MIGHTY MUTANIMALS #1 – April 1992

The Mighty Mutanimals!

Credits: Dean Clarrain (script), Garrett Ho (pencils), Jon D’Agostino (inks), Gary Fields (letters), Barry Grossman (colors)

The story begins with a bizarre sequence. A bald eagle watches as Death, riding a horse, spots a scrap of what appears to be jaguar fur in the desert. Death sniffs the fur, then tosses it into the wind. It’s retrieved by the eagle, who flies away.

The natural transition from this scene is, of course, a shot of Mondo Gecko skateboarding. We learn that the Mighty Mutanimals are still in the Amazon, just waiting for another adventure. After Man Ray introduces the Glublubs to their new home, an underwater marine preserve, he meets up with Kid Terra (formerly Null’s henchman, The Kid). Man Ray is still angry about Bubbla’s death, but he’s willing to forgive Kid Terra. Kid pledges that he’ll expose Null’s environmental violations and help clean up his toxic waste dump. (Even though he’s only now referred to as “Kid Terra” on-panel, he’s been listed that way since his earliest appearances, over a year prior, in the indicia. Clarrain/Murphy obviously was planning a lot of this out far in advance.)

After Wingnut and Screwloose have fun with the local bat population, they reunite with Leatherhead, Mondo Gecko, Dreadmon, and Man Ray at Jagwar’s temple. Jagwar gives the Mutanimals jangala fruit, so that they can all have the same psychedelic experience. He explains, once again, that his mother was a free-spirited human who mated with a Jaguar spirit. As motherhood was “not one of her strong points,” she abandoned him when he was twelve. As he’s telling the story, he’s visited by the spirit of his father, who tells Jagwar that his mother is in danger. Jagwar (and the rest of the mutants, since they’re all tripping together) sees an image of his mother in the desert, receiving the scrap of fur from the bald eagle. Suddenly, she’s attacked by Death and kidnapped.

The bald eagle lets out a scream, which awakens the Mutanimals. The Mighty Mutanimals exit dramatically to search for Jagwar’s mother.

Review in a Half-Shell: Apparently, the Mighty Mutanimals mini was pretty successful, since it didn’t take long for the regular series to debut. This is the only issue of the monthly series I own (I was losing interest in TMNT at this point), which is too bad since I enjoyed revisiting it. The story’s intriguing, and Garrett Ho’s pencils manage to merge an old school Disney look with standard superhero art.

What the Shell? : The entire issue is freaky, especially when you consider that it was a Ninja Turtles spinoff published by Archie. I especially like the fight scene between Jagwar’s mother and Death. She shouts “Cripes!” and “#^$!!!” during the fight, revealing that the naturist who’s traveling the world in search of spiritual enlightenment has a dirty mouth.

MIGHTY MUTANIMALS #3 – July 1991

Ride of the Ruthless

Credits: Dean Clarrain (script), Ken Mitchroney (pencils), Mike Kazaleh & Brian Thomas (inks), Gary Fields (letters), Barry Grossman (colors)

Finally, in the conclusion of Mighty Mutanimals, Maligna is dipping Raphael and Mondo Gecko in honey for the upcoming feast, while the mutants on Earth are fighting the Malignoids. Screwloose reveals to Man Ray that Maligna’s plan is to destroy all life on Earth, and it just so happens her method doubles as an environmental statement. I was shocked, too.

United, the Mutanimals (they’re never actually called that in the comic, by the way) are able to defeat the Malignoids, but it’s only a matter of time before Maligna arrives on Earth. Upset that her children have failed her, she sends ships across the planet to attack, while Scul and Bean target the Mutanimals. Wingnut and Screwloose do manage to deal with Bean’s “stink bombs” effectively…

…but Maligna’s ships are causing havoc across the globe. Meanwhile, inside her ship, The Kid frees Raphael and Mondo from their captors, revealing that he opposes the invasion. He shoots off one of Maligna’s antennae, which partially severs her connection to her children. Raphael threatens more bullet wounds if she doesn’t call off the invasion, which does the job. Maligna’s army retreats and flies into space. The Kid apologizes to Man Ray for killing Bubbla earlier, while Null sneaks off into the Amazon night. The Mutanimals enjoy a campfire, as we learn that the entire event has been broadcasted on Stump TV to great ratings. A happy ending for all.

Review in a Half-Shell: It works pretty well as an action–heavy climax, although it’s a little odd that none of the mutants actually save the day. In fact, given the anti-gun messages I recall the book regularly promoting, it’s amusing that the Earth is saved by a gun-wielding reformed villain. In retrospect, Null doesn't contribute much to the story, and how exactly he "sold" the Earth isn't exactly clear (unless the idea was that he was always scamming Maligna).

Absolutely Approved By The Comics Code Authority: None of the Malignoids are killed during the battle. Cudley takes the unconscious Malignoids off to “ a safe spot in Dimension X.”

Meanwhile in Riverdale… : I wish I had the spare $8.95 to order this as a kid…

MIGHTY MUTANIMALS #2 – June 1991

Under a Big Black Sun

Credits: Dean Clarrain (script), Ken Mitchroney (pencils), Marlene Becker (clean-ups), Art Leonardi (inks), Mary Kelleher (letters), Barry Grossman (colors)

Following the previous issue, Cudley has crash-landed in the Amazon. His wounds are tended to by local cows, who apparently worship him as a god (If Superman can be a Christ figure, why can’t Cudley be a deity?).

Unfortunately, before Cudley can explain why he’s come to Earth, Leatherhead, Wingnut, and Screwloose get into a patented “misunderstanding fight” with Man Ray, Jagwar, and Dreadmon. Eventually, Cudley gains enough strength to stop the fight and tell everyone that they’re on the same side. They soon notice the Malignoid cocoons suspended from the remains of the rainforest. Wingnut and Screwloose make a case for just burning the cocoons, but Leatherhead thinks it’s dishonorable. After engaging in the first “honor vs. survival” argument that’s probably ever appeared in an Archie comic, Wingnut and Screwloose fly away in a huff. The other mutants are even bigger pansies than Leatherhead, so of course they do nothing about the cocoons.

Soon, everyone is gathered around the fire, trading origin stories. Jagwar reveals that he’s the offspring of a big-haired Jungle Babe and an Amazonian jaguar-spirit.

Dreadmon explains that he was born in South Africa, but was sent to Jamaica by his father to escape Apartheid. In Jamaica, he stole a Tasmanian wolf totem from a tourist and gained super-speed. When he reached puberty, he transformed into a human wolf. The locals turned on Dreadmon after he began eating their chickens, even using “bad voodoo” against him. He escaped to the Amazon, where he lives today.

After everyone’s caught up with the backs of each other's trading cards, Wingnut and Screwloose return, just in time to see the Malignoids hatch. Meanwhile, Raphael and Mondo Gecko have invaded Maligna’s hive. They discover the discarded skins of the children Maligna’s eaten, which they use as disguises (preemptive killing, cannibalism, infanticide, Apartheid, spirit sex…and to think, you can’t even show handguns in today’s kid’s entertainment). They soon discover Maligna, who easily defeats the duo. Maligna orders Mondo and Raphael fattened up for the feast, as her spacecraft approaches Earth.

Review in a Half-Shell: You certainly got your $1.25’s worth back in the day. There’s a lot of action, some origin sequences, and a bit of character development, all in the course of twenty-nine pages (I wonder why Archie wasn’t nearly as reliant on outside ads as Marvel and DC were). Ken Mitchroney’s working with a finisher and a new inker this issue, so the lines do look rougher than they have in previous issues, but his exaggerated facial expressions are still very evident. The interior of Maligna’s hive/spacecraft looks great.

MIGHTY MUTANIMALS #1 – May 1991

The Wild Angels

Credits: Dean Clarrain (script), Ken Mitchroney & Garrett Ho (pencils), Ryan Brown & Gary Fields (inks), Gary Fields (letters), Barry Grossman (colors)

From the pages of TMNT Adventures comes Mighty Mutanimals, a miniseries that spotlights the various mutants the Turtles have met in the previous issues. The story picks up where TMNT Adventures #19 left off, as Jagwar, Man Ray, and Dreadmon witness the hatching of the meteorite Man Ray found underwater. Maligna’s larvae emerge from the meteorite, and promptly begin eating the rainforest. When Jagwar tells them to cut it out (he manages not to cry this time), they decide to eat the environmentally friendly mutants instead.

Meanwhile, the Turtles are rescued from Null when Splinter mentally commands an army of rats to eat their bonds. Null escapes with Scul and Bean, but unbeknownst to them, Raphael and Mondo Gecko have stowed away on their ship.

Elsewhere, Maligna orders the executions of Stump and Sling for sending aid to the Turtles when they fought her children earlier. They’re rescued by Leatherhead, Wingnut, Screwloose, and Cudley. When the others learn that Maligna is preparing to invade Earth, they disobey Stump’s orders and fly to Earth inside of Cudley. (Stump thinks the invasion of Earth could make for great ratings, making him a slightly less evil capitalist than Null, apparently.) Unfortunately, Cudley’s shot down by a mysterious spacecraft during the trip. He lands on Earth, oddly enough, right next to Jagwar, Man Ray, and Dreadmon.

Review in a Half-Shell: There’s a lot of action and a few humorous moments, so it’s maintaining the tradition of the best TMNT stories. There are a lot of coincidences involved in getting the Mutanimals together, but I’m not sure at this point if they’re true coincidences or if some sort of “cosmic fate” angle is going to be played up later. I guess I have an obligation to point out that the ‘90s were so crossover and spinoff crazy, the Archie Ninja Turtles series couldn’t even avoid it, although this does feel like an organic extension of the main book.

I Was Not Aware of That: This probably isn’t that much of a surprise, but the Mighty Mutanimals almost became a cartoon and toy line in the early ‘90s. You can see some of the various concept art at the Lavigne/Brown blog.