How many issues do you think IDW Tmnt will reach?
 

this is a topic that has been discussed time and time again.
but as sale numbers continue to diminish, i can’t help but wonder how long the series will continue on for?

so, questions.

-how many issues do you think the main IDW Ongoing Tmnt comic will last?

-how many issues do you think Tmnt: Universe will last?

-do you feel the companion Tmnt: Universe has helped the main series thrive, or has it pushed readers away?

-do you buy both Tmnt as well as Tmnt: Universe?

-if so what format(s) do you buy? (single issues, TPB, Deluxe HC, digital singles, digital TPB, etc...)

discuss... :tsmile:

The main series is already planned out to at least issue 100. It'll probably still continue on beyond that, but who knows how long it'll go. Maybe 120-150 issues? Who knows. That's too far in the future to think about now.

TMNT Universe might continue to at least 30 issues, but it'll probably be replaced by mini's and specials so it won't really matter.

As for your other questions I buy the trades now but now I have to sell those to switch over to the new hardcover collections.

From what's been set up on the Dragon Lord, I very much think it could go to at least 175.

He's been kicking around for a long time, even as early as Secret History of the Foot Clan, when the turtles assumed Saki was the Dragon Lord presently. And with the warning that he's basically "unkillable", I can see #100 as his grand entrance, with maybe two or three issues beforehand leading up to it.

those sound like fair estimations.

around 30 for Tmnt Universe.

about 120 for the main series. not sure if it'll actually last to 150.


i've been buying all singles, trades, as well as the deluxe hardcovers.

but i'm strongly considering to stop buying the singles. something i thought i'd never do.
i used to not mind it as much before, but i'm honestly just not loving the series like i used to and now see the single issues as space eaters.

and what to do with the singles? keep em? sell em? donate them?

When I bought trades I just sold all the single issues on one huge lot on ebay. From what I remember I sold everything prior to issue 50 at the time, and made around $70ish in sales off it.

Then I bought all the 4 issue TPB's. Now I'm thinking about selling all those off to replace them with the new hardcover collections. Every time IDW re-releases the series I have to sell off the previous releases for the new ones. :lol:

realistically, i just can't image the series lasting to 175.

i'd be VERY surprised if it actually makes it to 150 the way things have been going.

to be perfectly honest, i think many of the characters and plot points that have been introduced a while ago should have LONG since been dealt with.

look at the FCBD issue from May 2017.
that painful exposition running through ALL of the plot threads that were (and are STILL) going on in the main series have barely even been touched upon.
i think one of the series biggest problems (beside lack of Turtles) has been that the plot really doesn't feel like it's progressing.

the series has been stuck in neutral for quite a while.

wow! 1-50 for $70???

was that also including the minis and micro series?

hahaha! yeah i can see the trades as quickly becoming space eaters too, now that you put it that way! :lol:

If you decide to sell the singles it might be cool to give dromers looking for certain issues first shot. :tsmile:

I always thought you bought the singles. Seems like you know the latest plot details day of release. Do you buy the singles on mini-series?

Yeah including all those micros at the time. Keep in mind I sold them back in...I don't remember 2016 or so? When did issue 50 come out? It was somewhere around then.

There's no reason to keep two copies of the same things, once I decided to get the trades I knew I was going to sell the single issues. It's also easier to re-read the series in books then single comics for obvious reasons.

yeah, i can list them on here if and when i'm ready to sell.
though i might be more looking to sell it as one giant (one and done) lot rather than to break it up and be stuck with the leftovers of cherry picking. :P

i think issue #50 came out in October of 2015.

that was the last year i went to NYCC and issue #50 had JUST came out.
i'd bought the Bisley/Talbot cover of #50 and was lucky enough to meet Eric Talbot there and have him sign it for me.

Oh yes if and when. You could sell the left overs as a lot after cherry picking is done. Some of those floppies can fetch a pretty penny. Do you have all the RI covers?

i really don't know about that. that's more packing than i was planning to do

i mainly stuck with Cover A's with a variant here and there that caught my eye.

i do have the full run of Kevin Eastman covers 1-73
some of those i believe are RI

after a while it gets hard to keep track of it all.

I have a spread sheet totaling every issue I get in. IDW TMNT is my prized collection and I'm trying to get as full of a run as I can find. I hope the main series goes on for a while yet as I still think there is a lot that can happen in the story, and as for the sales it still is one of the better books that IDW runs each month right? Universe will probably be replaced with something better formatted to readers who want lighter TMNT stories that aren't so bogged down into the 100 issues worth of continuity.

Yeah, the numbers indeed dropped a little at the start of the year, but it's pretty much remains IDW's cash cow.

But the cow is producing less and less every month. And we don’t know licensing fees or costs for the talent. Another IDW book with lower sales numbers could be more profitable if it has less overhead.

I want TMNTU one-shots. :tgrin:

i think one of the biggest reasons the numbers have been dropping is that only ONE of the major plot points since the 2017 FCBD issue has been dealt with.

and it wasn't like the Turtles really had anything to do with that resolution.
that was all Leatherhead.
and it took up to about 9 comics worth of storytelling to get to it.

each month the sales continue to drop, and it gets frustrating that story hasn't really progressed.

there aren't any real 'fun' moments in the main comic all that much either.
it's all either exposition or melodrama.

the first 12 issues IMO were some of the best of the series. especially #5.
Secret History of the Foot Clan was another high point, as far as a well balanced, action-packed story with good characterization and fun.

Tmnt Universe was a step in the right direction. i just hope that direction continues and improves.

as long as they are focused on the Turtles, i am ALL for it!! :tgrin:

I'm hoping for at least 150 issues. I think that would be enough time to wrap up the remaining plot points, combined with TMNT Universe.

The best I can say is that since the staff doesn't seem to be concerned about the drop in sales - which Bobby didn't seem to be a few months ago - then I'm not going to be concerned.

He even seemed...enthusiastic his regular "I can't say anything" to my question about what Null was alerted to at the end of TMNTU 20. So with that, I don't see any reason to think they might have to rush the ending overall.

And, with another year or so to go for #100, I do think things have potential to pick up again.

Seeing how it took Action Comics 80 years to reach even 1/9 of that... No.

Anyway, are we just talking the current numbering or total including renumberings? Those can be a rather different.
For example, no Venom series ever reached more than 47 issues, but with the return of Eddie Brock the series numbering officially recognises 165 issues confirmed.

Let's say they do get to continue to issue 100 and a little beyond. As of right, let's estimate 100-120, somewhere in between. After that point the sales really plummet but IDW still wants to keep the license, so they'll release yearly mini-series to maintain it. Let's say they're 5 issues long on average and that this goes on for about 8 years. Then they feel like it's time to try another ongoing that lasts for 39 issues.

In this scenario, the original numbering was only 120 but it adds up to 199, at which point they can claim the next issue is 200.

but do you think if there was cause for concern, that they'd be aloud to verbalize it publicly?

that's just a typical P.R. response.

like a speech a Commanding Officer might give before sending his troops off on a suicide mission.

i was speculating the current numbering and continuity.

as of now i see the series reaching to 120, maybe 125.


i'm not sure 5 issues a year over 8 years would really hold it afloat.
interest and readership would drastically drop.

at that point they'd be much better off rebooting and renumbering to attract new readers.

TMNT could also be in a slump because there's no show to promote it. Once that show is on the air whether we like the direction or not, It might reinvigorate the comics.

Heh, I was just thinking that too. So, let's shoot for 9,000 or 8,000 (depending on who you ask). I mean, Archie Sonic almost made it to 300, so... yeah.

Huh...that's a pretty good observation. It probably isn't a coincidence that the numbers are low while it's between shows, but then again...

Maybe when the new TV series begins a slight increase will happen. But more likely those watching the show will buy the current mini or crossover. Or the show will get it’s own mini and that will be what the fans pickup.

It’s hard to imagine the target audience for the show will want the ongoing. Hopefully I’m wrong and the ongoing starts increasing every month with the excitement of a new TV series. However it seems like the TV fans will want toys more than comics.

yeah, i really can't imagine a kiddie cartoon about mystical Ninja Turtles drawing in new readers into a non related comic series.

a comic series that has about six years worth of continuity from well over 150 back issues to catch up on.

you hit the nail on the head with that one!

I personally would like to see a fresh voice on the book. As much as I appreciate the great job Tom Waltz has done, the respect he has for the franchise, and his brave, successful spin on the origin, the style of storytelling just doesn't grab me at all, and it's hard for me to make it through an issue. Maybe it's the dialogue, maybe it's the pacing, or possibly the characterization of the turtles. It's hard to say.

I do really appreciate how fun and surprising the first five issues were. I also enjoy Secret History of the Foot. I'm glad the book has been as successful as it has. I'd love to see it continue, but hopefully with a fresh voice or mantra.

If IDW TMNT is still going in the year 2021, it'll have been going on a full 10 years since it started in 2011.

Man, the year 2021 sounds like a year out of a sci-fi movie, hard to believe we'll be there in only 3 years. :lol:

I think the correlation between having a little kids' TMNT cartoon on the air, not having a little kids' TMNT cartoon on the air, and IDW TMNT sales is somewhere between "almost no effect at all" and "no effect whatsoever."

Unless the toy stuff has, like, vouchers or coupons or order forms to order IDW TMNT, there really is no impetus for little kids to seek out comics they don't know exist that bare little to no resemblance to the show they're watching (particularly within the increasingly dwindled number of actual comic book stores out there they could even possibly stumble upon).

this was pretty much my thoughts as well.

i can see a live action movie geared towards teens and adults possibly getting people into comic stores. but definitely not a kiddie cartoon.

i think i might be starting to feel the same way as you about the storytelling.
it's a very dialog driven comic, with little to no action. when action does happen, it's usually over before it really begins.
i didn't mind so much for the early arcs because there was usually some pay off or satisfying conclusion right away. but now that most of the plot threads feel like they are really dragging out it's hard to get excited for the new issues.

i also think the story focusing on so many new characters, and the Turtles taking backseat in their own comic is not a very good thing.

so many different things going on the overall direction of plot is getting convoluted.

Do people in charge have faith that drastic shakeups would result in monthly increases rather than an even faster decrease? At least if they stay the course it’s more certain sales would stay with the current trends. I’m reminded of the phrase that goes something like “better the devil you know than the devil you don't.” Or for all we know an exit or change with everything is already planned/plotted and we are wasting our words. :tconfuse:

How long will it last? . . .

http://i66.tinypic.com/dlga5x.gif

But realistically... They seem to plot out major arcs in sets of 50 so would love to see it hit 150 or 200.

Would also like to see Universe continue alongside it for that long. I feel like it's really fleshing out the turtles'... Universe. :tangel: Contrary to some, I don't mind when the turtles leave the spotlight either, and it's great to see the variety of talent Bobby turns through the sister series with each new arc.

I collect all the singles of the main series, mini series, and Universe. It's really the best way to ensure that we continue to get TMNT on the shelf. I believe that the smaller comic publishers (and definitely comic shops) stay in business due to floppy sales. Also after 15 years of collecting all the other TMNT back-issues it seems silly to stop now! Plus, letter columns are fun!

I also get the IDW Complete Collection trades because, well, they're a no-brainer. Everything, in order, in a beautiful hardcover format. What's not to love?

maybe that's part of the problem right there?

a comic series shouldn't have to use up 50 issues (plus supplemental titles) just to reach a satisfying conclusion.

I have no desire to see a creative team change. Keep Waltz, keep Bobby.

Look around at the Big 2, you guys... how many creative teams stick around and last, consistently telling good stories year over year?

If there's a roadblock to IDW TMNT truly meeting our desires, it's that Nick has a leash on IDW and we have to keep things PG (except for the occasional turtleshell-smashing shock moment).

The Turtles aren't allowed to kill, or grow past being relatively idealistic teenagers. We're not getting Mirage-style comics ever again, so this is the best we get. And I'm okay with that.

Maybe in another decade or two, IDW can tell some more adult-oriented TMNT tales, with melancholy, grim and bleak atmosphere, and moral ambiguity, like The Walking Dead. But don't hold it against them that they're telling stories for an IP that the mass audience assumes is for kiddies.

I personally like the long game. I feel like most comics these days are obsessed with 4-6 issue stories then–BOOM!–start with a new #1. I kind of fell in love with the Mirage comics for the way they would occasionally really slow things down and just meditate on story beats and introspective characterization. Glad to see IDW doing some of the same in the current fast-paced market, and I actually wished they had spent a bit more time with things like Raph alone, Dark Leo, and dead Donnie. Long arcs leave room for reflection and gravitas.

I doubt any of the creative team will change unless they themselves decide to quit or leave IDW for another company. I hope they stay the entire run, it makes sense for the series to have one vision. Whenever creative teams change they either reboot or make drastic changes and change a series into something it's not.

but at least in the early arcs of the IDW series there were conclusions to the stories. after 'City Fall' and 'Northampton' what were the story arcs that lead to 'Attack on the Technodrome' and 'Vengeance'?
what were the memorable moments of said (in-between) arcs? they were just kind of there.
that's how i feel about many of the stories post #50. they're just kind of there.
the Street Phantoms arc was cool, but there were a lot of times when the story would stop dead in it's tracks for a healthy does of melodrama.