Here is a list of stories from Mirage Studios’ first volume of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as various shorts, one-shots and other stories that appeared elsewhere during this run.
It’s not as straightforward as it sounds.
Volume 1 ran for sixty-two issues, but a number of those were non-canon guest issues. The first guest issue was #16, soon followed by #18. Following the canon ‘Return to New York’ (#19-21) what became known as the “Guest Era” began and apart from #27 and #28, Volume 1 became a series of guest stories until a return to canon with #45.
Whilst some guest creators took the opportunity to provide their own very different spin on the Turtles, others wrote their issues to fit with the canon issues that had come before. Additionally, Turtle Soup (both the initial one-shot and the later mini-series) features a mix of stories. Some are canon, some are clearly their own thing and some are non-canon, but can fit.
Some are a more obvious fit than others, but for this list all non-canon stories that appear to be set in the main Mirage continuity (or do nothing to obviously contradict it) have been included, listed in blue to differentiate them from the canon stories.
Stories are listed in order of release (ish) as well as details of where and when they first appeared. Some months saw multiple new stories and in the absence of exact release dates, decisions had to be made on ordering. Typically Mirage-published stories are placed ahead of those published by other companies and main title stories are placed ahead of other things. Other times things are just ordered by what feels right.
Short stories are indicated by “(short)” after their name and stories that originally appeared in colour are indicated with “(colour)”.
For a guide to shelf-friendly collected editions where these stories can be read, see:
TMNT Volume 1 Bookshelf: Mirage Studios, First Publishing and Heavy Metal
TMNT Volume 1 Bookshelf: IDW Publishing link coming soon
Additional notes can be found at the end of the list.
Volume 1 (1984 - 1993)
February 1986
(Vol. 1) #7 (1st print)
May 1986
Grimjack #26
May 1986
TMNT Adventures! role-playing game supplement
June 1986
(Vol. 1) #8
July 1986
(Vol. 1) #9
September 1986
TMNT: Book I trade paperback
November 1986
Night Life (short) (colour)
TMNT: Book I trade paperback
November 1986
Gobbledygook (Vol. 2) #1
December 1986
Gobbledygook (Vol. 2) #1
December 1986
Leonardo #1, (Vol. 1) #10
December 1986, April 1987
(Vol. 1) #11
June 1987
TMNT Guide to the Universe role-playing game supplement
May 1987
(Vol. 1) #4 (2nd print)
May 1987
trade paperback
December 2007
(Vol. 1) #12
September 1987
Turtle Soup (Vol. 1) #1
September 1987
Turtle Soup (Vol. 1) #1
September 1987
Turtle Soup (Vol. 1) #1
September 1987
Turtle Soup (Vol. 1) #1
September 1987
Anything Goes! #5
October 1987
Raphael #1 (2nd print)
November 1987
(Vol. 1) #5 (2nd print)
November 1987
Grunts#1
November 1987
TMNT: Book III trade paperback
December 1987
(Vol. 1) #13
February 1988
(Vol. 1) #14
May 1988
(Vol. 1) #6 (2nd print)
May 1988
(Vol. 1) #15
August 1988
Usagi Yojimbo (Vol. 1) #10
August 1988
The Puma Blues #20
September 1988
(Vol. 1) #17
November 1988
(Vol. 1) #1 (5th print)
November 1988
(Vol. 1) #3 (2nd print)
November 1988
The Collected Gizmo trade paperback
December 1988
(Vol. 1) #19-21
March – May 1989
Gizmo and the Fugitoid #1-2
June – July 1989
(Vol. 1) #24-26
August – October 1989
(Vol. 1) #27
November 1989
Mirage Mini Comics
November 1989
The Collected Tales of the TMNT trade paperback
December 1989
Shell Shock trade paperback
December 1989
Shell Shock trade paperback
December 1989
December 1989
Shell Shock trade paperback
December 1989
Shell Shock trade paperback
December 1989
(Vol. 1) #28
February 1990
(Vol. 1) #29
March 1990
(Vol. 1) #30
April 1990
(Vol. 1) #33
June 1990
Michaelangelo Christmas Special
December 1990
Donatello: The Ring (short) (colour)
Turtle Soup (Vol. 2) #1
November 1991
(Vol. 1) #37
June 1991
original Graphic Novel
September 1991
Turtle Soup (Vol. 2) #1-4
November 1991 – February 1992
Turtle Soup (Vol. 2) #1
November 1991
Turtle Soup (Vol. 2) #1
November 1991
(Vol. 1) #42
December 1991
Turtle Soup (Vol. 2) #2
December 1991
(Vol. 1) #43
January 1992
Turtle Soup (Vol. 2) #3
January 1992
Turtle Soup (Vol. 2) #3
January 1992
Turtle Soup (Vol. 2) #3
January 1992
(Vol. 1) #44
February 1992
Turtle Soup (Vol. 2) #4
February 1992
Turtle Soup (Vol. 2) #4
February 1992
Flying Color Comics website
May – July 2000
(Vol. 1) #45
March 1992
(Vol. 1) #46-47
April – May 1992
(Vol. 1) #48-49
June – July 1992
(Vol. 1) #50-62
August 1992 – August 1993
Casey Jones #1-2
May 1994, July 1994
Plastron Café #1
December 1992
NOTES
In instances where a suitable alternative is unavailable, the titles (possibly intended as merely a description) that were later used on the Mirage website have been used.
The comics never used this title, but it was used when the arc was adapted for the 2003 TV show. The Fugitoid issue (often skipped when the arc is reprinted) consists of five chapters. Though listed as Fugitoid #1 for simplicity, it should be noted that chapters 1-4 first appeared in Gobbledygook (Vol. 1) #1-2 in early 1984.
Reprints of issues would sometimes include a short story as an incentive to buy again. ‘You Had to be There’ is unusual in that it was only included as an insert in the first printing of (Vol.1) #7.
Although a number of stories were published between (Vol. 1) #10 and this issue, this is placed here due to it following on directly from the previous story.
Tales (Vol. 1) was a 7 issue series. The stories were:
#2 ‘Nobody's Fool!’ July 1987
#3 ‘All Hallow's Thieves’ October 1987
#4 ‘I, Monster’ January 1988
#5 ‘Complete Carnage and Radical’* May 1988
#6 ‘Leatherhead’ August 1988
#7 ‘The Return of Savanti Romero!’ April 1989
The Lesson: A Tale of the Triceraton Marines/King for a Day/Gizmo and the Fugitoid
Although they feature characters from previous stories, none of the Turtles themselves appear in this trio of stories.
The page count for these stories has been noted as they are longer than a typical short, but shorter than a full-blown adventure.
This untitled story was a bonus in the first trade paperback release of Tales (Vol. 1). It was not included in 2007’s Treasury Edition.
Although released after ‘Twilight of the Ring’, this short story leads into it, so has been placed before it on this list.
The Purpose of Fear/ The Ring of Death
As mentioned in the intro, this list includes any of the non-canon guest stories that fit in the main Mirage continuity. These two stories are borderline inclusions, being rather simple tales, with Leonardo seeming too young in the first one and the second having a goofy tone.
In this short the (briefly glimpsed) Turtles wear the different coloured face masks that were introduced with the Playmates toyline. This could just be considered a colouring error as the story otherwise fits fine.
Advertised during the guest era, this story went unreleased until 2000 when it was published on the Flying Color Comics website. Released in twelve weekly instalments, it is placed here at the end of the guest era.
North By Downeast
Listed here as the colour Casey Jones #1-2 for simplicity. This was initially a six-part black-and-white story published in Plastron Café - and its placement on the list is based on the release date of Plastron Café #1 (December 1992). However, the title ended with #4, leaving the story unfinished until the colourised release. The full black-and-white version has never been released.
During the release of ‘City at War’ a few other stories were released. The first two are included on this list and the second two are included with Volume 2. What went where was based on whether the stories were originally in black and white (partially in the case of North By Downeast) or colour.
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