The First Comic Book I Ever Read: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #25

The Archie TMNT book that started it all (for me)

You never forget your first comic book.

For me, that was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #25, published by Archie Comics in 1991. It succeeded in hooking me at the age of eight, and I will forever be fond of it.

This is what a well-loved comic looks like.

At that point, I think I still watched the classic Ninja Turtles cartoon, but my interest in that wouldn’t last much longer. My grandmother gave me this comic among several other treats, and on these pages, I discovered a different and more exciting take on my favorite cartoon characters.

Cartoons always had to revert to the status quo. But in this comic book series, the plots and characters could evolve issue by issue without a reset button in sight. Sure, nothing drastic could happen—they weren’t going to kill any of the Turtles, but April could begin ninja training, they could face foes other than Shredder, Raphael even wore an all-black costume for a while, and the series had a stronger sense of continuity.

Batman soon lured me away from the Turtles altogether. I had probably collected 30 or so issues of the Archie series by that point, as well as several issues of the spinoff Mighty Mutanimals, but I foolishly sold most of them at a yard sale when, ancient middle-schooler that I was, I figured I’d never want to revisit this part of my childhood.

However, sentimentality prevented me from selling #25. I could never part with my first-ever comic.

Though I read the thing over and over and over when I was in the third grade, I hadn’t read it in ages. So I thought I’d take a look and see how it holds up.

I can’t exactly recommend it for adults unless you’re a diehard TMNT fan or, like me, you have any nostalgic affection for this series. But it was never meant for adults. The series provided kids a bridge from Saturday morning cartoons to superhero comic books.

Written by Dean Clarrain and drawn by Chris Allan, the issue continues from the previous. After an opening sequence of Bebop and Rocksteady stealing clothes and pet food, we jump into the main story, already in progress. Krang has implanted himself over Shredder’s head and teamed up with another alien, and most of the issue is a fight between them and the Ninja Turtles.

Basic stuff … until the end, which set the book apart from anything I had seen in the cartoon.

The Turtles don’t just defeat Krang—they save Shredder. And though Shredder is a villain, he’s also a man of honor who recognizes the debt he owes his enemies. He doesn’t flee the scene swearing that he’ll get those Turtles next time—if it’s the last thing he ever does! No, he quietly and maturely walks away while feeling a shred of actual emotion.

It’s not exactly The Brothers Karamazov, but we’re no longer in the shallowest end of the pool either.

The issue also includes a back-up feature starring April O’Neil—an April who was allowed to develop and evolve beyond her cartoon counterpart. Here, she doesn’t wield any news camera. No, she’s graduated to a katana, and she knows how to use it. April was always a strong-willed character, but here they take her to the next level. And it makes sense that with all the time she spends hanging out with martial arts enthusiasts, she’d eventually want to learn some martial arts herself.

Even though I had forgotten some of the details, I always remembered how the comic made me feel as a child. I had a whole new world to explore, and I could return to it month after month. It may not be worth an adult’s time, but it definitely worked its magic on this kid back in the day.

For those of you who have been reading comics for a while, I’d love to know: What was your first issue? And how does it hold up?