Episode 194 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (With Matt Goldberg)

The Comics Canon

Media critic Matt Goldberg returns as we temporarily pause our Spidey Super-Stories miniseries to discuss the unstoppable cultural phenomenon known as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with a look at the book that started it all—Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (and also #2) by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird!

Before the seven different movies (including the well-received new “Mutant Mayhem”), the animated series, the video games and the action figures, there was just a self-published black-and-white comic riffing on Frank Miller’s Daredevil run with a brilliant title.

How did this modest 40-page comic spawn a decades-spanning multimedia juggernaut? And does it have what it takes to enter that Forbidden Kingdom known as ... The Comics Canon?

In This Episode:

· The Turtles Generation

· The part of the Turtles’ origin that requires suspension of disbelief

· “What if Ultron was a chicken?”

· The 80s rash of Turtles “parodies”

· Usagi Yojimbo

· The Last Ronin

· Lynda Barry's Poodle With a Mohawk

· The Police Story trilogy

· Batman: Failsafe Vol. 1

· Check out Matt’s Substack, Commentary Track

Join us in two weeks as we swing back into Spidey Super Stories with a Juggernaut two-parter from Amazing Spider-Man #229 and 230 and The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man from Amazing Spider-Man #248!

Until then:Impress your friends with our Comics Canon merchandise! Rate us on Apple Podcasts! Send us an email! Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook!

And as always, thanks for listening!