Matthew Daneman

Staff writer;

Since their debut in a self-published comic book 30 years ago, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have repeatedly stopped the evil machinations of arch-villains Shredder and Baxter Stockman, starred in movies and on television, and eaten many pizzas.

But they've never been to Rochester. Until now.

A Gates comic book shop has commissioned a limited press run of 1,000 issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles issue 34 featuring a cover drawn by a local artist with turtles Donatello, Michaelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael posed against the downtown Rochester skyline.

The issues go on sale Wednesday at 1st Print Comics, 1548 Buffalo Road, and cover artist Salvador Otero of Gates will autograph them at a release party Saturday at the store.

Comic publishers commonly turn out books with multiple "variant" versions of the cover. And some publishers will offer special, promotional variant covers to retailers — as long as they agree to buy a certain number of copies. In 2011 for the launch of its Godzilla series, IDW — also the publisher of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — let any retailer that ordered 500 copies have their shops destroyed on the cover. Seventy five comic shops around the country took up the offer.

Mike Ringelberg, co-owner of 1st Print, said the shop "had been look at trying to do a custom cover for awhile."

Because of the Turtles' sales popularity at the store, the 30th anniversary of their debut, and the Michael Bay-directed Turtles movie set to come out later this summer, the store approached IDW, Ringelberg said.

"Rochester has a great history in comics — a lot of people don't realize," Ringelberg said, pointing to Rochester native and Captain America co-creator Joe Simon and Victor native/prolific comics writer Karl Kesel. "When we decided to do something like this, we wanted to make sure it represented not just our shop but Rochester."

MDANEMAN@DemocratandChronicle .com

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If you go

1st Print Comics' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles issue 34 with its Rochester-customized cover goes on sale Wednesday at the shop, 1548 Buffalo Road, Gates. Price is $6. Store hours Wednesday are noon to 7 p.m. A launch party for the issue, with artist Salvador Otero signing covers and selling 11-by-17-inch prints of the cover, runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.