This post is part of The League of Extraordinary Bloggers, a weekly series of blog posts started by Brian over at Cool and Collected. Make sure to check out his site and join in the conversation if you run a blog!

This week’s challenge from The League fit in nicely with TMNT Week. Things that are green? I’ve been seeing green all week.

I was going to do an elaborate group shot of all the Turtles I could find laying around my office, but I thought I would keep it simple and show off how awesome the new Nickelodeon Turtles look together. Four different shades of green, and four completely different sculpts. Well done Playmates.

Posts from the League

• Newton Gimmick at Infinite Hollywood rounded up a bunch of green action figures
• Jaime at Shezcrafti took a much better TMNT group shot than me
• Shawn at Branded in the 80s just did that on television
• Mr. R over at The Man Who Stares at Toys rounded up even more green toys

Well, TMNT Week is finally over, and even though I have a few more things left to review, today is it for the Turtles’ new action figures. Next week I’ll post some reviews of Splinter, the bad guys, and the Shellraiser, but for now it’s time to give Raphael some attention.

Raphael is a lot of people’s favorite Turtle, and I’ve always liked him a lot. He’s not my number one, but he’s close. Raph is being voiced by Sean Astin of Goonies, Rudy, and Lord of the Rings fame in the new cartoon. That’s an interesting choice, but from what I’ve seen he sounds good.

Donatello is my favorite action figure from this new line, but Raph is a close second. I love his dark shade of green, and if he had a little bit more subdued expression on his face, he might be my favorite.
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It’s the third day of TMNT Week and today the spotlight is on the Party Dude himself, Michelangelo. We’re going to take a look at the new Nickelodeon Michelangelo and the TMNT Classic Collection Michelangelo action figures in the same post, because I’ve written a lot about these lines this week and I don’t want to sound like a broken record.
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Even though we were “too old” for themed birthday parties, my 11^th birthday had a definite undercurrent of comic books.  My mom had taken me to the local comic shop so we could dig through back issue bins and pick up three or four cheap comics for each of my guests as party favors.  While the rest of my friends were busy reading “unrealistic” comics like the Chris Claremont run on X-Men, I was really into the “realism” of Marvel’s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.  So the gifts that day included an awesome G.I. Joe poster based on the cover of Yearbook #2, a handful of Joe back issues that were missing from my collection, an action figure or two (I was, oddly enough, never into the toys), a pristine copy of #1 that my parents paid $35 for (and is now maybe worth $5), and…eight issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

If this was a trailer for a terrible movie, there would be a record scratch right here, strategically timed for the middle of the “Oooooh” part of Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger”.  The soundtrack would go silent, and maybe a Great Dane lying on the floor would cover its head with its comedically massive paws.

As I read the title of the comic books in front of me – each bagged and boarded, of course – I laughed. So did the rest of the guys gathered around my dining room table.  Even the guy who gave me the comics, Josh Banner, thought it was funny.  He didn’t buy them for me as a joke, but there was no question that a concept as absurd as turtles that were ninjas was funny.  He tried to convince us all that they were actually really cool, but none of us believed him.  Until that night when I sat down and read the comics.  And was instantly hooked.
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Yesterday I reviewed the TMNT Classic Collection Leonardo action figure, and in a way I reviewed the whole series. Rather than gush about this awesome homage to the 80s animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles four days in a row, I’m going to post photo galleries for each Turtle from now until Friday. That way I don’t ramble on and cover the same points four times.

Donatello looks great, just like his brothers in this series, but he suffers from a horrible case of lazy eye. Most people have reported their figures being the same way, and my Leonardo even seemed a little cross-eyed. But, that’s the only complaint I have on an otherwise perfect incarnation of Donatello. He’s huge, super detailed and articulated, and looks amazing.

He can even lift up two Foot Soldiers and stay balanced. That’s impressive.
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