Blast from the Past #311: Thumbnail layouts for TMNT Volume 1 #15

Some more stuff from that sketchbook -- these are my very rough thumbnail layouts (and some of them are, literally, about the size of a large thumbnail) for issue #15 of the original TMNT comic series.

It's interesting to look back at these and see just how much -- or how little -- I felt I needed to draw to get across to myself the idea of what was meant to be on each page.

I'm not sure when or why Jim Lawson drew his "Orson" character from "Bade Biker and Orson" on my layouts, but it's kind of funny to see him there. -- PL















P.S. -- Apropos of some of the personal stuff I've been blogging about lately, as I was looking over these pages of thumbnails, specifically the penultimate page, my eye was caught by the dialogue I wrote for "Steve "Stainless" Steel's in his words to "Battling Bernice's daughter, Ananda:

"You're wise for your age, Ananda… I wish I had been as wise. But you need a few more years… to realize that it's never too late to change... as long as you're alive, there's hope…"

Not having the printed issue #15 here in front of me, I can't say how much of that made it into the final form of the comic, but I seem to recall I did have Steve saying something like that. -- PL

P.P.S. I also note that, according to these roughs, at one pint I had considered calling the Justice Force "The Superior Six". I have no recollection of why I didn't.

Blast from the Past #267: "Justice Force" character designs

I drew this back when I was working on issue #15 of the original TMNT comic book. That was the second TMNT comic that I wrote and penciled by myself (Jim Lawson inked it). -- PL

Blast from the Past #129: Motorcycle designs for "Return of the Justice Force"

Back in 2003, Jim Lawson did these cool motorcycle designs for the "Return of the Justice Force" episode of the 4Kids TMNT show. This episode adapted issue #15 of the original TMNT Volume 1 comic book, an issue I wrote and penciled and which was inked by... Jim Lawson!









The motorcycles were used in the episode to get Casey and the Turtles from New York City up to Northampton, MA, where they encountered "Stainless" Steve Steel, Metalhead and the rest of the Justice Force. (I love the fact that Jim put knobby tires on some of these big road bikes!) -- PL