SpeekyGeeky's Mr. Geek-E sits down with "Las Tortugas Ninja" Writer and illustrator Manuel Conde to Geek-out about all things "Las Tortugas Ninja" and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a SpeekyGeeky exclusive interview.
During episode 7 of SpeekyGeeky's original "Which Figures Do We Want?" series, we deep dive the character Moycat and some of the other original characters from the world of "Las Tortugas Ninja." Manuel Conde sat down to discuss the series even further in this exclusive interview. We discussed the series early days and dive into what the future holds for the characters.
The full episode 7 of spotlighting Moycat and "Las Tortugas Ninja" can be found below.
Here is our full interview:
SPEEKYGEEKY'S MR. GEEK-E: How did Tortugas Ninja come to be? Can you walk me through its origins?
MANUEL CONDE: Ok, at the time I was at college, after my adventures with a comic book named MEMO-MAN, I went back to Design school after 4 issues of this comic book and its lack of success.
Then one day, I don’t the exact date, Mr. Anuar Maccise MEMO-MAN’s editor secretary called me at home and told me that Mr. Maccise wanted to talk to me… I was totally freaked out, I thought he wanted to tell me how bad MEMO-MAN’s sales went or if he wanted to charge me some money for de MEMO-MAN’s flop, but no, instead he asked me if I was interested in drawing "Las Tortugas Ninja", so he made an offer I couldn’t refuse.
Then I was asked to make some drawing tests, that he wanted to send to Mirage Studios and Archie Comics. They accepted my style, and that’s when I started drawing the Tortugas Ninja.
SG: How many wholly new characters were created for the series (I know there were quite a few incredibly fun ones)
MC: Well, I remember that in every issue that I wrote and drew, I created characters to interact with the Turtles, since I never got any guide or feedback on the existing characters that were appearing in the Archie Series.
Let me tell you that I only got about 10 or 12 printed issues, not the originals. The problem was that we’ve got them interwoven, I mean I only was getting something like No. 3, 4, 5, and then 7, 9, and 12 of the Archie series, so I have to fill in the blanks with original content. So, to answer your question, I created between 20 or 30 In & out characters maybe, but the ones that prevailed were Moycat, Termidator, The Tickle (who by the way is my signature character), Sharkius Branchii, Sables the tiger, Aprax & Morris, Ruk the walrus, Fungus the Mole and Gorbol.
SG: Who were some of your favorite characters you created and can you give us a little background on them and their role in the series?
MC: Without a doubt, Moycat, Termidator, The Tickle, Ruk the walrus and Gorbol the creature.
SG: Where did you get the inspiration for Moycat? In your words can you explain his role in the series? Was there more to his story than you were able to tell in the series?
MC: Moycat was the nickname that a friend started calling me, because of my signature.
When my editor said that he needed a 48 pages Special Edition, he also told me to use all of my imagination, that’s when I thought about a Mexican animal that was an endangered species; the Gray Ocelot. This is because I wanted to make a statement on animal protection, nature, and ecology. And since I’m a huge fan of Indiana Jones, why not a great Ocelot dressed like Indy, and with my nickname Moycat; he was my perfect alter ego.
Now I’m working on “Moycat and Macsian Chronicles”. And I will explain in these comics what happened with Moycat and the gang that I created for the "Las Tortugas Ninja" Universe.
SG: If you could have the chance to write any current character (that wasn't in your original series run) which character would you want to try your hand at?
MC: I will write on him in the Moycat Macsian Chronicles :)
SG: I know that Fleetway's "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles" at the beginning of that series tackled stories that came from the Archie-verse, but unlike those early Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles comics, "Las Tortugas Ninja" took those stories and either re-illustrated the stories or expanded on them, many times making them largely new stories as well correct?
Can you tell me what drove some of these changes to the stories and which issue you would point to as being the major moment/story plotting where the comic started moving in it's own direction?
MC: When I got out of Archie Series Comics, the change was obliged. I think that number 7 was the issue that I knew was the way I wanted to take it.
SG: From what I understand the series had quite a bit of autonomy while still having the oversight of Eastman and Laird, is this correct?
Were there any characters from the Archie universe, Fred Wolf animation universe or Mirage Universe that you knew right off the bat was off limits?
From those off limits characters were there any that you always wished you could have been able to do a story with?
MC: Yes, Kevin and Peter knew what I was doing.
Not really, there were no characters that I was interested in working on since I was too busy to start working on other characters that I´d created.
SG: If you could have an action figure made off of any character in the "Las Tortugas Ninja" universe, who do you think would be the coolest to see?
MC: Maybe one of these three: Moycat, Termidator, or The Tickle.
SG: If there was ever a Moycat action figure made, what accessories do you think would be an absolute "must" for the character to come with?
MC: Obviously his hat, his jacket, and his boleadoras (Argentinian cowboy artifact).
SG: With the success of the IDW series, has there been any discussion of a new Las Tortugas ninja ongoing series as well, perhaps utilizing some of these newer IDW characters alongside old and new characters from the Las Tortugas Ninja original series?
MC: No.
SG: Has there ever been any discussion of creating a new series entirely off the newly created characters from "Las Tortugas Ninja"?
MC: Yes, Moycat Macsian Chronicles, only here it would be withour the TMNT, for obvious reasons.
SG: What was the reason for the ending of the series? Did it have a definitive ending or were there any loose plot points like how the Archie comic ended mid-storyline?
MC: Sales… I think I ended them quite nice and easy, having pizza at home.
SG: If new fans to "Las Tortugas Ninja" are just learning about the series for the very first time, what are a couple of things every Turtles fan should know about how this series is different than the Archie or animated series incarnations? How they can find issues if they would like to read more? And what is your all-time favorite issue or story from the series run that you would suggest they try and get their hands on reading?
MC: First of all, this was a product for Latin-American kids, remember we didn’t have internet back then… that and my characters are 100% mine, they only relate to the 4 Turtles, Splinter, and sometimes with April and some of the Mutanimals.
Finding Tortugas Ninja Comics is hard, but I think a friend might be working on an English compilation of the comics I worked on.
For best issues, Numbers 7, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, and definitely number 24, which was my first Anniversary with the Tortugas.
SG: Was there ever any conversation about having any characters created from the "Las Tortugas Ninja" series brought into the Fred Wolf cartoon series or Playmates toyline at the time in the same way Usagi Yojimbo (in cartoon and toyline), Panda Khan & Fugitoid (in the toyline) were?
MC: Once, while talking on the phone with Kevin, he suggested that he was going to talk with the Playmate Toys guys, but I guess this never happened.
SG: What was the atmosphere like in those early days of writing the series?
Any funny stories surrounding writing the series from those beginning days while it was still evolving?
MC: By atmosphere, I guess you refer to how did I live or experience my work on the Turtles: It was fun, but, unfortunately, many Mexican artists somehow envied my position, so I had to try to stay away from them.
There were crazy stories, for example, I never understood why some people thought that Moycat was a dog.
When I created Termidator, I was at a friend's restaurant, we were chatting and having some beers when I asked him what he would like to have on the menu that wasn’t there. He told me, maybe Lobster Thermidor. AHA!! So I started to draw, at that moment, how my buddy Bobby Arzaluz would become the Termidator.
SG: Did "Las Tortugas Ninja" have a lot of autonomy or was the comic expected to hit certain plot points that were consistent with what was transpiring in the stories over at Archie? How far were you allowed to stray from those character arcs?
MC: My "Las Tortugas Ninja" had all the autonomy you can imagine and since I had to deliver a chapter per week, I did what I had to do to keep the machinery working.
I could do whatever I wanted to do on the condition that it had to involve the Turtles and the characters that appeared on the Archie series, so, I took the characters that I liked the most from those comics.
SG: I realize at some point the series very much started to drift into its own exciting world, did Eastman and Laird have any input for these stories, or were these largely given the go-ahead to run creatively wild toward your own unique vision?
MC: Kevin and Peter were aware of my doings but the person who told me that I was doing great and to keep doing what I was doing was… Mr. Stephen (Dean Clarrain) Murphy, so, that’s how it happened or that’s how I remember it.
SG: When do you hope to have this new "Moycat and the Macsian Chronicles" series release? Will it also be available and with translation for in the states?
MC: We are aiming for a February or March 2023 release of issue number 1. The plan is to also have a translated copy available that will be offered in the United States and Canada both in hard copy and as a digital version. We are also hoping that if everything goes according to plan to have an 8-page preview available as early as this Halloween. Right now I am looking to have this be four issues for the first story arc at 28 pages each. For the moment I am thinking this will be a limited series, but that could change, you never know. We should have an official price as we move closer to that February or March release.
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Well, that's it for our exclusive interview with Las Tortugas Ninja Writer/Illustrator Manuel Conde! If you'd like to follow all the progress on the new Moycat and Macsian Chronicles series, make sure to follow Manuel on his Instagram at: @macsartifex
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