2024 marks 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and several companies have been marking the occasion in their own way. NECA, who has been flooding the market with TMNT action figures for several years now, celebrated the milestone with a San Diego Comic Con exclusive two-pack of The First Turtles. Based on the original sketches from co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the action figure set made a lot of sense as a 40th anniversary tie-in and as a Comic Con Exclusive. San Diego Comic Con may be the biggest convention in the world each year, but New York Comic Con is a pretty big deal too and since NYC is where the turtles call home, it made sense for NECA to have something special cooked up for that convention too. And they did and I think it caught everyone by surprise.
When the 1990 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was shot, there was a planned cameo from co-creator and current NECA collaborator Kevin Eastman. He was to play a garbage man and I assume he would be present in the aftermath of the battle with Shredder (and I think he is in the background). The scene was supposedly shot, but cut, highlighting the need for a better physical media release of the film that actually includes some of the shelved content. Even though the cameo may have been cut, NECA felt the need to celebrate it with a Kevin Eastman action figure as he would have appeared in that movie. It’s a great idea, and since it’s coming from the movie subline it means Eastman can be shown as he would have appeared in 1990. While it would be fun to see his comic book caricature turned into a figure (along with Laird), it’s definitely cool to get just a regular old Kevin first.
NECA sold the Eastman figure at NYCC and also on its website beforehand. And he sold out fast. It caught me and probably many others by surprise as it felt like the old days when the only way to get NECA’s TMNT product was through quick-selling online drops. The figure comes in a standard NECA Ultimates box designed by Chris Raimo. The figure was sculpted by Kyle Windrix and Trevor Grove with paint by Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo and some fabrication elements by Anthony Minichino and Brodie Perkins.
Eastman stands at roughly the 7″ mark putting him on more or less equal footing with April and Casey in the line. He’s clad in the black jumpsuit of a garbage man with a flannel shirt underneath and brown work boots. He has an almost amused look on his face, like he’s just happy to be here, and his trademark curly hair and moustache are in place. It’s a simple look and the paint turned out well. There’s a subtle sheen to the folds on the jumpsuit that makes it seem like it may have been nylon. The name tag is very legible on the chest and the flannel pattern is pretty sharp. The only negative is the paint on the hairline, particularly the figure’s right side, is not as sharp as it should be.
Accessories for Kevin are sparse, but he probably has enough. Since he’s a garbage man he has a garbage bag. It’s a shiny, black, plastic, bag that’s tied off and likely stuffed with a sponge-like material to give it shape. It is what it is. Kevin has one gripping left hand and a pencil gripping right hand plus four pencils to go with it. The pencils, or pens, are just gray which is a little disappointing. Maybe they match the scene, but a more traditional orange #2 pencil would have looked a little nicer. He also has a clipboard with doodles of the turtles on it. They are done in an Eastman style and I’m guessing these are actual Kevin Eastman drawings shrunk down. It’s the accessory most are likely to display the figure with. Lastly, there’s a manhole cover which seems kind of dull at first. It reads “Lairdman Island,” a reference to the film and a portmanteau of Laird and Eastman. Flip it over though and you’ll find a recreation of the actual manhole cover that was placed in Dover, NH, birthplace of the TMNT, earlier this year. It has the address sculpted in and there’s a silhouette of the four turtles from their debut issue. I still need to get up there to see it for myself (my sister even lives in Dover) to properly compare, but this is a neat little accessory.
Articulation for Kevin is pretty bad. The hair keeps his head from doing a whole lot, but he can look down at his clipboard at least. Arms are basic and the elbows are single-hinged and the hinges on both hands are the standard type which I suppose is fine. There is a waist twist, but it has minimal range and the hips do almost nothing. They’re the old pin style too which I have a strong dislike for. I’m guessing these legs are reused from another figure, but I have no idea what. I assumed he was going to share parts with the jumpsuit Professor Perry (which I passed on), but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Knees are single-jointed and they’re fine. Ankles don’t really do anything.
The sculpt is pretty good and it’s executed well enough when it comes to the paint, but as an action figure this is a pretty bad release. Does that matter? Probably not. A Kevin Eastman Comic Con Exclusive action figure based on a cut scene from a 34 year old movie fits squarely in the novelty category. And as a novelty and a tribute to the franchise it’s fine. I’ll try to find something to do with the manhole cover while the trash bag will just live in the box. Kevin will be able to stand among my movie figures happily doodling on his clipboard and that’s good enough for me. Hopefully he’s joined by Peter some day. Unfortunately, if you weren’t able to get this guy he’s sold out. He was slightly expensive for a NECA release at 40 bucks not including shipping. If you missed it and absolutely must have it as part of your collection, I personally wouldn’t go beyond 60 bucks. And that’s just for someone who feels like their collection would be incomplete without it. If you only had a passing interest, or were hoping to do more with the figure from a posing perspective, I wouldn’t go nuts trying to track this down as I don’t think it will be worth it for you.
If you feel like celebrating 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles then you have come to the right place:
NECA Mirage TMNT – The First Turtles SDCC 2024 40th Anniversary Edition
As the story goes, one night Kevin Eastman was drawing with his friend and partner-in-comics Peter Laird when the idea to doodle a ninja, anthropomorphized, turtle entered his brain. Laird was so amused by this drawing that he too drew his own take on it. What was done just to amuse each other eventually turned…
Keep reading
NECA TMNT Mirage Studios Kirby
Say the name “The King” to a comic book fan and they will immediately know of whom you speak. Jack Kirby is a titan in the world of comics. Creator or co-creator of a great many characters known throughout the world today, it’s hard to imagine what a comic book would look like without his…
Keep reading
NECA TMNT Movie Ultimate April O’Neil – Signature Edition
NECA’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line has so been so successful that it’s allowed the company to branch out. It wasn’t that long ago that Playmates was the only game in town when it came to TMNT action figures and the company showed little to no interest in releasing anything other than the turtles themselves.…
Keep reading
The Nostalgia Spot 
Leave a comment