goodbye, my brothers...

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Fan Art
Title: goodbye, my brothers...
Artist: DeadPea
Date(s): 2012 - 2013
First Published: April 25, 2012
Medium: Digital
Genre/Style: Tragedy
Fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
External Links: Donatello
Raphael
Michelangelo
Leonardo
Donatello grescale
Raphael greyscale
Michelangelo greyscale
Leonardo greyscale
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goodbye, my brothers... is a series of art pieces by the artist DeadPea. The pieces feature the characters of Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Each piece imagines a scenario where they are the only remaining brother left alive, and showcases their grief. These pieces received a great deal of attention from fans and the media, and three of the pieces, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo, were daily deviations on Deviantart in 2012 and 2013. In 2020 the Michelangelo piece garnered further attention after the release of The Last Ronin comic series.

  • "illustration of an injured Raphael curled into himself with his head buried into his arms"

    artist's caption: Sometimes the hardest ones are the ones who feel the most. On their last battle, Raphael cannot save his brothers. He will seek revenge and take on everyone.

  • "illustration of a injured Donatello kneeling, head bowed, in front of his upright staff that has his brothers masks tied to it"

    artist's caption: Donatello can't save his brothers and is the last turtle left standing.

  • "illustration of an injured Michelangelo kneeling with his fists smashed into the ground"

    artist's caption: With his brothers lost in battle, Michelangelo is left to fight alone.

  • "illustration of Leonardo collapsed on the ground holding his broken sword, his brother's masks wrapped around his arms"

    artist's caption: Leonardo holds on to the memory of his brothers.

Spread Across the Web

On August 2, 2013 Deviantart featured the Michelangelo piece as the Daily Deviation. On August 27, 2013 io9.com (now known as gizmodo) wrote an article titled Is this the most gut-wrenching Ninja Turtles fan art ever made?, after that other new media outlets followed suit and posted pieces featuring the artwork. Also, in August 2013 there was a couple of Reddit threads and Tumblr posts compiling all the pieces, the most popular of which gained over 1400 notes[1], whether these posts were influenced by the media coverage or were shared independently is unclear. After August 2013 the pieces continued to be shared across the internet.

Reactions and Reviews

Media Reviews

Artist Joao Pires has created a series of wrenching portraits of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles facing their final battle. In each illustration, one of the bruised and battered turtles mourns his fallen brothers.

The series is called, appropriately, goodbye, my brothers... and, oh god, Leonardo just looks so sad. I just want to give him a hug and clean off some of that blood.

Is this the most gut-wrenching Ninja Turtles fan art ever made? by Lauren Davis, gizmodo.com

The tears, bandannas wrapped around the arms, the broken sword smeared in blood...this is truly a sad Ninja Turtles art piece. Deadpea on DeviantArt did this illustration along with 3 others depicting the reactions of the Turtles would have if all their brothers were to die with them being the sole survivor. Very sad, but at the same time, wonderful art work.

Leonardo's Goodbye To Fallen Brothers by Mick Joest, geektyrant.com

It's really tugging on my heartstrings, maybe it's because I grew up with this foursome of brothers and seeing this just tears me up a bit... or maybe it's because I am a brother as well. But either way, it's pretty bloody sad so see them so beaten!

Joao Dia Pires from Portugal (check him out on DA username: DeadPea) paints a haunting "what if." What if during a final battle, one of the brothers has to watch the other three die while he is unable to do anything about it.

Goodbye My Brothers: Depressing TMNT Fan Art... by Justin Prince, liftedgeek.com

Touching. It’s the only word I can describe the art above. In a very telling image, Leonardo holds his sword in despair as he mourns the loss of his three brothers in the aftermath of battle. Artist Joao Pires brings us his Goodbye, My Brothers series of artwork with the visual grief of each turtle in their emotional breakdown when losing the other 3 brothers. To me, Leonardo’s image is the most heartbreaking, as he lays on the ground with his brothers sashes, he holds his mighty sword, bloody and broken, in a sign that it wasn’t enough to save his brothers. Injured both physically and mentally, Leonardo mourns his loss.

It’s easy imagining our heroes always being triumphant, but Joao really captures their emotions when dealing with loss. Donatello sits, defeated, while waiving the others sashes on his staff honoring his fallen brothers. Michelangelo clutches his broken nunchaku, holding back tears while he deals with the loss in agony. And lastly, Raphael, the ‘tough guy’ from the bunch, breaks down in his realization of being alone. Truly amazing artwork that paints our heroes in their worst moment.

‘Goodbye, my brothers…’ Emotional Ninja Turtle fan art by Joe Gonzalez, nerdreactor.com

The Leonardo one made me the saddest for two reasons. One, because he is the leader and I feel like he’d blame himself for the death of the other three. Two, because he has the orange, red, and purple masks from the other three tied around his arms, which means he took them off his fallen brothers before charging back into battle and avenging them and welp there we go now I’m crying.

This Is The Saddest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fan Art You Will Ever See by Brian Grubb, uproxx.com

Now if you're anything like us, your brain is currently hemorrhaging in a last ditch attempt to shut out any recognition of what it is being forced to process: that those four images are of each Ninja Turtle crippled in sadness at the loss of their fellow brothers. In case there's any confusion, artist Joao Pires titled each one "Goodbye ... My Brothers ..." so as to save you from any shred of hope left in your body.

5 Pieces of Ninja Turtle Fan Art That'll Give You Nightmares by David Christopher Bell, cracked.com

It’s rarely that something as simple as fan art can tug on your heartstrings, but that’s certainly the case with Joao Pires‘ tragic series “Goodbye, My Brothers.” There are four prints in total, each one depicting one Ninja Turtle mourning the loss of his other three brothers.

This is way too sad for me, so I’ll pretend all four of these pictures exist within the same universe, and they’re all alive and just haven’t located each other yet. Yes, this will stem the tears. I will go with that…

Goodbye, My Brothers by Paul, unrealitymag.com

Fan Reactions and Reviews

I discovered searching through the DeviantArt website, which is probably one of the heaviest and tragic pieces of TMNT artwork in going through the TMNT fanwork...

I have to admit that this artist really captured the distraught heartbreak of each individual Turtle when it dawns on each one, of being the ONLY turtle left alive. The ominous colors of the background, and the body language truly stands out here! The brotherhood family loss is beyond palpable.

And the detail...just WOW! You can tell that each one fought to the bitter end to save his brothers with all of the bloody lacerations, cracks in their plastrons, bruises, and other injuries; but sadly still they couldn't be saved...

My compliments to that artist (uses the name DeadPea) since it usually takes a lot for fan artwork to really make me revisit it over and over and over again.[2]

Feeling: like i told this Artwork instills me mixed feelings even if the lead emotion i have is sadness. I feel deeply sad to see Raphael in such despair and hopelessness state, even other Artworks of other brothers you linked give me strong feelings but this is very strong for me because i can totally relate to him. I generally love characters who use head but Raphael was always one of my favourite among mutant turtles because i can relate to his anger. Anger is my main mental flaw so i completely know how anger can destroy you by consuming you from the inside with those explosive and destructive thoughts. I know anger and vengeance mixed with despair are the main emotions he is feeling now but i can also say that revenge doesn't not bring anything. Revenge is an ugly game where everyone lose. Looking at Raphael's rage/despair/revenge is like being punched very hard right in the face. My heart burns right now watching such tragic scene you captured amazingly with these dark and dull tones mixed with still movements. From the exterior we don't see any movements, he is still but from the inside there is a ocean of rage full of vengeance and ready to explode. Among this series this is absolutely my favourite Artwork for the aforementioned reasons. You did an awesome job with other turtles but this is my favourite. I find quite ironic (a tragic irony though) his name in such situation, Raphael derives from Hebrew and means "God has healed" but this time nothing will heal his broken soul. Condolences Raphael.[3]

These are hands down my favorite turtles. They are extremely powerful. My favorite is Raph, I can feel his embarrassment and anguish, shame, hurt... It's all in his toes. These almost bring me to tears. Bravo.[4]

That hurts T^T It is really well made, the artwork, the colors, I love it ! But darn it hurts when you love those brothers a lot and you fall on these arts T^T[5]

Besides the aesthetic value (which is obviously quite incredible), I love the subtle characterization with Donatello and Raphael. As Minbar12 already pointed out, Donatello's staff displayed with the others' bands certainly evokes a very somber and timeless impression, which is so appropriate for Donatello; he would be the most quiet and contemplative of the brothers. Also, alternately, you know Ralph would absolutely wear it on his sleeve the most, and having him curled up against the wall makes so much sense to me.[6]

Leonardo's broken sword pushes this thing over the top. I want to know what happened but I totally don't.[7]

I’m a huge fan of alternate reality, dark art. Amazingly done. Can you feel the feels in the Leo and Don illustrations? CAN YOU?![8]

Deviant Artist Joao Dias Pires, aka "DeadPea", has created a stunning four photo set for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles titled "Good Bye My Brothers" that will truly bring a tear to any fan's eye. The set imagines what it would be like if the Turtles were to fall in battle and only have one single survivor. The result is gut-wrenching and beautiful at the same time as the artist really captures the surviving Turtle's emotions and expresses them perfectly.[9]

Why would anyone do this? WHY???[10]

Most heartbreaking fan art, ever.

Each part of Deviant Art user DeadPea’s “Goodbye, My Brothers…” set focuses on a different turtle as if he was the lone survivor of a final battle.

The composition of the Donnie one is my favorite. Choosing the viewing angle to make us look down though the makeshift memorial is brutal.[11]

Goodbye, My Brothers series by DeadPea
Or as I like to call it, HOW COULD YOU MAKE THIS YOU MONSTER![12]

[Comments on thecoli forum]

That pain and emotion. I'm guessin this was after some big showdown with Shredder. Some of the best TMNT fan art I've seen. I like how he kept the designs simple, too.

[Response 1]

Who ever did this needs a job in comics, hell of artist.

Yo I feel some kinda way about the Raph, one. With his toes curled up. He's supposed to be the hardest one, but he hurt the most by the loss of his brothers.

[Response 2]

Mikey's too real :wow He feels that responsability, more than the others!

[Response 3]

Leo's is the one that did it for me brehs.

The tears to wearing his brothers masks

Plus as the leader he's gotta deal with the fact that he failed on top of the loss of his family[13]

The artist represented what it would be if every of the turtles were the last standing after the final battle… Raph is my favorite turtle, but the Leo one just breaks my heart… TT_TT[14]

This tears me apart.[15]

I’m sitting here, breathing heavy with tears in my eyes like I lost a brother. Oh my god. Like I lost four of them.[16]

Inspired Fanworks

References

  1. ^ Tumblr post by West Coast Avengers
  2. ^ "Discovered "The Only Turtle Left" Tragic Artwork posted to forums.thetechnodrome.com, November 14, 2012". Archived from the original on 2022-08-26.
  3. ^ Comment by Shanglon on the Raphael piece, Archived version. Posted to DeviantArt on 20 September 2017. Archived 11 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Comment on "Goodbye, my brothers." [xpost from /r/alternativeart] posted to r/TMNT, August 2, 2013". Archived from the original on 2022-08-26.
  5. ^ "Comment on blog post TMNT: GOODBYE, MY BROTHERS... September 19, 2014". Archived from the original on 2022-08-26.
  6. ^ "Comment on Is this the most gut-wrenching Ninja Turtles fan art ever made? at gizmodo.com". Archived from the original on 2022-08-26.
  7. ^ "Comment on This Is The Saddest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fan Art You Will Ever See at uproxx.com". Archived from the original on 2022-08-26.
  8. ^ "January 17, 2016 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-08-26.
  9. ^ "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan art set showing a sole surviving Turtle is gut-wrenchingly beautiful!". Archived from the original on 2022-08-26.
  10. ^ "Comment on Goodbye, My Brothers at unrealitymag.com". Archived from the original on 2022-10-20.
  11. ^ "August 11, 2013 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-10-20.
  12. ^ "August 11, 2013 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-10-20.
  13. ^ "Comment on This TMNT fan art brehs... posted to forums at thecoli.com, Dec 1, 2013". Archived from the original on 2022-10-20.
  14. ^ "August 27, 2014 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-10-20.
  15. ^ "Feb 12, 2014 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-10-20.
  16. ^ "Feb 10, 2014 Tumblr post". Archived from the original on 2022-10-20.
✪ This article was featured on the Fanlore main page in 2022
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