I love New York Comic Con. I don’t like going to panels or screenings and I don’t usually get a lot of autographs, but I love walking around the show floor to look at all the things that are on display, the old comics for purchase, the vintage toys, and the weird stuff.
This year, like many years, was a year of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at NYCC. While the big announcements usually come at San Diego Comic Con or other shows throughout the year, I always like seeing the newly announced toys firsthand.
NECA’s Punk Turtles
The Punk Turtles were announced by NECA at SDCC 2023, but it was rad as heck to see these figures up close. I have a full set of the Loyal Subjects BST AXN Street Style Turtles, which was extremely close in theme to these, but it’s hard to beat the visual fidelity and clean lines of the NECA figures. For a small bonus, they were displayed in the Sewer Lair, which was announced back in August.
NECA Cartoon Turtles
More from NECA, this time the Business Suit Casey Jones, which I will go very far out of my way to acquire because it just looks fantastic, Samurai Adventure Michaelangelo, Space Adventure Donatello and a Foot Soldier split in half. I haven’t seen the foot soldier before, it wasn’t in any of the photos from SDCC, but also I haven’t seen anyone else talking about it much, so perhaps it’s not brand new. Everything being shown off was a part of the 7″ scale cartoon line.
NECA Mirage Rat King
The Mirage Rat King from NECA was also fantastic. I absolutely love the detail in this figure between the clothing fraying and stitched together and the bandages on his face. This is a figure, a lot like the Super7 Slash, that I feel I can stare at for a long while. As clean as the cartoon toys are, the Mirage line feels as dirty as the original comics did. While Eastman and Laird didn’t put this much detail in their drawings, their style left a lot to be filled in by your imagination in a way that these figures fulfill.
NECA Universal Monsters x TMNT Wave 2
I can’t express show much I love the TMNT Universal Monsters figures and was surprised when these two were announced earlier in the year. The box art has been amazing and the detail in the figures is fantastic. After the first seven figures, I was surprised to see two more announced in The Wolf Man and The Creature. I wonder if we’ll see another full line instead of two standalone figures.
Super7’s TMNT Party Wagon
The Party Wagon was on display at Super7’s booth. Super7’s Ultimates figures have been recreating the original Playmates toys in comparison to NECA’s figures, which have been recreating the cartoons or the comic books. I’ve found the Super7 Ultimates figures to be among some of the finest around in that they realize they seem to do a great job of materializing the promise of the original conceptual drawings. The Party Wagon delivers on that promise in a way that these large pieces rarely do. I’ve also gotta admit that “MY OTHER CAR IS A PARTY WAGON” sticker is begging to be put on my car.
CultureFly’s TMNT x Scott Tolleson Raphael
I can’t say enough things about the drop-dead amazing TMNT x Scott Tolleson Raphael Figure that was on display at the Cultrefly booth. It stands at 11″ tall and I could stare at it all day long. I’ll ad hit I’m not as familiar with Tolleson’s work, but this Raphael is reminiscent of his Imperial Lotus Dragon. I’d love to see more TMNT designs from him.
TMNT Mirage Turtles from “NECA”
These aren’t new, but I loved seeing these and nearly fainted at the price in the booth. While they’re labeled “TMNT NECA SET” for $200, these are common bootlegs of the NECA set from 2008. The giveaway is the bandanas, as NECA never actually made the cartoon color bandanas of these turtles. If you pay more than $20 for one of these, you’re being taken for a ride. Bootlegs or not, I still really like these figures and actually have a set of the bootlegs on my shelf.
Professor Jordan Perry from Secret of the Ooze
This was a special one to see in person. They’re both such random figures to have made, which makes them perfect for turtles fans. I don’t know if they’ll be available in a two-pack, but much ike Business Suit Casey Jones, this one is an absolute must-have for me. I’ll admit that I’ve been lusting after the TMNT 2 Tokka and Rahzar figures from NECA for years, but the roughly $200 price tag for them has prevented me from pulling the trigger. TMNT 2: SOTO is one of my favorite movies of all time, so as you could imagine these figures are at the top of my list.
Ben Bishop’s Last Ronin Posters and Comic Variants
My buddy Erick from Warrior Pins was working at the Ben Bishop booth. Ben had some amazing Last Ronin prints for sale. I picked up the one in the photo along with a sketch, two more Last Ronin Lost Years prints inspired by the 1990 and 1991 TMNT movie VHS covers, and a Last Ronin comic, all signed.
And that’s all for now! I’ll put a video together highlighting everything I bought at Comic Con. As usual, I wish I took more photos while I was there, but I’m only there for one day and feel rushed whenever I’m floating around.