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(Deleted trivia fact about dream sequence being a reference to a Frank Miller Daredevil comic book. No issue number was cited. I could not find any Miller daredevil issues resembling this dream sequence.)
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{{Infobox Comic
−
[[Image:11cover.jpg|thumb|250px|right]]
  
  +
|name = True Stories
  +
|image = True Stories.jpg
  +
|series = [[Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]
  +
|volume = 1
  +
|issue = 11
  +
|date = June [[1987]]
  +
|pages = 38
  +
|cover = [[Kevin Eastman]]
  ⚫
|writer = [[Kevin Eastman]] & [[Peter Laird]]
  ⚫
|pencils = [[Kevin Eastman]] & [[Peter Laird]]
  ⚫
|inks = [[Kevin Eastman]] & [[Peter Laird]]
  ⚫
|letters = [[Steve Lavigne]]
  +
|assistant editor =
  +
|editor =
  +
|editor in chief =
  +
|publisher = [[Mirage Studios]]
  +
|previous = [[Silent Partner]]
  +
|next = [[Survivalists]]
  +
}}
  +
{{Teen}}
  +
'''''True Stories''''' is issue #11 of ''[[Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' volume 1, published in June 1987 by [[Mirage Studios]].
   
  +
== Character ==
−
'''The Turtles and April recovers in Northampton'''
  
  +
* {{miragelink|Donatello}}
  +
* {{miragelink|Hamato Splinter}}
  +
* {{miragelink|Casey Jones}}
  +
* {{miragelink|Leonardo}}
  +
* {{miragelink|Michelangelo}}
  +
* {{miragelink|April O'Neil}}
  +
* {{miragelink|Raphael}}
   
  ⚫
==Synopsis==
  ⚫
The issue opens with April having nightmares about being attacked by [[ninja]] monsters who look similar to the {{miragelink|turtles}} and the {{miragelink|Shredder}}. April wakes up screaming and then heads off to write in her diary. The diary becomes the framework for this issue.
   
  +
:''Jan. 15, 1987''
−
{{Template:comicnav | List_of_TMNT_Mirage_Comics#Volume_1 | 11 | seriesname=Mirage Studios Volume 1 | prev=Silent Partner | next=Survivalists}}
  
  +
:''Yes, it's almost three A.M. again... My Night Mare alarm went off Big time tonight. It's been over two weeks now, with no relief... I was hoping to shake them before this...''
  +
:''I think&mdash;The last time I closed my eyes and actually slept (and I believe exhaustion had a hand in that) was on the trip here...<br />Even then my awakening was a shock...''
   
  +
April recalls Casey startling her awake during the trip from [[New York City]], wanting her to see downtown [[Northampton]], [[Massachusetts]]. She is underwhelmed by the sight.
   
  +
:''Considering my state of mind, my reaction was a few notches below "I couldn't care less." I guess I should've looked around a little; I hear that Northampton's nice... at least it might have afforded some kind of comfort for my next sight...''
  +
:''From the road, Casey's late grandmother's house looked like a classic old New England farm house&mdash;big old barn, family-sized house, sheds, trees and rolling hills; you know, postcard material. That was from the road...''
   
  +
Casey is full of nostalgia seeing the {{miragelink|Jones Farm}}, but April is introduced to a dilapidated old building with broken windows and a front door falling off its hinges. April wants to start a warm fire and to get the still-injured Leo into the house. But she is fatigued, and falls asleep on a chair inside.
−
=#11=
  
   
  +
:''Jan. 25, 1987''
⚫
'''Script:''' [[Kevin Eastman]] & [[Peter Laird]]<br />
  
  +
:''Winter remains with us... snowed two days straight... Clear today. Leonardo's still pretty out of it. The battle tore him up terribly in both body and mind. Physically he has healed incredibly well, but mentally... I'm afraid has a lot of catching up.''
⚫
'''Pencils:''' Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird<br />
  
  +
:''He's always put himself in front of the rest of the guys; taking charge, bearing the extra weight playing the Big Brother... When someone like that feels they've failed they fall hard!''
⚫
'''Inks:''' Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird<br />
  
  +
:''He's recently developed an intense obsession with the surrounding forests and spends all of his time there...''
⚫
'''Lettering:''' [[Steve Lavigne]]<br />
  
  +
:''I hope he finds what he's looking for and comes out of this depression soon... We all need him back.''
   
  +
Leonardo, dressed in an improvised winter hunter's garb and armed with a [[yumi (weapon)|yumi]], stalks a stag through the forest without much success. The stag ambushes him, knocking him down. Leo pulls out of a knife and charges the stag head-on, but the powerful creature instead grabs the turtle with his antlers and throws him over and behind. Leo sits feeling defeated as the stag runs off.
−
*''Major characters:'' [[Donatello]], [[Leonardo]], [[Michaelangelo]], [[Raphael]], [[Splinter]], [[April O'Neil]], [[Casey Jones]]
  
−
*''Cover date:'' June, 1987
  
   
  +
:''I guess I could never know for sure how he feels inside.''
⚫
==Synopsis==
  
  +
:''But I do know what losing your home&mdash;and everything that you own&mdash;feels like... Those things that you felt gave you a sense of being and strength in this world...''
⚫
The issue opens with April having nightmares about being attacked by [[ninja]] monsters who look similar to the [[Turtles]] and Shredder. April wakes up screaming and then heads off to write in her diary. The diary becomes the framework for this issue, and the means by which we learn of our heroes problems since they were attacked by the Foot and lost all that they held dear.
  
  +
:''Belongings that touched memory chords of loved ones. Father...''
  +
:''I know he's hurting.''
   
  +
:''Feb. 10, 1987''
−
April begins the tale by writing how she arrived in [[Northampton]] and her less than enthusiastic reaction to both the small New England town and Casey's grandmother's farm house, where our heroes will be spending the winter. The farm has been abandoned for four years and is quite a mess, and while Casey is excited to be there, April is not.
  
  +
:''Everything is so strange... I feel like I've never looked at myself or the guys before; we're all so different now I try to identify the people I used to know with those that surround me now... and it's hard.''
  +
:''Don isn't doing too badly, although he does work obsessively at the huge amount of repairs that need to be done here. The place has been vacant since Casey's Grandmother Left four years ago, it was pretty run down then.''
  +
:''Besides a million little things, Don's rebuilt the windmill to pump water, devised a water wheel that creates enough current for lights and the fridge, and also installed a wood stove for better heating, all around.''
  +
:''His most recent undertaking will&mdash;if it works&mdash;satisfy a craving we've all had lately...''
  +
:''...Hot running water!''
   
  +
:''Feb. 15, 1987''
−
April then writes about Leonardo's condition. While Leo has healed physically, the stress of being beaten so badly by [[Shredder]] and the [[Foot]] is wearing hard on his psyche. He's taken to hunting in the woods alone, and we see a scene where Leo has a skirmish with a large buck. Leo is knocked down by the deer and he sits dejectedly in the snow, looking utterly defeated.
  
  +
:''Success! Showertime! Everybody's going '''nuts!'''''
   
  +
:''Feb. 17, 1987''
−
April then writes about Donatello, who is working obsessively on repairing the homestead. Don fixes the windmill, uses a water wheel to generate electricity, hooks up a wood stove for heat and manages to get the hot water heater working. April is surprised to find that Don is also writing, tapping away on an old typewriter in the attic. April wonders what Donatello is writing about. We see Don looking out of a window, a huge pile of crumpled paper overflowing his waste paper basket.
  
  +
:''Feeling strangely depressed lately... I guess I expected Don to rest a bit after the last hard-won victory...''
  +
:''No such luck.''
  +
:''I heard him rummaging around in the attic early this morning... who knows what he's working on now.''
   
  +
:''Feb. 17, 1987''
−
Michaelangelo's story is next. It seems that Mike has lost his sense of humor and spends most of his time practicing in intense, almost maniacal workouts. April sees Mikey destroy a work bench and punch holes through the barn. It seems everyone is suffering tremendously under the strain of recent events.
  
  +
:'''''[[Credo|Don's Writing Too!]]'''''
  +
:''He must have found an old typewriter in the attic yesterday.''
  +
:''I awoke to the tapping of busy keys around seven A.M. and he's been at it ever since!''
  +
:''I wonder what he's writing about... is it a journal, like mine? I'd love to know...''
   
  +
Donatello is shown in the attic room with the typewriter...and a trash can filled to overflowing with crumpled up pieces of paper.
−
Raph is keeping to himself, the first up in the morning and the last to bed. We see the fiery ninja on the roof of the barn late at night, keeping a steadfast watch.
  
   
  +
:''Feb. 26, 1987''
−
April describes Casey, "I believe that in Casey's mind there's a petulant, mischievous ten year old waging constant war with a somewhat mature, bright young man... unfortunately the ten year old wins far too often." We then see Case and Raph working on an old truck while they trade insults with one another. With Raph behind the wheel, the lads manage to get the vehicle going, but unfortunately the truck careens out of control thanks to the snow. Raphael accidentally pilots the truck into Don's windmill, destroying it, and then the frantic [[Turtle]] crashes the vehicle itself into a ditch. The accidents don't stop Casey and Raph's insult contest.
  
  +
:''Michaelangelo worries me the most''
  +
:''Mike, who could find a joke in just about any situation, doesn't laugh much anymore.''
  +
:''Except for some half hearted goofing around with Casey and Raph, he's been almost painfully solitary lately it's so unlike him. But then all of us seem to have a need to be alone these days.''
  +
:''Has what's happened made us unable to be close? I don't know...''
  +
:''Mike's chosen a back section of the barn for his sanction... cleared a lot of junk out and created a little work-out space.''
  +
:''The other day I happened in on one of his sessions. He was already on edge.''
   
  +
Michelangelo is shown repeatedly kicking a punching bag until it breaks completely off its chain. He bashes and destroys a workbench with his arms. Unsatisfied, his takes his rage to the barn wall, ripping a hole out of the wood. He rests his arms on the new hole and groans.
−
We then cut to a scene where April is walking on ice, which cracks open. Miss O'Neil screams and falls into the icy waters. Luckily Leonardo is hunting nearby and comes to her rescue. Leo uses his katana and cloak to make a lifeline and pulls April out of the cold depths, and then carries her home.
  
   
  +
:''We all feel so much pain and confusion&mdash; Each of us keeping his personal torment bottled up inside... Each seeking relief in his own way.''
−
Inside the farm house we find April is sitting unconscious but snug in a chair with a blanket and hot water tub for her feet, surrounded by the Turtles and Splinter. Master Splinter announces that it's time for the Turtles to get busy, as their spirits have drifted for too long. With the oncoming Spring, the Sensei puts the team back to work, training together once again.
  
  +
:''The cure hangs plainly, clearly in front of our faces, but who will be the first to reach out?''
  +
:''We Need Each Other!''
   
  +
:''March 2, 1987''
−
April's final journal entry, written a full month after her "mid-winter swim," is one of hope. The near death experience has helped her come to the realization that material possessions are not the important aspects of one's life - that friendship is what matters above all else. It seems that April and the Turtles have learned much at the farm house, although it was a very difficult journey. April ends her diary with these words, "Life is good... and life goes on."
  
  +
:''Raphael scares me. The rest of the guys I can feel for, worry for... but not Raph.''
  +
:''Raph runs Hot and Cold... very unbalanced, unpredictable. I keep my distance. Lately I've noticed he doesn't sleep much.''
  +
:''He's always always the first up and the last to bed. I think I've heard him Leaving the house late at night, too. I wonder what he's doing... standing guard?''
   
  +
Late at night out in the cold on top of the barn, standing guard is exactly what Raphael is doing. He judges the front of the farm clear, then flips several times across the barn rooftop to the back, and judges the back of the farm also clear.
−
We then see Splinter and the Turtles practicing in the woods. The group sits by a fire and the Sensei speaks, congratulating the boys on their progress and addressing their concerns for all that April has lost due to them. Splinter explains that change is the way of life, and they must accept it. While the initial results of their friendship have been hard for April, she herself has come to terms with the repercussions and moved on. Splinter ends his speech with these words, "Life is good... and life goes on."
  
   
  +
:''March 10, 1987''
−
Finally we see the sun rising over the horizon and zoom into the farmhouse, where April lies sleeping. There's a knock on the door and April sits up alarmed. The final page shows the Turtles bringing their friend breakfast in bed.
  
  +
:''I've known some odd characters in my time, living in [[Brooklyn]] most of my life, But the likes of Casey Bernid Jones is beyond compare.''
  +
:''I believe that in Casey's mind there's a petulant, mischievious ten year old waging constant war with a somewhat mature, Bright young man... unfortunately the ten year old wins far too often.''
  +
:''Casey spends all of his time with Raphael, fighting, or "doin' projects, doin' projects!" as they say&mdash; usually more damage.''
  +
:''What next?''
   
  +
In the barn, Casey is trying to repair the engine of an old pickup truck while Raphael sits behind the steering wheel. As they work, they carry on a debate.
−
Life is good... and life goes on.
  
   
  +
{{Quotes|
−
==Notes==
  
  +
'''Casey:''' Not even close&mdash;The <u>Professor</u> and Maryann, without a doubt, married!<br/>
⚫
*The title of this issue is taken from the title of one of the Talking Heads albums.
  
  +
'''Raphael:''' ''No frick'n way!'' {{linkWikipedia|Gilligan's Island|Gilligan}} was her main man, everyone knows that!<br/>
−
*The dream sequence is right of out of a Miller Daredevil issue.
  
  +
'''Casey:''' ''Bug off!'' He was a geek.<br/>
⚫
*The diary/cursive writing was strongly inspired by the John Muth Moonshadow comic series.
  
  +
'''Raphael:''' You're a ''geek!''<br/>
−
*The scene with Raphael and Casey working on the old truck was used in the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)|first film]]
  
  +
'''Casey:''' Get a life, ''no mind!''<br/>
⚫
*This story is continued from [[Silent Partner|TMNT (Vol. 1) #10]]. The story continues in [[Survivalists|TMNT (Vol. 1) #12]].
  
  +
'''Raphael:''' ''Spasmo!''<br/>
⚫
*[[A Tale of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 1) #1]] and the story “Credo” from Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #33 take place during this issue. “Credo”, in particular, reveals what Don was writing on the typewriter.
  
  +
'''Casey:''' ''Puke brain.''<br/>
⚫
*According to Kevin Eastman’s editorial, one of the reasons this issue spans so many months is so the narrative could catch up with “real time”, as the book had been beset by delays for half a year.
  
  +
'''Raphael:''' ''Clayhead.''<br/>
⚫
*Casey’s middle name “Bernid” would later be retconned out, with Casey’s full-name becoming Arnold Casey Jones, instead.
  
  +
'''Casey:''' ''Duck fart.'' O.K. Turn it over.<br/>
⚫
*This issue also contained a bonus pin-up by Tom S. Brown and Kerry Moody, creators of a book titled "New England Gothic".
  
  +
'''Raphael:''' ''Yawn... Yup. Gack face.''<br/>
  +
'''Casey:''' This piece 'a junk will never start!
  +
}}
   
  +
The truck's motor roars to life.
⚫
==Reprinted in==
  
  +
⚫
*[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Book IV]], in color.
  
  +
{{Quotes|
⚫
*[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Collected Book 1]]
  
  +
'''Raphael:''' Sounds good!<br/>
⚫
*[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Volume 2]]
  
  +
'''Casey:''' O.K., O.K., ease off, this thing's ancient! Check the hand brake so it won't roll... ''...Ease off already!''<br/>
⚫
==External links==
  
  +
'''Raphael:''' Don't worry! {yawn}<br/>
⚫
* [http://miragelicensing.com/comics/mirage/eleven/cover.html Complete issue available to read at The Mirage Group Web Site]
  
  +
'''Casey:''' Ut-oh...<br/>
−
[[Category:Mirage Volume 1 issues]]
  
  +
'''Raphael:''' Oop!<br/>
−
[[Category:Mirage Volume 1 issues]]
  
  +
'''Casey & Raphael:''' '''''It's in gear!!'''''
−
[[Category:Mirage Volume 1 issues]]
  
  +
}}
  +
  +
The truck speeds toward the barn doors, bashing them open.
  +
  +
{{Quotes|
  +
'''Casey:''' ''Ease down, dude! Foot off gas pedal!!''<br/>
  +
'''Raphael:''' The throttle's stuck!!&mdash;''Wide open!''<br/>
  +
'''Casey:''' ''Use the brake&mdash;'''the brake!!'''''<br/>
  +
}}
  +
  +
Raph struggles in vain to steer the vehicle into control.
  +
  +
{{Quotes|
  +
'''Raphael:''' No control!&mdash;
  +
}}
  +
  +
The truck scrapes the side of the farmhouse's front porch.
  +
  +
{{Quotes|
  +
'''Raphael:''' &mdash;it's the snow&mdash;no traction!
  +
}}
  +
  +
The truck rams into and destroys the windmill just before it crashes head-on into a hillside. Raph gets out safely, but the truck is a wreck.
  +
  +
{{Quotes|
  +
'''Casey:''' I hated that Jeep anyway.<br/>
  +
'''Raphael:''' Have they seen the windmill yet?<br/>
  +
'''Casey:''' Couldn't miss it.<br/>
  +
'''Raphael:''' Mad?<br/>
  +
'''Casey:''' Saw 'em carring ''gun'' and a ''noose!'' Yuk, yuk!<br/>
  +
'''Raphael:''' ''Eat worms and die!''
  +
}}
  +
  +
One day later in the month, April is out walking on the ice of a frozen lake. But the ice cracks under her weight, plunging her into the freezing water. Leo is hunting nearby and hears her shouts. At the edge of the lake, he takes off his hunting garb which unrolls into a long strip of cloth. He stakes one end of the cloth into the lakeside with his katana, and crawls out onto the ice holding the other end of the cloth, successfully pulls April to safety, and carries her back to the farmhouse.
  +
  +
Back inside, April is resting and recovering from hypothermia. Splinter, the turtles and Casey are gathered around her.
  +
  +
{{Quotes|
  +
'''Splinter:''' She'll be fine. But we must let her rest. As for you, my sons, enough time has passed... Your spirits have drifted far too long. Come, we have much to do.
  +
}}
  +
  +
Splinter takes his four sons out into the wilderness for training.
  +
  +
{{Quotes|
  +
'''Splinter:''' You must work harder! This winter has seen the diffusion of your energies... With the spring, you must rebuild your group spirit... For now, set aside individual pursuits... Your healing requires collective focus!
  +
}}
  +
  +
:''May 1, 1987''
  +
:''I can't believe it's been over a month since I fell through the ice... and even longer since I've picked up this journal. I almost didn't this time, either. it all seems to mean so little now. I started this book to rebuild all I had lost in the fire.''
  +
:''I guess after my mid-winter swim (HA, HA) I realized how little my life long accumulation of possessions had. I thought I was all I had in this world.''
  +
:''Not true.''
  +
:''I've got me, and I've got memories.''
  +
:''I also have friends, real friends that I care for and that care for me. I'll always be there for them and they for me; we have each other, we are a family... one.''
  +
:''This will probably be my last entry. I guess I just wanted some kind of final word ...sort of wrap up all I had written so far.''
  +
:''Life is Good...''
  +
:''and Life Goes on.''
  +
  +
After a day of training, Splinter and his sons are gathered around a campfire.
  +
  +
{{Quotes|
  +
'''Splinter:''' You've done well, my sons... Your spirit glows bright and pure this night. Although I sense an almost peaceful nature throughout... Something still lingers. Yes, we were attacked by our past, Leonardo nearly killed... But we all feel the real cost was to April, a burden we shall always bear. Yet, our experience teaches us, in all the universe change is the only constant. Thus, the way of harmony is to accept change, we make choices in life&mdash;and our karma is to accept the changes those choices bring. Just as April chose to take us all into her life, she knew there would be changes... ... I believe that April has gained more by her choice than she has lost... And I believe that she knows this. Life is good... And life goes on.
  +
}}
  +
  +
April wakes up in her bedroom to the sound of creaking. Is this another nightmare? She is pleasantly surprised by the four turtles: One serves her breakfast in bed as another prepares to give her flowers and another opens the window blinds to let in the morning light.
  +
  ⚫
== Reprinted in ==
  ⚫
* [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Book IV]], in color.
  ⚫
* [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Collected Book 1]]
  ⚫
* [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Volume 2]]
  +
* [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics: The Works Volume 2]]
  +
  +
== Trivia ==
  ⚫
* The title of this issue is taken from the title of one of the Talking Heads albums.
  ⚫
* The diary/cursive writing was strongly inspired by the John Muth Moonshadow comic series.
  +
* The issue was adapted for the [[1990 film]]. Although April monologues their time on the farm, her diaray is substituted for drawings of the Turtles.
  ⚫
* This story is continued from [[Silent Partner|TMNT (Vol. 1) #10]]. The story continues in [[Survivalists|TMNT (Vol. 1) #12]].
  ⚫
* [[A Tale of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 1) #1]] and the story ''[[Credo]]'' from [[The Bait|Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #33]] take place during this issue. ''Credo'', in particular, reveals what Don was writing on the typewriter.
  ⚫
* According to Kevin Eastman’s editorial, one of the reasons this issue spans so many months is so the narrative could catch up with “real time”, as the book had been beset by delays for half a year.
  ⚫
* Casey’s middle name “Bernid” would later be retconned out, with Casey’s full-name becoming Arnold Casey Jones, instead.
  ⚫
* This issue also contained a bonus pin-up by Tom S. Brown and Kerry Moody, creators of a book titled "New England Gothic".
  +
  +
== Gallery ==
  +
<gallery spacing="small">
  +
True Stories.jpg|Cover.
  +
picture-80.png
  +
picture-81.png
  +
picture-82.png
  +
picture-831.png
  +
</gallery>
  +
  ⚫
== External links ==
  ⚫
* [http://miragelicensing.com/comics/mirage/eleven/cover.html Complete issue available to read at the Mirage Group website]
 
[[Category:Mirage Volume 1 issues]]
  
[[Category:Mirage Volume 1 issues]]
  +
[[Category:April-focused comics]]

Revision as of 23:21, 12 March 2020

 YOU'RE NOT ON 
 NICKTOONS 
 ANYMORE! 

Some TMNT stuff really isn't for little kids.

True Stories is issue #11 of Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles volume 1, published in June 1987 by Mirage Studios.

Character

Synopsis

The issue opens with April having nightmares about being attacked by ninja monsters who look similar to the turtles and the Shredder. April wakes up screaming and then heads off to write in her diary. The diary becomes the framework for this issue.

Jan. 15, 1987
Yes, it's almost three A.M. again... My Night Mare alarm went off Big time tonight. It's been over two weeks now, with no relief... I was hoping to shake them before this...
I think—The last time I closed my eyes and actually slept (and I believe exhaustion had a hand in that) was on the trip here...
Even then my awakening was a shock...

April recalls Casey startling her awake during the trip from New York City, wanting her to see downtown Northampton, Massachusetts. She is underwhelmed by the sight.

Considering my state of mind, my reaction was a few notches below "I couldn't care less." I guess I should've looked around a little; I hear that Northampton's nice... at least it might have afforded some kind of comfort for my next sight...
From the road, Casey's late grandmother's house looked like a classic old New England farm house—big old barn, family-sized house, sheds, trees and rolling hills; you know, postcard material. That was from the road...

Casey is full of nostalgia seeing the Jones Farm, but April is introduced to a dilapidated old building with broken windows and a front door falling off its hinges. April wants to start a warm fire and to get the still-injured Leo into the house. But she is fatigued, and falls asleep on a chair inside.

Jan. 25, 1987
Winter remains with us... snowed two days straight... Clear today. Leonardo's still pretty out of it. The battle tore him up terribly in both body and mind. Physically he has healed incredibly well, but mentally... I'm afraid has a lot of catching up.
He's always put himself in front of the rest of the guys; taking charge, bearing the extra weight playing the Big Brother... When someone like that feels they've failed they fall hard!
He's recently developed an intense obsession with the surrounding forests and spends all of his time there...
I hope he finds what he's looking for and comes out of this depression soon... We all need him back.

Leonardo, dressed in an improvised winter hunter's garb and armed with a yumi, stalks a stag through the forest without much success. The stag ambushes him, knocking him down. Leo pulls out of a knife and charges the stag head-on, but the powerful creature instead grabs the turtle with his antlers and throws him over and behind. Leo sits feeling defeated as the stag runs off.

I guess I could never know for sure how he feels inside.
But I do know what losing your home—and everything that you own—feels like... Those things that you felt gave you a sense of being and strength in this world...
Belongings that touched memory chords of loved ones. Father...
I know he's hurting.
Feb. 10, 1987
Everything is so strange... I feel like I've never looked at myself or the guys before; we're all so different now I try to identify the people I used to know with those that surround me now... and it's hard.
Don isn't doing too badly, although he does work obsessively at the huge amount of repairs that need to be done here. The place has been vacant since Casey's Grandmother Left four years ago, it was pretty run down then.
Besides a million little things, Don's rebuilt the windmill to pump water, devised a water wheel that creates enough current for lights and the fridge, and also installed a wood stove for better heating, all around.
His most recent undertaking will—if it works—satisfy a craving we've all had lately...
...Hot running water!
Feb. 15, 1987
Success! Showertime! Everybody's going nuts!
Feb. 17, 1987
Feeling strangely depressed lately... I guess I expected Don to rest a bit after the last hard-won victory...
No such luck.
I heard him rummaging around in the attic early this morning... who knows what he's working on now.
Feb. 17, 1987
Don's Writing Too!
He must have found an old typewriter in the attic yesterday.
I awoke to the tapping of busy keys around seven A.M. and he's been at it ever since!
I wonder what he's writing about... is it a journal, like mine? I'd love to know...

Donatello is shown in the attic room with the typewriter...and a trash can filled to overflowing with crumpled up pieces of paper.

Feb. 26, 1987
Michaelangelo worries me the most
Mike, who could find a joke in just about any situation, doesn't laugh much anymore.
Except for some half hearted goofing around with Casey and Raph, he's been almost painfully solitary lately it's so unlike him. But then all of us seem to have a need to be alone these days.
Has what's happened made us unable to be close? I don't know...
Mike's chosen a back section of the barn for his sanction... cleared a lot of junk out and created a little work-out space.
The other day I happened in on one of his sessions. He was already on edge.

Michelangelo is shown repeatedly kicking a punching bag until it breaks completely off its chain. He bashes and destroys a workbench with his arms. Unsatisfied, his takes his rage to the barn wall, ripping a hole out of the wood. He rests his arms on the new hole and groans.

We all feel so much pain and confusion— Each of us keeping his personal torment bottled up inside... Each seeking relief in his own way.
The cure hangs plainly, clearly in front of our faces, but who will be the first to reach out?
We Need Each Other!
March 2, 1987
Raphael scares me. The rest of the guys I can feel for, worry for... but not Raph.
Raph runs Hot and Cold... very unbalanced, unpredictable. I keep my distance. Lately I've noticed he doesn't sleep much.
He's always always the first up and the last to bed. I think I've heard him Leaving the house late at night, too. I wonder what he's doing... standing guard?

Late at night out in the cold on top of the barn, standing guard is exactly what Raphael is doing. He judges the front of the farm clear, then flips several times across the barn rooftop to the back, and judges the back of the farm also clear.

March 10, 1987
I've known some odd characters in my time, living in Brooklyn most of my life, But the likes of Casey Bernid Jones is beyond compare.
I believe that in Casey's mind there's a petulant, mischievious ten year old waging constant war with a somewhat mature, Bright young man... unfortunately the ten year old wins far too often.
Casey spends all of his time with Raphael, fighting, or "doin' projects, doin' projects!" as they say— usually more damage.
What next?

In the barn, Casey is trying to repair the engine of an old pickup truck while Raphael sits behind the steering wheel. As they work, they carry on a debate.

Casey: Not even close—The Professor and Maryann, without a doubt, married!
Raphael: No frick'n way! Gilligan was her main man, everyone knows that!
Casey: Bug off! He was a geek.
Raphael: You're a geek!
Casey: Get a life, no mind!
Raphael: Spasmo!
Casey: Puke brain.
Raphael: Clayhead.
Casey: Duck fart. O.K. Turn it over.
Raphael: Yawn... Yup. Gack face.
Casey: This piece 'a junk will never start!


The truck's motor roars to life.

Raphael: Sounds good!
Casey: O.K., O.K., ease off, this thing's ancient! Check the hand brake so it won't roll... ...Ease off already!
Raphael: Don't worry! {yawn}
Casey: Ut-oh...
Raphael: Oop!
Casey & Raphael: It's in gear!!


The truck speeds toward the barn doors, bashing them open.

Casey: Ease down, dude! Foot off gas pedal!!
Raphael: The throttle's stuck!!—Wide open!
Casey: Use the brake—the brake!!


Raph struggles in vain to steer the vehicle into control.

Raphael: No control!—


The truck scrapes the side of the farmhouse's front porch.

Raphael: —it's the snow—no traction!


The truck rams into and destroys the windmill just before it crashes head-on into a hillside. Raph gets out safely, but the truck is a wreck.

Casey: I hated that Jeep anyway.
Raphael: Have they seen the windmill yet?
Casey: Couldn't miss it.
Raphael: Mad?
Casey: Saw 'em carring gun and a noose! Yuk, yuk!
Raphael: Eat worms and die!


One day later in the month, April is out walking on the ice of a frozen lake. But the ice cracks under her weight, plunging her into the freezing water. Leo is hunting nearby and hears her shouts. At the edge of the lake, he takes off his hunting garb which unrolls into a long strip of cloth. He stakes one end of the cloth into the lakeside with his katana, and crawls out onto the ice holding the other end of the cloth, successfully pulls April to safety, and carries her back to the farmhouse.

Back inside, April is resting and recovering from hypothermia. Splinter, the turtles and Casey are gathered around her.

Splinter: She'll be fine. But we must let her rest. As for you, my sons, enough time has passed... Your spirits have drifted far too long. Come, we have much to do.


Splinter takes his four sons out into the wilderness for training.

Splinter: You must work harder! This winter has seen the diffusion of your energies... With the spring, you must rebuild your group spirit... For now, set aside individual pursuits... Your healing requires collective focus!


May 1, 1987
I can't believe it's been over a month since I fell through the ice... and even longer since I've picked up this journal. I almost didn't this time, either. it all seems to mean so little now. I started this book to rebuild all I had lost in the fire.
I guess after my mid-winter swim (HA, HA) I realized how little my life long accumulation of possessions had. I thought I was all I had in this world.
Not true.
I've got me, and I've got memories.
I also have friends, real friends that I care for and that care for me. I'll always be there for them and they for me; we have each other, we are a family... one.
This will probably be my last entry. I guess I just wanted some kind of final word ...sort of wrap up all I had written so far.
Life is Good...
and Life Goes on.

After a day of training, Splinter and his sons are gathered around a campfire.

Splinter: You've done well, my sons... Your spirit glows bright and pure this night. Although I sense an almost peaceful nature throughout... Something still lingers. Yes, we were attacked by our past, Leonardo nearly killed... But we all feel the real cost was to April, a burden we shall always bear. Yet, our experience teaches us, in all the universe change is the only constant. Thus, the way of harmony is to accept change, we make choices in life—and our karma is to accept the changes those choices bring. Just as April chose to take us all into her life, she knew there would be changes... ... I believe that April has gained more by her choice than she has lost... And I believe that she knows this. Life is good... And life goes on.


April wakes up in her bedroom to the sound of creaking. Is this another nightmare? She is pleasantly surprised by the four turtles: One serves her breakfast in bed as another prepares to give her flowers and another opens the window blinds to let in the morning light.

Reprinted in

Trivia

  • The title of this issue is taken from the title of one of the Talking Heads albums.
  • The diary/cursive writing was strongly inspired by the John Muth Moonshadow comic series.
  • The issue was adapted for the 1990 film. Although April monologues their time on the farm, her diaray is substituted for drawings of the Turtles.
  • This story is continued from TMNT (Vol. 1) #10. The story continues in TMNT (Vol. 1) #12.
  • Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 1) #1 and the story Credo from Tales of the TMNT (Vol. 2) #33 take place during this issue. Credo, in particular, reveals what Don was writing on the typewriter.
  • According to Kevin Eastman’s editorial, one of the reasons this issue spans so many months is so the narrative could catch up with “real time”, as the book had been beset by delays for half a year.
  • Casey’s middle name “Bernid” would later be retconned out, with Casey’s full-name becoming Arnold Casey Jones, instead.
  • This issue also contained a bonus pin-up by Tom S. Brown and Kerry Moody, creators of a book titled "New England Gothic".

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