Final First Edition (Documentary) | One Man’s Mission to Reprint TMNT’s First Comic
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Rich Horn has spent his entire life collecting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books and meticulously archiving them in his Littleton, Colorado basement. When he uncovers a once-in-a-lifetime piece of memorabilia, it ignites a cross-country mission: Reprint the very first edition TMNT comic in Maine using the exact same techniques and materials it was printed on in 1984. With a style that playfully references the cinematic turns of 1970s conspiracy dramas and political thrillers, Final First Edition documents Rich’s quest to make his name in the beloved history of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
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"Final First Edition" is a short documentary by Wes Sterrs
More from the director:
"Within moments of meeting Rich Horn, it was clear to us that his mission-to meticulously recreate the first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1-was more than an act of nostalgia. It was a dedicated celebration of artistry and the enduring legacy of the TMNT franchise. Rich’s project is, at its heart, an attempt to recreate a sensory experience: offering comic book lovers the chance to own a replica that looks, feels, and smells (yes, smells) indistinguishable from an original work of art. Is it forgery, or the ultimate expression of fandom?
We saw in Rich’s story an opportunity to reflect his meticulous intent. To bring this escapade to life, we embraced a hybrid of docu-fiction, drawing inspiration from the gritty tension of 70s action-thrillers like All the President’s Men and Sorcerer, paired with wall-to-wall Robert Altman-style mega-zooms. The result is a film as obsessive and layered as the man-and the cargo-that inspired it. "
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In Dover, NH, at the location where Eastman and Laird lived, the house is gone, but Dover installed a custom Manhole cover, and a historical plaque at our local history museum. The manhole cover is located on Union Street, just be wary when visiting, it is a very residential neighborhood, with many elderly nearby.
Awesome documentary. Longer version is must needed. It's fascinating project.
"People us the term 'cometionist' as if there's something to complete. ...there's always something else..."
That shook me.
This was awesome. Amazing doc! Congrats to all involved here.
Funnily enough your word “cometionist “ is incomplete of a ‘ P ‘ and an ‘ L ‘.
@@comoyoko 😆🤣😭
It's called consume based economy.
Needed this to be longer. Awesome Thank you.
A must watch for TMNT fans and collectors of all sorts!
An absolute delight
What nostalgia! When the imperfections on the pages were mentioned at 4:52, I ran to my bookshelf. I have the Brazilian edition released here in 1990. I looked for it and couldn't find the tape marks. This indicated to me that this edition that I have came out much later, because it was released in color here, because the Brazilian market didn't accept black and white comics very well...the same thing happened with Akira when it was released here, which had to be colored and have the entire reading adapted in reverse from the manga.
This comic really left an impression on me, because at the time, the gateway to TMNT was the TV animation that had a children's tone. When this version was released, it was received strangely here because the content was much more adult.
Without a shadow of a doubt, TMNT has a huge cultural impact. There's no one who hasn't at least heard of it. Who would have thought that a mix of animals, radioactivity and oriental culture would become so popular and survive generations in the general imagination?
Thank you for doing this! I have many reprints throughout the years, but I've never held such a perfect recreation of those first prints. I bought a mint one, I bought two reader copies and I bought the whole signed set from Kevin. I will never own an actual number one but you've made me feel as though I do. I pick this book up every few weeks and am transported back in time. Thank you for your amazing work on this!!
Appreciate the feedback! It really is so amazing to hold in your hand - and reading #1 this way (just like 40 years ago) feels special. There's really nothing else like it. :)
Rich’s passion for TMNT is palpable. Really amazing work here.
Really well done, fantastic story! Congratulations to everyone involved!
Can we purchase one of these books? 🤭
Met Rich at London Comic Con showing off these negatives. It was such a pleasure to meet him and learn all this amazing history that helps define the Turtles landscape in independent comics. Really enjoyed watching this!
This took me back and brought a tear to my eye. I’m 43 now but when I was 7-8yrs old my best friend and I loved the turtles ( obsessed lol). Billy and I would play ninja turtles all the time, acting out everything we read in comics and seen on the cartoon. I miss those days and my old friend Billy. He will never be forgotten.
Edit: you did an amazing job archiving and preserving those. Great job 👍🏻
This is great, I was born a few years after the first 3 prints were sold, I was merely a baby. Never had the chance to get them. Growing up with them this hit close to home. This print is very special thank you for giving us a new opportunity to collect these gems
I want to be loved as much as Rich loves TMNT.
😂💯
Ask not to be loved, but love instead.
Nice
❤ bro hugg , XoXo
True love comes from self-acceptance.
If only they could have burned the plates straight from the negs... but that likely would have required crazy outdated equipment (vacuum frame and probably old school plate developer, plus the chemicals). This project is magnificent and the results look amazing, all the effort is so worth it. It's incredible the negs survived, and are now safely preserved. I recall seeing a copy of the original 1st printing on the wall of Forbidden Planet midtown location in the late 80s, the price was bonkers even back then, this book is so important to comics history. The detective work on the verification of the negs as being legit is so cool. Thank you Rich for doing this!
We sure tried everything we could to burn the plates directly from the negatives. We actually located the plate machine itself but it wasn't known if it was still functional. But the real problem was still finding the plates themselves that were compatible. That's where we just couldn't make it work. Agfa wasn't even sure the plates would still work even if we were able to locate them - given they stopped making them so long ago and any stock we might have found would have very likely been long-since expired.
@@TMNTACollection-rich Fascinating information, I didn't even think about the types of plates... it's all part of the story - but honestly for the super-purists: the high definition scan is not only true to the negatives, but is actually way better ultimately because of how it can preserve the halftones. I used to work at a place burning plates and some dot patterns were so frustrating, one piece of dust stuck in that vacuum frame and the tint-values go haywire. This is all an amazing undertaking, it is incredible to see literal true reprints coming out of the collating machine. The beauty of the printed image, held sacred, this is great stuff! TMNT Forever!
@@chargermaniac Exactly! Scanning preserves the half-tones as well as the negatives themselves. High-res scanning allowed us to retain digital masters of the negatives so the handling and scanning of the negatives only needed to be done once for this project. Now the actual negatives never need to be handled again and can stay safely secured in their display cases.
I'm more into manga than comics, but this type of video is one of the coolest things I've seen when it comes to preservation and giving it a new lease on life. Whether it's video games, movies, comics, manga etc. The importance of physical media and preserving them is so important, so that they can be enjoyed in the future and not be lost through time.
What a documentary, and what a project. I'm so glad that the negatives went to Rich and he went to such great lengths to share them with fans. I am lucky enough to have one of the new reprints and they are fantastic!
So much love for the TMNT makes me kind of emotional, TMNT number one is such a classic and the whole backstory of the franchise has fascinated me forever.
Also as someone who was so inspired by Eastman and Laird that I self-edit comics seeing that kind of printing technique and assembly line give me goosebumps.
That final shot was incredible.
This dudes a hero.
Thank you Rich! Hearing this story and then seeing this interview is so amazing. You truly are a great archivist.
Ive watched this 10 times already, it makes me feel so good seeing this kind of passion for comics.
That is a beautiful movie! Seeing how important TMNT is in his life is beyond amazing, that is pretty much the accomplishment of a lifetime
This is so awesome, Rich!!
This is incredibly well done, hope this hits the millions soon!
A great story made even better by keen cinematography and a crafty edit!
Incredible stuff! I really appreciate how thoroughly documented the whole process is! You can look endlessly at three things -- water, fire, and how the comic is printed!
This made my day. Seeing the passion of a fellow collector and his mission so that we could see a repro comic of TMNT #1 using the same materials and print process from the negatives is amazing. The process behind this is so astounding! Thank you sir! 🤘😎
Oh man has this video made my day!!!! I was totally geeking out at this lol. Awesome video! I reckon those would sell out very quickly if put on sale. Maybe you should print off 1000's and see how much you make?
Very coincidentantly timed video. I was watching a documentary about the printing of Hokusai's Great Wave Of Kanagawa yesterday (the day this TMNT video dropped), which stated that 8 000 copies of the print were made from the original woodblock. It started me thinking about the process of comics before computers were wildy used, and similar we should treat these 1st edition printings as we do with the original Japanese wood printings. I recalled last year when I bought the facsmile reprint of Batman: Year One and I wondered how close did they get to the original printings as surely printing process had changed with the aforementioned computers. Then I hypothesised why don't they print those issues the same way they used to. Lo and behold, this videos drops exploring the very same process.
Congratulations Rich, what a journey and very glad it's been captured as a doco for prosperity! As a fellow turtles fan, thank you ❤
I remember when tmnt first hit the stands. I was heavily into comic books and went every week to the comic book store. I thought the art was very amateurish, and didn’t want it. I was a marvel-only fan. I was always surprised that it went anywhere.
This is beyond cool! To see the process and know the story of this coming full circle is incredible. A short run first and second printing with negatives that get lost to time, and then resurface to live once again is mind blowing!
Let me get a copy. 😂Seriously love your passion. I was born in 84 and I’ve been a fan ever since. And yes, you ain’t wrong. Everyone has heard of the tmnt. Turtle 🐢 power
Amazing history. The fact that these negatives survived is stunning.
Good work to all involved.
One of the coolest things ever! Thank you Rich!! 🐢🔋🙌
I love this so much, my father worked in printing at Ronald’s printing back in the 80’s. every Christmas I would get boxes of misprinted and proof copy comics. Most were unfortunately destroyed in a flood but I still have 4-5 proof copies of a few books. They are priceless in my mind
Nice! Kevin E FB post got me here.. been collecting TMNT since day 1 and in Denver.. very cool!
Glad to have had a small hand in all this along the way! Lovely little film. You know, I’m not sure the last I heard your voice hah.
So freakin cool man, awesome job Rich!
Loved it. So happy you've done all of this; book, doc. Thanks for everything 🙏
Have actually bought from Rich, was a trove of knowledge and his insights were pretty cool. His blog also has more insight with the negatives. Id be checking them out too
As a big fan of the original Mirage Comics TMNT, this was a great mini doc to watch.
I applaud everyone involved. 👏🏼
Just bought it - first time I heard this was being done was this doc randomly showing up in my feed. I have the 3rd print of #1 but this is a welcome addition to the collection.
How did you go about to purchase it?
@@ktrevino63 from the TMNT: A Collection website or signed by Kevin Eastman at his official studio website.
A nostalgic look into a past parallel to my own experiences in making comics, lovingly crafted with a cinematic vigor! I love this! It brought me back to the 1980s and making comics.
Thanks for coming through Texas. I enjoyed your display at the Temple convention a few months ago.
When it was 1st released, I saw a stack of TNMT #1 in my favorite comic book shop and thought: this is never going to take off. Then I learned that I have no clue what’s popular
My man out here like the Lex Luthor of TMNT comic collecting! Seriously though, where can I snag a copy? This is special
Thank you ❤
This film has made me feel very happy
I’m the exact same way. I need everything in its place.
So cool TMNT was one of the first comics I ever got as a kid. Hopefully the comic nerds don’t get mad you reprinting it. Those books will probably fool CGC 😂
I'm so glad that this man will be protecting this treasure 🙌
Wow.!! That’s awesome Rich..!!👏
Absolutely PHENOMENAL! 🐢 4 life!
@6:10 Soooo Portland PPL Don't say "Hi", Cameras there because of HIM!.. LOL... ANYWAYS, This is Good stuff kid!
As another toitle luver since day one this is so omega level radical, Turtle Power baybee. this guy did comic history a solid.
Very cool!
Hope one day someone will love my art like this…to have my talent cherished like this is a dream come true.
Absolutely amazing!!!🤘🏼😆
it was great to meet you at the London comic con show in Canada !
Incredible. Thank you Rich!
This man was 💯 the exact right man for this job! Love this so much!
Incredible, just incredible! Where can we get these 1/1 perfect reprints?
kevin eastman sells them on his website. They're not cheap
If possible, I hope to get one. I have the original second printing, but a brand new "first printing" would be a truly wonderful item for readers and collectors, and an opportunity for the younger tmnt generation to experience something from beyond their time.
Yo Duuuuude, YOU RULEÈEEEEEE!!!
This is absolutely stunning and a piece of pop culture history preserved as it should be. Also, are these available anywhere to purchase? It would be a dream to own a repo.
This guy is awesome. Preserving americana. Mad respect
Bought one, it’s fantastic
Pure magic!
Great video! I'm working on a full run of TMNT comics now. I have almost all of Vols 1 and 4. Vols 2 and 3 are tough to find in the wild. I have a Fifth Print of #1. I can't imagine dropping the cash to get a First Print, even if it would be a great investment long-term.
I need a copy!
This video had my nerd enthusiasm going buck fucking wild 🙌
Fellow comic book and TMNT die hard collector here. I own Mirage, Archie & IDW TMNT comics. Seeing another TMNT collector collection really brings joy to my heart. Turtles Power forever.
I’d love to have seen how much a copy would have graded for. It would have been interesting to see him take it to a grading and tell them he found it in his father’s sock draw.
Wiiiiild artistic shots
just like printing millions of dollars in every comic book on that Tmnt #1
This is so rad!
This is dexter level
I want one
Just got my copy! Very lovely this edition is! Now only if we could get a facsimile of Albedo 2 in this magnitude! :)
Kevin Eastman has signed bundles of these on his site. Limited to 2500 bundles I believe.
What an interesting journey
This was absolutely amazing! Are these going to be for sell?
We've gone past the 40th anniversary of TMNT, and this guy decides to make facsimile editions of the very first issue. I don't know how I feel right now. Excited. Jealous. [Shell]Shocked. Curious. Confused.
Not a facsimile edition. A complete reproduction - done exactly as it was 40 years ago using the original source material and equipment. And, yes, the 40th anniv. was last year but this book was actually printed a year ago. It was released April 2024 at the Portsmouth Mini-Con 40 in Portsmouth, NH (where the originals made their debut in 1984).
Where do I buy one of these?!!?!!
Yes is he selling them?
I hope he reaches out to Kevin and Peter I'm sure they'd love to see that. Also check out Dover, NH
Kevin is literally in the documentary 😂
Turtle Power 🐢
So whats the deal!? Did he print all of these just for himself? Lots of fans want on on the magic!
Are these copies available to buy?
I just received mine today!
Wow...That's epic....
"It's the copy of it..."
Weird I posted the link on where to purchase them and my comment got deleted🤷🏽♂️
How would a person obtain one of his reprints? Would be cool to have for my own collection.
where and how can i get one of these copies?
I’m peanut butter & jealous 😍
Also..I’m going to need a copy!
Rich for the win!
Now you know where all that social security money goes.
THAT WOULD MAKE MY 2025!!!!!!!!!!
So, can I buy one of these somewhere?
How do I buy one?
Where can I purchase one of these Final First Editions?