TMNT #4 Preview and Discussion...

[Roseangelo]

My comic shop is claiming new comics don't come out until tomorrow "because of the holiday" - Has anyone else run into this, or is it just complete BS?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Roseangelo

My comic shop is claiming new comics don't come out until tomorrow "because of the holiday" - Has anyone else run into this, or is it just complete BS?

That's nonsense. Diamond has been shipping Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays to prevent Holiday delays for a long time now.

[MattLawrence]

tom,

I am very and truly happy with yours and the teams work thus far on the turtles ! It has been fun with all the questions that pop up in my mind while reading. That being said I can't wait for those questions to be answered and i hope they will get answered soon.

just one question right now though....

Spoiler:

will issue #5 or the raphael micro series answer this "past family" aspect splinter mentioned? or a later issue ?

thanks,

Matt

[TomWaltz]

Originally Posted by MattLawrence

tom,

I am very and truly happy with yours and the teams work thus far on the turtles ! It has been fun with all the questions that pop up in my mind while reading. That being said I can't wait for those questions to be answered and i hope they will get answered soon.

just one question right now though....

Spoiler:

will issue #5 or the raphael micro series answer this "past family" aspect splinter mentioned? or a later issue ?

thanks,

Matt

Thanks, Matt! Here's my answer to your question:

Spoiler:

Though many answers will still come in future issues, issue #5 does answer the lion's share of questions about the past family aspect. It's an issue I'm very, very proud of, too -- wait till you see the artwork Dan, Mateus, and the ever-awesome Ronda Pattison have put together!

[Roseangelo]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

That's nonsense. Diamond has been shipping Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays to prevent Holiday delays for a long time now.

That's what I thought.

[DrSpengler]

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

Only issue I had with your write-up was that you thought I might be "rubbing the decompression" in your face. I actually don't know you personally, so I don't have that sort of vendetta against you in mind as I write TMNT, nor am I the type of creator who'd do that to any of the readers I'm fortunate enough to have checking out my work.Tom W.

That bit of my review was rather vitriolic in retrospect and I apologize for it.

I hope you understand that I do appreciate the scope and direction of the story you are creating; my primary grievance is just with the pacing. And I of course mean no personal offense.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

Only issue I had with your write-up was that you thought I might be "rubbing the decompression" in your face. I actually don't know you personally, so I don't have that sort of vendetta against you in mind as I write TMNT, nor am I the type of creator who'd do that to any of the readers I'm fortunate enough to have checking out my work.

I don't think Spengler meant that as you, personally, rubbing it in anyone's face but more like... he feels that the storyline was very decompressed, and then here comes a comment from one of the characters in-story kind of underscoring that. So kind of an... unhappy coincidence?

I haven't read the latest issue myself yet so I can't comment on that, but the decompression factor hasn't really bothered me much so far... and I'm usually the kind of guy that's ready to burn effigies of Geoff Johns in protest whenever I read DC comics rife with that.

[TomWaltz]

Originally Posted by DrSpengler

That bit of my review was rather vitriolic in retrospect and I apologize for it.

I hope you understand that I do appreciate the scope and direction of the story you are creating; my primary grievance is just with the pacing. And I of course mean no personal offense.

No offense taken, amigo. I can understand the impatience -- our primary goals for this first arc

Spoiler:

were to lay the new origin groundwork, intro important characters (Casey, April, Stockman, Hob, Krang), and get the four turtles back together, of course -- while showing some cool ninja action (and, man, you gotta admit those fighting scenes in issue #4 kick ass!). Splinter's remark about being able to truly begin was very deliberate on my part for many reasons -- one being that the family was impotent to move forward without the missing piece that was Raph -- two being the proclamation that the origin foundation has been laid out, the players revealed, the formalities are out of the way and it's time to kick this sucker into an even higher gear -- issue #5 does just that!

So, all good! Keep reading and keep critiquing -- keeps us honest!

[TomWaltz]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

I don't think Spengler meant that as you, personally, rubbing it in anyone's face but more like... he feels that the storyline was very decompressed, and then here comes a comment from one of the characters in-story kind of underscoring that. So kind of an... unhappy coincidence?

I haven't read the latest issue myself yet so I can't comment on that, but the decompression factor hasn't really bothered me much so far... and I'm usually the kind of guy that's ready to burn effigies of Geoff Johns in protest whenever I read DC comics rife with that.

Just don't come after me with one of those friggin' Highlander swords. Those things are scary!

[CyberCubed]

I think its that the Mirage and Archie series usually told whole stories in the span of a single issue, and at most were spread out over 3-parters.

I've been re-reading the Mirage and Archie series myself, and most stories were told in single issues. Then of course we had the usual 2 or 3 parters.

I think the only exceptions were City at War which spanned 13 issues, and Volume 2, which also spanned 13 issues.

[MattLawrence]

yea i'm used to the 1 issue stories from mirage as well.

Though it has yet to be seen just yet, I am confident the new team could produce 1 issue stories if they wanted and whats to say they haven't already thought of some ! We can only ponder until told otherwise

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

Just don't come after me with one of those friggin' Highlander swords. Those things are scary!

I can't promise anything -- if you see a guy in your line at a ComiCon with a sword (that isn't dressed up like Naruto, or whatever the kids like these days), it's probably a sign that: 1) You've done something wrong in the comics, and 2) It might be a good time to take a lunch break.

I kid, I kid.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I think its that the Mirage and Archie series usually told whole stories in the span of a single issue, and at most were spread out over 3-parters.

I've been re-reading the Mirage and Archie series myself, and most stories were told in single issues. Then of course we had the usual 2 or 3 parters.

I think the only exceptions were City at War which spanned 13 issues, and Volume 2, which also spanned 13 issues.

But don't forget that the Mirage issues were often times 35, 40 pages an issue... or more. I'm pretty sure even the Archie books were a little longer than 20 pages, too.

[CyberCubed]

True, but it makes you wonder how long:

1. When will Shredder finally make his debut, or at least have a cameo?

2. How long till Krang gets a "full" debut?

3. Where are the Foot Clan? Were they the ninja's in the first issue?

4. When will April meet the Turtles?

5. When will we see the debut of the main secondary villains in TMNT history, like Rat King, Leatherhead, etc?


There are so many characters in the TMNT universe, but it does feel like it'll take a while before everything comes together.

[azrael]

I think a minor problem for most people is we are the "elite" TMNT fans hence why we are on technodrome and a few other TMNT sites. So for the introduction to characters may seem long to us it isnt if you are New or have been out of the loop for a while.

[Samhain]

Originally Posted by azrael

Iwe are the "elite" TMNT fans hence why we are on technodrome and a few other TMNT sites.

LMAO. ''Elite'' fans? What the hell does that even mean?

[azrael]

I dont want to say stupid crap like "true" fans.. I thought elite would be better. I guess I could have used committed fans.

[TomWaltz]

Originally Posted by azrael

I dont want to say stupid crap like "true" fans.. I thought elite would be better. I guess I could have used committed fans.

But, I get what you're saying and that does bring up a good point. From the very beginning, I've said that IDW's TMNT is going to be a mish-mash of all the iterations of TMNT that have come before -- comics, movies, TV, etc. -- along with all-new stuff. To directly compare what we are doing to the original Mirage run is really apples to oranges, at least as far as plot/storyline are concerned... and, as Andrew mentioned in an earlier post, formatting (we always only have 22 pages each issue to work with). I mean, there will obviously be similarities, but there will be plenty of differences, too -- very deliberate differences. If folks are looking for us to walk down the same exact roads that have been travelled before, honestly, they are better off getting the original comics.

That said, comparing the quality of our stories to the original stories is fair and really comes down to individual tastes. We're gonna keep doing what we love and hope you will all stick around to see how things pan out. Big plans!

I will share this, though, as far as mish-mashing is concerned... in issue #7, we're bringing in something from the 80's TV Toon in an all-new and exciting (and dare I say, gritty) way that I know will surprise folks and I think a way folks will dig -- old and new, novice and elite fans alike.

[Samhain]

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

I will share this, though, as far as mish-mashing is concerned... in issue #7, we're bringing in something from the 80's TV Toon in an all-new and exciting (and dare I say, gritty) way that I know will surprise folks and I think a way folks will dig -- old and new, novice and elite fans alike.

This puts a very big grin on my face!

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

I will share this, though, as far as mish-mashing is concerned... in issue #7, we're bringing in something from the 80's TV Toon in an all-new and exciting (and dare I say, gritty) way that I know will surprise folks and I think a way folks will dig -- old and new, novice and elite fans alike.

Cool. Krang was from the 80's show, but since he's already been debuted, I can only think of a few other characters from it that we could be seeing.

Rat King and Leatherhead originated in the Mirage comics, so it can't be them. April isn't a reporter, so its not any of the Channel 6 news crew. It is unlikely to be obscure characters like Pizzaface, since he never even appeared in the old show and only got a toy. Rahzar/Tokka originated in the movies, so its not them.

Although I must say, I am curious if Krang does have an army from Dimension X in this version. I wouldn't mind seeing the return of General Traag.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by TomWaltz

I will share this, though, as far as mish-mashing is concerned... in issue #7, we're bringing in something from the 80's TV Toon in an all-new and exciting (and dare I say, gritty) way that I know will surprise folks and I think a way folks will dig -- old and new, novice and elite fans alike.

Don't get too excited, folks... he's talking about the letters on the belts.

If I could ask just one question of Mr. Waltz:

(and you can answer this or interpret this question however makes sense to you)

When all is said and done and the status quo (or whatever will resemble "status quo") of the IDW TMNT is more or less established -- you know, origin told, the players, supporting cast, bad guys, key motivations, all of that is pretty well known -- what will we be looking at in terms of percentages of other universes at the core of this universe?

For example, someone might describe/breakdown what we've seen of the IDW TMNT so far as:

30% Mirage TMNT
45% Fred Wolf Cartoon TMNT
10% 4Kids Cartoon TMNT
10% Archie Comics TMNT
5% Movie TMNT

How would you similarly breakdown [the influences/inspirations/derivatives of] the IDW universe when things get a bit more settled?