Has anyone else lost interest with the IDW series?
 

I am sad to say, I have. When # 1 was released last year, I was really excited about this book. It had that old school, comic Tmnt 'feel'. Started out with a street fight, with the turtles wearin' the good ole' red bandanas. It felt right. But the last few months I have really lost interest.

I dunno, maybe because of all the toon references coming in the book. When they switched the bandanas, I will admit it left me with a sour feeling, that I still kinda have to this day. Don't get me wrong, I still do very much enjoy the book, I get it every month. But I am just not as excited month to month as I was with the first 5 issues. Anyone else share the same feelings?:tconfuse:

Not at all. You're just experiencing the usual comic book lull of only one issue coming out a month besides one shots.

I reread all 12 issues, the 6 micros, and Infestation story in the span of one sitting and I enjoyed it even more the second time around. The whole year one story and how everything tied together to the end of #12 was very well done.

I also like the fact that Shredder is sticking around, and that IDW isn't afraid of using old toon or Archie characters. This isn't Mirage and it shouldn't be a copy of it.

So if you lost interest, reread all 12 issues and the 6 micros, you'll probably get right back into it.

I have. I don't like the whole 'reincarnation' angle, I still haven't gotten used to Dan Duncan's art (which I guess doesn't matter now), and it just seems to be going by too slow (I'm not a regular comic reader aside from TMNT and The Walking Dead).

I mean, The Walking Dead is only once a month, and I'm never bored with it, and am excited for each and every issue. The IDW TMNT, not so much.

Since I haven't read Volume One yet, I'm also excited to read each issue of the Color Classics. I love the series so far. I just can't really get into the IDW. I'm going to keep buying the issues, because it's only what, $8 a month for the ongoing and micro's? I've already gotten all the back issues, so why stop now? Who knows, maybe my interest will pick up one day.

While I have not lost interest just yet, If your biggest complaint about the IDW series is the bandana color then I consider you fortunate.

At least things like that make sense. They have different bandana colors in EVERY iteration so why should it really matter?

However, other things like April being the one to name the turtles, the reincarnation stuff, and other major changes to both the origin and characters are actually things worth complaining about, IMO.

I forgot to mention that. Yeah, I don't see why people care about bandana color. This isn't Mirage TMNT, so who cares? There are plenty of other things wrong (in my opinion) with the IDW storyline, but I'm not a writer, so I can't complain much about it.

My thoughts on the matter, which I've stated elsewhere as well, is that the main TMNT comic, be it Mirage or IDW should keep the red bandanas. Any spin-off comics, like Archie or Dreamwave I have no problems with, they spun off from colored masked roots. Also, it felt like a bait and switch or a cheat. They started in all red, got us excited for Mirage level grit, then gradually added in the FW stuff with the bandanas and the character nods.

Exactly. Like I said, the first 4 issues felt like classic gritty Tmnt comic goodness. Now, with all the cartoon aspects already in the comic, plus what's coming, they are losing me. It's turning into the 80's cartoon for grown ups. At least that's what it feels like to me.

I did for a little while early in the summer , but ever since the Splinter micro I've been back.

I think its how do we like our turtles? I will never like a red mask killer comic. It will lose my interest as quick as you lost yours. I need '87 cartoon elements and other aspect of the other media for it to feel like Ninja Turtles to me. For you its staying close to the original depiction. I can understand that while I can't agree with it.
The pacing is a pain and I would like an answer if the turtles are willing to kill or not. At this point I like what is being attempted. Mr. Waltz is trying to taking many elements that the large number of us like from the other media and taking a few elements from the comics for those that actually perfer the black and white comics while adding in its own original stuff like Old Hobb and the reincarnation bit. The whole reincarnation really bothered me but 8 months later I can accept it for this version and see that it works....at least for what Tom is trying to achieve. If its not your cup of tea hold on to about #15 then you have your back issues to retreat to. That is always a nice fallback spot. :)

The first four issues weren't any more gritty than the rest of it. The color of bandanas does not change the story or violence level.

Exactly. Again, I don't see the point of worrying about bandana color. But I guess 'to each his own'.

What the hell are you talking about?



It may have not changed the story, but visually it changed the way I looked at it as a whole.

I shouldn't have to spell it out for you. Just having a friendly conversation with you,dude. I don't like seeing all red mask and I don't like them to kill. It turns me off while it increase your interest. We both like TMNT but different types of the same thing. That is all I am saying. I can't get into it if it is the way you like it more than likely but will try it out and you can't get into what I perfer but will try it out is all.

When did I say the turtles need to kill in order for me to enjoy the book? That's right, I didn't. I certainly don't MIND them killing, if they have to. They are ninja after all.

I know. I said it will effect it for ME when desciribng my interest level and really the only thing that could effect it for me at this point . Like you I do associate the mask with the tone. I think a good analogy with tone can be found in Batman. There is Frank Miller, Adam West, and Denny O'Neil. Each name represents a certain way of portraying Batman. I like mine with Denny O'Neil and that is the kind of tone I like seeing in Ninja Turtles. Not gritty yet not silly. You on the other hand perfer Frank Miller, dark and deep storytelling where a hero or perhaps those around him or more willing to take a violent approach.

I've been enjoying it quite a bit, but I didn't read any of the Mirage comics until recently. I grew up with the old cartoon and the Archie series so for me I appreciate that some things feel familiar. Even seeing the Mirage comics as an adult, I don't really feel like they were ever that dark or gritty. But I'm also a big Berserk fan, so a lot of things are going to feel pretty tame compared to that.

S**t's just getting real, guys. There's no way I'm losing interest now.

The pacing is the only thing I would complain about. Once a month is a dragging pace; and while others disagree with that statement I cannot help but feel that way. However, that hasn't really dampened my interest in the book, no. I prefer the color bandanas, so that was never an issue for me.

The reincarnation angle may be "out there" but it's no more farfetched than 4 baby turtles randomly coming into contact with a breaking TCRI canister of alien ooze. The only other issue I ever had was the characterization of Donatello being overly aggressive, but I've grown to appreciate it as a new and (in retrospect) refreshing take on him.

I definately lost interest in it, and I don't precisely know why. I didn't really care for the way the characters were portrayed.:ohwell:

By the time Donnie got obnoxious, I was starting to lose interest, but I gave it another chance. However, by the fifth issue (a. k. a. reincarnation origin), I slammed the book onto the floor. I felt, "What's the point? If you're not going to stay true to their origins, don't call it Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because that's not what this is.":tgrumble: To me, if Splinter was the only one reincarnated and NOT the turtles, I would've been fine. I just think that the 18 month mutation of the turtles is what caused the reincarnation thing to begin. Tom Waltz, to me (even though he's nice), copped out. Either this idea was in his mind before he worked on the comics, or he didn't know what to do to make it "new." There are ways to make things new without completely changing things for the sake of it. To me, this comic does not have heart. Hoping the Nickelodeon based ones will be better.

So to anyone who may think this pays tributes to the OT, I don't remember Don being that rude to Leo in the OT . . . or for one thing, April naming the turtles and working for Stockman. This is not OT for the adults. And if it is, it needs to start over because, I feel it's just not working. Still, that's my opinion. There have been times where I've exploded on here about this, but that was before I began clearing my mind and thinking about it a little. Still, my opinions really haven't changed.

Plus, Old Hob. Very weak villain. Wasn't needed. Even during the whole reincarnation thing, I feared he would be Oruku Saki. Alopex? Wasn't needed. Karai coming in instantly? They should have waited on her. Everything, I felt, just made this lack magic that TMNT carries. In fact, it makes the 2k3 series better for what it was . . . even during those last cheesey seasons.:twink:

Also, hate Dan Duncans artwork. At least Kevin Eastman's turtles look lean, green, fighting machines. Duncan's appear . . . I don't know . . . mean, like the turtles can't stand each other.:tsad: Plus, I found their look to be ugly. Ross Campell is a better artist than him.

My take: why keep it the same in every incarnation? You might as well just watch/read the old s**t over and over again.

To me, messing with the origins and characters make it wrong for it to be the franchise people love.

Still, there are ways to change things without making it too drastic. I mean, Nickelodeon is changing a few things in the cartoon, but at least the turtles are the ones we know and love and that they were still mutated as infants.:twink:

That's what should be left untouched: the way characters are born. What's the point in reading Batman then if it seems someone decides not to kill off his parents? Something so essential that makes the franchise should never be taken away.:tsad:

Samhain has a picture of Leo with a BLUE bandana (not red -- sacrilege!!!!) as his avatar. Clearly it is not so important to him as he claims :)

The Splinter & Casey issues have been a breath of fresh air for the series. The main line has been slowing down for me to the point of feeling very lull.

I agree with the poster that mentioned how good the first issue felt... Personally the highest peek for me was when the brothers finally reunited.

[And no it wasnt the bandana thing]

I'm loving this series I'm enjoying it more than Mirage. Mirage is the book i lost interest in the story's where sometimes quite boring.But IDW love the reincarnation and April naming them. and Splinter facing the foot and Shredder on his own was well..... AMAZING!. the micros are also great.

I do hope you're joking. Like many others, I have no issues wth the turtles wearing colored bandanas. Except in the comic books.

If it was any other series but TMNT I don't know that I would still be picking up the book every month. IDW hasn't done anything so egregious that I've wanted to drop it, but to me everything from the beginning has felt lackluster, especially after the new-ness wore off. The pacing from month to month is one thing but the pacing within each book I think is terrible. None of the character personality traits are that well defined. This series is supposed to stand on it's own but I find myself projecting more conventional character traits onto the series instead of those things being clearly outlined.

There are probably more people that know and remember TMNT because of the FW series than from any other incarnation. I was one of those people once, and I think it's great to throw them a bone now and then if it's something worthwhile. But if that becomes an overpowering factor in the series it will seriously turn me off. There have been high points along the way(micro ish's mostly), and I'm certainly looking forward to the next story arc, the annual, and the foot clan mini. I think this thing has so far failed to really stand on it's own and has been played pretty safe(lame). Maybe that comes down from Nick/Viacom, I dunno.

Well, count me in the other camp on all accounts. I only recently got into the series and have been pleasantly surprised by it. Not stopping any time soon.

The pacing is horrible in this series. You gotta grab me, and keep me wantin' more. Sadly, it has not. And someone tell Kevin he needs to practice drawing because most of the time his ''covers'' blow.

I agree on the pacing. Kevin's covers are a hit or miss for me. Sometimes they just looked rushed, but his cover for issue # 14 is FANTASTIC! :tcool:

That's why this series is actually interesting. If IDW didn't use original cartoon characters it would simply be, "Mirage-lite," which is essentially what the 4kids series already was.

The 4kids cartoon was already a loose adaption of Mirage material with new twists added like Ch'rell and so forth to make a new spin on the old stuff.

IDW on the other hand can take characters we would never see in Mirage/4kids like Slash and Krang and do something amazing with them. That's what makes this series have potential, to re-invent all these older characters that we haven't seen used in YEARS.

I don't disagree. I like Krang. I think he could be a cool character in IDW. He hasn't been borne out one way or the other yet. There's a very short list of FW/Archie characters I would be interested in seeing re-vamped and Slash is certainly among them. Bebop and Rocksteady? Not so much really, unless they can imagine up something meaningful for them. Nostalgia can only go so far before you realize it's kinda weak.

True, but I am sure we're not going to see characters just for the sake of it.

With the strong hints that Slash is making his debut in the IDW series soon, I honestly can't wait to see what they do with him.

How can anyone possibly lose interest when it's just starting to kick off and getting good? That's like walking out of an action movie before the epic climax.

Not really sure how things are getting real... Except for maybe Old Hob and Baxter. But for the turtles, the story so far is about how they met the Shredder and found absolutely no reason to be afraid of him. I understand there's plenty of reasoning for it, but it doesn't make the story any more eventful, or "real," as it may. The only thing the Foot have done competently is kidnap and already kidnapped Splinter.

I'm still enjoying IDW turtles, but it is waning as everything definitely seems to be slowly declining in quality with each subsequent issue, both in artwork and writing. I'm hoping that with a new artist, and one year under Tom's belt to improve the execution overall, my interest will pick back up. I still have high hopes, but they really gotta take the kiddy gloves off. I don't mind a safe all ages approach necessarily, but that doesn't mean the story has to be safe. See Mask of the Phantasm for how you can push the boundaries of multi layered storytelling with an accessible yet sophisticated approach.

As long as they keep up the quality that has been present in the Micro-Series then I will still have interest in the IDW. Those stories are great and self-contained and give me the greatest joy of the new issues. I'm really looking forward to the arcs that have been hinted at for issues 13-14 and 15-16. I like an over arcing story but I think that having things wrap up in two issues instead of four will be great for the overall storytelling aspect of the series and I hope this turns out to be the case.

The Mirage Turtles killed Shredder the first time they met him. The 4kids Turtles (or rather Splinter) defeated Shredder the first time he attacked them.

Shredder losing once doesn't mean he's going to always lose.

I'm still liking it. Granted I'm a little behind all the stories, what with reading Trades only, But I'm still liking what they're putting out.

I'm usually pretty easy going with comics. I appreciate different artistic styles, some I like, some not. I don't mind Duncan's at all.

As for the story lines, I like seeing a different twist on a story. My thought on that is do you really want to pay money only to read the exact same stories?
As long as it still fits the overall feel of the subjects, and not something carzy coming out of left field (or outerspace :twink:)

~S~

It's been over a damn year and it's ''just starting to kick off and getting good?''



Yeah....:roll:

I've made and recognized that point myself before, but 40 pages of buildup hardly compares to 8-12 issues of buildup. Even so, Mirage was able to build up more tension and suspense within those 40 pages than IDW has in all this time. I'm not trying to say the whole series is a letdown, but I'm acknowledging a legitimate one for myself. Like I've said before, it's not the fact that he lost so much as the way he lost.

Plus we all know the Vol. 1 #1 was meant to be self-contained story. If the Shredder is meant to stick around to terrorize the turtles but ultimately lose, he's got to do something competently or else he just looks like a chump who talks big. Krang is talking big too with no actions to back it up, but hopefully when the time comes, he won't disappoint as well. I understand they aren't meant to succeed in destroying the turtles, but it's up to the series to convince us they could, otherwise what's the point?