RELEASE DATE : APRIL 29, 2017

The Mutagen Canister Kids (MCK) Series 1 set was released on the last Saturday of April, 2017. The entire set was created by artist Mark Pingitore who sketched and painted all twelve characters to create a twenty-four, twin-card parody release poking fun at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles (TMNT) characters, cartoon, games and toyline franchise. The first print run of 200 sets, containing one asterisk (* © 2017 MARK PINGITORE PRTD. IN U.S.A.), was posted to the 'Magic Marker Art' website for $45 each. The initial concept was mentioned on the 'Magic Marker Art' Facebook page and other social media in December of 2016 as a voting poll between two set ideas that Pingitore had been toying with at the time; collectors opted to see G.I.JOKES realized first over Mutagen Canister Kids -- but MCK followed quickly after the February release of G.I.JOKES. The 'PEEL HERE' vinyl stickers have an ingenious radioactive canister die-cut that's a wonderful shout-out to early GPK releases that had special sticker die-cuts. Pingitore's many titles (Disasters of the Universe, Slop! Culture Kids, Horrorible Kids, G.I.JOKES, et cetera) and various other products are heavily influenced by the 80's nostalgic toy and cartoon era that have become part of pop-ular culture.



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  1a MASHED MIKEY

~ Nomenclature – M; the specific name Mike(y) to go with the word 'mash+ed'.
~ Turtle tip: Michelangelo (aka Mike or Mikey) – One of the four anthropomorphic main characters usually wearing an orange bandana and wielding dual ninchucks; named after a Renaissance Italian artist.
def'n: Mash – To be reduced by crushing.
def'n: Crush – To be deformed, pulverized or forced inwards by being compressed forcefully.
 

1b  CAL A. BUNGA

~ Nomenclature = Cowabunga.
~ Turtle tip: Michelangelo – Named after Michelangelo Buonarroti and the youngest of the group; often coins most of the groups catchphrases such as "Cowabunga!" followed by 'dude'.
def'n: Cowabunga – informal. Used to express delight or satisfaction.

 

GPK STATS:

~ The character is skillfully modeled after the Garbage Pail Kids image for OS3 cards 89a Hurt CURT and 89b PAT Splat painted by artist Tom Bunk.

~ For the MCK edition, the non-nimble ninja character is in the same twisted pose after taking a spill from his skateboard; 'seeing' stars, cracked concrete, curved pavement and missing teeth all remain intact for the image, but a slice of pizza is added – the Turtles' favorite food item for consumption. 'M' for mashed.







 

2a  SHRED ED

~ Nomenclature = Shredded.
~ Turtle tip: Shredder – The villainous main archenemy and rival of Splinter and the Turtles. A ninjutsu master that uses his blade-covered armor as weapons.
def'n: Shredded – Having well-defined or well-developed muscles; muscular. To be torn or cut into shreds.
def'n: Shred – To be in scraps, strips, rags, et cetera.
 
2b  SUPER SAKI

~ Nomenclature – S; the specific name Saki to go with the word 'super'.
~ Turtle tip: Oroku "The Shredder" Saki – The main villain and antagonist of the Turtles and the leader of the criminal organization known as the 'Foot Clan' (clan – a family or group of people with a similar interest).
def'n: Super – Magnificient, glorious, excellent, wonderful, superb, outstanding, et cetera.
 
GPK STATS:

~ The character is intricately modeled after the Garbage Pail Kids image for OS2 cards 51a RUSSELL Muscle and 51b BRETT Sweat painted by artist John Pound.

~ For the MCK image, the character is shown showing-off his highly defined and developed mass of musculature. The character is also seen wearing his samurai-like armor, cape, helmet with mask, blade-covered metal plaques (used for 'shredding') and sweating profusely.







  3a  B. SLOP

~ Nomenclature = Bebop.
~ Turtle tip: Bebop (Enemy) – A member of the 'Foot Clan' that takes direct orders from The Shredder. The name is derived from the 'bebop' genre of music; a style of jazz. Usually always on assignments with Rocksteady.
def'n: Slop – To feed slops (food scraps) to an animal, especially a pig.
 
3b  WARD HOG

~ Nomenclature = Warthog.
~ Turtle tip: Bebop – A street gang member that volunteered to be mutated by The Shredder to exact revenge on the Turtles; the character mutated into a humanoid mutant common warthog.
def'n: Warthog – an African wild pig with bristly gray skin, a large head, warty lumps on the face and curved tusks protruding from the mouth cavity.
 
GPK STATS:
~ The character is splendidly modeled after the Garbage Pail Kids image for OS2 cards 52a Dirty HARRY and 52b ROB Slob painted by artist John Pound.

~ For the MCK image, the character is seen sitting within a toxic waste dump surrounded by the apple core and sandwich as found within the GPK image, but the ear of corn has been replaced with a radioactive canister floating in the muck. 'TGR' = Teton Gravity Research; radioactive snow.







  4a  LOST LEO

~ Nomenclature – L; the specific name Leo to go with the word 'lost'.
~ Turtle tip: Leonardo (aka Leo) – One of the four anthropomorphic main characters usually wearing a blue bandana and wielding two samurai swords; named after a Renaissance Italian artist.
def'n: Lost – Unable to find one's way; not knowing one's whereabouts.
 
4b  DIRECTION LES

~ Nomenclature = Directionless.
~ Turtle tip: Leonardo – Named after Leonardo da Vinci and the leader of the group; is the most spiritual, disciplined and in-line with Splinter's teachings and thought processes.
def’n: Directionless – Lacking in general aim or purpose.
 
GPK STATS:

~ None.

~ For the MCK image, the character can be seen holding a subway-like map (albeit, upside down) looking at the layout of the city's sewer system and its passageways. Although Leonardo is considered the most sophisticated and enlightened of the turtle troupe, the parody of this particular 'Hero in a Half Shell' also seems to have only half a brain. The character is so confused his mind is boggled and eyes are crossed out of confusion. 'L' for lost.







  5a  SPLINT TERRY

~ Nomenclature = Splinter.
~ Turtle tip: Splinter (aka Master Splinter and "Pitbuhl") – A martial art instructor (originally for the 'Foot Clan' in Japan but then for the Turtles) living in New York City.
~ Turtle tip: Dr. Baxter Stockman – A failed force field attempt causes Stockman and a common housefly to cross-mutate turning the doctor into a giant, humanoid fly-creature.
def'n: Splint – A strip of rigid material used to support and immobilize a broken bone.
def'n: Splinter – To break or cause to break into small sharp fragments.
 
5b  YANKED YOSHI

~ Nomenclature – Y; the specific name Yoshi to go with the word 'yank+ed'.
~ Turtle tip: Hamato Yoshi – Depending on the source, Splinter is the pet rat of the ninja, Yoshi-san and learns ninjutsu art from his master's movements; or is Yoshi (or there's no connection).
~ Turtle tip: Dr. Baxter Stockman – The creator of the Mousers, developed along with the innocent, computer programmer April O'Neil, to hunt and destroy sewer rats (and rob banks).
def’n: Yank – To be pulled with a jerk; a sudden hard pull.
 
GPK STATS:

~ The character is perfectly modeled after the Garbage Pail Kids image for OS2 cards 66a MATT Ratt and 66b RACHEL Rodent painted by artist John Pound.

~ For the MCK card, the character is found is the same predicament with Dr. Stockman getting his revenge and buzzing above him (raised higher above the MCK logo within the card image; seen below in 'Bits & BOBs'). The nameplate covers most of Splinter's cane that he uses for walking or as a weapon.







  6a  DOOMED DONNIE

~ Nomenclature – D; the specific name Don(nie) to go with the word 'doomed'.
~ Turtle tip: Donatello (aka Don or Donnie) – One of the four anthropomorphic main characters usually wearing a purple bandana and wielding a bö staff; named after a Renaissance Italian artist.
def'n: Doomed – Likely to have an unfortunate and inescapable outcome; ill-fated.
 
6b  SHEL SHOCKED

~ Nomenclature = Shellshock.
~ Turtle tip: Leonardo – Named after the Italian sculptor Donatello and depicted as the smartest and second-in-command of the group; often speaks in 'technobabble' and naturally attracted to science.
def’n: Shellshock – A psychological disturbance caused by prolonged exposure to active warfare, especially being under bombardment
def’n: Shell – The hard protective outer case of a turtle.
def’n: Shocked – To be affected by a (violent) electric shock.
 
GPK STATS:

~ The character is luminously modeled after the Garbage Pail Kids image for OS2 cards 53a Jolted JOEL and 53b Live MIKE painted by artist John Pound; plugged, not into an amp but, into a regular outlet socket.

~ For the MCK character, the character is seen examining the inner workings of a home-made industrial coffeemaker with a screwdriver and being electricuted. Although Donatello is considered the most scholared and schooled of the turtle troupe, the parody of this particular 'Hero in a Half Shell' also seems to have only half a brain, zapped senseless. 'D' for dumb.







  7a  RAGIN' RAPH

~ Nomenclature – R; the specific name Raph to go with the word 'rage+ing'.
~ Turtle tip: Raphael (aka Raph) – One of the four anthropomorphic main characters always wearing a red bandana and wielding twin sai (pronged melee weapon); named after a Renaissance Italian artist.
def'n: Rage – Violent, uncontrollable anger; feeling or expressing such anger.
 
7b  HOT HEAD TED

~ Nomenclature – Rhyme; the name Ted with the words 'hot head'.
~ Turtle tip: Raphael – Named after the Italian painter Raphael and depicted as the angst-ridden wild-child of the group; easily angered and enraged.
def’n: Hot-head – A person who is impetuous or who easily becomes angry and violent.
 
GPK STATS:

~ The character is maddengly modeled after the Garbage Pail Kids image for OS1 cards 33a Mad MIKE and 33b Savage STUART painted by John Pound.

~ For the MCK image, the 'Kid' is in the same barbarian attack-mode with melee weapons in hand, but the skull, band-aid and fly have been removed and replaced with the character cursing up a violent storm. The GPK character has a belt holding up his loincloth, whereas the ninja turtle has a belt holding together his half shell. 'R' for rage.







  8a  FOOT CLAN STAN

~ Nomenclature – Rhyme; the name Stan (Lee) with the words 'foot clan'.
~ Turtle tip: Foot Clan – A ninjutsu clan usually led by The Shredder. Originally a parody of the criminal ninja clan 'The Hand' in the Daredevil comics (created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett).
def'n: Foot – The lower extremity of the leg below the ankle, on which a person stands or walks.
def'n: Clan – A family or group of people with a strong common interest.
 
8b  MIN YANN

~ Nomenclature = Minion.
~ Turtle tip: Foot Ninja – The basic warriors of 'The Foot'; generally depicted as easily beaten, except in very large groups; identified by 'The Foot' insignia.
def’n: Minion – A follower or underling of a powerful person or group. Henchmen, flunkies, lackeys, servants, vassals, stooges, et cetera.
 
GPK STATS:

~ Althought not exactly, the character is reminiscent of the Garbage Pail Kids image for OS7 cards 281a Soured HOWARD and 281b PAUL Bunion painted by artist James Warhola which mainly features 'feet'.

~ For the MCK image, the lower leveled lackey and non-elite loser is (literally) living up to its 'Foot Ninga' name and depicted as a foot soldier lugging around a lifeless left foot. The stooge is outfitted with a lonely ninja star and little else.







  9a  BROCK STEADY

~ Nomenclature = Rocksteady.
~ Turtle tip: Rocksteady (Enemy) – A member of the 'Foot Clan' that takes direct orders from The Shredder. The name is derived from the 'rocksteady' genre of music; a style of Jamaican music predating reggae.
def'n: Rock – A large piece of solid mineral mass forming part of the surface of the earth.
def'n: Steady – To be firmly fixed, balanced; not shaking or moving. Stable, firm unshakable, immovable, etc.
 
9b  RYE NO

~ Nomenclature = Rhino.
~ Turtle tip: Rocksteady – A street gang member that volunteered to be mutated by The Shredder to exact revenge on the Turtles; the character mutated into a humanoid mutant black rhinoceros. Usually always on assignments with Bebop.
def’n: Rhino – informal. A rhinoceros.
def’n: Rhinoceros – A heavily, large built mammal with one or two horns on the nose and thick folded skin.
 
GPK STATS:

~ The character is a spitting image of the Garbage Pail Kids character for OS5 cards 206a Deaf GEOFF and 206b Audio AUGIE painted by artist Tom Bunk.

~ For the MCK edition, the character is seen holding a similar 'boombox' (informal) in the same content and smiling manner. The term 'ghetto blaster' (city slums + strong blasts of sound) is taken literally; blowing the eardrum and blasting a hole through the head. Music note symbols, a brain and a loose screw (informal. behaving slightly crazy) can be indentified in both images.







 

10a  ANDY DROID

~ Nomenclature = Android.
~ Turtle tip: Krang (aka Kraang) – A one-time alien species warlord stripped of his body that uses a robotic, Foot Soldier-like human-shaped exo-skeleton suit that was built by The Shredder.
def'n: Android – A robot (in science fiction) with a human appearance. A cyborg, droid, automaton, et cetera.
 
10b  HUGH TROM

~ Nomenclature = Utrom.
~ Turtle tip: Utrom (pronounced OO-trom) – Depending on the source, a separate brain-looking alien species than Krang, but with a similar physical appearance after Krang was stripped of his previous body .
def'n: Trom – Old Irish for 'heavy', et cetera; no real definition.
 
GPK STATS:

~ None.

~ For the MCK image, the supervillian Krang can be seen getting stepped on by his own android that acts as an exo-suit. The grimace and extra hard 'stomp' makes this appear to be a premeditated move. A brain-like entity in appearance with a large mouth tends to be long winded; the excessive wind getting knocked out of the windbag (informal/ & derogatory – a person who talks at great length but says little of value) drives this message home or straight into the ground.







  11a  CREAMED CASEY

~ Nomenclature – C; the specific name Casey to go with the word 'cream+ed'.
~ Turtle tip: Casey Jones (aka Arnold Bernid "Casey" Jones) – A vigilante character, originally created as a parody of vigilante characters in comics who sports an ice hockey mask, cut-off biking gloves and carries a golf bag over his shoulder that holds his accoutrement of weapons.
def'n: Cream – informal. To defeat someone heavily, especially in a sports contest.
 
11b  SLAP SCOTT

~ Nomenclature = Slapshot.
~ Turtle tip: Casey Jones – The character's weaspons include various sports equipment such as baseball and cricket bats, golf clubs, tennis rackets, et cetera. He becomes a love interest of April O'Neil.
def'n: Slapshot – hockey. A hard shot made by raising the hockey stick about waist-high before striking the puck with a sharp slapping motion.
def'n: Slap – To be hit suddenly and sharply with great force by a flat object (producing a slapping noise).
def'n: Shot – To hit, strike or kick a ball (or item) in sports.
 
GPK STATS:

~ The character is playful rendition of the Garbage Pail Kids character for OS8 cards 299A BUCK Puck and 299B LOWELL Goal painted by artist Tom Bunk.

~ For the CMK image, as with the GPK character, the character also receives a mouth cavity hole-in-one and showcasing a red star. The character can be seen, un-surefooted, sporting some green and white CPK shoes. The character's token hockey mask is seen flying off in order to allow puck penetration and to show off his long, lush, dark locks.







  12a  AMPLE APRIL

~ Nomenclature – A; the specific name April to go with the word 'ample'.
~ Turtle tip: April O'Neil – A strong comrad of the Turtles, orginally was a computer programmer and assistant to the (psychotic) scientist Baxter Stockman who later left her job to open an antique shop.
def'n: Ample – Having more than enough of; plentiful. Large and accommodating.
 
12b  WELMA ENDOWED

~ Nomenclature = Well endowed.
~ Turtle tip: April O'Neil – Has been portrayed as a computer programmer, a news reporter, a warrior and other peronsas in various TMNT media. And, often seen with different a hair color.
def’n: Well endowed – informal. A man or woman having large genitals. Having plentiful supplies.
 
GPK STATS:

~ Although, the painting does not specifically pay homage to any Garbage Pail Kids image it is very reminiscent of the OS13 character for cards 511a Puffy BUFFY and 511b Busty DUSTY painted by artist John Pound.

~ For the CMK image, unlike the GPK image, the character is (pleasantly) surprised by her plentiful glands taking place well past puberty. Although this is not radioactive-related, it is due to growth hormones fed to dairy cows and found in meats, milks, etc. A lot of Japanese anime taking place in a high school setting often pays tribute to females drinking milk to help enhance their hormonal changes. The GPK character and her mammaries can be seen sitting next to a baby bottle containing the magic of spiked milk.

 
DEFINITIONS TAKEN IN PART FROM THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY + WIKI











1. The Original Concept for 'Mutagen Canister Kids' was initially seen as a tight sketch and mentioned on the Magic Marker Art Facebook page and other social media in December of 2016 as a voting poll between two set ideas that Pingitore had been toying with; collectors opted to see G.I.JOKES realized first over Mutagen Canister Kids -- the two being a parody of the G.I.JOE team and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles (TMNT) characters, respectively. As with Mark's previous parody release, the Disasters of the Universe, the sets are based off of nostalgic 80's toylines that fed into the cartoon realm and other mediums back in the day and are still relevant and successful franchises today. The MCK logo was vastly different for the preliminary sketch and the character's name was changed to 'Mashed MIKEY' for the final version.



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2. Starting in mid-March, the Magic Marker Art social media pages started to tease collectors of the impending parody release with a few Color Rough sneak peeks. On March 2nd, the first Mutagen Canister Kids color rough was previewed on the Magic Marker Art Instagram page portraying a parody of the TMNT 'Shredder' character. On March 8th, all twelve MCK color roughs were displayed with the previously seen 'Shredder' character showcased on top of the spread-out stack seen weightlifting. Later in March, on the 14th and 28th, the TMNT parody images for 'Splinter' and 'Raphael' were shared as sneak peaks to the public, respectively, with the rat character seen stuck in a trap and the turtle character in full-out attack mode.



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3. On April 11th, the Magic Marker Art social media pages posted the first glimpse of the MCK Logo, quite different than the original tight sketch seen above in Bits & BOBs #1 along with the first Mock-Up for card 5a 'Splint TERRY' (Splinter) that showed off the new logo on card and the radioactive isotope canister die-cut that would be seen in the upcoming promotional material later in the month. Although the character's cane is hidden by the nameplate, the nondescriptive fly buzzing above is a parody of Dr. Stockman, one of Splinter's arch-enemies in the TMNT canon and has been raised above the logo; the fly character lies/flies much lower in the final artwork.



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4. The online Promotional Material in the form of electronic sheets acted as ads for the Mutagen Canister Kids Series 1 on social media in early and late April of 2017. The initial ad ran on Mark Pingitore's pages on April 17th & 24th and had the 'APRIL 29th, 2017' tagline and portrayed two of the previously sneak-peeked rough-color characters plus a new image. The second preview ad was posted on the actual release date and the tagline now read 'NOW AVAILABLE' (www.magicmarkerart.storenvy.com). The ad background displayed sketches of the four previously released MCK character images.



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5. The Magic Marker Art social media pages showed images of packaged Mutagen Canister Kids packs with and without the circular sticker and was eventually used as the picture link for the sale of the set at $45 on the website. The circular sticker seen in the bottom left hand corner seals the protective wrap on the backside of the "pack". A decent price tag for the set when considering an independent release, vinyl material, die-cuts and profit.



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6. Mark's appreciation for parody and Garbage Pail Kids can be seen on his Magic Marker Art's website in the form of his personal Mascot, a self-caricature modeled after OS2 cards 74a MARK Bark and 74b Kennel KENNY painted by John Pound. This would be the first 'Mark' name in the GPK canon; Pingitore's character is biting down on a No.2 pencil instead of a dog bone.



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7. The Logo closely resembles the official TMNT logo, with the 'Teenage Mutant Ninja'/'Mutagen Canister' seen within the red trapezoid and white lettering and the 'Turtles'/'Kids' written in turtle-esque texture; seen above in Bits & BOBs #3.









** DISASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE + HORRORIBLE KIDS + G.I.JOKES + MUTAGEN CANISTER KIDS**
** VARIATIONS ON PRINTABLE CHECKLIST **


CARD NO.
CHARACTER NAME
SERIES NO.
ARTIST
1a
MASHED MIKEY
1
MARK PINGITORE
1b
CAL A. BUNGA
1
MARK PINGITORE
2a
SHRED ED
1
MARK PINGITORE
2b
SUPER SAKI
1
MARK PINGITORE
3a
B. SLOP
1
MARK PINGITORE
3b
WARD HOG
1
MARK PINGITORE
4a
LOST LEO
1
MARK PINGITORE
4b
DIRECTION LES
1
MARK PINGITORE
5a
SPLINT TERRY
1
MARK PINGITORE
5b
YANKED YOSHI
1
MARK PINGITORE
6a
DOOMED DONNIE
1
MARK PINGITORE
6b
SHEL SHOCKED
1
MARK PINGITORE
7a
RAGIN' RAPH
1
MARK PINGITORE
7b
HOT HEAD TED
1
MARK PINGITORE
8a
FOOT CLAN STAN
1
MARK PINGITORE
8b
MIN YANN
1
MARK PINGITORE
9a
BROCK STEADY
1
MARK PINGITORE
9b
RYE NO
1
MARK PINGITORE
10a
ANDY DROID
1
MARK PINGITORE
10b
HUGH TROM
1
MARK PINGITORE
11a
CREAMED CASEY
1
MARK PINGITORE
11b
SLAP SCOTT
1
MARK PINGITORE
12a
AMPLE APRIL
1
MARK PINGITORE
12b
WELMA ENDOWED
1
MARK PINGITORE
CARD NO.
CHARACTER NAME
SERIES NO.
ARTIST





THANK-YOU TO PING' FOR FINAL ARTWORK IMAGES AND LOGOS