Interview w/ Murph!

[VaughnMichael]

Ok in the next week or so I'm going to be conducting an exclusive interview with Steve Murphy of Tales and TMNT Adventures fame.
I've asked him if it would be ok to have the fans ask him a few questions so think of something good and please only one or 2 questions each.
Thanks!

[ToTheNines]

1. If you were in charge, what kind of stuff would you get the TMNT property into?

2. In your mind, what makes the Ninja Turtles such an embracable show/book?

[CyberCubed]

What keeps your passion for the Turtles alive after all these years?

[Ninjinister]

Any chance to a follow-up to Puma Blues (even if just a one-shot)?

[VaughnMichael]

thanks for the questions so far folks, I have to say though I'm a bit dissapointed in the people looking and not asking.
this is your chance to get some things you may want to know cleared up.

[Kunoichi_Haruko]

Sorry, Vaughn. I can never think of anything good to ask until it's far too late!

[VaughnMichael]

Sorry, Vaughn. I can never think of anything good to ask until it's far too late!
Well like I said you guys have a week to ask, ask him anything you like.

[Archon_Turtle]

thanks for the questions so far folks, I have to say though I'm a bit dissapointed in the people looking and not asking.
this is your chance to get some things you may want to know cleared up.

Don't forget to cover the simple getting to know you stuff. Like:

How did you come to be with Mirage?

What is your current role in the company?

What do you like on your pizza?

Cause I think there are a number of people who arent sure who steve is other than "the guy who works for mirage doing...something."

[VaughnMichael]

Don't forget to cover the simple getting to know you stuff. Like:

How did you come to be with Mirage?

What is your current role in the company?

What do you like on your pizza?

Cause I think there are a number of people who arent sure who steve is other than "the guy who works for mirage doing...something."
Oh trust me I plan to ask him what his hopes and dreams are for the future,etc.

[Jester]

1. Why the nome de plume of Dean Clarrian for your time on TMNT Adventures?

2. What is your most lasting memory from you work on TMNT Adventures?

Oh, come on, like you thought I would ask questions not geared toward my favorite TMNT incarnation...:P

[Rooish]

Well, there is a lot of stuff I'd like to say to Murph, but I guess mainly:

1) What do you see in the future for TMNT, and are you planning to be involved in it? (this includes writing more Tales issues--and I'm asking because he seems to have disappeared)

2) How do you suggest fans get involved in the future of the TMNT?


My concern is that Murphy might actually want not much more to do with the TMNT ... as he seems to think the world is coming to an end soon (from his blog). What does he do for a living, besides the TMNT, anyway? Because I get the impression from his blog that he wants to go off with his family until the apocolypse occurs.

I would ask him stuff directly on his blog, but he took the comments away ... :(

[trustno1]

hi murph! i am a huge fan of your work both on tales and as discovered recently as dean clarrain.

i would like to ask:

1. why no more blog? i hd been following your other blogs as well and the last two posts your left on the tmnt blog read as though they should have been in your ellegies blog. i like reading them all but i miss your tmnt updates. there are a lot of rumors about these days and your blog would really help get the truth out!

2. what was your favorite story in tales?

[Archon_Turtle]

OH I got a good one!

If you had to be stuck on an island with another Mirage employee....who would it be? And Why!?

[VaughnMichael]

I would ask him stuff directly on his blog, but he took the comments away ... :(
That's why we're doing this interview, he's busy guy and I felt this would get allot out in the open.

Thanks for the great questions so far everyone!

[Mutated Turtle]

murph how long do u think tmnt will stay on the air? do you think the tmnt anniversary is the end for tmnt?:P

[Rooish]

do you think the tmnt shellabration is the for tmnt?:P

Whoops, is that what you meant to say, because it makes no sense?

murph how long do u think tmnt will stay on the air?

The one we all want to know, of course. That's what I was trying to ask, but broader.

[Mutated Turtle]

Whoops, is that what you meant to say, because it makes no sense?



The one we all want to know, of course. That's what I was trying to ask, but broader.

i meant tmnt anniversary

[Leonardo19]

Are we asking questions just about the comics or can we ask him about the Neca TMNT toy line?

When is the next set coming out? We have seen pics and Mirage has approved them, what gives?

I will take any hints on future Tales stories. Can we get a Tales of the Foot series? Give the baddies some love!

[Machias Banshee]

Okay, here's my questions stemming from the whole Dean Clarrain/ Environmental meltdown thread:

1. We've seen your concern for the environment, both through storylines in the Archies under the Clarrain name and many blog entries. We have the forever war coming out soon, have you considered doing something along the same lines for a Tales of the TMNT issue?

2. Have you considered the idea of doing something like a semi-revival of the Mutanimals and their 'save the earth' campaign, considering the political atmoshere around global climate? Or would you be interested in doing original to bring about more awareness??

and for fun..

3. What's your favorite dessert, and if there was ONE really weird food you could try, what would it be?

[CyberCubed]

Here's a good one:

Ask Murphy where he sees the TMNT franchise headed in the next 5 years in terms of comics and TV.

[Sage Ninja]

1. who is your favorite turtle?

2. how exactly do you go about writing for comics?

[Buffy]

Do you stil like working for Mirage or are you planning on doing something else in the future?

[Kendamu]

Where do you see the TMNT franchise going over the next few years?

[Dragon Turtle]

Sorry for asking more then two questions, feel free to ask him any two of the following questions.


1) Will Mirage explore the possibility of licensing the ninja turtles to another comic book publisher such as IDW, Slave Labor Graphics, etc., in order to produce a comic aimed at older Archie TMNT Adventure/Old Toon fans?

2) If/When the 4Kids TMNT series ends, will Mirage be able to explore the possibility of working with other networks such as Cartoon Network, Spike, Sci-Fi Channel (or any other channel experimenting with adult animation blocks), in order to produce a more adult TMNT animated series?

3) If/When a movie deal is inked, is Mirage open to the idea of producing a direct-to-dvd sequel to the 2007 TMNT movie, with Imagi, Warner Bros, Weinsteins, Playmates, and 4Kids contributing to the production cost (which should be significantly lower then a theatrical release).

4) Any news about the next TMNT videogame?

5) Any news about TMNT (1990) SE DVD?

6)Will he return to The Fifth Turtle Blog and allow comments?


Thanks Michael!

[Cipher]

I have a few questions pertaining to writing:

1) Did the use of a pseudonym during your TMNT Adventures days have anything to do with the stigma of writing for a children's publication? Was a kids' series just something you didn't want to have stuck on your resume?

2) As a writer for both kids' and adult comics, as well as children's television, how have you seen views on various types of writing change? Has more or less respect been given to comic and television writers? Children's writers?

3) You've written several episodes for the new TMNT cartoon. How did you get to do so? Did they solicit writers and editors at Mirage? Did you have to go through the same process as any other 4Kids writer?

[VaughnMichael]

I want to thank everyone who submitted questions, I've finally found the time to pull this all together and send it off to Murph so the interview will be up very soon.
Thank you all for being so patient and understanding about the wait, trust me it will be well worth it.

[Ninjinister]

You da man, Vaughn!

[Samhain]

cant wait to see it!

[gobo]

Can't wait to read it! ^_^
...
What? I paraphrased.

[NoPressApril]

Maybe he will be able to shed some light on the missing April shirt from Hot Topic. I can't wait!

[Rooish]

So ... sorry if this was posted somewhere and I couldn't find it. Did the interview with Murph ever happen?

[VaughnMichael]

It's done, so it's funny you asked.
He sent it to me this afternoon ;)
I'll have it online by tommrow.

[VaughnMichael]

Well folks after months and months the interview and some long over due straight answers are up.
please check it out and comment.
http://vaughnmichael.blogspot.com/

[Revan]

Bravo. A great read. A little confused about his answer to the question about how the fans can help. Was that sarcasm or does he really feel that way?

[Ninjinister]

Well worth the wait and yet... there was so much he couldn't answer (for obvious reasons) :lol: Thanks, Vaughn.

[oldmanwinters]

Very revealing interview! Thanks for getting this together, Vaughn.

[Roseangelo]

Bravo. A great read. A little confused about his answer to the question about how the fans can help. Was that sarcasm or does he really feel that way?

I see no reason to believe he was being sarcastic.

[notebook]

aye, good on you vaughn. it's commendable of both of you that you arranged such an honest and frank interview.

[gobo]

"Bout damn time... Thanks, guy.

[Jester]

Man, I wish I could find the 3 issue "Stollen Murph Plot" Captain America Books.

Man...he sounds really burnt out. I feel really bad for Steve. Hope he recoops soon.

[CyberCubed]

Wow, its so sad that Murphy doesn't like the TMNT franchise anymore.

I mean the whole interview about Mirage and the TMNT was so depressing. It's like he feels he wasted his life on the TMNT franchise.

Man, very depressing to see Murphy feel that way.

[Vivi]

An intense & insightful interview.

Thanks Vaughn.

[CyberCubed]

I wonder if Murphy is going to quit Mirage for good after he finishes "The Forever War."

It seems he really dislikes the franchise and the atmosphere at Mirage, you can tell he feels like he wasted his life on this property. And wow, saying he would never want to see any other Mirage employee again, oh boy.

I'm also surprised Murphy said he never liked the Mirage universe. I never knew that.

[Lord Nightwalker]

Great interview.

I wish the best for Murph and his future endeavours, whatever or where ever they may be. He and the Mirage crew brought to life some of my all time favorite charachters over the year, and I thank him for his efforts, and his work.

[oldmanwinters]

I wonder if Murphy is going to quit Mirage for good after he finishes "The Forever War."

It seems he really dislikes the franchise and the atmosphere at Mirage, you can tell he feels like he wasted his life on this property. And wow, saying he would never want to see any other Mirage employee again, oh boy.

I'm also surprised Murphy said he never liked the Mirage universe. I never knew that.

I don't think he meant to say he never wanted to see any other Mirage employee again. He did say he would love to work with Ryan Brown at the very least. Where you referring to his answer about being stuck on a desert island with X Mirage employee? I guess he was just saying he would rather not spend the rest of his life alone and lost from civilization with any said person. Can't say I blame him.:lol:

[turkishproverb]

Anyone else notice that forever war is down to 3 issues according to this interview?

[Cipher]

I'm also surprised Murphy said he never liked the Mirage universe. I never knew that.Not to put words in his mouth, but I think he meant it was less fun from a writer's perspective. Compared to Archie, where anything goes and it'd be easy to do a fun, quick adventure, Mirage has a much more restrictive set of rules. And even when it's not being "dark and gritty" there's kind of a depressing tone throughout the entire series. Life at best is bittersweet and all that.

Then again, maybe he simply isn't a fan of it at all. I find that hard to believe, especially since he's a writer and there's been some really poignant and artistic work within the Mirage series, but who knows?

Overall, he offered some fairly sobering responses, but it was nice to see such honesty. The bit about company policy sapping his interest in the characters was, I think, totally fair. You can't fault him for that. The American comics industry is absurd, whether you're working for a major company or whatever the hell merchandise/indie-press/Peter Laird's pocket Mirage has become.

I hope he can feel proud with his own projects. And props for reading Jarrod Diamond.

[CyberCubed]

I also don't understand why Murphy is so bitter that Laird won't let him revive the Mutanimals.

Do they really think a new series like that with talking animals would sell in today's comic market? The characters (except for Leatherhead) are largely unknown to the general public, and even then the Archie series is now over 15 years old, so most people who DO know the characters have moved on over the years aside from the hardcore fans.

I'm betting the "Mutanimals rejects" comic that Ryan Brown is doing is going to fail, especially given they're random mutants.

All I can see here is Murphy is getting upset at management and burnt out on the franchise in general, but he doesn't need to take pot-shots at the Mirage universe (which is pretty damn huge, and written by many different writers and artists), and insulting his fellow co-workers.

To my knowledge Jim Lawson and Dan Berger never went on "epic crusades" like this, so why is Murphy always the one causing the ruckus? Even before you could tell by his blog posts and the comments section that he was sick of the franchise.

[VaughnMichael]

Comic books with brand new characters come out about every month cybercubed, so a group of new mutant animals wouldn't be anything differnt.

Anyway thanks everyone for your help with this it was allot of fun :)
Murph e-mailed me today saying he'd be more than happy to answer any new or follow up questions anyone might have for a part 2 or sort of a 1/2 interview.
and I promiss this one wont take months lol:lol:

[CyberCubed]

Ask Murphy how long he plans to stay with Mirage.

[BoggleKng]

After talking to Steve, I feel the man has other plans aside from Mirage.

[Cipher]

To my knowledge Jim Lawson and Dan Berger never went on "epic crusades" like this, so why is Murphy always the one causing the ruckus? Even before you could tell by his blog posts and the comments section that he was sick of the franchise.He was asked. He's burnt out by his working conditions and has lost interest in the characters. There's nothing wrong with expressing that. It seems to me like Lawson and Berger still have a lot of love for the characters and art, but even they've hinted at an unsatisfactory creative environment.

Honestly, his responses were pretty fair.

[Jester]

Man Cyber, do you have a stick up your bum when it comes to Murph?

[Cipher]

Man Cyber, do you have a stick up your bum when it comes to Murph?"But he killed the Mutanimals, man! He...he just killed 'em all!"

[sdp]

Well I don't really know what Murph does in Mirage, all I mostly know about him is his blog and whats posted here.

With that said he comes off as a prick in that interview. I think its a combination of him not liking working at Mirage and him being bitter about whats going on with the world. I mean I'm also big on ecology but he is definitely extreme about it, though I don't think thats necessarily a bad thing.


It is sad that he doesn't seem to care about the turtles, mostly because he seemed like he did in his blog but meh, if he isn't happy he should leave. The turtles will be fine without him.

[Ralphmacchio]

1. Are you interested in writing for live action film or television?
2. Were you ever involved in the marketing aspect of TMNT? And in what capacity?

[Dragon Turtle]

A very interesting and frank interview, but sadly nothing surprising(at least concerning Murphy's feelings toward Mirage).




What would you say you enjoy more writing the lighthearted works more associated with the Adventures title or the more gruesome elements associated with Mirage?

"Adventures by far. I never much liked the Mirage universe, which is why I only wrote two issues back in the day. Mind you, I have no problem with darkness and being gruesome as, I think, is evidenced by some of the Tales vol. 2 work, but I think the “Archie universe” is a much richer and broader canvas upon which to paint."

This was somewhat surprising, not that Murphy prefers the Archie universe to the Mirage, but that he considers Archie universe a much more "richer and broader canvas". I personally enjoyed the Archie universe more so then the Mirage universe, but I don't see why the Mirage universe couldn't be developed into a more interesting and deeper universe (just like people such as Tristan and Dan are trying to do).

Vaughn, if possible, could you ask Murphy to elaborate on what advantages he sees the Archie universe having over the Mirage universe from a creative standpoint?



What keeps your passion for the Turtles alive after all these years?

"I no longer have any passion for the TMNT, which is why, aside from finishing off The Forever War, I'm no longer writing them. My passion for the characters fell victim to my learning about the realities of the company’s business model."

How would you suggest fans get involved in helping the future of TMNT?

"Why should fans care about helping the future of the TMNT? What can fans possibly do except spend their hard earned dollars on more stuff they don't necessarily need? Fans, like everyone else, should do themselves a favor and save their money for the very uncertain future. This is something I constantly have to remind myself with regards to my own fannish urges."

Yikes!, not something you want to hear from your Creative/Approvals Director of Mirage Licensing (whatever exactly that is). What EXACTLY does he do at Mirage, that's another question I would like Vaughn to ask, does he really have a lot power when it actually comes to making licensing decisions?


It is sad that he doesn't seem to care about the turtles, mostly because he seemed like he did in his blog but meh, if he isn't happy he should leave. The turtles will be fine without him.

Murphy doesn't seem to be the only one unhappy at Mirage, just the most vocal.

[DK2]

I was surpised by what he said in the interview. Murphy seems to really wish Mirage treated them as real employees within the structure of a real job like careers. Treat them with benefits and paid more properly for loyalty and time worked for one company. From this perspective he makes a valid point. He clearly states only the higher ups were getting more than the regular core staff members from his time at Mirage. He seems to think the TMNT can do better as a property but things just don't change there. Obviously he's burnt out with the TMNT. It took years just to get the Forever War to happen. Things like this are probably why Murphy is, I assume done with Mirage. He was Dan Bergers predecessor in that writer/editor/loose marketing guy from what I understand. He put his heart into it and nothing in the end really comes from it. Guess Mirage really could use a tune up.
Nice interview too.

[DK2]

Oh yeah forgot to say Murphy some other points, that theres nothing we can do to help the TMNT as fans, if I recall correctly. But he also stated that we fans should spend our money on other things instead of what we already own, which he makes a point with todays economy. Obviously he meant the upcoming reprinted Mirage trades. Liked how he also states that there are only what was it 2500 that are reading the TMNT comics? I'm sure he was just being to the point with his views for TMNT fans.

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

Do they really think a new series like that with talking animals would sell in today's comic market?

Sonic the Hedgehog is still going, and that franchise has probably seen better days as well.

As a fan it's a little sad to hear that things are apparently not fun at Mirage. As a fan of the turtles you want to think that it would be, and that some of the fans that complain about the people in charge are just exaggerating, but when it's coming from a guy who works for them, not a good sign.

[Ramboraph4life aka Matt]

Well...on one hand it's sad to hear about the state of affairs over there, and about what happened to Mr. Murphy.

On the other, it is pretty cool that the guy/interviews was very honest. You kinda wonder in some interviews if they are telling the truth and being honest, or just being politcally correct and playing it safe. So props go to Mr. Murphy for being honest about the whole thing.

[CyberCubed]

What will happen if Gary Richardson finds out about this interview?

[Jester]

Cyber...don't hit the send buton on that e-mail mister!

[CyberCubed]

Oh don't worry, I don't involve myself in all the political controversy at Mirage.

I just know that Gary Richardson has a grudge against some people here at thetechnodrome and is one of the reasons many Mirage employees are fed up with the company.

[shredder17]

i am very thankful for all the hard work murphy has brought to bear and all the information he has supplied us with. i hope all goes well with him and that there can be some reconciliation with mirage and its associates.

[discordiatookie]

Great interview, rather revealing, and can't say that i'm overjoyed with some of the answers. Very frank and honest, makes one wonder where Mirage is heading :cry:


If its not too late, i've got a coupla questions for Murph.

1) Whatever happened to Sturgeon Creek?

2) Also, that long rumoured comic about a vatican priest?

(I believe I first heard about it in TMNT vol 4 - with Eric Talbot on art duties. Then nothing for a while and then in Umbra with, I believe, Dario Brizuela. Or was it Diego Jourdan? I cant remember...)

I was rather looking forward to these, and nothings been heard of them for ages...