How were you introduced to tmnt?
 

Would be interesting to see how many fans here got to know the turtles. I'm guessing a good chunk are people who grew up with the FW cartoon.

Personally, I first knew the turtles from about the mid 2000s when i occassionally saw an episode of the 4kids cartoon come on here and there. I was entertained by the show when it came on, but never followed it seriously or really got to understand the setting.

My first offical-ish introduction to tmnt was in 2007 when me and my dad went to watch the CGI film in theatres. Like the 4kids cartoon, I was entertained and by this point, I understood the turtles' personalities, knew who splinter was and had a rough idea of their lifestyle (eating pizza, skateboarding in the sewers, having japanese martial arts skills). I even played the tmnt game on the DS and it kept me pretty occupied for a while until the tmnt phase lasted until it was overshadowed by other franchises like pokemon and call of duty.

However, it was mid 2013 when the nick cartoon was airing where I lived. By the looks of the CGI, i thought nick was adapting the 2007 tmnt movie into an animated series in a way like the penguins of madagascar and kung fu panda: legends of awesomeness. Going in, I was initially feeling a dose of nostalgia visiting the turtles again, not expecting too much but contrary to my expectations, the Nick cartoon completely blew me away and I was instantly hooked at how charming and fun it was. From there, I began to look at all the incarnations and became a huge turtles fan, with my top favourite version being a tie between the Fred Wolf and Nick cartoon.

It was about the year 1991 when the grandson of my neighbour (2 years older) played with Hero Turtles figures. Up to this point of time I was just playing with LEGO, if I remember correctly. But from then on, I was a passionate Turtles fan. My first figure was Basic Donatello, bought in a little toy and stationery shop in my hometown. My mother was with me, but without the enthusiasm for Turtles toys, what she had for LEGO in those days. I have quite sharp memories and see myself still standing there, looking up to the choice of figures and selecting Don, when the shop owner said to my skeptical-looking mother, to convince her a little: "That's one of the good guys." An imprinting experience.

I don't exactly remember when my first contact to the turtles occured.

As I watched the first movie around 1991 I already had a rough idea about the turtles. At that time I already thought of myself as a turtles-fan.

The first contact could have been these Eastman/Laird picture, that I received from an US-living relative of mine as a fold-up poster without any more information:

http://media.comicbook.com/uploads1/...z2l-104383.jpg

I loved that poster very much, but I really can't recall anymore what was earlier: that I got the poster, or that I saw the movie...

Some months later the first episodes of the Fred Wolf-cartoon started with one episode every Sunday morning, and the first issues of the Archie comics were released, and I could convince my parents to buy me the comics.

I got some action figures too: my first one was Casey Jones (my favourite character from the movie), and I got Storage Shell Raph, Splinter, Mondo Gecko and Srgt. Bananas and an Ooze Canon too.

After I went to the high school, I lost some interest on the turtles, but occasionally I watched the cartoon, if I caught it on a TV channel.

Later my mother spent a lot of my toys - including my TMNT figures - to the child of a poor family, and I think my comic collection had the same fate.

After a long time, I was surfing the Internet with a newly awaken interest on comics - thanks for a friend of mine, who showed me Watchmen - and I stumbled upon a page from the Mirage TMNT #1: Raphael on a rooftop.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ndcKruZg1a...ds+Raphael.jpg

I was immediately amazed and wanted to know more about the original turtles.

After some months of reading about the franchise at Wikipedia and Turtlepedia, I bought Vol.1 of the ultimate Edition. An at the moment I got my copy, and opened it, I became a reborn TMNT-fan. :tcool:

I was like 8 years old in 1989 when I was first exposed to the original cartoon. I didn't really care for. It wasn't until after I saw the first movie in 1990 that I fell in love with the franchise.

Like this:

http://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Ar...400&h=250&as=1

It was Jr High for me. A boyfriend of my sister's at the time left his copy of the OT in the basement. I don't remember what season the show was in at the time, maybe the 2nd? Kind of got hooked on that.

In an effort to learn all I could of the show I watched the credits and saw the reference to the comic...and that was pretty much it.

Oh, it was horrorshow, was it? :D

Nah I just felt like giving a wildly different answer than ever before as I've seen this very same thread like 20 times since I joined :tlol:

Back in 1997 or 1998, when I was 7-8 years old, the FW series reruns started to air on cable TV in my country. My older brother was a huge fan of the Turtles in 90-92, and by the time the reruns started to air, he was already 14-15 years old, but for some reason wanted to watch the show again. Nostalgia maybe, I dunno. I vaguely remember him excitedly mentioning while watching TV one day "oh look, the Turtles will be back on TV!". A few days later he'd tell me to turn into the channel where the FW series reruns were gonna air. Oddly enough, I didn't put up a fight considering I was watching Cartoon Network at the time.

Anyway, I watched the first 30-40 episodes or so of the FW series in 1997-1998. Watched from Turtle Tracks until Four Musketurtles, I think? I liked it for the most part, iirc. And found the Eye of Sarnoth mini-arc to be quite epic at the time, believe it or not.

Now, for some reason, I stopped watching the FW series one day, even though I suppose the reruns didn't stop until the last episode of the show. So between 1999 and 2002, I didn't watch any Turtles related stuff. Then, one random Spring day in 2003, when I was in 7th grade, I noticed that the FW series was on TV again. It was that episode about Splinter's kimono, I think. Something clicked in my mind and I decided to ask my mom to buy me a couple of VHS tapes os that I could record every FW series episode I'd watch, which my brother had done some years before with the early eps already. And that's how I got hooked into the Turtles. Back when I was 12 years old. Then one year later, the 2k3 series arrives here and I had something new to watch by the time I had finished the FW series. And this time it was better because I could actually find action figures. I got the Turtles and Shredder in Christmas 2003. It was pretty exciting. And I played with my Turtle action figures until I was like 16, and have no shame in admitting it so.

My first exposure was the 87 cartoon when it was on a UHF station.

I'm not really sure where I got my first introduction, considering that I was small in the death throws of Turtlemania, and Pokémania was taking its place. I know my grandmother had a VHS of the Next Mutation movie, and I might have tried watching it on a few occasions, only to get bored and leave. I only remember very small parts it.

My most distinct memory is catching the end of one of the movies at a DMV. I was pretty much given no choice but to watch Michelangelo pick up some random red eared slider that was mucking around in the grass.

I had seen it floating around, and it only really smacked back into reality by way of Doug Walker and Phelan Porteous. And I only finally decided to watch it after Phelous' top 40 dumbest moments. I just had to experience the madness for myself, and I haven't looked back.

That flying carousel, man...

Yeah, I assumed. I meant horrorshow in nadsat... ;)
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appen...kwork_Orange#H

My first introduction to tmnt was the 1987 cartoon in the early 90s when I was 3 or 4.

I donno, probably through the toys.

87 show and 3 movies.

1987 cartoon series. I remember renting the same few VHS tapes from our gas station on the way home. Probably watched the same 6-8 episodes over and over.

Got into the toys because how couldn't you? Those were the coolest freakin toys.

No idea, the OT came out when I was born so when I started to like them it was already a fad so likely from the tips or other tmnt merchandise I saw at stores. I'm pretty sure it wasnt from the OT or because a friend told me though.

I've seen so many people claim mirage is what got them into the titles on random websites that if it were true P&L would've been millionaires before they even thought of the cartoon :lol:

I watch the original toon when I was 3-4, got Raphael as my first toy, and the rest is history.

Raph was my first toy too, he was my favorite and probably still aesthetically since I always grab his figures first even if I kind of enjoy and relate to Donatello's personality more as an adult.

The first movie.