What does Nickelodeon not allow IDW to do?
 

So I've heard that Nickelodeon has to approve of everything IDW publish related to TMNT.

So is there anything Nickelodeon has outright said no on? It seems like there would not be much considering they allowed the decapitation of children, but it would still interesting to learn where the line goes...

Nickelodeon says NO to many covers and requests changes. I have seen some from Lavigne and Lawson for the TPB that have been rejected, Petersen told me that Nickelodeon made him change a few covers (and the whole process turned him off from potentially doing a full issue), and I own the rejected Chris Allen cover from the 30th anniversary book because it didn't have enough "shenanigans" going on

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...psctlbfy7p.jpg

https://multiversitystatic.s3.amazon...E_HotTopic.jpg

I've heard they don't like the turtles doing graffiti, and stuff like that.

Those were good covers, why would Nickelodeon reject these? Do they take issue with Ninjara? Since she appears a little busty in it?

The top one was rejected, and the second one was the one they used

Why was the top one rejected, What was wrong with it?

The biggest oddity with Nick's oversight of these Archie-OT era tributes is the apparent "No April O'Neil" policy:
https://doknowbutchie.wordpress.com/...f-april-oneil/
(courtesy of the Drome's own The Big Bad)
See also:
http://oldmanwinters.deviantart.com/...over-479839965
I've yet to see anybody give a reason as for Nick's logic in removing April from the original spread completely. Her removal does free up more room to give Donatello more prominent placement.


Both are nice covers, but I can see why the Nick editor would prefer something more dynamic as far as "action" goes. Considering this variant was so rare, though, I don't really know if it was worth the trouble.

It could be that Nickelodeon only wants TMNT on the covers for marketing

But... we've now had two clear appearances of Ninjara (on the Allan variant and one of the Archie collected TPB) and once in silhouette. The Mutanimals have now made some appearances once their story arcs have been featured in the collection. April has yet to make any appearances, despite her large prominent role in the mid-run Archie sagas. I'm curious as to whether we should expect her mini-series to be collected and reprinted any time soon.

What does Nickelodeon have against April?

At a guess, because they don't want to confuse little kids with April appearing as an adult instead of a teenager?

That's one possibility.

The Forum kinda kicked around some ideas about whether and why vintage April was being intentionally banned form merchandise. The Big Bad thought something was up, and I kinda thought such speculation was ridiculous (April rarely featured prominently in vintage Mirage TMNT art), but once the news of the variant cover edit came out, I had no choice but to admit something was unusual:
http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=47293

I'm still more inclined to think Nick discourages featuring female characters on covers since there's a long standing corporate assumption that males/boys of certain target demographics don't want to buy stuff with girls on them, but Renet and Ninjara have both made appearances since then. Maybe they think vintage April looks too boring? On the other hand, Nick April has already been featured on at least three covers (more if you count all the variants) for the current New Animated Adventures comic.

Its pretty obvious Nick does hold IDW back from getting "too adult" or "too violent."

You can tell the IDW comic pushes the boundaries of what a cartoon would like Young Justice, Korra, Gargoyles, Justice League, etc. does but that's where it stays.

It does sound weird that Nick would have such petty concern as to not wanting female characters to be displayed on covers.

I have just checked the trades I have:

April, Renet, Shadow, Radical, Ninjara and Dale can all be seen on IDW's reprints of the 80's/90's stuff but not quite that prominently...
As for IDW's own series, I could only find a little less than 40 covers to feature female characters. Keep in mind here, this is not just the first 36 issues, it's also the 30 side issues and all the alt covers. Not to mention that many of these either features female characters in the background or it's characters like Alopex or Koya whom a casual buyer might not figure out is female.

I don't think it's intentional, I just think it kind of happens...

Uh... I don't remember Young Justice, Korra, Gargoyles and Justice League (unless you are talking about the direct to video movies) ever pulling something like this:
http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/...6026-IMG_1.png

Biggest example being: brainwashed Leonardo not killing anybody in "City Fall." Sigh... :trolleye:

Is it OK to ask why your reply always ends up above the quotation instead of under it?

I deliberately put it there. Is that an issue? If it's an issue or against the norm, I'm fine leaving it as is.

Well, the Gargoyles comic certainly went places:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...BL._SL500_.jpg

Couldn't find a bigger image sadly. Still, I think my point was made clear.

That's not counting the stuff that was edited in the TV cut of Gargoyles (especially that episode with Elisa and Broadway early on in the show).

It is a bit confusing to be honest, reading a response before the message you're responding to makes it a bit hard to follow. I end up first thinking you're just writing something that isn't a response, only to discover that it is.

Sorry 'bout that. The precedent I'm used to is the opposite, but I'll try to keep that in mind.

The suggestion that it's to prevent an adult April from confusing readers makes the most sense, IMO. Also it's really not all that massively censored - though maybe Nick forced them to deage the turtles.

It seems odd, Because you have the new TMNT movie, Which has an adult April in it, But don't see her image plastered in the covers or posters of the movie, there has to be something more to it, Perhaps its just that, They only want the main characters on the covers, April in the comics has always been a side character, Shes never at the center, Most of the time she needs rescuing.

The nick show on the other hand, is portraying April as someone who can defend herself, Especially since shes training with the Turtles often.

I think its all in the marketing, Nick sees TMNT appealing to a male demographic, and are forcing these guidelines that, They only want the Turtles in those comic book covers.

Archie April can defeat a bunch of Foot Soldiers and even defeated a demon alone, so it's not that. It's because of her age difference, I saw tons of kids complaining about the movie because she's an adult in it.

Well, Blame Nick then, I wonder whose idea was to make April a teenager in the first place.

She's a POWER GURL in Nicktoons to get demographic views. A young adult scientist that serves as more of a human aide to the turtles and not a psychic alien just isn't as appealing to kids, probably.

And, apparently, not even a world-traveling reporter who dabbles in occasional ninja weapons training under Master Splinter makes the cut either.

I do, for lots of stuff.

I wonder if enough time has passed so that it's "okay" to say out loud that Nick getting their hands on this franchise was an AWFUL thing? Because aside from "More Product", it is. The cracks are starting to show, little by little.

But it gave us the IDW series instead of Volume 4?

Thank goodness for small favors.

With Nickelodeon setting the guidelines on what IDW can, and can't do, You'll never get a mature TMNT in the comics, movies, or TV. In there eyes, It's a kids property.

Its why the majority of the Merchandise you see out there, Is based on the TV show and not any other incarnation, With the except of some being based on the 80s series, But you never see any based on the IDW ones.

Okay. I know the good guys can't kill anyone in IDW, but at least it's much more mature than the show. We have the past lives Turtles being beheaded as children, plenty of mild swearing, some philosophical stuff, a very well crafted storyline, and plenty of discussion about killing! Lol. I think that the Nick show and the movie are not in the same league as IDW.

Maybe I still would prefer Tristan Jones's gang wars stories from Tales Vol. 2, but not everything from the sale is bad.

Still, WTF about no April on the covers.

Yet Nickelodeon has a problem having April O'Neil showing on a cover for the comics

No kidding, and I knew however many years ago that was going to be the case. And I was against it.

People better enjoy whatever we have now, because this is as "good" as things under Nick's watch are ever gonna be. And they ain't great. It's only a matter of time until Nick gets nervous about IDW's portrayal and decides to pull the plug. Just wait.

Nick takes things and keeps them in a little box marked "Just For Kiddies". I understand it, but it's why I knew from the start that it was a huge mistake for them to get this property. I think Laird knew it, too, but was completely fed up and didn't care anymore. I mean, I get it, that's a lot of money he made off that deal, he never has to worry or care about anything ever again.

I just don't like it. Their "meddling" has been pretty small potatoes so far, but you can see how they're slowly digging their hooks in deeper.

I think you're going into conspiracy theory territory here. Nick isn't going to sabotage the IDW series or force them to cancel the book unless the series tanks in sales which shouldn't be for a good while yet.

Nick has allowed IDW to show death in the comic so its not like its a Saturday morning cartoon.

Like I said, it's gonna take a while, but it will happen. There ain't no "conspiracy", it's how business works and how They do business.

They "allow" the book to exist as a token gesture for the older fans. They also know nothing that happens in the book will affect fans of the TV show, because Nobody Reads Comic Books, and those who do are not the main audience for the cartoon. Yes, there is some cross-over, but it's minimal. Not everyone who reads the book watches the show, and most people who watch the show don't read the book. Comic sales across the board are slipping because of the ridiculous 3 and 4-dollar price point, so it's only a matter of time before Nick decides that they just don't want to keep the book going, especially since it's so contradictory to the "real" TMNT, the ones in the cartoons and movies.

Might take a few years, but it'll happen. First the books will get the ax, because they're not making any huge money from that arm of the business anyway; it's just a "Gift" for the older fans. Then, when the cartoon's ratings slip (and I don't know what the ratings are, but the plots they've been coming up with show they're already scraping the bottom as far as ideas, so that's also gonna happen sooner rather than later), that will get pulled as well. They'll still have the movies, until the box office drops around part 3 or 4 (which is what happens with every franchise of this nature), and by then, they'll be all out of patience and stick TMNT on a shelf entirely for at least ten years, until they decide it's "relevant" again. Or they could decide it's not worth it, and just keep it on the shelf and just make money off of DVDs forever, which is a great way to maximize profits while minimizing costs on their end.

It's really not at all hard to see how easily it can happen OR how likely it is. Nick as a company does not have a great track record for these kinds of things. It's just too Corporate.

But what you're saying is obvious, and happens with every franchise. It goes through a cycle and then comes to an end. I don't think anyone is expecting the IDW comic to run forever. Likewise the cartoon will probably last similar to the 4kids run.

I mean everything you're saying is common sense and we knew this back in the Mirage and 4kids days of the early 2000's too.

Except Nick isn't well-known for ever bringing that stuff back once it's outlived its peak popularity. Once it's "done" this time, it might be a loooong time, if ever, before they bring it back.

If you're cool with that, fine. But if this is the "last gasp" of the franchise, it would be nice if it were a little bit better across the board. And I have a strong feeling it would be, if Anyone Else were handling it.

Its the third reboot, I'm fine if this is the last one for awhile. The Nick cartoon will probably last as long as the 4kids show, and the IDW comic will probably make it to issue 100 (and if you count their specials and mini's there are already nearly 100 IDW TMNT comics).

The only other older TMNT universe that can still continue is Mirage, and that's only until PL finishes Volume 4 anyway.