Thirteen Things You Didn’t Know (or just forgot) about the Mirage Comics Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Series

13.

Although everyone is used to The Turtles having different colored headbands, in the comics they were originally black and white, and once color was added, they only had red bandanas and their weapons were the only things to differentiate them from one another as far as appearance.

12.

The first idea was actually just a sketch and both Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman drew one. The original drawings are what would become Michelangelo (my personal favorite). After the initial sketches, they decided to use this idea for a one issue parody. These initial sketches and first comic has now inspired 30 years of comics, television shows, movies, toys and almost anything else you could slap a Ninja Turtle face on. Eastman’s Turtle is on the left and Laird’s Turtle is on the right.

11.

The run of the four volume series was mostly published by Eastman and Laird’s own Mirage Studios, but Volume 3 was published by Image Comics and is widely considered as one of the worst versions of the Turtles (I enjoy them all, although this one is rather odd). In this version, Splinter became a Bat, Leonardo lost a hand, Donatello became a cyborg, and Raphael has his face burned and actually became the Shredder. Thankfully Mikey at least is able to get out of this series still intact and fairly normal.

10.

Once Volume 4 started, the series went back to Mirage Studios and completely omitted the Image Comics run. This series actually picked up fifteen years after Volume 2 and was simply titled TMNT although “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” was still written under that title. This series has never officially had an ending. There was an issue released this year, four years after the last issue, which was an official #32. It is  still not official whether that story is over.

9.

 

Up until the Volume 4, Michelangelo’s name was spelled Michealangelo and was corrected in the last volume of this original run to match his artist inspiration’s name Michelangelo Buonarroti. Even the comical cartoon version of Michelangelo decided to start reading the books when this changed happened.

8.

 

 

With the Turtles outstanding success, especially among independent comics, they had many crossovers with other independent characters. A couple of these included Flaming Carrot (who also had the introduction of the Mystery Men who would later be included in the film of the same name) Usagi Yojimbo (who also has been in all but the most recent animated series) and Savage Dragon during their Image Comics run.

7.

The comic has very close details connecting it to Daredevil from Marvel Comics and it even has been stated this was the intention as it was a parody issue at first. The ooze that created The Turtles and the toxic waste that blinded Matt Murdock are supposed to be the same thing along with the foot clan mimicking The Hand, and Splinter being a parody of Daredevil’s mentor The Stick.

6.

This series technically ran from 1984 to 2010 making the whole series last 26 years in length.  Only if you count the issue that was released this year makes the series run “30 years.”  After Image Comic’s 1996-1999 run, Volume 4 at Mirage started back up in 2001, and ran for 9 years.

5.

The first issues of the series had such small print runs, at about 3000 copies an issue, that they became instant collector items among all comic collectors. Within a couple months the comics escalated in price so much they were selling upwards of 50 times the original price. They continue to be some of the biggest collectors items among a lot of comic fans reaching prices over $5,000.  The picture above shows an issue displayed at Denver Comic Con in a case with a ton of $100 bills.

4.

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird both worked on the series only up to  issue #11 together. They worked again multiple times in the future, but their complete creative control did not last long when looking at the complete 30-year history of the franchise.

3.

The Turtles may have had color on their covers for a while, but the whole comic did not get color until Volume 2 started in 1993. This volume did not last long, as it only went 13 issues with a two year run, but it finally gave us a better idea of the setting and characters by adding color.

2.

Kevin Eastman sold his rights to the project to Peter Laird in 2000 and then Peter Laird sold the franchise to Nickelodeon in 2009. The Mirage Comics run would end the next year and Nickelodeon would start work on rebooting the franchise in TV, comics, and film. Both Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman continue to work with The Turtles to this day. Eastman is a main contributor to the IDW published comics running now.

1.

A classic way of publishing TMNT is to have one main series and one off shoot series. The original series started with a one off issue of each Turtle, as well as Fugitoid, a Casey Jones mini series, a crossover with Flaming Carrot, and many others. This tradition carries on today with the IDW series. With this we have gotten some great background to the main stories any fan would enjoy.  It also makes the universe much larger!

Images belong to Mirage Comics and all other owner entities.  

Comic Book Reviews 08-13-14

Review Scale:

The mythical A+: Classic comic book material. Belongs next to your copy of The Notebook and The Joy of Cooking.

A: Would definitely recommend to all comic book readers. Even more so to fans of the genre or characters

B: Enjoyable read. Fans of the genre or characters will especially like.

C: Non-essential read. Can be enjoyable for fans of the genre or characters, but likely for only one or two events in the books.

D: Unenjoyable book. Read at your own risk. Might find satisfaction if major flaws are overlooked.

F: Please don’t buy this book. Donate your money to a local comic book writer’s workshop instead to inspire future generations to write something better than this trash.

 

Pick of the Week:

Starlight #5 – A

This book is what adventures are made out of! Duke McQueen, once savior of the galaxy, is now an old man who has lived his life shamed by the very people he saved because nobody believes him – including his own sons. However, the same cannot be said across the galaxy in Tantalus, where an underground revolution is stirring. It’s hard to tell you what happened in this issue without spoiling anything, but know that s*** is about to get REAL. I enjoy every aspect of this story, and the books move along at a very brisk pace, containing just enough dialogue to keep readers engaged but not enough to feel cluttered. With Kick-Ass officially done for good, this is my new favorite MillarWorld book out. For something new and exciting, this is the book you should be reading! – Sherif

 

Other Reviews: 

BOOM! Studios:

Hexed #1 – A-

Perhaps the biggest reason I loved the new comic Hexed is because it was very reminiscent of Buffy, but instead of our hero, Lucifer, being a Slayer, she is a cat burglar.  Lucifer is witty and quick thinking.  She also knows a lot about the magical world.  After all, most of her jobs involve some sort of magical, artsy artifact.  The art in this book was mesmerizing; the use of color was very well done, taking us from ” the normal world”, to the bright colors of magical hexes, and to the dark and eery world from inside of a scary painting.  The story was enough of a teaser to keep me interested for the next issue, but it also kept me interested in what was happening in the moment.  Lucifer is very relatable, despite the fact that she is a thief and is very mixed up in the magical world.  She has a lot of foes, and it can be hard to determine who is the worst.  This isn’t a gripe with the book, rather a compliment because it is often hard for anyone to distinguish who the baddies are in our own lives.  The first issue left us with a pretty big cliffhanger, which is something I personally like when I have only 20 pages to get into a story.  I definitely expect Hexed to just get better from here on out.  – Adrian

 

Dark Horse:

Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle #8 – C+

Well everything I thought was coming pretty much got shot down this issue. I was hoping for happier ending for John Connor but it seems like that won’t be happening, at least the way things are looking. The cover and the last issue were definitely a bit misleading, but we still have plenty of time left to change John’s future. – Robert

 

DC/Vertigo:

Batman #34 – A-

I’m still reeling from the end of Zero Year, the phenomenal story of Batman’s first appearance in Gotham City. This issue is the bridge into the next arc, Endgame, which is undoubtedly going to be another classic. As far as one-shots go, this is pretty damn great. Matteo Scalera does a decent job filling in, and honestly, the ultra-dark tone of the issue is suited by it. We get to see a morbid side of Gotham and Batman that we really haven’t gotten to since Snyder’s first Batman run, The Black Mirror. It honestly gave me the creeps, in a good way. This killer that Batman is trying to catch gave me extra heebie-jeebies because he is more along the lines of what could happen in real life. I’m looking forward to seeing the team back together in issue #35, but this was a great all-encompassing story well worthy of you time. – Sherif

Batgirl #34 – C-

As much as I will miss Gail Simone’s writing, a complete creative overhaul for Batgirl is just what the doctor ordered. This latest Knightfall arc has floundered for a good ten issues, so this big finale was a great way to send Simone off. The art in Batgirl has also gotten progressively worse, with this issue being one of the least appealing in recent history. Batgirl pulls out all the stops, and calls in all the favors she can to beat Knightfall, but it doesn’t feel like the climactic ending that the book deserved. Where the book does succeed is in the portrayal of the original Birds of Prey team – Huntress, Canary and Batgirl. They work very well together and Simone’s writing gave me a solid case of nostalgia reading it. It was a decent way to wrap up this run, and I do look forward to the next version of Barbara Gordon; I have high hopes that a new start will revitalize the character. – Sherif

Batman Eternal #19 – C-

I don’t know why I continue to read this book anymore seeing as I have not been satisfied for the last ten issues or so. Now that Zero Year is over, things are going back to normal in the regular Batman book. I don’t like how they are using it to bridge the gaps in other books and how it is becoming a mandatory read in order not to be confused in a book I actually care about. About half way through this book I felt completely lost and realized how much I hate DC for doing this with another book. I have been very critical of how they did the same thing with the Superman family. It’s as if they are forcing people to read subpar books by putting important bits of information in them (I’m looking at you Superboy). I don’t appreciate this approach at all and should the writing also continue to be subpar, will have to discontinue my support of most of these publications. – Robert

 

IDW Comics:

Star Trek #36 – A-

What a wonderful series for any Star Trek fan! In this issue we see the current film cast, Deep Space Nine’s captain Sisko and Odo, and of course Q the greatest villain from The Next Generation (sorry, Borg). The art as with most IDW series is fantastic and unlike sometimes, each character looks exactly like they did in their respective series. I am sure we will see more The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and maybe even Enterprise, which would be great. If you are a fan of Star Trek in any capacity this is spectacular and even if you are not this is a great series as it may introduce you to characters from the entire Star Trek Universe to give you an idea of which series you may enjoy more.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #37 – B-

(B+) This was a pretty fun one off issue for the series where we see a battle between Shredder and Krang and a new mutant is introduced. The story for this issue is pretty solid despite the lack of Turtles in it but nevertheless, the story is good and gives us a great look into the two biggest villains in turtle history. The art is done by Cory Smith and he knocks it out of the park with this issue and it is nice and fresh to see a different artist than Mateus Santolouco although all the artist for this series have been great! Definitely check out this issue as it is a single story and a new arc will start next month. – Jacob

(C) Since City Fall, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are preparing for a comeback. However, with Shredder in possession of some mutagen, he has set his sites upon higher targets. However, before taking over the world, he must first have a meeting of the minds with Krang. The tensions quickly rise, as the two are both too stubborn to share a vision of the future. There are some great scenes between the two, but a lot of the issue is mindless banter between Shredder and Krang, with a predictable ending and zero turtles. The addition of Krang into the mix will give the fight for New York a new perspective for the TMNT, so while this issue was a bit stagnant, it was necessary in the grand scheme of things. – Sherif

The X-Files #15 – B-

Well this issue was definitely a mind bending issue as I am still thinking about the ending… But the art of this series has always gotten on my nerves although it is the worst I have seen I wish a more detailed artist could do some upcoming issues as they have many which is obvious with the covers for this series. The writing for this issue is top notch as I have felt this whole series is and is definitely a must have for any fan of the television series. Although if you are looking to start right now, I would wait or try and read all the back issues first as things have gotten real crazy especially this issue so it could definitely be confusing to the new reader.

Transformers: Primacy #1 – C+

The final installment in the current Transformers series starts out with recent Autobot Academy graduate Hot Rod joining the ranks of the Auto Bots and learning the ins and outs like any fresh meat (or fresh metal in this case). In the meantime, Optimus is off climbing glaciers with Ironhide when they come across something ancient and Megatron seems to have some dastardly new plan. Overall, I enjoyed this; it was a bit slow with all the exposition, but I feel like this mini-series is going to get pretty good. I also enjoyed the art in this one. It was very realistic although it was a bit dark at times. Definitely worth the time if you’re a Transformers fan. – Cody

 

Image Comics:

Sex Criminals #7 – A

There aren’t too many books that really pull off a dildo sword fight. Matt Fraction has written in the most ridiculous scenes into this book about two twenty-somethings who find a bond between them because they can freeze time from their orgasms. I absolutely love how John’s backstory intertwines with the current situation. The books has been primarily told through Susie’s point of view, so this helps add some variety to a character we’ve never gotten to fully explore. This book is fully shifting back into gear after our power couple fell into a bit of a lull, relationship-wise. Especially after John found what was in the Sex Police basement, I’m entirely excited for the book to get back to it’s action-packed, crazy self. Like I said, dildo swashbuckling. – Sherif

Shutter #5 – A-

Shutter continues to wow. Five issues in and I’m still awed by Joe Keatinge and Leila del Duca’s adventure story. Every installment opens more and more doors for what could possibly come next, and because it is such an original story, I have no expectations for what will come next or when I expect anything to wrap up. I also love the concept of revealing the backstory of Kate’s dad bit by bit instead of doing it all at once. Each appearance fits within the story, and although answering questions, also shrouds itself in enough mystery to keep me intrigued for future issues. And then there’s Alarm Cat, who is one of the best companions you could ever ask for. There are a few moments that make you lose brief connection with Kate, but for the most part, this book is just pure gold, and I hope there is enough juice to squeeze 100 more issues! – Sherif

The Walking Dead #130 – B-

I have no idea what is going on here. Did George Romero take over as writer for The Walking Dead? There are events in this issue that our brand new to the series, but has been the central theme to all of the recent Romero titles. I’m not sure whether it’s done as a slight, since Romero has trashed TWD as being a “soap opera,” or whether the series is actually going to go in that direction, but it’s straight-up absurd. I do give the issue a lot of praise for progressing the story along – setting up Carl for a better role and finally showing a post-pregnancy Maggie – and especially for not taking the easy bait at the end of the last issue. There’s still tons of promise in this series, so a little absurdity is allowed. – Sherif

 

Marvel:

All-New X-Men #20 – B+

If you picked up this book and stopped reading it after the first ten pages, you would think that it is a terrible book. The awkward PG-13 relationship between X-23 and Angel was enough to make me take pause. The whole “I’m an animal” and “if you only knew the things I’ve done” cliché has been done so many times that it’s hardly even parodied anymore. The real excitement is between Jean Grey and Emma Frost, the latter of which is trying to push Jean Grey to realize her true powers. We finally get the showdown between the two, as Emma’s jealousy is addressed. Meanwhile, Kitty Pryde and her relationship with Star-Lord is investigated further. The signature of this series has been the fact that it is often tethered to lots of humor – none more so than Iceman. This is an exemplary bridge issue that still progresses multiple storylines, and gets us one step closer to finding out the contents of Charles Xavier’s Last Will and Testament. – Sherif

Spider-Man 2099 #2 – B+

This book has the potential to be really good and actually has a great sense of humor, especially in this episode. Things have started a bit on the slow side but I am sure things are going to pick up soon enough. I have no complaints about this issue and am looking forward to what this book has to offer in the future. – Robert

Wolverine #11 – C+

(B-) One more month until one of Marvel’s most famous characters and personally one of mine (after all he was best friends with Morph in the X-Men animated series) meets his ultimate fate. We have him getting to Sabertooth’s lair with many allies and trying to take him on. Obviously with next month being the last, we don’t get the epic battle between Wolverine and Sabertooth but we don’t have long to wait. The art of this issue is great and the story is good as well. Although it is an epic event the story is not the best I think Wolverines death should have, but we will see how it all goes down next month. – Jacob

(C) Well the time we have been waiting for during these last few months is almost upon us. One more issue and Wolverine is gonna be dead. I am actually wondering if he will finally kill Sabretooth and take that orb to get his powers back. Or maybe this will be some crappy metaphorical death. Either way, if they were going to actually kill Wolverine, I wish they wouldn’t have announced it so long ago. For being so close to the end, this issue had an awful lot of filler. I am honestly ready for this to be over so we can move on to whatever is coming next. – Robert

Original Sin #7 – C

This series has been enjoyable but I found myself lost in this issue. I still feel like I understand what s going on, but by the end of this issue I was left scratching my head. The art as always in this series is good although it is insanely dark with more shadows than words on the page and this is a wordy series. It is all over next month so yeah it is a bad time to just get into the series and it is one of the more violent Marvel series at the moment so also not for kids. – Jacob

Amazing Spider-Man #5 – C

I am not sure that I am crazy about this love triangle Peter has suddenly gotten himself into. He is supposed to be in relationship with Anna and we all know you can never get rid of Mary Jane, and now he has this new chick, it is like a bad soap opera even by comic book standards. I am more interested in the ending of this issue however; there is no way they are going to release Peter’s identity again so I want to see how he gets out of this. Nothing too crazy has happened since Peter came back, minus the new chick, so I am hoping that they pick up the pace instead of easing back into things. – Robert

Deadpool #33 – C

Although this Deadpool story arc has been interesting with meeting his daughter, it is altogether not a great Deadpool story. After reading some really good Deadpool stories it is hard to read the constant three series of the character that happen each month. The art is pretty good but not great and overall the story is enjoyable as most Deadpool but this story is definitely one of the duller of this series. – Jacob

Deadpool: Dracula’s Gauntlet #6 – C-

Ok I have to admit this issue was quite fun once I got past my views of just how ridiculous it is. I still don’t think it is anything special but in this issue we got to see Red Hulk, Ghost Rider, Elektra, Punisher, Blade, and a couple extra Deadpool regulars. The art is for this series has been good for the whole run and the story overall isn’t good or terrible. If you enjoy Deadpool, it is worth a read otherwise avoid this series, as it is one of the craziest and weirdest Deadpool series I have read. – Jacob

Nova Special #1 – F

I found this issue to be incredibly boring. NOVA is a kid who is out of his league at this point. He can hardly even handle a bunch of teenage X-Men. I found myself struggling to even get to the next page. Iron Man is a total douche (as always). The ‘X-Kids’ are morons. And, NOVA is weak. The art of the book isn’t bad, until Iron Man shows up, I’m not sure what was going on there. Even though it only takes 10 minutes to read, save you time, watch The Office instead…at least you’ll laugh. – Cody

 

Funniest Panel:

Panel with the Most Awesomeness:

 

That about wraps it up for our reviews this week! Look for next week’s previews coming soon. Any comic books you didn’t see reviewed that you want reviewed? Any grades you didn’t agree on? Let us know in the comments!

All images taken from ComiXology app and the credit for them goes to the respective publishers; thanks to IDW Comics, image Comics, Dark Horse, Boom! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, DC and Marvel for putting out great books.

 

Thirteen Things You Didn’t Know (or just forgot) About Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Animated Series

Get ready to explore every type of turtle (of the ninja variety) that you can handle as we look back at thirty years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles history. What a better way to start than the 80’s and 90’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Animated Series? Ultimately, I feel the Animated Series Turtles in particular are the ones who will always be the distinct Pop Culture reference for the masses. Whether or not the new Michael Bay Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film (out last weekend) or any other incarnation of the four brothers suits you, there are so many Turtle universes out there to enjoy, it is nearly impossible to say that you don’t like the Ninja Turtles. If you don’t like the franchise, it’s like saying you don’t like pizza, which is a personal insult to my four Ninja friends and to me. Without further ado, here are 13 things you didn’t know about the animated series.

 

13.

The Animated Series started in December of 1987 as a five episode mini series, which is now thought of as Season 1 for the show. These episodes earned the entire first volume of the DVD’s with a couple episodes from season 10 tacked on.

 

12.

The original miniseries was made due to a plan to produce toys for the franchise by the company Playmates Toys, because the company thought the toys would not sell based just on the comic alone. They asked Murakami Wolf Swenson (initially and after the first two seasons it changed to Fred Wolf Films.) to produce something for TV to base the toys off of. From this venture we gained two of the most popular parts of Ninja Turtles history with the expansive set of figures and the 10 season long television show.

 

11.

In the Turtles Animated Series, the writers changed each Turtles look. They gave each turtle a different color headband, which were originally all red in the comics, so kids could differentiate between the four of them. Now they are known so well by their respective colors, it is hard to imagine them all having the red headband. In addition, the creators of the Animated Series added the first letter of their names on their belt buckles. The artists added lots of bright popping colors to the screen making for a richer environment, but one that was impossible to take seriously.

 

10.

A larger change was modifying Splinter’s backstory. In the comics, Splinter was Hamato Yoshi’s pet rat, who mutated the same way the turtles did. He learned how to be a ninja by observing Hamato Yoshi. In the television cartoon, Splinter was Hamato Yoshi.

 

9.

The dark nature of the comics was gone and this was not the kind of universe any turtle comic fan of the time, or even the creators wanted to see but they were marketing it towards children so of course they had to edit it down.

 

8.

In the U.K. and other parts of the world the show was actually called Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles and Michelangelo’s screen time was cut down due to his use of nun chucks, which are illegal in a large amount of the world.

 

7.

Casey Jones who was actually not too far off from his comic version, he still was not exactly what you were expecting, but he had the same type of “I don’t give a crap” attitude and other than his Clint Eastwood like voice for the series.

 

6.

The Ninja Turtles made P.S.A’s. I can tell you what got me this far with not drug problems was the Turtles telling me, say no to drugs and say yes to pizza. This may have caused a rise in type 2 diabetes in my generation, but many of us got through it drug free, which has always been the way to be.

 

5.

Rocksteady and Bebop were created just for the Animated Series in order to produce more toys. The fan favorites are Shredder’s main thugs and bodyguards. These guys were pretty dumb but also pretty tough because Shredder used mutagen on them and the men they used to be mutated into a Rhino and a Warthog. Initially it seemed the bumbling idiots were not well liked. They may not have even been in the show if the creators had full control. However, over time they have became canon to the universe we all know.

 

4.

April O’Neil was made into a reporter for the Animated Series. She was originally introduced in the comics as a computer programmer and assistant to Baxter Stockman. Knowing that her origin was not as a reporter proves how much the Animated Series changed what is considered to canon to most people.

 

3.

 

Shredder wasn’t in the series for almost two seasons. The Technodrome (Shredder and Krang’s base of operation) was stuck at the earth’s core, Dimension X, and frozen in the Arctic. The Turtles finally banished Shredder and Krang forever by sending them to Dimension X and through a portal, destroying the engines and their portal technology. We don’t see them again until late in season 10.

 

2.

The new bad guy during that time was an alien named Lord Dregg. This is a part of the series I admittedly do not remember from my childhood. After watching the series again, it is kind of cool to see the Turtles battle more than “normal: villains, just as they did in the controversial TMNT CGI film. Most people saw this change as negative because most people see Shredder as the most formidable villain. Even so, the show lasted longer than just about every single Saturday morning cartoon by this point. With this change they also incorporated more of the darkness from the films and even had footage from the first film in the beginning credits. With the villain and style change it was difficult to handle. Ultimately, the show was canceled after seasons 8-10 only had 8 episodes each.

 

1.

Despite the huge success of this series, it took three times airing the first five-episode special for it to gain any kind of viewing audience. But thank Splinter it did because we got to have 10 seasons, which for a Saturday morning cartoon is insanely good. I mean Ninja Turtles had two more seasons than Dexter, four more seasons than Lost, and five more than Breaking Bad. The series came out to be just short of 200 episodes with a final count of 193.

None of the media in this article belongs to Hush Comics; it all belongs to their respective properties.

“Respect My Craft” – Jim Cummings

In this consumer-based industry, it can be easy to forget the years of hard work that the people in the business put in. Behind every panel, it takes a skilled writer, artist, inker and colorist to make the product complete. Behind each scene goes hours of preparation. Hush Comics’ weekly article “Respect My Craft” will dive into the history of these comic book and pop culture greats that will hopefully give a new perspective on how the men and women behind the pen (or stylus) contribute to the collective awesome-ness of the nerd world, or at least give you a reason to invest in their work.

Name: Jim Cummings

Profession: TV Voice Actor

Notable Work: Darkwing Duck, Winnie The Pooh, CatDog

“I realize this is retrospect, but I’ll give everybody a leg up on this one. Do impressions of your relative’s and/ or anybody you just see on TV and if you do a bad impression it’s a new character.”- Jim Cummings

 

Did you grow up watching cartoons in the 90s? Then you most likely already know Jim Cummings and one of his voices is also likely to be one of your favorite cartoon characters. Jim Cummings is one of those voice actors who has been around since I have been born, creating some of the most iconic and well loved characters among the animated kingdom and helping other actors in times of need such as helping Jeremy Irons sing “Be Prepared” in The Lion King since Irons was having voice trouble at the time.

Jim Cummings grew up in Ohio, but he moved to New Orleans when he got older and started off by designing and painting floats for Mardi Gras as well as worked as a deck hand and played drums and sang in the band, FUSION. He married his wife Stephanie and shortly after moved down to California where he continued to be an working stiff by running a video store, which now do not exist now that Blockbuster is gone sadly. He started his voice acting career in 1984 but didn’t get a credited role until 1985 starting off as Lionel the Lion in the TV show Dumbo’s Circus, and then just the next year, he went on to voice General in the Studio Ghibli classic, Castle in the Sky. His roles started to grow, as well, as did the amount of work, landing him roles in the The Transformers as multiple transformers including: Afterburner, Sharkticon, and Rippersnapper. He also voiced El Capitan in Ducktales. But most people will know him as the replacement for Hal Smith to voice Winnie the Pooh – a character he has voiced since 1988 – and Tigger, too, a role he took over from Paul Winchell as Tigger in 1990 (although Winchell would voice him a couple times later as well). Up until the time where his Winnie the Pooh fame came to be, he continued to voice multiple small roles and some more iconic ones including extra voices on The Little Mermaid and voicing Monterey Jack, Fat Cat and others in Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, solidifying his talent of playing mustached anthropomorphic animals.

If Chip ‘n’ Dale was not your cup of tea, then hold on to your seats because Launchpad McQuack is flying this ship now, and blasting him to some of his even more iconic roles. His next roles in the early ‘90s including Don Karnage in TaleSpin, the title character in Bonkers, Pete in Goof Troop, Taz in Taz-Mania, Dr. Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog, and my personal two favorites: Mr. Bumpy in Bump in the Night and Shredder (in season 7 when James Avery could not), Genghis Frog and additional voices in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Oh, and then, of course, there’s Darkwing Duck. This is arguably the point where his career blew up and the point where his voice was heard the most around the world.

Jim continues to revolutionize the field of voice acting, and his list of credit is almost never ending with over 400 credits to his name and it just continues to grow more and more it seems each day. Once you go into the late ‘90s he still continues to bring some of the most memorable characters from the ‘90s as he plays multiple roles in: Gargoyles, The Tick, Mighty Ducks, Earthworm Jim, The Mask, Freakazoid, Animaniacs, and more. Not to mention major roles as Fuzzy Lumpkins in Powerpuff Girls, and Cat from CatDog, which both even further his credit of being one of the masters of making you enjoy life as we know it when you are a child. Now don’t think he was just an ‘80s and ‘90s guy because, to this day, he still voices Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and the bad guy Pete for almost all Disney projects, including the Kingdom Hearts video game series. He also has created a whole bunch of new characters for this new generation of kids including Ray the firefly from The Princess and the Frog, Hondo Ohnaka from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Karu from The Legend of Korra. Jim Cummings will definitely go down into the voice actor hall of fame with the likes of Mel Blanc and Peter Cullen, especially knowing that all he has achieved is just going to get better and even more great character from him are bound to show every year.

Cummings is not just a legendary amazing voice actor he also is a great person to boot. He has worked with Make-a Wish Foundation in the past to call sick children who are under going treatment in hospitals, and he does it in the voice of their favorite character. Can you even imagine being sick as a kid and getting a call from Tigger to wish you well and tell you to get better soon. Heck, if that happened to me in 1995, I may have just beaten my Diabetes altogether. So to grow up and have Cummings’ characters be your heroes, and have them contact you is beyond any dream I could have imagined. Even a call from Shredder would boost my spirits up to a un human like degree. Beside his wonderful charity work, he enjoys having fun with fans at various Cons, making headlines when he read lines of Darth Vader’s from the Star Wars films as Winnie the Pooh during a panel at last year’s ConnectiCon. If that doesn’t impress you, it may just be my tummy rumbling for honey but I would find your lack of humor disturbing…

None of the media in this article belongs to Hush Comics; it all belongs to their respective properties (Disney, Nickelodeon Network, Peter Hannan Productions). Join us tomorrow as we continue our countdown to Denver Comic Con with big-time nerd and Walking Dead‘s Merle, Michael Rooker.

R.I.P. James Avery – The Best Uncle Phil Moments

I’m sure you’ve heard the news; James Avery, known to a majority of young adults and teenagers as Philip Banks in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air or The Shredder in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series of the late 1980’s – early 1990’s, passed away late Tuesday night from complications stemming from open-heart surgery. If you’re like us, Uncle Phil raised you. The generation before us had the Huxtables, and we had the Banks. Uncle Phil was an exemplary father figure. Sure, there were a lot of comedic relief, but underneath all the laughs were some heart-felt moments. He could entertain and he could stir emotion. We’ve compiled our top five Uncle Phil moments here:

5.) Season 1 Episode 21, “Bank Shot”

Since all our other moments are dramatic, we figured a light-hearted moment was needed to break the ice. Uncle Phil was always a man on the right side of the law, so when Will gets himself into trouble – a commonly recurring phrase – by getting in deep with some hustling pool sharks who hold the Bank’s Benz as collateral until Will pays up, Philip tries to go down to the hall to set things straight. When the shark challenges Banks to win back the money Will lost, Banks bashfully accepts. After losing horribly and tempting the shark into upping the ante. Then, Uncle Phil brazenly says, “Geoffrey, break out Lucille” and continues to sandbag the hustlers. When it’s all said and done and they pay up, Phil warms them never to mess with his boy again. As much as Will and he butt heads, Phil is always there for him.

4.) Season 1 Episode 6, “Mistaken Idenity”

You would think that a television sitcom would be afraid to tackle the elephant in the room that was racial stereotyping. You would be wrong. Just six episodes into this series and Carlton and Will are being targeted as car thieves when one of Phil’s legal partners asks them to drive a car back to Los Angeles. Will and Carlton and wrongfully accused of stealing the vehicle and thrown in a cell without due process. Phil finds out and is furious. When the deputies begin trying to put Phil and Vivian in their place, Phil begins throwing his weight around legally. It’s amazing to see two parents bail their kids out like this in such fashion, and it teaches viewers that you don’t have to resort to violence to resolve difficult issues such as this and thatstanding up for what is just can be rewarding.

3.) Season 1 Episode 4, “Not With My Pig, You Don’t”

White collar lawyer, Princeton & Harvard alumnus, forefront of the civil rights movement. All these attributes earned him the Urban Spirit Award. So when he his parents came to town to attend the ceremony, Philip is embarrassed of his rural upbringing in North Carolina. His parents take this to mean that Phil is ashamed of them, too. It takes Will, who leaks the story of “Zeke” and his pet pig to the press to garner more interest in his story, to make Phil realize that his hard-working, strong family dynamics are what have made him so successful, both personally and professionally. At the end of the episode, Phil gives a moving speech about how proud he is to be the son of his parents.

2.) Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot (The Fresh Prince Project)”

The mere concept of this series was revolutionary for the 90’s. Take a ghetto kid from Philly and put him in the ritziest part of Los Angeles and see how they interact. Anybody who grew up in the city can tell you that the fears of not fitting in with the upper crust of society are very real; it’s not an assimilation that happens without losing a bit of identity. Right off the bat, Fresh Prince showed us that by acting out, Will only alienated himself. He assumed that Philip had lost his way, forgotten where he came from and abandoned his hard-knock roots. Uncle Phil, always quick to retort in intellectual battle, challenges Will to find out what somebody is all about before judging them. It’s a lesson that goes both ways, though, as Phil hears Will playing Beethoven’s Für Elise on the piano. It’s a social statement that wasn’t made enough in that time period, and a great discussion-starter for racism vs. classism.

1.) Season 4 Episode 24, “Papa’s Got a Brand New Excuse”

A strong father figure, sometimes isn’t enough. When Will’s dead-beat dad returns to Bel-Air and tries to “reconnect” with his son, Will begins to push away Uncle Phil, at one point yelling at him that he’s not even his real dad. Phil has been a father to Will since his arrival in Bel Air, and tries to be supportive of Will and his newly-reunited dad. However, it’s all too predictable when it turns out that his father is just using Will’s family ties to take money from them. As Will’s father bails one last time, Phil warms him to never come back. We see Will really unload emotionally, and right into the arms of Uncle Phil. It’s the most emotionally charged scenes in the entire series for us, and it solidifies Uncle Phil as not just Will’s uncle, but his father, as well.

I know it’s much the tribute that Avery deserved, but it’s the one we needed to share with you all. If we missed any Uncle Phil moments you felt should have made the cut, let us know. Rest in peace to a great actor and our TV dad, James Avery. Avery’s last contribution to a film was in an independent film directed by and starring Zach Braff (Garden State, Scrubs) called Wish I Was Here, scheduled for release in September 2014.

Thanks for the other skate, Uncle Phil

Written by Sherif Elkhatib