t have a lot of time, because I should be in bed already, but I wanted to mention that I went and saw TMNT today, and it rocked. That fight in the rain? So amazing. CGI has come a loooooong way.

There wasn’t enough Donatello for me, really; as usual the plot was Leonardo/Raphael-centric. But the ending hinted at a sequel, so maybe…:)

I also wondered why April seemed to be a dealer in ancient artifacts (and a ninja) rather than a TV news reporter. But eh. I don’t care that much. (And Sarah Michelle Gellar did a great job voicing her.)

Love Casey Jones.

One of the best things about the movie was how it meshed so well with the other movies. You can’t argue necessarily that it’s in the same timeline, but the characters’ personalities, situations, and even their voices and trademark lines just seemed to fit.

The music was also great.

I just discovered that the VA for Donatello was Barry in Friends. Now that’s scary.

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