“I play right field; it’s important, ya know? Ya gotta know how ta catch, ya gotta know how ta throw. That’s why I play in right field, way out where the dandelions grow.”

If you were a childhood Turtles fan, before you wore the tape out, you knew every word of that song from the Pizza Hut commercial before the beginning of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie. You knew where to get the scrolls in the sewer of the NES game, where the Neutrinos are from, and that the Foot Clan was a bunch of hunchbacked robots wearing purple masks . . . maybe not that last part. This might be a good place for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Secret History of the Foot Clan #1 to lend a hand . . . or toe . . . or . . . whatever.

This series begins to explain the journey of how the Foot came to be, how it was transformed into something good from something vile, and how it was turned once again. Explained by a history professor at a university lecture, the Foot were molded from the ashes of a former clan that was set ablaze by one talented and power-hungry member. Fearing annihilation with good reason, the clan’s leader sent his prodigal soldier on a journey to hunt thieves, where he planned to have him assassinated by fellow clan members. From the blood of his former compatriots, the will to succeed at any cost and a little help from a witch and an evil oni, the Foot came into being.

This ain’t your granddad’s TMNT. But, if your granddad did have a favorite TMNT, he’d be an awesome pap simply for knowing the difference between a mouser and Krang. Similar to our many incarnations of the Spider-Man saga, be they amazing, spectacular, or ultimate, this version of the Turtles takes on its own facets and characteristics. Based more in reality (if you consider Japanese magic vs. trans-dimensional alien encounters more normal), it makes the characters a tad more grounded. This issue doesn’t include our reptilian quartet very much, but when viewing the lecture in an auditorium before transitioning to flashbacks, we find a late teens April O’Neal AND Casey Jones. To be honest, this version of them may be from another series I haven’t had a chance to check out, but I found their dynamic to be roughly the same, as our pal Donatello once referenced, “Gosh, it’s kind of like Moonlighting.” If you don’t know what I’m referring to, then look it up, because I could gush about ’80s Bruce Willis all day.

I’m going to keep my eye on this title; it came off a little dry at first, but, like most things these days, it had a bit of a cliffhanger, this one involving an old foe and his daughter. If you don’t know to what I’m eluding, try using this magic picture box with buttons and do a little searching around. The net is more than just porn and torrents. I know, I just found that out, too. But, give it a whirl, if the heroes in a half shell are your thing, and get a better back story of where it all began.

You can thank me later.