This just cracked me up!

[oldmanwinters]

The 10 Most Obnoxiously Preachy TMNT Adventure Comic Stories:
http://www.toplessrobot.com/2010/04/the_10_most_obnoxiously_teenage_mutant_ninja_turtl .php

[Cowabunga Carl]

Never read the Archie stuff. Now after this list I might just have to. It seems even goofier then the original cartoon.

[CyberCubed]

One of the biggest flaws of the Archie series was how preachy it was ala Captain Planet.

Why Murphy shoved this message into every issue is beyond me. Its not like kids reading at the time could do anything to help the enviornment.

I realize this is the pre-internet days, but Murphy should start a campaign to help the enviornment elsewhere, not educate 5 year olds who want TMNT action.

[ToTheNines]

Why Murphy shoved this message into every issue is beyond me. Its not like kids reading at the time could do anything to help the enviornment.

The idea was to make the younger generation aware of what was going on and keep them from littering, poluting, etc. once they got older.

It doesn't bug me too much, but I do realize he should have toned it down alot.

[RossMay]

That's a well-researched article, and makes a lot of good points. But even though the symbolism to Null is extremely obvious, the original Mighty Mutanimals mini is still a great story in my opinion.

[Ulisses31]

Well that was the mood in the 90´s... just check other comics and cartoons... toxic avengers? Capitan Planet? no way!!!

Funny today, but normal back in the days...:trolleye:

[Lordmylar06]

Geez, that guy just hates it when a story has a message to it. Keep all your religious texts out of sight lol.

[Powder]

I'll read it later and come back to it cause I'm about to eat dinner. For the record, I love the messages Murphy put in... I was aware of this stuff when I was little cause my mom educated me on it. I used to put money towards the preservation of rainforests and even 'adopted' some sea turtles and harp seals. Murph is the man.

[oldmanwinters]

I'll read it later and come back to it cause I'm about to eat dinner. For the record, I love the messages Murphy put in... I was aware of this stuff when I was little cause my mom educated me on it. I used to put money towards the preservation of rainforests and even 'adopted' some sea turtles and harp seals. Murph is the man.

Yeah, I agree. Even if it lacked subtly and balance at times, it is refreshing to know that Murph was one of the guys in the comics business to make a difference on impressionable kids rather than to just pump out products to make as much money as possible. His themes seem to have saturated both the Archie and Mirage universes. He attempted to write for all ages without trying to dumb down the cruelties of the world. And I'll always appreciate that sense of conviction, even if at times it gave us all a guilt trip.

[***First of Two Latin Kings***]

Agree @ OldManWinters

Murph has stated on several occasions that his best advice to us as fans is not to waste money on the product, considering all the problems in the world and the recession.

[DrSpengler]

Having read Murphy's 5th Turtle blog while it was around...

The guy is freaking NUTS when it comes to matters of the environment. Environmentalism is Murphy's "button", it would seem, which explains why the Adventures comic was often preachy at the expense of plot and overall quality.


It was also a product of its time, I suppose. Environmentalism was the big "thing" back in the early 90s, with stuff like Captain Planet polluting the airwaves and Nickelodeon just beginng their "Big Help" annual campaign and what not.

Instilling an environmentalist mindset on the youngest generation was huge during the early 90s and Murphy just took advantage of it, I suppose.

Not saying trying to raise kids to be aware of environmental issues is a bad thing, but stuff like Captain Planet and TMNT Adventures almost had an adverse effect than the intended lesson. Those shows and comics were often so frightfully BAD that caring about the environment became "lame".

I remember back in the day I was so sick of it I felt like literring just to freaking SPITE Captain Planet.


The problem I had, at least with the early issues of TMNT Adventures (Murphy improved over time), was that Murphy wrote for a young audience as if kids were stupid and incapable of picking up on subtle messages. The "lessons" of each issue were so blunt and in your face, devoid of grace or dignity that it seemed to outwardly insult the intelligence of the audience.

Again, by about the #40s, Murphy got better at treating the kid audience with respect and writing more challenging stories (or just plain writing stories kids might want to READ, not 20 pages of why polluting is bad and you should enver do it go planet the power is yours etc etc).

[Raph's Girl]

Yes the Archie series did get a bit preachy at times. Enough that it probably gave Al Gore ideas. But still...it's my fave TMNT series and 1492 is my fave issue. I read it every Columbus Day. :D

[TristanHuwJones]

To be perfectly honest, this is largely why I could never get into the Archie comics. At the time, I hated Captain Planet, and this read like Captain Planet most of the time. I just wanted comics more like the cartoons, or like the ones I was already reading! It's nothing against Murph, as the dude is one of my favorite TMNT writers, but at the time, it just put me off.

[***First of Two Latin Kings***]

I am NOT going to let you guys ruin the Adventure Series for me. :tgrumble:

[Venom]

Hey, Murph's preachiness kind of worked on me. I'm not a huge tree hugger, but I try to do good toward the Earth.

[oldmanwinters]

Oh, man, Captain Planet was on my "hate list" as a kid (joined by New Kids on the Block and rap music). So you've got 5 kids representing 5 world cultures (and of course the American is the idiot yet the closest to being the team leader) who get 5 magic rings based around nature and then combine their powers to create a deus ex machina superhero who was blue long before Avatar was cool?

I was a pretty naive kid (still am!) but even I knew when someone was trying to indoctrinate me through weekday afternoon programming.:lol:

I guess whenever the Turtles got environmentally conscious it just felt more natural to me. After all, they are turtles who would likely care about what people threw down the sewer or washed into the ocean. Now as far as Murphy's early writing goes, it was sort of a double edged sword. While we all knew people shouldn't have been polluting or poaching, we probably all recognized that without all the poor stewardship we'd never get any new cool looking mutants. Thus, we sorta needed those evil industrialists to create a slew of superpowered villains to give the TMNT a plot and villains to fight. That's probably why I never got upset about it...

For Pete's sake, we had the Turtle Tips airing every Saturday morning, so it was clear the Turtles were out to make a difference in the world.
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Typical early 90s fare, I suppose!