True Life Media is excited to announce the release of a new short film entitled, Final First Edition. The film tells the story of a Colorado man, Rich Horn, who has discovered the original negatives for the very first printing of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic which was printed in Biddeford, Maine in 1984. He sets out to make an exact reproduction of the comic down to the last detail.
Rich’s project is, at its heart, an attempt to recreate a sensory experience: offering comic book lovers the chance to own a replica that looks, feels, and smells (yes, smells) indistinguishable from an original work of art. Is it forgery, or the ultimate expression of fandom?
Since Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird first conceived of the Turtles in Dover, NH the TMNT name and material have become very popular and extremely valuable. Eastman himself shows up in the film to give some background on how TMNT first came to be and how fun it is to see the reprint made with such extreme details.
Director Wes Sterrs and Cinematographer Jeff Griecci worked diligently to craft a unique style for the film. Both have worked across many genres of film, with Sterrs having released his short, “Elephant” in 2024 and Griecci having released “Nice People” in 2023. Producer and Editor Christoph Gelfand (2015’s New York Times Op-Doc, “Diving for Scallops”) brought a fast-paced edit style and unique sound design to the film.
Final First Edition embraces a hybrid of docu-fiction, drawing inspiration from the gritty tension of 70s action-thrillers like All the President’s Men and Sorcerer, paired with wall-to-wall Robert Altman-style mega-zooms. The result is a film as obsessive and layered as the man—and the cargo—that inspired it.
True Life Media looks forward to sharing Final First Edition and the meticulous process Rich Horn went through to make this TMNT #1 reprint come to life.