5 out of 5

Rating the reprint, not the issue (which I know is all like a million percent classic but if I was reading it for the first time today I probably would comment on it being a little rough around the edges…).

This is an undersized (like 3/4ths of a regular comic) reprint of the first printing of the first issue that came bundled with Andrew Farago’s ‘Ultimate Visual History’ book.  I believe Farago claimed to have scanned pages from original art for clarity.  The inner front cover scan is taken from the second printing, it seems; I think Farago posted on a message board that this was to get the Kirby / Miller dedication sketch from that printing.  The cover and pages are also thicker stock, which we can complain isn’t ‘accurate’ but it’s preferred versus easily tearing pages and ink-stains, especially for a collector’s reprint.  Otherwise, the rest is presented as-is, with the red-hued cover, and the inside back cover ad for Gobbledygook.

Whatever the source of the scans, clarity is damn right.  I think I have a fourth and fifth printing of issue #1, along with countless color reprints and latter-day B&W reprints, and regardless of how well they’re cleaned up, the duo-tone always makes some panels look really thick and heavy, with some detail being difficult to discern.  But the skills of Eastman and Laird come through bright as day in this reprint – the excessive work on, for example, all of Splinter’s hairs came now be seen in its ratty glory, and the fluidity of those actions shots is allowed to fully shine.  The #1 issue was the sensible inclusion for ‘History,’ and I guess I have to respect that only those of us who do that kind of stuff have bought a billion copies of it already, so I can’t quip that it was a bit underwhelming seeing the tale reprinted yet again.  That aside, this was another professional touch to Farago’s book, and a really respectfully produced reprint to boot.