If TMNT never left the pages of comics, do you think you'd ever discover it?
 

Let's pretend there were never any cartoons, toys, or movies.

Just the Mirage comics, and let's say the comics played out the same way they did, with Vol. 1-4, and Tales. No Archie series of course.

If TMNT was a comic book only franchise, do you think you would have ever discovered it? I know for a fact I wouldn't have, and probably wouldn't know about Usagi Yojimbo comics either.

EDIT: The last option on the poll should have also had, "And I would have started reading it seriously," which differentiates it from the middle option.

I know I wouldn't have. My first exposure to the Turtles was when me and my family where at Cosco and I found a Raph with a video. It was the very first few eps. So not only was it my exposure to the Turtles but also my first action figure.

After doing some quick thinking, I'm almost positive I would have ran across the Turtles at some point in my life. I found out the Turtles were a comic from my much older brother the same time the series premiered. He had seen some of the early issues, including #1, but never gave them much notice. I discovered the Mirage books somewhat by accident while going with him to the comic shop when I was little, plus I really dig alternate takes on the mainstream heroes so I'm sure something offbeat as TMNT would have caught my eye.

Usagi is held with high regard throughout the industry so I may have even found him first and the Turtles via Usagi, or maybe even Savage Dragon.

Some things you're just drawn to. For me, it's the quirky-looking comic sitting in the back bin with an interesting cover that beckons to be opened.

I doubt I would've. My first exposure was through an action figure... which of course was the work of playmates in prep for the tv show. Later in life I got into comic books (Marvel stuff mainly) so there is a slim chance I would've seen them but even so, I couldn't say whether or not I would've picked it up. I am however only into anthro stuff so maybe I would've. Anything colorful, with mutants/animals does catch my attention...

the comic never came to Norway.
So I would probably never know about TMNT until my first experience with the internet and a random turtle search, since turtles are one of my favorites animals.

Most probably not...I started with First movie and OT....
I would probably never know about TMNT until internet too...(looking for new comics, I collect Marvel -mutant comics too....) ...a mutant turtle will catch my attention for sure!!!! ;)

I possibly would have found out about it, but I wouldn't have become a fan. Mirage was never my favorite flavor and all comics I get into are the further/alternate adventures of characters I know from tv or movies. It's always been like that.

I'd say probably not since I was never a comics guy.

I would have discovered it much later in life, and I wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much as I enjoyed the toys, cartoons, movies, Archie comics, etc. as a kid.

I have to take in consideration that I´m in Portugal, so...
If it is not on TV, the comic is not published here.

But when I grew up and learned English I found the original comics of many characters... Marvel, DC, Image, Top Cow etc... and I probably would found TMNT, if I found "Lone wolf and cub" and "Nexus" why not TMNT?

But it would never get me the same way. I only go after the toys from my childhood... if there were no toys because there were no TV show... (here we only get toys after the TV show) I would never become fan... comic and TV were always only research material for my playings... only when I became a teen I started to give more attention to comics.

But let me ask... would TMNT get so big if there were no TV show?

If I had found out about the turtles later, I think I'd still be a TMNT fan even if they where not a part of my childhood. I love Turtles (I got 3 red eared sliders) I'm a huge X-men/mutant fan and I love Ninja.

Maybe? But highly unlikely. The comic is what got me into other comics. It's my gateway comic. And the Original Toon is what got me to Turtles.

I definitely never would have. Never been into comics at all, until recently when I was introduced to the TMNT Archies. The origional cartoon got me hooked.

As much as I'd like to say I would have, the chances I would have are low. I've never been all that big on comics (US ones anyway), so I probably wouldn't have.

Almost certainly not, unfortunately. I never saw hide nor hair of the original comics until I was much older, and I tracked them down because of the show. We only had a little spinner rack at the grocery store, and besides, I was much more interested in "kiddie" comics when the TMNT books first came out.

I put the one in the middle. Why? Back in the early 90s, I began collecting the Captain Planet comic books (I was the world's CP fan). So if I went to the comic book shop monthly, it is likely I would have seen the TMNT comic on the shelves.

Would I have picked it up, especially given how gritty Mirage is? Extremely unlikely.

Now the Archie TMNT Adventures would have been MUCH likelier to have been picked up, even without a TMNT TV series. Cuter, more colorful, and had the environmental message so popular in the early 90s. But Mirage? Nope.

Hmm, that's a tough one. I am a comic fiend, so I would likely have seen it on the shelf - but wether I would've picked it up or not i'm not sure. I got into the comics after I discovered the four colour First books a few years back, and I only picked them up due to nostalgia for the toys and cartoon. So I voted for the middle one.

Sweden
 

No. live in Sweden, where the Mirage comics are very rare. As a kid I knew TMNT started in the USA as a comic book in 1984, but of course I thought Archie was first.

This is an interesting question,

Counting the geek I became I would have eventually even if just fairly recently had learned about the turtles since I would have had some comic book geek recommend it to me. I'm unsure how much I would have liked it, probably some but not to the extent I love the turtles now.

I also think had that happened we might have seen a movie around this time that is dark and just the way Andrew NDB wants the new movie to be (which it wont)

I never knew the Turtles were a comic book first before I got back into them six years ago. I first discovered them through the OT and movies. So, no. I don't think I would have known about TMNT until probably the time the internet came along.

Probably not until my twenties and that would be from friends who are into comics.

I bet I would have, as a teenager. Looking back at my life, I was pretty much destined to become a TMNT nut, I'm sure it's happened in most of my alternate time-lines :P

Probably not. Since I only became interested after watching the cartoon and had never read the comics, I doubt I'd even know who the turtles were.

Archie
 

Mirage, but did Archie come to Norway? It was a big success here in Sweden (together with the UK Hero Turtles comics).

Archie came in 92, if i remember correctly think I got most issues that came out .
not sure on it's popularity, at my place I did not see much of it in stores.

but I think the northern European Archie releases are the same issues just translated.

Probably
 

Probably. I also recall watching TMNT on the Norwegian TV 3, but it was also dubbed into Swedish, using the same dub as Sweden.

Man if that happened i maybe never know about tmnt ever because we don't get tmnt comics (yet) in South Africa.

I would've eventually. I ended up growing up liking comics and, not because of TMNT, started discovering more non-mainstream comics. So, I would've ran across TMNT eventually. How long it would've taken for me to give it a chance would've been something else entirely.

This is one of those fundamental "What If?" questions that not many in the "I got into TMNT by watching the old cartoon and those will always be the definitive TMNT to me" crowd are probably going to like the answers to.

My guess: It would have continued as a respectable comic book (never really selling gangbusters but still seeing print to whatever conclusion it led to, sort of like Groo, Cerebus or Savage Dragon) and eventually -- probably around the post X-Men 2000s' boom of movie studios buying up comic book properties' film rights -- it would have gotten a pretty straight-up, gritty comic book movie... and the landscape of the TMNT fandom would be quite different than what it is now.

But yes. Would have discovered it sooner or later.

I like the cut of your jib.

If Andrew's version of how things would've been how things turned out, I said before that it would've taken me some time before I tried reading TMNT. If a movie of it were to have come out that was similar to maybe "The Losers" then I would've certainly checked out the comic after seeing the movie.

Who knows? Maybe we'd have hardback graphic novels in stores nowadays that aren't like $300 a copy due to rarity.

I would have come across the comics several of times, it was my brother who watched TMNT when he was little and drew pictures for me and the movies that got me into it. So I would of not been a fan today...

Yeah, I probably would have. Between growing up down the street of Kevin Eastman's boyhood home, having two different cousins who ran their own comic book stores in the 80s and going to elementary school with one of Kevin Eastman's nephews, it probably would have come up.

After all, they made me read Frank Miller's Daredevil and it was just a parody of that.

Sadly no. I wasn't much into comics and the Archie comics back in the day were the only comics I followed religiously. Stuff like Spiderman and Batman I'd pick up occasionally.

Being too underground, my store never sold Mirage TMNT stuff. The only issue I had of City at War is when I randomly wandered into a more underground comic store and picked it up, but they never sold the following issues. So yeah, without any way to even see the comic, I never woulda known these green guys existed.

Possibly, I can't recall who specifically introduced me to ninja turtles, but my aunt and her husband at the time collected comic books and ninja turtles was one of them. I read them even back then. Later on, I got my own collection of comics. Turtles is one of the ones I collect.

hmm, i would have probably discovered them by reading a wizard magazine back when the issues actually had a price guide in them.

Probably not. Which would be a shame. But on the Plus side We would've gotten a badass TMNT movie...

No,that wouldn't happen.

Must be my feminine side, but knowing that you are a ten year old and saying people are wrong is just so adorably cute!!! <3