Anyone here that became fans with the release of the first Mirage issue?

[biganimefan]

I know that the vast majority here became fans during the '87 cartoon run (myself included). But is there anyone here that were fans since the very beginning of Mirage?

[Coola Yagami]

Possibly Andrew.

[Monty Mole]

That's a great question

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Possibly Andrew.

I might be wrong, but I think he was a cartoon fan before he found out about the comics.

[IndigoErth]

At the release of it? I'm not sure we have too many around here who are old enough. I had only just turned 5 myself, so that would be a no. Maybe some were first introduced to TMNT via those comics at a later date.

How widely was it even distributed at first release? Was it largely just local to Eastman and Laird?

[hypered1]

At the release of it? I'm not sure we have too many around here who are old enough. I had only just turned 5 myself, so that would be a no. Maybe some were first introduced to TMNT via those comics at a later date.

How widely was it even distributed at first release? Was it largely just local to Eastman and Laird?

There was about 3,000 copies of the first print run and I agree that there probably isn't anyone old enough on here who would've been around at time it released - you're looking at someone who would be at least 50 by now (estimating 10 years old being the minimum age of anyone who could've or would've picked up a copy in '84) and I don't think even Andrew is quite that old (in his mid-forties maybe?)

[neatoman]

Possibly Andrew.

I might be wrong, but I think he was a cartoon fan before he found out about the comics.

That is correct, by his own admission he started with the FW cartoon.

Anyway, I doubt there are many people here who would be old enough to have been fans since the start, assuming the earliest readers were 15-20 then they'd be pushing 60 now.

[Coola Yagami]

I thought the cartoon came out like a year or so in. How much of a head start did the comics have?

[DrSpengler]

I'm old, but thank God I'm not THAT old.

[hypered1]

I thought the cartoon came out like a year or so in. How much of a head start did the comics have?

Comics - 1984, cartoon - 1987

[CyberCubed]

You would have to be at least 45 years old or older right now to have been exposed to Mirage before the original cartoon in 1984. I doubt there is anyone around.

[IMJ]

Yeah - No.
The likelihood of this is next to zero with so many factors coming together about the topic.

Honestly, if anyone here said "yes" I don't think I'd believe them. I'd need receipts.

The books print run was so low that almost nobody could buy it. So right there the number of possibilities is cut down dramatically. Then, combine that with the fact that any fan like that would likely have been an LCS employee of the era simply to have had a 1st print to appreciate.

Then consider their age - possible yes, but a mitigating factor when you are talking about "online forum communities".

Lastly combine all of that here with the general poster here. The demographic, the wider mentality, etc.

This is a group of Fred Wolf fans or otherwise a group of later fans of something like the Y2K show.

[biganimefan]

Thinking realistically, I would say the youngest readers of Mirage Issue 1 in May 1984 (or the second release a few months later, or whenever it was)would have been born in the mid 1970s. Definitely approaching 50 if not past it.

Sure, while there is a difference in personal outlook and how you go about your interests between 30 and 40 years old (well 39 in my case), it's not as huge as it was between 20 and 40. But then again, I could just be an odd one in that case.

What I'm trying to say, for those of us approaching 40 and have maintained interest in this franchise since childhood (and frequented this site in particular for more than a decade), chances are we'll still be interested in this at age 50 (do NOT underestimate how close we are to that age now lol).

I guess if anyone here knew of any original fans it would probably be Andrew or Michele Ivey.

[frank_one]

I wonder how many of us first heard of TMNT thanks to the Mirage comics and not through the FW cartoon. Of course, for people from Europe like me the comics wasn't a thing until much later. It was published in Italy only in 1992.

[joe-eyeball]

I have personally met 3 people that claim to be fans from day 1. And I 100% DO NOT BELIEVE THEM! I’m going on 44 and the next oldest was 5 years younger than me. So it really is damn near impossible they could be telling the truth. Why someone would lie about something so trivial is beyond me?

[rich]

I became a fan from the early comics. Not right at the release of #1 but it would have been in the first year (late 1984/early 1985). I started reading and collecting them well before the majority of the world knew about them. Most of my Mirage books were bought on release day from my local comic shops. And yes, I'm THAT old.

[Jeff]

i wonder if anyone who was a fan since the first issue fell out of the the fandom when the 87 series came out because it was so different. Or, even if the cartoon wasn't their thing, stuck thru with the franchise through the rest of the 80s, 90s, and 00s.

[IMJ]

I became a fan from the early comics. Not right at the release of #1 but it would have been in the first year (late 1984/early 1985). I started reading and collecting them well before the majority of the world knew about them. Most of my Mirage books were bought on release day from my local comic shops. And yes, I'm THAT old.

See, this is the kind of story I can believe. Absolutely.
But at this point, anyone that became a fan literally with the release of issue 1? I mean - that person exists, somewhere. Maybe.

[biganimefan]

I have personally met 3 people that claim to be fans from day 1. And I 100% DO NOT BELIEVE THEM! I’m going on 44 and the next oldest was 5 years younger than me. So it really is damn near impossible they could be telling the truth. Why someone would lie about something so trivial is beyond me?

Yeah....no if the next oldest was 5 years younger than you, they couldn't have been original fans. What newborn takes an interest in comics (even as something to chew on)? Assuming they were alive at all.

[biganimefan]

See, this is the kind of story I can believe. Absolutely.
But at this point, anyone that became a fan literally with the release of issue 1? I mean - that person exists, somewhere. Maybe.

Out of the, maybe, 10,000 people in May 1984(that includes those that would have read with siblings and friends)..there could be a few that maintained interest.

I know Michele Ivey (superfan of TMNT) is at least a few years older than me but I think she was introduced to the franchise with the '87 series as well.

[IndigoErth]

I have personally met 3 people that claim to be fans from day 1. And I 100% DO NOT BELIEVE THEM! I’m going on 44 and the next oldest was 5 years younger than me. So it really is damn near impossible they could be telling the truth. Why someone would lie about something so trivial is beyond me?
Yeah, that's weird. Just hit 44 myself a month ago and no way would I have been handed a comic like that at age 5 -- seeing how it wasn't for kids, probably didn't exist and sell locally that soon, and I was just in they beginning stages of learning to read. No way is that true for someone younger who didn't yet exist or was just born. Do they not understand what and when "day 1" was? Or is their perception of "day 1" just their own introduction and not May 1984.

Introduced to TMNT with those comics, that a parent bought for themselves, but at a later date, sure. Certainly no shame in a delayed start with Mirage #1. But literal day 1 people still maintaining their fandom are probably unicorns. Looks like we've got one that's pretty close though. :)

As much as it would be an honor to have been there from day 1, I'm okay with the consolation prize of not being quite that old yet. lol

[CyberCubed]

In 1984 there was no internet, barely any TV, hardly any advertising. It's hard to believe most people would even discover TMNT existed back then. It was basically an indie underground comic at the time.

The franchise had no mainstream focus until late 1987 when the original cartoon came out.

[biganimefan]

In 1984 there was no internet, barely any TV, hardly any advertising. It's hard to believe most people would even discover TMNT existed back then. It was basically an indie underground comic at the time.

The franchise had no mainstream focus until late 1987 when the original cartoon came out.

Television had become mainstream for around 30 years by 1984. Advertising has been a thing for millennia (and mainstream for well over a century at least). Now, if you meant in regards to comic books (even hugely popular franchises), then sure I agree with you there. Comics are really only advertised in certain corners of social media even today.

Facts remain, however, that the first issue sold out quickly upon release. As did a re-release of it soon after. There have been people (I've never been one of them) that have frequented comic book stores for many decades.

[IndigoErth]

barely any TV, hardly any advertising.
What. lol There may have been far fewer channels, but we still had plenty enough and ads. Hell, we already had Nickelodeon (originally named Pinwheel) since April 1, 1979. According to Wikipedia it started including ads in 1984.

No, I'm sure it took a bit for an indi comic to catch on with a wider audience, just as it took the TMNT a while to catch on globally, but it was out there and getting attention.

[CyberCubed]

TV only had what, 7 channels in 1984? Cable didn't exist till the 90's.

[IMJ]

TV only had what, 7 channels in 1984? Cable didn't exist till the 90's.

:lol: Cable T.V. came around in the mid-80's. Probably 1985ish prolificly.

[biganimefan]

I never had cable growing up (my parents never saw a need for it I guess). Even with limited channels, something was on all the time and a wide variety of news, shows, movies, etc!

[IndigoErth]

TV only had what, 7 channels in 1984? Cable didn't exist till the 90's.

No cable? lol Maybe it didn't exist for you. We had that box with the buttons sitting on top of our tv when I was a kid in the 80s. You know what that was? The 80s version of a cable box and the predecessor of the modern digital version subscribers typicality have today. :lol: If my parents ever used antenna for tv it was before my time.

It's funny that the set top box went away eventually (90s?) and wasn't needed anymore... but then it came back with digital.

[Coola Yagami]

Comics - 1984, cartoon - 1987

Oh damn... Yeah, I was like 7 or so then. Not even into comics back then, let alone niche indie ones.

[IMJ]

Oh damn... Yeah, I was like 7 or so then. Not even into comics back then, let alone niche indie ones.

This is basically what I mean by the age of the reader. First, it was an obscure black and white comic that looked like a joke rather than any seriously readable book. Right there the market for it was incredibly limited based on content, let alone the availability.

[MrPliggins]

Nope. I wouldn't even buy my first comic book (Mickey Mouse #225) until April of '87. I discovered TMNT in late 1988 by seeing the toys in the store. Then discovered the cartoon halfway through season 2. I would find out about Mirage a few months later with #16, then find the First Graphic Novels (color reprints of early Mirage) at Waldenbooks a few months later, probably early '89.

I imagine most people who were there from the beginning were turned off by the direction of the book after #11 (read the letters column in #15), coupled with the advent of the cartoon/Turtlemania.

[frank_one]

Yeah, the guest era. I wonder how many readers survived to that weird long period.

[CyberCubed]

Personally anyone who was pushing 50 or more and still around all this time deserves a medal. I doubt anyone would ever follow a single franchise for that long.

[shawnoen]

I started with TMNT issue 4 in 1985. I was 13 at the time. I was collecting other comics at the time inc. The Punisher, Green Arrow, Batman, Xmen, etc....

My dad and myself would visit a local comic shop every Saturday to see what was new and I saw the green/white TMNT cover and loved it and the oversized format.

I quickly purchased the back issues but only #1 2nd print. First print was too expensive at almost $300 back then, LOL.

I did eventually purchase 2 copies of #1 first print, one with off white pages and one with white pages which was always known as "fake" issues. No idea if that was true or not. I think we paid $400 or so for each issue.

I still have all my old TMNT issues and continue to collect the IDW collected books. I never got into the Image or Archie comics but I did buy the IDW run in addition to the Mirage and oddball gaming, martial arts comics, etc....

I was a bit turned off by the cartoon, Archie comics, etc...and it always seemed like "fake" TMNT to me. Maybe that's what kept me around this long, the love for the REAL TMNT. I have no idea. I do have a fond memory of visiting comic shops weekly and going many months between issues of TMNT at time and having no idea what was going on. No WWW back then, LOL.

I sold most of my comics long ago but always held onto my TMNT and Green Arrow ones Not sure why those 2 but I guess I like the stories the most. Got into all the Mcfarlane comics when he became popular including Batman, Spiderman, Hulk, Spawn, etc....still have all those too.

Have been thinking of giving all my comics to my son and was considering having all of them graded. Wonder if it's worth it though. More for preservation than anything I guess and we can read all the issues via collected books now.

[DK2]

I did not know of the TMNT until spring '87. I'm not one who got the comic from issue #1 at all. I was in grade 6 at the time. A classmate was buying comics at a LCS and he brung in TMNT Mirage comics. It was #4 2nd print and #10 at the time. Another classmate would borrow them and then I'd get a look at them cause he lived few houses away. We both eventually pursued our own copies of these comics. That was my exposure to them in that span. Then they took off by the end of the year with the cartoon and toys. I knew what they were but noticed the differences already with the cartoon. Then the Tales of series came along and eventually more 2nd or latter prints of the early TMNT issues came too. I even made myself look for actual back issues at the time like #5 -#8. Which was weird because I'd never had myself as a 11-12 yr old been focused on collecting comics in such a formal manner or need to do this with my dinky allowance from my parents. I'd like to think I'm an original Mirage TMNT fan right before they got well known. I'm 47 now. My parents never knew or cared what I was reading within the comics I had. I even had Dark Knight Returns and with Mirage Turtles are pretty adult and violent for comics at then. Things were changing indeed back then for comics in the late '80's.

[NeonTurtledude]

What. lol There may have been far fewer channels, but we still had plenty enough and ads. Hell, we already had Nickelodeon (originally named Pinwheel) since April 1, 1979. According to Wikipedia it started including ads in 1984.

No, I'm sure it took a bit for an indi comic to catch on with a wider audience, just as it took the TMNT a while to catch on globally, but it was out there and getting attention.


Also true in the UK, we had only a few channels, BBC1, BBC2, ITV and then channel 4, we didn't get Disney or Nick or Cartoon Network until the mid-90s.

The UK got 87 TMNT in 1990 on the Children's BBC block, I'm not sure about the 84 mirage comics, but considering that anime had a small niche community of UK fans in the mid 80s, early 90s, I can see how some would've probably been fans of the mirage comic due to the dark storylines