Peter Laird on IDW TMNT

[azrael]

Well maybe he can put pen to paper and finish vol 4. I have been enjoying IDW, its different than mirage and thats why I like it. I love mirage and image's vol but IDW has a different kind of spirit about it.

I hope that fire gets reignited in Peter from drinking with friends, breaking in a hotel room, having fun with the TMNT again. I feel bad he is so resentful when it comes to the TMNT. He may need someone to talk to about these feelings, no reason to be a grumpy old man. Or maybe he needs a reality check all the people he inspired, all the books that ripped their idea off, the merchandise, the kids that grew up with the TMNT, the reason he doesnt have to struggle, the reason his family is comfortable.

I love their story (pl and ke) I would love to sit and chill I offereed PL free tickets to where I work and a discount on a hotel inside my jurisdiction. As a thank you for the inspiration and TMNT.

[Noah13]

Originally Posted by azrael

Well maybe he can put pen to paper and finish vol 4. I have been enjoying IDW, its different than mirage and thats why I like it. I love mirage and image's vol but IDW has a different kind of spirit about it.

I hope that fire gets reignited in Peter from drinking with friends, breaking in a hotel room, having fun with the TMNT again. I feel bad he is so resentful when it comes to the TMNT. He may need someone to talk to about these feelings, no reason to be a grumpy old man. Or maybe he needs a reality check all the people he inspired, all the books that ripped their idea off, the merchandise, the kids that grew up with the TMNT, the reason he doesnt have to struggle, the reason his family is comfortable.

I love their story (pl and ke) I would love to sit and chill I offereed PL free tickets to where I work and a discount on a hotel inside my jurisdiction. As a thank you for the inspiration and TMNT.

Agreed! However, he has said many times now that he has no plans to finish Vol. 4 at the moment. Looks like we have a long wait ahead of ourselves

[Jester]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

April naming the Turtles is actually clever, when you think that they already had previous names in this version. After all, why would Splinter name them again then?

Actually, when you put it that way, it makes the "Renaissance artists" names unnecessary. The Turtles and Splinter are, for all intents and purposes, Hamato Yoshi and his sons. Why, just because they are mutant animals now, do they have to have "cool super hero code names"?

[Toby Barrett]

They're starting new lives, and there may be a reincarnated Oroku Saki running around New York somewhere?

[Hermano Dyvas]

Originally Posted by Jester

Actually, when you put it that way, it makes the "Renaissance artists" names unnecessary. The Turtles and Splinter are, for all intents and purposes, Hamato Yoshi and his sons. Why, just because they are mutant animals now, do they have to have "cool super hero code names"?

While there's no reason Splinter couldn't have given them back their old names there also isn't a reason for Splinter not to go with the new names he and the turtles received in the lab. Either choice makes sense to me.

For the record, I wouldn't exactly call renaissance artist names "cool super hero code names".

[Jester]

Originally Posted by Hermano Dyvas

For the record, I wouldn't exactly call renaissance artist names "cool super hero code names".

True, but I was primarily just saying they weren't their "real names" but kinda like "Wolverine" or "Storm".

[Kid Icarus]

I find it hilarious that anyone would come close to calling the IDW series slow, especially compared with Mirage Vol 4.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Kid Icarus

I find it hilarious that anyone would come close to calling the IDW series slow, especially compared with Mirage Vol 4.

While true, it'd be pretty weird to compare the tail end series of one version to the beginning series of a new version.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

While true, it'd be pretty weird to compare the tail end series of one version to the beginning series of a new version.

And since it's the beginning it means the best is yet to come. Vol. 4 was pretty much just extra stories after Splinter's death.

It allowed us to see 30 year old mutant Turtles but that's about it.

[Jester]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

And since it's the beginning it means the best is yet to come. Vol. 4 was pretty much just extra stories after Splinter's death.

It allowed us to see 30 year old mutant Turtles but that's about it.

I think the biggest issue with Volume 4 is all the Turtles were on separate adventures. There were way too many concurrent stories to keep track of.

[Andrew NDB]

Still, I have to believe the plan was always to eventually converge them in some grand, hopefully satisfying fashion at/by the end of it all.

[Jester]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Still, I have to believe the plan was always to eventually converge them in some grand, hopefully satisfying fashion at/by the end of it all.

Oh definitely.

[Leo656]

I haven't read enough of the new book to have a worthy opinion, but one thing I can tell everyone to save them a lot of mixed feelings and aggravation: Don't read comics month-to-month, ANY comics, either wait for the trade or save up 4-6 issue chunks and read 'em all at once. It took me most of the last decade to figure out that it's super-rare for any book to be enjoyable in bite-sized chunks anymore, because everyone writes to the TPB. There were a ton of stories I've read that I hated as I read each issue, but as an arc fell in love with later on. It's much easier to make an informed opinion, and a lot less stressful overall.

As for Laird, again, no room to agree or disagree about the new book, but there is one thing I'm almost 100% positive about, and it has a lot to do with my opinions about him in general. I'm almost positive that he never thought he would be, or wanted to be, any kind of commercially successful artist. And quite frankly, people like that annoy the sh*t out of me. People who are the extremely rare few, who are not only good at something, but lucky enough to be recognized for it and praised for it, to the point that people throw mountains at money at them. This allows them a lifestyle and level of comfort that their peers, as well as 99% of the human population, will never know. So of course, they come to resent their wealth and notoriety, and start wishing they'd never gone down that path.

I know money can't buy happiness, but truthfully? Cry me a f***ing river. I'm not going off of what Laird allegedly said about wishing he hadn't created TMNT, because I never read that, I'm just going off the fact that it's always seemed like Laird secretly didn't like TMNT, just like George Reeves secretly thought being Superman was what kept him from being a successful Hollywood star. I think Pete honestly either never wanted to be rich and famous, OR he did but secretly wished it was as a big-time director or screenwriter, not for something he threw together as a joke when he was a kid smoking weed with his buddies in their art studio. Part of me thinks Laird wanted to be famous for writing the next Star Wars or Star Trek, "and I would've gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for those blasted Turtles!"

But part of me thinks he's just one of those "art for art's sake" types who never figured out they're working in a commercial medium, like Kurt Cobain or something. I love Kurt, generally speaking, but I never bought all that BS about NOT wanting to be rich, famous, etc. Here's the simple truth: If you create anything artistic, and you don't want it publicized, scrutinized, plagiarized and vandalized, keep it in your freakin' head and stay in the damn garage. You can't be in a band that sells a million records and then bitch about "the industry", and you can't create a comic book of all things and then cry for 20 years aboiut how the cartoon/movie studios raped your baby. It doesn't work that way. You accept that inevitability the day you print your first promo flyer and cash your first check, you are losing a part of your creation in exchange for getting paid, you don't have the right to complain because someone else does something different from how you would have done it, you gave that away because you wanted to eat, and there's nothing wrong with that at all. But I always think Peter thinks he "sold out" to "the man" and wishes he hadn't, and since I freakin' *wish* I'd been the one to create TMNT, or could even have any hand in working on them at all, it bugs me that he feels that way.

If he DID say he almost wishes he never created TMNT... that's pretty unforgiveable, seeing how much joy they've brought so many people. If he would undo that over some colored bandanas and a mutant rhino, then he's the one who doesn't get it. I think he sold them off because he finally realized he never did "get it", and never will. Shame.

[CyberCubed]

Makes you wonder why he tried to bring TMNT back in the 2000's then. He didn't have to create Volume 4 or the new Tales, and he didn't have to work with the writers for the 4kids series either.

He clearly wanted to revive the Turtles in the 2000's and he did that, with new comics, a cartoon, and even a new movie. I don't see why he would do that if he didn't care.

Or perhaps early 2000's PL is a lot different than 2009-2012 PL.

[Andrew NDB]

I don't like to speculate on it too much. It's clearly very personal, and there's so much we don't know of what was going on in the day-to-day.

[Powder]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I haven't read enough of the new book to have a worthy opinion, but one thing I can tell everyone to save them a lot of mixed feelings and aggravation: Don't read comics month-to-month, ANY comics, either wait for the trade or save up 4-6 issue chunks and read 'em all at once. It took me most of the last decade to figure out that it's super-rare for any book to be enjoyable in bite-sized chunks anymore, because everyone writes to the TPB. There were a ton of stories I've read that I hated as I read each issue, but as an arc fell in love with later on. It's much easier to make an informed opinion, and a lot less stressful overall.

I would agree in regards to the new turtle book, but Ghostbusters & Megaman are both enjoyable & fulfilling monthly.

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by Powder

Ghostbusters & Megaman are both enjoyable & fulfilling monthly.

Amen to that!

[marcelangelo]

maybe the problem with it is also found in ourselves to some part...it seems we always want to judge something right away..I mean if you cannot wait four or five months till something progresses naturally than it is also a problem of you as a reader insisting on that opportunity to be able to tell right away what you make of this book...
the problem I see with a plan like WAITING for the trades or buying eventually a whole stack of those comics is that it might not get to that point at all as the lack of success of individual issues does close the gates to a possible future trade paperback collection of these comics...

I think with peter most of you are to harsh here, true his words can provoke irritation in a fans mind given the fact that we just love that franchise and what it did to all our lives...but as andrew hinted at(I think you're right here) I suspect we don't even know the half of what it meant to handle something as unique as this property during all thus time...maybe with the turtledoc out someday we will get another glimpse at it but I think just pete and kev can really tell and to have undergone all this for all these years at least to me I think they have earned their right to say anything that they want about the very things that they created themselves...also, think about it this way maybe:he didn't post something aline 'I wish I had never cocreated the turtles' but he did reply to an interesting hypothetical question and brought into consideration a pile of arguments that could influence his decision on that matter...its just q and a for god's sake

[Dovahkiin]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Its quite obvious Old Hob is in the series for the long haul. I truly expect him to go rogue and betray Baxter and/or Krang.



April naming the Turtles is actually clever, when you think that they already had previous names in this version. After all, why would Splinter name them again then?

Is the ooze that created the turtles different from what Baxter used on Hob? I'm not sure 'cause I only have a few issues that are spaced apart in the storyline.

Splinter had a mind of a rat when April named the turtles so he would not be able to remember. Splinter would rename the turtles, names chosen by him and not April's selection of names. The act of naming something or someone is the beginning of emotional attachment to it, attachments only felt by the one who gave the name. Since April gave the names the attachment is with her and not with Splinter.

lol all this reminds me of The Neverending story were the kid had to give that girl a new name before the nothing consumes her.

[Jester]

Originally Posted by Dovahkiin

Is the ooze that created the turtles different from what Baxter used on Hob? I'm not sure 'cause I only have a few issues that are spaced apart in the storyline.

No, Hob was mutated in the same mutagen spill as the Turtles and Splinter.

Splinter had a mind of a rat when April named the turtles so he would not be able to remember. Splinter would rename the turtles, names chosen by him and not April's selection of names. The act of naming something or someone is the beginning of emotional attachment to it, attachments only felt by the one who gave the name. Since April gave the names the attachment is with her and not with Splinter.

Splinter was more than a mere rat even before the mutation (wow, Kevin and Tom must have decided to run with that unused Mirage tidbit.) He was used in psychotropic drug tests, which not only helped him remember his past life as Hamato Yoshi, but also helped him reason enough to save the Turtles and April from the Foot. In fact it may be those drugs that make the difference between Splinter remembering the past life and the Turtles not.