Image revisited..

[Vegita-San]

So, I decided to pay a visit back to the most infamous of turtle volumes, volume 3.

My initial complaints where as follows
- the art was horrible. you couldn't tell what you where looking at half the time because the panels felt unfinished. at least in black and white.

- the over sexualization of women. I didn't care for splinter taking a nude bath with two bimbo's. Or Pimiko's barely there costume. I guess as a kid I was more 'left leaning' then I realized.

- I didn't care for the 'extreme' nature of the comic. Raph going into strip joints and starting fights..for example.

- Too many extreme changes. Two turtles getting mauled I can live with. all of them? no.



20 years later?

The Comic looks TEN TIMES BETTER in Color. and the art is much more interesting. you can make out details better and it doesn't blur together as much. makes it a much nicer read.

40 year old me doesn't mind the over sexualization as much. the women still kick ass while looking like women...something sorely lacking these days with most designs (looking at you IDW Sally).

The Changes also don't bother me as much. I was really annoyed by the Donatello changes the most. although now it kind of makes perfect sense to turn donny of all turtles into a walking machine. as it does to make Raphael, the one 'constant ninja' of them all, into the new Shredder. (much more so than Leonardo). I STILL don't like Leo loosing a hand though...that was one change too much.


Personally, I think that Image has aged rather well...and was a rather interesting way to expand the turtles into adult hood. Things I didn't care too much for at the beginning make for cool story elements now considering where they COULD take turtles...(looking at you rise).

I REALLY miss smart Mikey, and his exploration into writing. that is something that needs to come back.

All in all it's been interesting reliving it.

[CyberCubed]

We already have a thread discussing IDW’s color reprints of Image.

[oldmanwinters]

Haha, you make some good points!

Most of my major criticisms probably stem from the early issues of the series. For the most part, the Turtles seem way too quick to move from a tragedy to a joke or banter, in the case of Raphael getting his face blown off, Donatello being assumed dead and eaten away to the bone, Splinter being captured and then mutated into a killing machine.

But other than those things (which seem counter-intuitive to the family dynamic), yeah, the Image series is brilliantly 1990s X-treme which is oddly refreshing in hyper-PC 2020.

[AquaParade]

The series indeed looks way better in color. Much easier to follow. Sort of reminscient to how Joker's lettering was finally made legible in the recent release of Batman Arkham Asylum, it makes for a less frustrating and more enjoyable read.

A lot of lame jokes and forced sexuality, if you ask me, unfortunately. Yet, the book moves at a great pace and follows through on interesting concepts. There is a sense of consequence. Anxious to read those final issues.

[Andrew NDB]

I think my opinion on whether or not the Image series should be in color is well documented by 17-18 year-old me in the back of the originals. It looks great. It's a treat seeing the new covers, too, especially Eastman doing variants. It's exactly what I tried to get the band together for and push for at Boom! and Dark Horse before hitting dead ends and just, well, doing it myself.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

We already have a thread discussing IDW’s color reprints of Image.

If stuff like "Rise" can get a bunch of threads, I don't see why the Image reprise can't get one more.

[Powder]

"the art was horrible"

Immediately disregarded.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Originally Posted by Powder

"the art was horrible"

Immediately disregarded.

To be fair, that was his opinion from 20 years ago, and it has changed now.

[Galactus]

Originally Posted by Powder

"the art was horrible"

Immediately disregarded.

Fosco's art in the early issues of the book would have looked great if it had been in colour. Without it or any kind of toning it was hard to tell what was going on at times especially during battle scenes.

His art became much simpler quickly as he tried to keep up with the book's schedule (ha) and adjusted to stark black and white art. It was easier to follow but less nice to look at. Still it was all pretty decent throughout the run.

[CyberCubed]

Do modern comics still have women in outfits like Pimiko? Where basically their whole ass is hanging out and they wear boob armor? Or is that a thing of the past? Ninja women going out to kill looking like strippers has always been ridiculous to be honest.

[Vegita-San]

so, when is the continuation going to happen? or is it still happenign?

pretty clear it's Karai in the armor (although why we needed another shredder daughter, who knows....)and we still have the mob boss plot line, and the roaming armor to deal with.

as well as the non starter villain dragon lord.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Vegita-San

pretty clear it's Karai in the armor

You think so?

(although why we needed another shredder daughter, who knows....)

Another? Karai isn't a Shredder daughter. Like, at all. No relation.

[Vegita-San]

it's been so long since I've read the original comics.

wasn't she that in the mirage series?

or was that only a 4kids invention?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Vegita-San

wasn't she that in the mirage series?

Nope. And probably about his same age or older, since she had a grown daughter, too. She was his boss.

or was that only a 4kids invention?

Yeah. And pretty much everything since, unfortunately. As if she has no worth or reduced worth if she isn't attached at the hip to Shredder.

[Leo656]

I swear I remember reading someone who was working on the book back in the day saying that Lady Shredder definitely was not gonna be Karai as it would be too obvious, but of course that did little to mitigate anyone who naturally retorted, "Well, who else COULD it be, and still have any impact or make sense?"

I always just assumed that it had to be Karai, no matter what they said. Especially if the series wasn't/isn't going to continue much past the reveal, then or now; having it be some rando doesn't make sense if it's never going to be followed up on, anyway. So if it wasn't supposed to be Karai originally, I feel like at this point it might just be the only way to wrap it up.

((Shrug)) I'unno. I never really got into this book much. That's just how it looked/looks to me.
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I agree that since Karai wasn't created to be Shredder's daughter, it's a little annoying that every version in recent times has made that the standard canon for lack of any better ideas. For me, it's like Utrom Shredder; worked fine for that one storyline and universe, but that doesn't mean it needs to be the new standard, especially when it's so far the opposite of what the characters were created to represent in the first place. I'unno.