How long have you followed the TMNT franchise? [Archive]

Gyt Kaliba

07-06-2013, 08:14 PM

I was a nut for the OT when I was a little kid, but I have no idea of when I actually saw it. I was born in 1989 though, so more or less, we could just say my entire life (23 years thus far).

That said though, my fandom was kinda shakey for a good few years. I got back into it with the 2K3 series but I got to see so little of that, that I moved away from it again. Then the Imagi film brought me back in too, but that too left. Forever was the biggest jump back into it, but that too then faded. The Nick show finally drug me back in entirely though. I never really leave the fandom, my interest just comes and goes in bursts.

Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

07-07-2013, 03:46 AM

Since 1991.

Guitar_Raph

07-07-2013, 04:56 AM

In 1990, when they first played instruments & sang; COOTS.

Zulithe

07-07-2013, 05:40 AM

Well my memory is fuzzy on this but I definitely started watching it very early when season 1 was still airing for the first time.

I can't remember if I saw the toys on shelves first or if I saw the show first, but both were around the same time. I know that I quickly became an addict to all things TMNT though. Comics, video games, the toon, toys and eventually the movies.

Wish I could be among those who watched the very first airing of the pilot, and while I may have been (I was very aware of all the cartoons airing and at what times, etc.), I just can't say for sure. I was young!

Hannurdock

07-07-2013, 05:43 AM

Since 1989, 24 years ago when I was 11 years old.

I saw the British Adaptation of the original cartoon in a feature length episode called 'How It All Began.' I wasn't too impressed at the time ...

However, that night I had a dream about hanging out with the turtles. Leo was helping me down from rooftops and I was in awe.

The next morning, I was well and truly hooked.

Now, 24 years later - I am amazed by the diversity in age ranges between fans. Its wonderful how someone can have been a fan for 20+ years, and then another can be a fan that only got into them a few months ago. I don't think many fandoms can claim that kind of versatility. Amazing stuff.

I've been writing fanfiction for TMNT since I was fifteen, and I am enthralled by the way my writing style has changed from then to now. I can really see the difference as I'm improving all the time.

Hannurdock

Blossombrooks

07-07-2013, 05:47 AM

Ouch, gotta be 25 years! I was instantly swept into the craze and played TMNT (or rather TMHT ;) ) every break time at school for as long back as I can remember. I lived in a tmnt tshirt then and I still do now!

Hannurdock

07-07-2013, 05:58 AM

TMHT. Boy, those were the days! Mikey's nunchuks were erased by over-vigilant editing teams and the word ninja was considered a crime in a children's show.

Prowler

07-07-2013, 06:44 AM

The first time I laid my eyes on the Ninja Turtles? Man, that's a tough one. I guess when I was 3-4 years old and played the TMNT NES game? Or when I played with my older brother's huge Raphael plush toy? I remember watching seasons 1-3 reruns back in the mid-90s. As for becoming a fan, I've only truly become one in 2002-2003 when reruns of the FW series began airing again in my country.

So yeah, I've always liked the TMNT.

Lord Nightwalker

07-07-2013, 09:35 AM

I was visiting a comic shop looking for Batman stuff and saw issue nine of the Mirage comic. I bought it and had to come back the following week for more! That was back in grade school. I can't remember exactly when as I type this, but I will be 38 this October. Then I started buying the archie comics, and I had to have the vhs tapes of the pilot eps. *smiles* Been a fan for a long, long time.

RaphAndDonnie

07-07-2013, 10:23 AM

Since December of last year. I believe I bought my first Turtle (Raph) a week after being introduced to the Nick toon, followed by Mikey, Leo and Donnie. :)

Gwydion

07-07-2013, 10:23 AM

My best guess is 1989 when I was 6 years old. Looking back at air dates, I'm pretty sure that's about the time I jumped in to the show, and we soon got some of the NES games too. Since then, I've always been into TMNT - even in that period of years between Next Mutation and the 2003 show I had Raphael drawings hanging in my locker - but I never really made an attempt to get into the fandom until the Nick show.

Genesis

07-07-2013, 10:34 AM

I've been a fan of TMNT since before I can remember.

I didn't start following the franchise until I was thirteen-ish and learned about the original comics. That's about when I started collecting Mirage Vol. 1 back issues and paying attention to news and information from dedicated resources.

So, either twenty-five years or twelve, depending on which part you'd consider a proper starting point.

ZariusTwo

07-07-2013, 10:47 AM

I am so 1991[/Raph Wiggum]

CBBC was the place to be. Oh the glory days of HERO Turtles...:lol:

Blossombrooks

07-07-2013, 11:05 AM

I am so 1991[/Raph Wiggum]

CBBC was the place to be. Oh the glory days of HERO Turtles...:lol:

CBBC! Ha! In the broom cupboard no less. Lol.

Sword Slicin' Leo

07-07-2013, 11:34 AM

First memory i have is buying Bebop and Rocksteady..had to be 1988 (i was 6 then )

Whatswiththeheadbands?

07-07-2013, 12:19 PM

since i was 5, when the 2003 series started

billbot85

07-07-2013, 01:06 PM

I only followed Ninja Turtles during the 1987 cartoon series and the height of the 3 live action films. I would say by '94/'95 I started falling out of it, because by then I was more into MMPR and legos.

sking502

07-07-2013, 01:14 PM

Caught the turtle craze when I was 5-6 in 1987 lived in Boston at the time so the it was technically a local craze...stayed with it up until right before high school when I ditched turtles for girls. Kept an eye on the franchise taking my nephews to the tmnt movie then introducing the turtles to my 4yr old daughter

Cipher

07-07-2013, 04:29 PM

CyberCubed

07-07-2013, 04:42 PM

On and off since about 1993 (when I was a toddler).

When I say that, I mean there are some huge gaps. I fell out of the series completely around the time Next Mutation was about halfway through its run and didn't come back to the franchise until I really discovered the Mirage series with "City at War" in high school. And even then, I was sort of on-and-off with it.

I'm not sure I'll actively follow it forever, as a lot of the new material, although I acknowledge its successes, is still more or less riding on the good will I have for the Mirage series, along with my nostalgia for other versions. Not that either the Nicktoon or IDW comics are bad, and I'm still giving them the benefit of the doubt, but one is very squarely aimed at kids and the other hasn't done anything yet to convince me I'd be following it if not for my feelings toward previous versions, which is kind of a problem.

The thing is unlike say Batman and Spider-Man, the TMNT franchise may not go on forever. When the original series ended we didn't even know we'd ever get a second TMNT cartoon for example. And had Nick not purchased the property then the franchise would have been dead since 2010.

After the Nick era ends they may just sit on the property instead of selling it to someone else. So the way I see it, the Nick cartoon and IDW run will probably last a good while but after that the franchise may go on hiatus for a good while.

I'd say its worth sticking around, the only major concern is the possible badness of the new movie. But 2 out of 3 reboots have been a hit so far.

DonatelloNinja82

07-07-2013, 06:31 PM

I have been a fan since I first watched the show in 87/88...I was 5/6 at the time...so for about 25 years now.

MrPliggins

07-07-2013, 09:30 PM

Since I watched the cartoon episode "Splinter No More", on its first airing. 1988?

snake

07-07-2013, 10:16 PM

Back in glorious 2003. I knew about them two years prior, but 2003 really sparked my interest.

voltron80

07-08-2013, 12:07 AM

I became aware of TMNT's existence around the age of 3 (or at least that's what it seemed) and followed it till now so that's like 24 years.

How long have you followed it?

When I picked up my first Leonardo action figure back in 1987 and then the first episode(s) aired that Sunday afternoon. Two things from my childhood I've always kept close to my heart Ghostbusters(both movies and The Real series) and the Turtles. I even got my 7 year old nephew hooked into the turtles even before the 2k12 series launched.

Mayhem

07-08-2013, 02:28 AM

1988, before the cartoon hit the UK, via the original b/w Mirage series. Sometimes classmates are useful, and lead you down a long path...

CBBC! Ha! In the broom cupboard no less. Lol.
Had it switched over to the Andy Peters era by that point?

(curious fact: I share my birthday with him)

HeroTurtlesFan

07-08-2013, 06:52 AM

1988, before the cartoon hit the UK, via the original b/w Mirage series. Sometimes classmates are useful, and lead you down a long path...

Had it switched over to the Andy Peters era by that point?

(curious fact: I share my birthday with him)

It was Andy Crane (remember him - blonde guy!), who introduced TMHT in the Broom Cupboard for its first run in 1990. Andi Peters took over from him. Edd the Duck annoyed both of 'em.

My very first episode was "Curse of the Evil Eye", as seen on CBBC in January 1990. The day after I went out and got #1 of TMHT Adventures.

I can't say I've followed the franchise to the extremes I suspect many of you have, but I've always kept tabs on what's going on with it. I'm more of a Transformers fan (sorry).

I love talking about the HERO Turtles (clue's in my user name), as I feel so nostalgic for that time and it's interesting to hear others' perspective on how Britain approached the Turtles. It was such a huge hit they were everywhere (as indeed they were around the world!).

Interesting fact - the BBC never showed season 1 of the Turtles; the first episode it broadcast was "Return of the Shredder". The initial run of episodes ended with "Sword from Nowhere" (yes, they removed the 'Ninja' from that episode too). The rest of season 3 was held back for another year.

SparkyMarky644

07-08-2013, 07:17 AM

Been a fan of the show for many years, around 22/23 years I've been a fan.

Vi11AiN6

07-08-2013, 07:30 AM

I've been following them since late 87/88. My very first exposure was seeing an ad on TV for the figures and then I bought issue 1 of the Archies series. Ever since then I've always loved the TMNT

zodiac brave

07-08-2013, 11:17 AM

since 88 when i was 4. i remember my mom picking me up from kindergarten and telling me she had 4 surprises for me. she told me the first letter of each surprise and i had to guess what they were. of course, the letters were l, d, r and m. this was after i'd become a huge fan of the show.

Cipher

07-08-2013, 06:50 PM

The thing is unlike say Batman and Spider-Man, the TMNT franchise may not go on forever. When the original series ended we didn't even know we'd ever get a second TMNT cartoon for example. And had Nick not purchased the property then the franchise would have been dead since 2010.

After the Nick era ends they may just sit on the property instead of selling it to someone else. So the way I see it, the Nick cartoon and IDW run will probably last a good while but after that the franchise may go on hiatus for a good while.

I'd say its worth sticking around, the only major concern is the possible badness of the new movie. But 2 out of 3 reboots have been a hit so far.
Not only do I not think TMNT will ever be permanently shelved in our lifetimes (hiatuses, sure, but there will always be interest in bringing it back in cartoon, toy, comic and/or movie form), it's not my responsibility to bear with the franchise or keep it afloat if I'm not totally in love with the current output.

Yes, the characters and concepts are inherently appealing to me in certain ways, but more and more I realize I only really have unfettered fealty toward one particular version, and it doesn't seem like anything in the future is likely to take a similar approach.

CyberCubed

07-08-2013, 08:12 PM

Yes, the characters and concepts are inherently appealing to me in certain ways, but more and more I realize I only really have unfettered fealty toward one particular version, and it doesn't seem like anything in the future is likely to take a similar approach.

So you're basically saying you're losing interest? I might not be as hyped about the Nick cartoon as I was when the 4kids series was airing, but its an entertaining show and it does its job so its fine. And IDW is doing what it should be doing, not being a bland rehash of Mirage but instead embracing all the past ideas from past series.

Cipher

07-08-2013, 09:05 PM

So you're basically saying you're losing interest? I might not be as hyped about the Nick cartoon as I was when the 4kids series was airing, but its an entertaining show and it does its job so its fine. And IDW is doing what it should be doing, not being a bland rehash of Mirage but instead embracing all the past ideas from past series.
I just mean I still really, really like the Mirage series, but I think maybe my interest is more tied to that particular book than the concepts or characters themselves.

That said, I'm still reading IDW month to month and think it's enjoyable for what it is, so I haven't jumped ship or anything.

Jester

07-08-2013, 09:06 PM

Since 1989....I think.

Krang100

07-13-2013, 05:24 AM

I was aware since 1986 (Mirage comic), altough the TMNT make me more familiar through Fred Wolf cartoon.

FlogginMcMurryZombiePizza

07-13-2013, 05:32 AM

I couldn't give you a year... I grew up on them. I dont know how I was exposed to them or my age... but it's there with drawing, you know?
How long have I been drawing? All my life.
How long have I been following the franchise? All my life.

I was born in 1984. I moved to AZ in 3rd grade and I remember that I was into them before then.
Mom never bought the comics for me because she didn't even know they were comics. And she decided what I owned and didn't... like with the toys, I had mostly hero figures but no villains. She liked comic books but she wasn't one who went in on the new comic day and have a box subscription or whatever.

But I have always loved the Turtles, even when a took a "break" from them and my fandom was barley a pulse.
But it's in full swing in more recent years. They're just too much fun and I need more fun and creativity in my life now anyway.

Today I'm collecting the IDW new series, color classics and I'm trying to pick up some other vintage comics.
I'm buying the new toys, I'm drawing them again and I have been watching my 3 movies all the time since I got them on DVD ages ago. I still own Turtles In Time on my SNES but I cant find any of my older stuff... VHS, toys, etc... but I do plan on getting my hands on the classic figures again, for the nostalgia of it.

Retro-Specs

07-13-2013, 09:24 PM

I don't remember the very first time I watched them - it would have been 1988. For some reason my town happened to be playing season one over and over, with two episodes back-to-back each day at 4:00.

So, that means I've been a fan for 25 years then.

Type 97 Chi-ha

07-13-2013, 09:28 PM

Since 1989, when the arcade games came out and I serviced them.

Lisardo

07-28-2013, 10:52 AM

Since the late 80s when I was a kid. I took breaks here and there, but that's when I remember first getting into it, and getting the action figures.

DVD

07-28-2013, 11:08 AM

Since when the 80s TV show first aired, and I was buying the figures for my kid.
He grew out of it over time. Me, I never did! :lol:
I didn't exactly follow it since then tho. Rather, I have always enjoyed it, through the original run and then the movies. Then more recently, I found the 2K3 shows, which I really enjoyed watching.

ryukenden

07-29-2013, 11:11 AM

Since 1987 or 1988 when I first saw the OT on TV.

pingclang

07-29-2013, 12:05 PM

Had to be 1988, I was 4. It's sort of weird for me because we didn't have cable, but I remember watching it so must have been antennae. I've been hooked ever since. After that I went nowhere without my figure of Raph. Damn, making me feel old.

Danetello

07-30-2013, 04:39 PM

Since 1990, MAYBE 1989 at a push... but I think probably 1990! :D

jbeeman85

09-19-2013, 10:43 AM

I started watching when I was about 4 (1989). I remember having to sneak to watch it the first few times because my mom didn't want me to watch the violence. Then I guess she realized that it wasn't much more violent that Looney Tunes. The comics, I didn't get into collecting until just a couple of years ago. I'm really hating myself for that now because I am having a heck of a time finding a handful of issues.

Jeff

09-19-2013, 11:20 AM

Around 1987 or 1988.
I didn't follow much during the lull between NT and 2K3 because puberty happened and my interests went from comics to Playboys.

Leo656

09-19-2013, 10:25 PM

I was aware of them in '87 but only really started paying attention in '88. Even though they're all different, I love all the different versions to various degrees. I love the concept enough to overlook sometimes-questionable execution.

Pterobat

09-19-2013, 11:57 PM

I can't remember when I started with TMNT stuff. It was when the cartoon was airing, when I got the first Splinter figure as a present.

Shortly after the Archie comic ended, I stopped actively seeking out TMNT stuff, but managed to be aware of new Turtles production through pop culture osmosis.

Then, here I am again.

Gin Rummy

09-20-2013, 01:39 AM

I was too young for the Original cartoon. (I was born in 89), and was far more interested in Turtle rip offs like street sharks, and my beloved Biker Mice from Mars. :D

I got into Turtles from my Brother. he was older than me and was a huge fan. I never really watched the original cartoon. (I own the Box Set now.) But I loved the Movies, and All of the toys my Brother collected.

Of course as i aged I stopped playing with toys and watching cartoons until I started up again at around the time the 2k3 series began. So I'd say I owe my fandom to 2K3 I guess.

BubblyShell22

09-20-2013, 06:58 AM

Since I was about six in 1989. I took a break from them after the Red Sky era and only vaguely remember Next Mutation. I always liked them but never really thought there'd be another show until 2003 when I saw TMNT figures at Walmart and heard from my friends that a new show was on. First ep I saw was "Meet Casey Jones" and I was hooked right there. Really wasn't fond of FF or BTTS, but I stuck around because it WAS TMNT and I had high hopes that things would get better. The Nick show has kept me a fan and made me an even bigger fan of the show with how great the writing is.

Red Mask

09-20-2013, 07:50 AM

I got a Donatello toy for Christmas when I was 5 or 6, then was an obsessive fan until around Next Mutation (probably a common story)...then I became a casual fan until a few years ago.

Just this year getting into the Mirage comics (about halfway through Vol. 1) and loving them, reading them alongside IDW has been a lot of fun, but I wish I'd read them earlier on.

pannoni1

09-20-2013, 07:07 PM

Overall, about eight 1/2 years: the main period being from around fall 1989 when I first saw the cartoon on TV until fall 1994 when I saw the first Red Sky episode, about six months during Next Mutation, and about the last three years since I caught Turtles Forever on a Nickelodeon rerun. Since there was no Internet during that first era, I had to rely on whatever news I found and couldn't imagine how big and involved the fanbase was. The interest after TNM may have also declined due to puberty (turned 13 right as the last episode aired). I never took the franchise seriously again until I found this website three years ago, and have never felt the same since. The biggest challenge is managing my time to be involved in as many franchises as possible. I wish there was 10 times as much time in a day so I could follow He-Man, Transformers, Ghostbusters, GI Joe, MMPR, Thundercats, Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Star Trek, but by far spending my most time with TMNT is a testament to the competition of great pop cultural brands.

Venom

09-20-2013, 09:58 PM

Since the original miniseries. In fact, Ninjaturtles.com was the first site I visited when I first got online, and followed them through the down time. I didnt watch a lot of the 4Kids! series but I followed the comics.

Jester

09-20-2013, 10:01 PM

Since elementary school...almost 21 years ago...give or take.

BODYCOUNT

09-20-2013, 10:32 PM

since 86-87 when my neighbor robert showed me the first issue. he was 12 i was 5 he was like an older brother. real cool dude he drew comics too. he put me up on spawn months before it dropped. i owe my love for comics to that dude.

Bo Staff.

09-20-2013, 11:07 PM

Since I was around 5/6 years old in the late 90s, when I started watching vhs tapes of the OT.

Walkabout

09-21-2013, 12:49 AM

25 years :teek:

Cant say Ive followed the franchise that closely all that time, but hey.

biganimefan

09-21-2013, 04:04 PM

Looks like most of the fans that have replied here got into it around the same time. It was '89 with me with the original cartoon. Loved the cartoon, collected the toys from the original series, loved the movies, liked Next Mutation, loved 2K3 series and the Nick series. I only recently started reading the comics since IDW publishing started releasing them in collections. However, I DID read the Archie comics pretty often in the early to mid 90's.

Donatello19

09-21-2013, 04:10 PM

Ever since I discovered the toys and the cartoon series when I was a wee little lad. I've been hooked ever since. The only time I really didn't follow TMNT was when that Fast Forward/Back to the Sewer crap was on...but Turtles Forever sucked me back in to the fandom...

MsMarvelDuckie

09-21-2013, 05:18 PM

That's an easy question- since 1990, when the original movie first came out! I saw it opening day, and I fell in love from the get-go. Up until then, I had maybe a vague awareness of the OT, at best, and had never watched it. But after the movie, I became a HUGE fan, both of the movies, and the cartoon. Never had any exposure to the comics back then (couldn't have gotten my hands on them even if I had wanted to, as my hometown had no comic stores and our supermarket only had Marvel And DC comics), but I knew OF it.

I started collecting a few TMNT items- though not toys, mostly due to being a girl and "too old" for most toys by that time since I was already in middle school when the movie came out- like posters, buttons, the movie novels, trivia books, video games, and the like. I'd say my love tapered off near the end of the cartoon, after high school- and certainly by the time TNM came out, but by then I was out on my own, with a job, and even after 03's 4Kids toon came out, I had little time for it then, and only occasionally caught an episode on Saturday mornings. I was helping raise three of my cousins by then, working, AND keeping house for my grandmother, and was married.

I didn't pick it back up until recently when a fellow net-writer friend and I were discussing some of our old writing projects and I mentioned my early foray into novel-writing that was TMNT-based. She suggested I finish it (it was started but never completed in middle school while I was still fresh in my fandom) so I dusted off the original draft I STILL have, and dove head-first right back into it, and started watching/reading EVERYTHING I could find! Now I'm a fan of not only the OT cartoon, but 4Kids, and even Nick, and I've started getting the TPB's of the IDW series. And I LOVE it. It's everything I'd want a TMNT comic to be- smart, funny, full of action, and lots of drama and twists; and it's got so many things I loved from other versions that it's now possibly my favorite version of them ever.