Blast from the Past #664: Sketchbook page 7, Raphael in "Tuff Skin" morphmode

Here on page 7 of the sketchbook, I drew Raphael using the morphing power from his new mutation to change the texture and density of his skin. It looks like I used some kind of marker to ink this one.

Sharp-eyed readers will probably recognize the similarity here with the way the skin of the Thing from "The Fantastic Four" looks. He was always one of my favorite comic characters, especially the way Jack Kirby drew him (and, in my opinion, no one since Kirby has really drawn him as well, or as convincingly).

However, as I recall, this rendering was just a test to see what might work with this new idea, and if we'd gone forward with it, we'd have figured out a style which did not so closely ape that of the Thing look.

Or at least tried to. -- PL

Blast from the Past #663: Sketchbook page 6, inked drawing of new Foot soldier

     This next page of the sketchbook features an almost-finished drawing of one of the proposed new design Foot ninjas, wielding a non-traditional weapon -- some kind of massive hammer.

     Looking closely at this drawing, I can tell that this was inked by me back when I was still inking with a brush dipped in a bottle of ink -- something I rarely do anymore, having been seduced by the convenience and ease of use of brush marker pens. -- PL

Blast from the Past #662: SKetchbook page 5, more ideas for Foot soldiers

     Following in the vein of the previous page of this sketchbook, page five has some more conceptual sketches for possible new looks for the ninjas of the Foot clan.

     Apparently, I was thinking of leaning more towards a less traditional ninja type of garb, with some tech stuff and integrated body armor panels.

     And judging from the doodle at the top of the page, I was considering giving the basic Foot mask a scarier appearance... loosely inspired, I think, by the look of Jack Kirby's "parademons" in his "Fourth World" comics ("New Gods", "Forever People", "Mister Miracle") for DC back in the 1970's. -- PL

Blast from the Past #661: Sketchbook page 4, ideas for Foot soldiers

Here's the fourth page of the sketchbook, which features some loosely-penciled sketches of ideas for the soldiers of the Foot ninja clan.

I wrote:

"Every new Foot soldier has a third eye ("the Eye of Karai") which is a video transceiver device that constantly relays data back to Karai's central processing computer."

Apparently, I was thinking that a tech upgrade to the Foot would be appropriate… something that, in a different way, eventually came to pass in the 2003 4Kids TMNT animated series.

Further down the page, I wrote:

"Flying Foot soldier"

… next to a small doodle of a Foot ninja with some kind of pop-out winglets at arm, waist, and calf. I don't recall going any further with this idea, but I kind of like it. From the way it is drawn, I suspect I intended them to be gliders rather than powered flyers. -- PL

Blast from the Past #660: Sketchbook page 3, ideas for hulking mutated Splinter "were-rat"

On this third page from the sketchbook, I drew this rendering of how Splinter might appear in his "morphed" form. Here's a transcription of what I wrote on this page:

"Splinter could have the (limited) ability to morph into a huge were-rat

Perhaps he can't do this too much or too often, because it takes a lot out of him.

Whipping action tail!"

I wonder how this would have worked out if we'd actually gone forward with it? 

I find it a little amusing that I provided Spinter with some modesty-preserving torn shorts in this drawing, much like the Incredible Hulk and his purple pants. -- PL

Blast from the Past #659: Sketchbook page 2, ideas for new TMNT comic

This second page in the sketchbook I found yesterday begins with a mistake -- I wrote the wrong date! Instead of April 18, 1994, I indicated that this was actually done on April 18, 1984 -- which would have been a neat trick, given that at that time, the first issue of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book hadn't even come out yet… and I'm already writing notes about their second stage mutations? Obviously, it was a "brain fart".

Anyway, once past that absent-minded error, here are the notes I wrote on that page:

"Second stage mutations: Turtles are undergoing an ongoing mutation… where will it end? We've seen the first stage -- now they enter the second stage, each changing somewhat… their bodies develop new organic armor/weapons (except, that is, for Donatello… for some reason, all that happens to him is that he gets more muscular.)

TMNT ²

TMNT

to the second power

TMNT: The Next Mutation

(Morphtations…?)

Retractable claws (Leo?)

Pop-out forearm spines

Chameleon morph ability: Allows them to pass for human (this would work great for Mike, plus it has some neat story potential: What if he likes shifting to a human shape.. too much?)

Morphing power (from one body texture to another) (Raph?)

Don doesn't mutate physically, but mentally… maybe he has some kinds of telepathic/telekinetic powers.. which cause him some problems

Can shift from regular → flame resistant → impact resistant → cold resistant"

It's interesting to see how -- in classic sketchbook tradition -- I was using this medium to try to work out some as yet-not fully formed ideas. For example, near the top I refer to Donatello getting more muscular… and then further down the page I write that "Don doesn't mutate physically, but mentally".

I also find it interesting that in the sketch of the Turtle in the lower right-hand corner, I added a "T" (for "Turtle"...?) belt buckle kind of thing to his belt. Was I really thinking that was a good idea? -- PL

Blast from the Past #658: Sketchbook page 1, drawing of Donatello with new costume ideas

I had completely forgotten about this.

Looking around in my incredibly messy room today for a few blank label sheets that I could use to create some return address labels for my wife's new self-publishing venture, Stone Door Press, I noticed an old, well-worn sketchbook tucked away under a pile of stuff.

I pulled it out and was surprised to see that it was from about 1994 and had forty-eight pages (if I am counting correctly) of drawings related to a couple of different proposed TMNT projects Kevin Eastman and I were working on at the time -- specifically a new TMNT comic book series and the fourth live-action TMNT movie.

Neither project came to fruition, but a few of the concepts lived on (sort of) in various iterations of TMNT in the years that followed.

(I think it was around this time that Kevin and I had agreed to reconnect, "get back to basics", and work closely together on a new TMNT comic book… and we went so far as to get come carpenters in to Mirage Studios to move a wall between our two adjacent offices so as to make our offices the same size, and to also install a sliding glass window in the wall. The idea behind this was that we would set up our drawing tables so that we could slide open the window and pass pages back and forth as we worked on penciling, inking and toning them, in a manner similar to the early days of working together on TMNT Volume 1.

It never happened.)

The drawings in this sketchbook range from very loose conceptual doodles in blue or black pencil to completely finished inked works. It's strange for me to look at them now, because although I can tell that I drew them, I had completely forgotten that they existed, in this sketchbook.

So here is page one. It's a drawing in black pencil of Donatello, with a notation by me at the top which reads as follows:

"4/15/94  Don: Maybe he has failing eyesight and has to build himself some kind of cyber-gear to enhance his vision"

I seem to recall that this was an idea which either I alone or in concert with Kevin had come up with for some other project. 

It appears that with this drawing I was playing around with some changes to Don's costume and gear, and I'd given him some kind of device -- a weapon, probably -- which sort of reminds me of the "Gravitic Equalizer" from the Donatello "One Issue Micro Series" Mirage published some years earlier. -- PL