Has anyone else lost interest with the IDW series?

[Genesis]

There should be a "meh" option. Like, I continue to pick up the trades, and I'm digging it for the most part, but the books haven't done anything to really wow me. So far, I've enjoyed the micros more thoroughly than the ongoing, but that may or may not change as I continue them both.

[SS_Turtle]

I haven't lost interest but I am a few issues behind right now. I think I left off at issue 10.

[CyberCubed]

Despite the posts in this thread, I find the poll results quite interesting.

Only 5 people have voted that they "lost interest" in the IDW series, whereas 20 say they haven't. So despite some negative comments here, the overwhelming majority is still quite interested in the IDW series. I think that says a lot.

I'll say it again, I think its just the usual comic book lull of only one issue coming out a month and taking too long to get through a story arc. Read them all in one sitting and everything flows much better.

[Andrew NDB]

Waned of late, to be honest, but I'm not closing the gate on things yet. And I think the results of this poll become useless every new issue that arrives... I'm easily swayed if a killer new issue drops, for example.

[Lampy]

i think my only gripe here - like the majority of people posting - is the pacing. are we really supposed to believe that all this happened in a matter of hours? that's kind of hard to imagine. aside from that... i'm still interested in this series... especially the micros. i'm used to the bandannas... nothing new there. the fight sequence with shredder... despite the shortness of that battle, the fight sequence is somewhat similar to the Mirage fight. the reincarnation thing is... new. but i find that it works.
however... i would much prefer if splinter finds out that the Turtles aren't really his sons. then he'd have to accept that truth and accept them as his sons, reincarnate or not. then the question "then why are we HERE?" can again be implemented and the randomness of their origin can once again be established and all the mirage fans are a little happier. yay!... oh wait. (one can only wish... sigh)

[***First of Two Latin Kings***]

Originally Posted by Lampy

the reincarnation thing is... new. but i find that it works.
however... i would much prefer if splinter finds out that the Turtles aren't really his sons. then he'd have to accept that truth and accept them as his sons, reincarnate or not. then the question "then why are we HERE?" can again be implemented and the randomness of their origin can once again be established and all the mirage fans are a little happier. yay!... oh wait. (one can only wish... sigh)

I don't think I would like that at all, but I suppose it is still a slim possibility. I don't understand why so many people want this to be "more Mirage." It's its own universe and clearly draws on influence from all of the others.

[Jephael]

It's funny, I had my fears about this new comic book when the news first came out about the reboot. Hell I even had a bad feeling about the Micro specials, but I was pleasantly surprised by everything they've done, and every month I look forward to getting the next issue in the mail!

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Jephael

It's funny, I had my fears about this new comic book when the news first came out about the reboot.

What reboot?

[Jephael]

This new series is basically a reboot, isn't it?

[Samhain]

I guess for me, Slash eventually showing up is what is bothering me. I'm just not liking this direction. Alopex, Slash, Bebop and Rocksteady, ''Krang'', Rock soldiers, just not digging it. Call me crazy. I dare ya.

Originally Posted by ***Son of Ch'rell***

It's its own universe and clearly draws on influence from all of the others.

To me, seems like they are drawing a lot from a specific universe.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Samhain

I guess for me, Slash eventually showing up is what is bothering me. I'm just not liking this direction. Alopex, Slash, Bebop and Rocksteady, ''Krang'', Rock soldiers, just not digging it. Call me crazy. I dare ya.

If that's what's bothering you it sounds like you were expecting a Mirage rehash. Its amazing that 1 year into the series some of you cannot let it go that this series is NOT and shouldn't be Mirage 2.0.

IDW using characters from all universes is probably the most promising thing about this series. Its a modern comic designed with a rogues gallery in mind, not Mirage's random storytelling where nothing really happened until a big Foot Clan arc.

Mirage is pretty much done at this point besides if PL ever finishes Volume 4. Seeing IDW just be "Mirage-lite" its pointless, we already have the 4kids series for that.

To me, seems like they are drawing a lot from a specific universe.

Why do you keep saying that? We have a handful of OT characters (Krang, Bebop/Rocksteady and Traag's Rock Soldiers), a 4kids character (Angel and arguably this version of Karai), an Archie character (Slash is mostly associated with the Archie series), and Mirage influence for Shredder/Baxter/April, etc.

Seriously, WTF are you making a big deal out of nothing?

[FearlessLeader]

I am still reading and enjoying the series but find myself generally buying the comics in groups of 4 or so and then reading them in one sitting and I am actually enjoying them more that way.

Maybe doing the same would help some others that are having pacing issues?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Samhain

I guess for me, Slash eventually showing up is what is bothering me. I'm just not liking this direction. Alopex, Slash, Bebop and Rocksteady, ''Krang'', Rock soldiers, just not digging it. Call me crazy. I dare ya.

To me, seems like they are drawing a lot from a specific universe.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

If that's what's bothering you it sounds like you were expecting a Mirage rehash. Its amazing that 1 year into the series some of you cannot let it go that this series is NOT and shouldn't be Mirage 2.0.

IDW using characters from all universes is probably the most promising thing about this series. Its a modern comic designed with a rogues gallery in mind, not Mirage's random storytelling where nothing really happened until a big Foot Clan arc.

Not to speak for Samhain, but it seems like the driving point here is more "We're just clearing year one of IDW TMNT, and all we've arrived at is a lot of Fred Wolf type of stuff." I tend to agree... the evidence is kinda piling up in the corner over there and yeah, while we can pretend and ignore it, it's still there.

But now I'm curious. In your mind, CyberCubed, what is "Mirage 2.0"? Because to me, "Mirage 2.0" suggests, "A comic that learns from the mistakes and pitfalls of the original Mirage material and makes a better, leaner, more poignant comic book"... which doesn't necessarily preclude borrowing elements or characters from other universes as long as they "fit." I see nothing wrong with such a direction, even objectively.

Mirage is pretty much done at this point besides if PL ever finishes Volume 4. Seeing IDW just be "Mirage-lite" its pointless, we already have the 4kids series for that.

Whether or not the Mirage universe and/or Volume 4 is "done" right now is hardly the topic of conversation at the moment. You're twisting things.

Why do you keep saying that? We have a handful of OT characters (Krang, Bebop/Rocksteady and Traag's Rock Soldiers),

And Neutrinos. And the (previously) Fred Wolf-exclusive instant mutation. And human origins for all the Turtles and Splinter. And the rainbow bandannas that the OT began. And non-killing, heroic Ninja Turtles that the OT propagated. And party-lovin' Dude Mikey™ who debuted in the OT.

a 4kids character (Angel and arguably this version of Karai),

We don't know what she'll resemble at this point. And Angel was largely only a footnote in 4Kids TMNT.

an Archie character (Slash is mostly associated with the Archie series)

While not incorrect, you're putting the cart before the horse -- we haven't even met IDW Slash yet. Who's to say he won't be closely patterned after Fred Wolf Slash? Or basically just be a Slash in name only, and otherwise be a completely new iteration?

and Mirage influence for Shredder

"Mirage influence" is a non-statement. Technically, everything TMNT that's ever come out at any point, ever, has "Mirage influence"... Mirage is the source material. As far as Shredder goes, his earliest origins bare no resemblance to his Mirage origins (though personally, I kinda dig where IDW appears to be going with Shredder from the ground up... even if they kind of completely squashed his value as a supervillain in his debut arc). As far as how he gets to the present and his current status quo? We have no idea yet. In fact, we know next to nothing about Shredder at this juncture.

Baxter

OK, I'll give you Baxter. As of this moment right now, yes, he's fairly grounded as pre-cyborg Mirage Baxter.

April

Not really.

etc.

Etc.? You might elaborate. I can't think of much else.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

But now I'm curious. In your mind, CyberCubed, what is "Mirage 2.0"? Because to me, "Mirage 2.0" suggests, "A comic that learns from the mistakes and pitfalls of the original Mirage material and makes a better, leaner, more poignant comic book"... which doesn't necessarily preclude borrowing elements or characters from other universes as long as they "fit." I see nothing wrong with such a direction, even objectively.

When people say they want it to be like Mirage, I assume they're taking Peter Laird's stance of little to no other mutants besides Leatherhead, because it makes the Turtles more special.

Old Hob and Alopex are not Fred Wolf characters, but simply because they're animal mutants people tend to associate them with the old type of mutants from the 90's.

Aside from that, I also assume they don't want Shredder to stick around (which I have no problem with, as long as he doesn't become a supervillain), and they want the series to stay away from characters from the cartoons. I have no problem with that either, I think Krang has a lot of potential in the IDW series as does Slash.

What it SHOULD be more like Mirage is actually contact between human opponents and their blades, more visible scars during the fights, and the Turtles not being able to take out the entire Foot Clan in a single fight. But we'll see how that progresses. I won't touch the color bandana issue.

And Neutrinos. And the Fred Wolf-exclusive instant mutation. And human origins for all the Turtles and Splinter. And the rainbow bandannas that the OT began. And non-killing Ninja Turtles that the OT propagated. And party-lovin' Dude Mikey™ who debuted in the OT.

Well yeah...but you're still exaggerating on Mikey's persona. Splinter wasn't a reincarnated human in the old show as we know. And since #5 and the Splinter micro have received critical acclaim from the fanbase, I think this version of Hamato Yoshi/Splinter is very well received.

About the Neutrinos, it depends on what happens with them. Tom Waltz already assured us they wouldn't be, "hot-rodding teenagers" like the show.

While not incorrect, you're putting the cart before the horse -- we haven't even met IDW Slash yet. Who's to say he won't be closely patterned after Fred Wolf Slash? Or basically just be a Slash in name only, and otherwise be a completely new iteration?

I am certain they will go with the black bandana look for Slash. Its what he's most widely recognizable in. He's probably going to have a widely different backstory in this series anyway, he might be a clone of the Turtles.

"Mirage influence" is a non-statement. Technically, everything TMNT that's ever come out at any point, ever, has "Mirage influence"... Mirage is the source material. As far as Shredder goes, his earliest origins bare no resemblance to his Mirage origins. As far as how he gets to the present? We have no idea yet.

Shredder is neither a comedian running around in a purple cape like the OT Shredder or an Utrom like 4kids Shredder. He's his own entity bearing more similarities to Mirage or Movie 1 Shredder. He's just not being killed off right away because he brings in sales, most likely.

Not really.

April is a lab assistant working for Baxter's company. Other than her being a little younger (around College age) here than Mirage, she's nothing like the April's from the cartoon.

Etc.? You might elaborate. I can't think of much else.

Stuff like the Second Time Around shop, Stocktronics, April's Van, the Foot being human assassin's.

I am also sure as we progress we'll eventually get to the Triceratons, Leatherhead and Rat King.

[Lampy]

Originally Posted by ***Son of Ch'rell***

I don't think I would like that at all, but I suppose it is still a slim possibility. I don't understand why so many people want this to be "more Mirage." It's its own universe and clearly draws on influence from all of the others.

okay... so maybe not that angle. and don't get me wrong... i am still enjoying this series and my only complaint is pacing. mirage-like or not i still like it. i just liked the idea of Turtles not knowing who they are (like the movies) as opposed to trying to be a predetermined persona. if not... then nevermind. i'll still read it.

[Bobby Curnow]

My two cents:

It's probably impossible for me to be objective, but I'll try my best:

I think we had a successful first year. Certainly in sales, and I think also artistically. We covered a lot of ground, told some fun stories, and threw in some solid curve balls along the way.

That is not to say we delivered a perfect comic. I think we've had some hiccups. The comments on pacing, while up for debate, are fair. There's definite room for improvement there. Working on it. I'm really glad we can do the Micros, I think most would agree they help a lot in that department.

I think we could have handled the wrap up to Shredder intro a little bit better too. I'll argue that Shredder and the Foot were not expecting ANYTHING that happened during that story (Hamato Yoshi reveal, TMNT busting in) and as a result were not prepared and got their asses handed to them a bit. They won't make the same mistake again. Now that Shredder knows what's what, he's going to start playing a long game that should be interesting to watch.

...But at the end of the day, that's making excuses and hiding behind "next time will be better!!" I think our Foot intro could have been more effective, and our execution could have been better. Shredder, and the Foot, deserve better. I think you'll see better.

I'm amused that the "How Mirage is it?!?!?" debate is still going on. I'd have hoped that we'd be done with that by now, but it's fair that almost 30 years of TMNT casts a long shadow. We do strive to incorporate from all iterations (Fugitoid will be playing a big part soon— that's a solid check mark in the Mirage column), but let's face it... if you're going to divide it into percentages, OT has the biggest piece of the pie. That's the Turtles that has the most pop-culture reach AND is the most ripe for re-invention. That's a potent mix, and we'd be silly to ignore it.

But just because we're borrowing ideas from OT doesn't mean we're executing them in any way that's close to resembling OT. We're treating those silly characters seriously, and hopefully doing new and fun things with them. And we'll do that with Mirage and Archie stuff too. But again: the aim is to have it all blend into a hearty IDW soup. I know people want more Mirage. So do I. But... we're just not going to be it, and the sooner that's accepted, the better off you'll be. Original Mirage TMNT was the brainchild of two wildly talented dudes who were able to do something completely new, exactly the way they wanted, without monthly deadlines. That combo is so so so rare, and just plain can't be beat, and I don't think we will. I don't WANT to. Those early Mirage books are perfect. We'll have our own fun though, while remaining in their debt.

That wraps up my opinion. We've got awesome stuff coming up, but I'm quite certain we'll continue to have some missteps too. But we'll keep trying to learn from them. I think a debate like this is good, it keeps us on our toes.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Jephael

This new series is basically a reboot, isn't it?

It's a different publisher doing a different iteration/universe of TMNT. When Archie launched "TMNT Adventures," was that a reboot of Mirage TMNT?

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Bobby Curnow

My two cents:

It's probably impossible for me to be objective, but I'll try my best:

I think we had a successful first year. Certainly in sales, and I think also artistically. We covered a lot of ground, told some fun stories, and threw in some solid curve balls along the way.

That is not to say we delivered a perfect comic. I think we've had some hiccups. The comments on pacing, while up for debate, are fair. There's definite room for improvement there. Working on it. I'm really glad we can do the Micros, I think most would agree they help a lot in that department.

I think we could have handled the wrap up to Shredder intro a little bit better too. I'll argue that Shredder and the Foot were not expecting ANYTHING that happened during that story (Hamato Yoshi reveal, TMNT busting in) and as a result were not prepared and got their asses handed to them a bit. They won't make the same mistake again. Now that Shredder knows what's what, he's going to start playing a long game that should be interesting to watch.

...But at the end of the day, that's making excuses and hiding behind "next time will be better!!" I think our Foot intro could have been more effective, and our execution could have been better. Shredder, and the Foot, deserve better. I think you'll see better.

I'm amused that the "How Mirage is it?!?!?" debate is still going on. I'd have hoped that we'd be done with that by now, but it's fair that almost 30 years of TMNT casts a long shadow. We do strive to incorporate from all iterations (Fugitoid will be playing a big part soon— that's a solid check mark in the Mirage column), but let's face it... if you're going to divide it into percentages, OT has the biggest piece of the pie. That's the Turtles that has the most pop-culture reach AND is the most ripe for re-invention. That's a potent mix, and we'd be silly to ignore it.

But just because we're borrowing ideas from OT doesn't mean we're executing them in any way that's close to resembling OT. We're treating those silly characters seriously, and hopefully doing new and fun things with them. And we'll do that with Mirage and Archie stuff too. But again: the aim is to have it all blend into a hearty IDW soup. I know people want more Mirage. So do I. But... we're just not going to be it, and the sooner that's accepted, the better off you'll be. Original Mirage TMNT was the brainchild of two wildly talented dudes who were able to do something completely new, exactly the way they wanted, without monthly deadlines. That combo is so so so rare, and just plain can't be beat, and I don't think we will. I don't WANT to. Those early Mirage books are perfect. We'll have our own fun though, while remaining in their debt.

That wraps up my opinion. We've got awesome stuff coming up, but I'm quite certain we'll continue to have some missteps too. But we'll keep trying to learn from them. I think a debate like this is good, it keeps us on our toes.

Sounds fair enough to me.

[Lampy]

Originally Posted by Bobby Curnow

My two cents:

It's probably impossible for me to be objective, but I'll try my best:

I think we had a successful first year. Certainly in sales, and I think also artistically. We covered a lot of ground, told some fun stories, and threw in some solid curve balls along the way.

That is not to say we delivered a perfect comic. I think we've had some hiccups. The comments on pacing, while up for debate, are fair. There's definite room for improvement there. Working on it. I'm really glad we can do the Micros, I think most would agree they help a lot in that department.

I think we could have handled the wrap up to Shredder intro a little bit better too. I'll argue that Shredder and the Foot were not expecting ANYTHING that happened during that story (Hamato Yoshi reveal, TMNT busting in) and as a result were not prepared and got their asses handed to them a bit. They won't make the same mistake again. Now that Shredder knows what's what, he's going to start playing a long game that should be interesting to watch.

...But at the end of the day, that's making excuses and hiding behind "next time will be better!!" I think our Foot intro could have been more effective, and our execution could have been better. Shredder, and the Foot, deserve better. I think you'll see better.

I'm amused that the "How Mirage is it?!?!?" debate is still going on. I'd have hoped that we'd be done with that by now, but it's fair that almost 30 years of TMNT casts a long shadow. We do strive to incorporate from all iterations (Fugitoid will be playing a big part soon— that's a solid check mark in the Mirage column), but let's face it... if you're going to divide it into percentages, OT has the biggest piece of the pie. That's the Turtles that has the most pop-culture reach AND is the most ripe for re-invention. That's a potent mix, and we'd be silly to ignore it.

But just because we're borrowing ideas from OT doesn't mean we're executing them in any way that's close to resembling OT. We're treating those silly characters seriously, and hopefully doing new and fun things with them. And we'll do that with Mirage and Archie stuff too. But again: the aim is to have it all blend into a hearty IDW soup. I know people want more Mirage. So do I. But... we're just not going to be it, and the sooner that's accepted, the better off you'll be. Original Mirage TMNT was the brainchild of two wildly talented dudes who were able to do something completely new, exactly the way they wanted, without monthly deadlines. That combo is so so so rare, and just plain can't be beat, and I don't think we will. I don't WANT to. Those early Mirage books are perfect. We'll have our own fun though, while remaining in their debt.

That wraps up my opinion. We've got awesome stuff coming up, but I'm quite certain we'll continue to have some missteps too. But we'll keep trying to learn from them. I think a debate like this is good, it keeps us on our toes.

awesome two cents! you win.

[Spitfire]

Hard to say I lost interest when there wasn't much to begin with. It's not completely horrid but as a fan it does nothing for me. I'm much more excited by the fact that IDW is re-releasing older stories in trades. A lot of which have never been collected. As long as they keep that up they can do whatever with the main series. I'll support it because they respect us older fans enough to treat the classic material with proper releases. They don't even have to that's the best part.