Ask a Question: IDW's TMNT Editor Thread

[Bobby Curnow]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

How did the idea come to use Fast Forward characters like Jammerhead and Darius Dunn recently? Given these characters are relatively obscure, did you guys binge watch the Fast Forward season on DVD recently and say, "Hey, we can do something with these guys."

Do you guys get DVD files from Viacom of all the episodes or so to watch through them? Seeing relatively obscure TMNT characters show up is rather cool.

Fast Forward characters are all Tom's idea, so that's a question for hm. We didn't get any DVD files from Viacom. I've tried to watch as much 2K3 as I can through various sources at the start of our run, but after season 3 I have big holes in my personal viewing. I think Tom has seen it all though, so he's much more familiar with those characters.

[Bobby Curnow]

Originally Posted by Powder

Anyway, this question would probably be better directed at Tom (or any other prominent writer for IDW's turtle books, for that matter), but since you are directly involved & readily available, hopefully you don't mind handling it. How much influence does he & his scripts have over the layouts of each issue? Do his works, like film scripts often do, depict the scene's appearance? Like say, "Wide shot of the 4 turtles startled expressions" or "Cut to a Manhattan sunset", "Raphael punches a foot soldier while Leonardo kicks an elite guard", that kind of thing. I've always been curious about that!

I'd say it's what would now be considered standard comic book script-- breaking the page into whatever number of panels, and then describing what is happening in those panels. The amount of description Tom gives depends on what's going on. If it's straight forward and flexible, it could just be: "Mike is talking" but sometimes he'll suggest "camera angels", expressions, more room for a certain panel on the page, etc. But we always allow the artists to be flexible with the panel instruction. They know better than we do what will look good.

[MikeandRaph87]

To play off of Powder's question, how much input into the plot/story if any do the artist themselves have in the story they help create? I know there have been several examples of artist stepping up to help the writer with setting up the story.

[Bobby Curnow]

Originally Posted by AquaParade

Bobby, this thread is wonderful to have. Thanks!

I love hearing about Kevin's contribution to the book. Are there any specific story beats you can remember him coming up with?

I really dug the combination of Eastman layouts with Duncan finishes from the first arc and wouldn't mind seeing something like that collaboration again.

It's easier to remember what Kevin has contributed when i've got a prompt in front of me, like when someone mentioned Nobody above (Kevin had the idea for Angel to be Nobody). The things that are recent, and I can remember most clearly, are things coming up and can't talk very much about (for instance, there's a framing device in TMNT #55 that was Kevin's idea). Usually his ideas are related more to how characters might interact with others-- character beats, I suppose is the easiest way to describe it. He's also helped with suggestions in regard to how action scenes could potentially play out, which is always cool because Kevin can bring an artist's sensibility to the conversation, something that Tom and I can't.

[Bobby Curnow]

Originally Posted by Ninjinister

A few things that sprang to mind tonight:

1) Any chance of a wardrobe change for the Turtles, maybe a permanent one?

2) Among the same lines of "permanent change"... were any of the major shakeups in the dynamic (Dark Leo, Metal Don, Mutanimal Mike) at any point given consideration to be permanent? Would that be a thing that could ever possibly happen, or do you feel like those above you would shoot it down?

3) Can we expect any sort of development and expansion on Koya + Bludgeon and the Mutanimals as individuals (outside of Slash 'n' Hob since we knew them before the team) anytime soon? I'd especially be interested in Koya and Bludgeon's sibling-esque relationship, why Mondo and Herman adopted the personae they have, and pretty much anything about Sally and Ray.

I actually had another one but it escapes me at the moment....

Thanks again for everything! Hope our questions aren't keeping you *too* busy!

1) I think if we had a good story reason, that'd be fun to see. Just hasn't come up in a way that makes sense. The Turtles will have little breathing apparatuses during their upcoming time on Burnow Island, so that's something!

2) I think something like that would have been shot down by Nickelodeon in the first two years of the series, but now they trust us really well so I think it could happen if we wanted. I think it was really satisfying for Don to return in his body in TMNT #50, but if I could have my cake and eat it too, I would have liked him to be Metal Don for longer, and have us explore that longer. But we always intended for him to return to his own body. I think overall it's important that the experiences of the past stay with our characters, and inform their actions, but that they retain some essential "coreness" so that the book is still accessible to new readers. As we go on though, I can see changes like that staying around longer, and indeed, perhaps be permanent.

3) I think each of the mutanimals will have some nice character beats in the next issue, but in terms of deeper exploration: there are plans, but I can't really say "soon". Depends on your definition of that, and I need to be vague about that regardless.

[Bobby Curnow]

Originally Posted by Utrommaniac

I did wonder where Zog had gone off to after he dropped Krang out of the ship.
It would be silly to ask if the Triceratons are waiting to spring from the shadows, because they most likely are. Probably getting into the place that they typically hold and looking like big hypocrites after their part in rebelling against the Utroms.

We saw a changed Zog in the Battle Nexus in Kevin's Annual. We have plans to come back to him.

[Bobby Curnow]

Originally Posted by neatoman

So from the looks of it, the cartoon tie-in book isn't doing so well even after you rebranded it. Is it in danger of of being chancelled or is it safe for a little while longer?

There's also the matter of the Archie reprints, do you regret that you opted to ignore the controversial issues instead of simlply editing them? I know depicting Mohammed is a bit of touchy since it has spurred acts of violence, so I understand why you did it.

The Animated book does do well in digital and collection, so that helps the bottom line. That being said, our traditional "danger zone" in terms of cancellation is between 4-6K, depending on the creative cost of the book. If the book continues on its current trajectory, I think we'll get to at least issue #12. We'll see. (a reminder that the numbers that are listed online are often incorrect, sometimes greatly so. That being said, on average, they probably give a somewhat accurate depiction of the book's health.)

I have nothing to do with the reprints, and sometimes the reprint department is constricted in what they themselves can do. I personally would always like to see all material reprinted, but I understand things are often out of our hands.

[Bobby Curnow]

Originally Posted by Wentos

Hey Bobby, thanks for doing this. I love how friendly with the fans the IDW crew is. My question is, what exactly does the Foot Clan do when they aren't fighting other people? And what is their ultimate goal?

One thing I always liked about the Mirage Foot Clan is that they existed as their own entity with their own agenda long before the turtles even came on the scene. Their motives as a group were simple and easy to understand.

http://s17.postimg.org/allnc750v/TMNT1p16.png

And to be honest, one of my pet peeves with other versions of the Foot is that they seem to serve no purpose other than to give the turtles a headache. I understand that the Foot's primary function is to be the turtles' antagonist, but the mark of good writing is that every character (or group of characters) has an agenda outside of being an obstacle for the protagonist.

Does the Foot serve a purpose beyond being Shredder/Splinter's private army? And what do they as a group ultimately want?

Under Shredder, the Foot was primarily a way to acquire power over the criminal underworld of NYC, and then hopefully to expand his scope beyond that. With that power presumably comes a great deal of material wealth (at the end of City Fall, we saw other crime organizations giving tribute). As to why Shredder wanted that sort of power, I personally think it came from a sense of hidden insecurity-- he didn't want anyone to threaten him or his Foot family, so he thought the best thing to do was to conquer and control. He wanted order, but specifically his own brand of order. Then, after Attack on Technodrome, he realized that Splinter and the Turtles were the greatest threats to his order, so he focused everything on them, ("Vengeance") to the detriment of the Clan, which of course Karai took notice of. We'll be exploring what the Foot Clan "is" under Splinter more in coming issues.

I would think the Foot Clan, besides controlling other crime organizations, is also involved in all sorts of bad things (extortion, theft, blackmail) that ninjas might be especially good at. I do wish we would have explored these things in more depth, and round out the Foot Clan as an organization more. We've hinted here and there, but would be fun to see more. If things go as planned we'll have the opportunity to do that in the future.

[Bobby Curnow]

Originally Posted by Redeemer

In the early issues Karia was narrating a brief history of the foot clan and how they became greedy with no honor and moved to a financial market scheme. The biggest financial market in the world is the U.S. so I assume thats why the moved to New York specifically.

Yep, the Karai micro best explains this, but Redeemer has it right.

[Bobby Curnow]

Originally Posted by phillytmnt

Hi Bobby, I have a couple of questions.

1. When will the pantheon story really kick into gear? It has been building up for a while but with all of the new story points introduced after issue 50, it seems like it will be a while before Kitsune and others have their plans play out.

2. Is there more with the whole dragon warrior stuff with the shredder than what was brought up so far or was it just a way for Kitsune to manipulate Saki? After SHOF it seemed to be forgotten about until issue 49 when Kitsune calls him it. Also in SHOF, it was brought up that Shredder became immortal after he was resurrected. Did that mean he just doesn't age ever? It was never really brought up again.

3. I was curious in issue 50 about the conversation between Yoshi and Saki when Yoshi says"It is true, you are very powerful Saki but it is a power that chose you and you not it. A power that deludes you into believing you cannot be defeated, cannot be destroyed." I was wondering if I could have your take on it. Was Yoshi talking about Saki's desire for dominance or more about his natural fighting ability and desire to be the best like when he beat up that foot member when they were young in the issue?

Thanks to you and the IDW team! I absolutely love what you guys are doing.

1. It depends on what you mean by "kick into gear". The Pantheon is sort of equivalent to the Technodrome in #1-50, something that we'll touch in on, and develop parts of as we go, but the picture won't be complete for a while yet. Anything I say beyond that is probably too much of a spoiler.

2. I think it's important to remember that the Foot history book (forget the exact name, Ashi something, I don't have my reference in front of me right now) is, like any old and important text, probably prone to embellishment and mythology-making that literal fact. I think it was just referring to the idea that Saki never really died, he was in deep sleep, and was destined to return-- ergo he will "live" forever. Obviously the book does not dictate the reality of the future. As for Shredder being referred to as the "Dragon Warrior" could just be a term of endearment from Kitsune.

3. I think that Splinter was referring to Shredder's return to waking life, and all of the power that came with his place in the Foot Clan in the present day. That was all largely beyond Saki's direct control, but he acted like it was his and he had earned it. Saki bought into his own hype, thinking that the fear he inspired and control he wielded would give him ultimate power forever. But Splinter wasn't scared of him and showed that that power was fleeting.

[Bobby Curnow]

Originally Posted by MikeandRaph87

To play off of Powder's question, how much input into the plot/story if any do the artist themselves have in the story they help create? I know there have been several examples of artist stepping up to help the writer with setting up the story.

In the ongoing, not much, as we usually have things well plotted out a good deal in advance before an artist even comes aboard for a given story arc. Some artists will suggest things that would be cool, either as action or design. (Sophie comes to mind in this regard-- Sophie is a good writer as well, and always has lots of fun ideas. Pepperoni is Sophie's idea, for instance)

And of course, Mateus plotted Secret History very thoroughly.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Bobby Curnow

Fast Forward characters are all Tom's idea, so that's a question for hm. We didn't get any DVD files from Viacom. I've tried to watch as much 2K3 as I can through various sources at the start of our run, but after season 3 I have big holes in my personal viewing. I think Tom has seen it all though, so he's much more familiar with those characters.

I see, that makes sense. When obscure TMNT characters pop up there's obviously no way anyone would be familiar with those characters unless they watched the episodes they were in, so I was curious. Same with Alex Winter and Dark Water.

I guess Tom must be binge watching TMNT DVDs then.

[turtlefan27]

Tom-I was just wondering why Donny hasn't developed a phone for them to use like they had in the original show.a phone would be useful in certain situations..also will the guys ever use different weapons like how mikey is doing currently.

[Zog The Magnificent]

This is more of a production question, but seeing as you own the comic rights now, are there any plans to reprint the image series in black and white? It's just hard to find and it would be nice if TPBs of it existed. Second, are there any plans for a Bludgeon/Koya Miniseries? I would love to see a little more of them. Thanks for whatever you can tell me!

[Bobby Curnow]

Originally Posted by Zog The Magnificent

This is more of a production question, but seeing as you own the comic rights now, are there any plans to reprint the image series in black and white? It's just hard to find and it would be nice if TPBs of it existed. Second, are there any plans for a Bludgeon/Koya Miniseries? I would love to see a little more of them. Thanks for whatever you can tell me!

It looks like we aren't planning to print the Image series, but i'm hoping to dig into the reason for that a little more soon.

No mini-series with B & K planned, but we'll explore them more eventually!

[Red Robin]

I am really sorry to hear that the Image series doesn't get a reprint.
Can you tell something about Volume 4? Are there plans on reprinting them? Because many people, who are new to the Mirage series, have problems to get their hands on the issues 23-32.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Bobby Curnow

It looks like we aren't planning to print the Image series, but i'm hoping to dig into the reason for that a little more soon.

No mini-series with B & K planned, but we'll explore them more eventually!

I'm honestly crushed by that news, Bobby. Is it a sure thing of "NEVER" or just "Not right now"?

Also, what about Volume 4?

[Shedder]

No Vol 3 is crushing news. Was really looking forward to collecting and reading that

[Duke Nukem]

Personally, I'd rather they focus on delivering more original content than reprints, whether it's continuing and expanding the ongoing, or adding to past volumes (like finishing Forever War).

[Powder]

It's two separate departments altogether, reprints have no bearing on the pace the main series takes.