Where Did the Chet Running Gag Come From?

[Venom]

Hey guys,

What's up with the various mentionings of "Chet" in almost every issue of TMNT? I know he's suppose to be the kid who owned the Turtles before their mutation ("Fifteen Years Later" is an effing sweet short!) but there's all sorts of "Chet" things mentioned like Chet's Medical Supply, grafitti sprayings of "Where's Chet?" in a Dooney issue, the burglars asking for Chet in that Halloween story, just to name but a slight few.

Cool, but odd.

Is Chet Manley just the guy who first had the Turtles, or is there something more to the "Chet-spiracy" like a person E&L: knew, etc.? Hehe

[The Shelf]

As far as I know he was just the kid who carried the turtles in a jar in the first issue. I remember Laird specifically saying that he and Eastman just thought the name was cool at the time and that neither of them knew anyone named Chet. I don't think it has any significance. I didn't realize they put so many easter eggs in the comics like that, though. I've seen a few occasionally, but now I'll have to go back and look a little closer for all the rest.

[General Traag]

Was there any information in the many tmnt-universes why he dropped the jar?
Would be cool if some later known character (i dunno, baxter stockman lol?) accidently ran into him. ^^

[gobo]

In the Off-Topic (pun) premiere episode, "TURTLE TRACKS", he just tripped. In the Fast Forward ep, "Timing is Everything", either Don or Splinter created the paradox that the TCRI truck carrying the mutagen swerved to avoid hitting them, and it caused Chet to drop his bowl.

Shame on him for keeping his terrapins in a fishbowl full of water anyway! Is he trying to drown the poor things? Only sea turtles are natural born swimmers, right? And Turtles cannot breathe underwater. They just hold their breath a long time like whales and dolphins.

[Buslady]

In the Off-Topic (pun) premiere episode, "TURTLE TRACKS", he just tripped. In the Fast Forward ep, "Timing is Everything", either Don or Splinter created the paradox that the TCRI truck carrying the mutagen swerved to avoid hitting them, and it caused Chet to drop his bowl.

Shame on him for keeping his terrapins in a fishbowl full of water anyway! Is he trying to drown the poor things? Only sea turtles are natural born swimmers, right? And Turtles cannot breathe underwater. They just hold their breath a long time like whales and dolphins.

More like how dare he keep 4 hatchlings in a deathbowl. It's not hte water level, it's the housing that was BAD.
Sea turtles, maps, sliders, cooters, terrapins, um...ALL turtles are natural born swimmers...except boxies cos they're not built for it.

[gobo]

What I meant. ^_^ Turtles can't sleep underwater, right?