IDW multi-colored masks

[Gyt Kaliba]

Almost not wanting to get into this messy of a topic this early on my return to the forums, but eh, I'll weigh in.

Personally, I can go either way. Yes, the original comics had them as all red bandanas. And Andrew makes a great point earlier in the thread (I believe it was one of yours anyway) about how it doesn't make any sense for a ninja clan to have multi-colored bandanas. It's the same kind of illogical-ness as Naruto from his self-titled series being decked out in orange everything - it's not exactly the stealthiest design around.

That said though, I grew up on the multi-colored stuff so I can work with it very easily as well. And if pressed, I'd have to admit, I DO prefer it, simply for ease. Go ahead and make any assumptions on my 'intelligence' that anyone wants, but I have a hard time telling the Turtles apart in some of the old stuff with all-red masks. The black and white doesn't make any skin-shading-differences to help, they don't always have their weapons (and it's mostly in those peace-loving scenes that I have the problem anyway), and even with shading differences it's a lot to ask for some that are less 'hardcore' about the fandom to be able to tell them apart just by that.

So yeah, I personally can go either way and would actually prefer colored masks, and based on what I'm reading there's a plausible enough reason for the switch (unless that was hypothesizing?), so I can totally get behind it.

[CyberCubed]

The funniest part of it all is the red bandanas in Mirage never made a difference because 90% of its run was in black and white.

Aside from Volume 2 and a few specials, we very rarely saw the Turtles in all red in Mirage outside of the covers.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

The funniest part of it all is the red bandanas in Mirage never made a difference because 90% of its run was in black and white.

Aside from Volume 2 and a few specials, we very rarely saw the Turtles in all red in Mirage outside of the covers.

And a lot of us have been looking forward to a day when we'd finally get the red bandannas rendered in a high end, top notch-colored modern comic.

[Gyt Kaliba]

Well, there was a colorized version of the old Mirage stuff at one point wasn't there? Pretty sure I've seen pictures of it anyway, but maybe it was a fan thing.

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

And a lot of us have been looking forward to a day when we'd finally get the red bandannas rendered in a high end, top notch-colored modern comic.

I can respect that sentiment too though actually.

[Samhain]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

And a lot of us have been looking forward to a day when we'd finally get the red bandannas rendered in a high end, top notch-colored modern comic.

And.. we got 5 issues. It was a good run.

[Toby Barrett]

Let's continue to cry about it.

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

The funniest part of it all is the red bandanas in Mirage never made a difference because 90% of its run was in black and white.

Aside from Volume 2 and a few specials, we very rarely saw the Turtles in all red in Mirage outside of the covers.

By that statement it should be completely okay to color the turtles skin pink, the carapace and plastron blue and headbands turquoise in the Mirage colored books.

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by Toby Barrett

Let's continue to cry about it.

Ok, as long as you continue crying about us crying about it.

[mysterycolor]

i certainly didnt jump out of my seat when i read of the change... but i did like the way it was done- and enjoyed issue 5 very much...

[Toby Barrett]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Ok, as long as you continue crying about us crying about it.

Alright, it's a deal.

[Samhain]

Originally Posted by Toby Barrett

Let's continue to cry about it.

It may not matter to you, but to some of us it's important. There is nothing ''badass'' about rainbow headbands. Sorry. But a unified color for a ninja clan is, IMO.

[CyberCubed]

Perhaps the IDW Turtles have no interest in being badass.

[Grimlock]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Perhaps the IDW Turtles have no interest in being badass.

Well, they sure do look it when they are wearing all red. Now they just look like a toy throwback trying to pull in the casuals.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Grimlock

Well, they sure do look it when they are wearing all red. Now they just look like a toy throwback trying to pull in the casuals.

I don't think they made the connection with the colored bandanas for kids/toys...its not like any kids will be buying these comics (who aren't exposed to the Nick show next year first), and there will be no toys based on the IDW comics.

They did it because they felt it would work, not for any other ulterior motive as we know.

[oldschoolturtlesfan]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I don't think they made the connection with the colored bandanas for kids/toys...its not like any kids will be buying these comics (who aren't exposed to the Nick show next year first), and there will be no toys based on the IDW comics.

They did it because they felt it would work, not for any other ulterior motive as we know.

I believe they made the change because they thought it would work. I just wish they would have listened to the fans on this one. Sure, most people know the turtles as having rainbow bandannas. This does not mean anything. Millions of people know who the turtles are, but very few of those millions read the comics. Some fans just feel betrayed about the entire "rainbow bandannas" episode. We were given something that we lobbied for years to achieve only to have it taken away after 5 issues. We busted our ass spreading the word about how great this comic is, blogging positive reviews on the internet, and getting others to by the comic. I am personally responsible for getting at least 8 people involved in this new series. Sure 8 is not a lot, but there are plenty of fans like me that spread the word and got others on board, and trust me it adds up fast. Then to change something that so many of the fans feel so strongly about just seems like a slap in the face. Yes, I will continue to support this series and the hardcover collections so the old TMNT stuff can get recollected like it deserves. I will continue to by the comic, but I would be lying if I said that it is not a big deal to me. I would have understood if they started with the rainbow bandannas to begin with or if Nick mandated the change. Neither of these things happened. Why change something on your best selling comic that so many fans feel so strongly about? You already have the sale numbers and the fanboys on your side. The sales will likely not increase because of the change and you deflate the sails and energy of the fanboys that have worked so hard to spread the word to get this comic were it is today. Sorry for rambling I just can't comprehend why this happened for no apparent reason.

[Andrew NDB]

Believe it or not I'm kind of running out of gas on this whole discussion... but here we go.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

They did it because they felt it would work, not for any other ulterior motive

I do believe that, 100%, without question. However it seems pretty clear it's borne from personal preference and the "popular" vote, not out of raw logic or creative objectivity on what would best personify either the TMNT from their genesis or them as a believable ninja clan... or really out any kind of sitting down, boiling down session of sifting out and establishing what would make the most badass incarnation of the TMNT as part of a true "Ultimate" universe -- a point in discussion that ought to be paramount, given the kind of negative (or at least somewhat "kiddie") stigma TMNT has to regular comic book readers who would never consider picking up or otherwise taking a chance on a TMNT comic. Colored bandannas simply wouldn't be a thing that would survive such a (read: nostalgia-less) discussion.

I've slept on it. I approached it with a clear head, and I've been doing a lot of re-reading of #5, replaying that last scene as objectively as possible. See, I would really like to be able to walk away from it and go, "OK, it makes complete organic sense why they are coming out of this with the colored bandannas"... but it's simply not possible. The story was clearly tailored to incorporate them into things quite deliberately (I hesitate to use the word "shoehorn") -- that a ninja family's four children in Feudal Japan have different color fetishes they wear everyday as a story point just isn't something you would arrive at was there not already an agenda to cobble together some way, some reason for Splinter to give them the colored bandannas at the end (to be fair, though, I really strain to think up any way to make the color thing work in any sort of "cool" way).

Maybe that's a little bit verbose. To be more succinct, let me put it this way: the story didn't find a way to incorporate the bandannas, the bandannas (or rather, the "bandanna agenda" let's call it at the risk of suggesting something devious, which I am not) found a way to have the story incorporate them. It really ought to have been the other way around if was truly to be considered a worthwhile endeavor, if that makes sense.

No bones about it, it bothers me. It bothers me (as I've already posted here) that it's being treated as an "evolution" of the TMNT. It bothers me that the TMNT themselves in-story welcome the multi-colored bandannas with open arms and glee (OK, this part is petty of me, I admit that). It bothers me that, with the dubious Nick cartoon and a Michael Bay-produced TMNT film in production (not to knock either one), the IDW TMNT miiight just represent the last chance for a relatively wide-release incarnation of TMNT that can be enjoyed by adults (yes, yes, and kids alike -- one needn't come at the cost of another)... and they would go and almost forcibly remove the hallmark that has always visually separated (to me and I know, even casual "outsiders") the "grown-up TMNT" from the "children's TMNT" pasteurized to go on lunch boxes and underwear and Turtle trolls... and I wish I could say that was hyperbole. It bothers me that the whole thing smacks of a bait-and-switch on the Mirage fans, whether intentionally or not. It bothers me more than anything that the whole thing is looked upon as less of a big deal than it is.

Are colored bandannas the end of the world? No, of course not. Should it cause anyone, myself included, to suddenly drop the book? Absolutely not, IDW TMNT is as compelling TMNT reading as there has been in years and they've got a hell of a team behind it. Are the colored bandannas disappointing? Yes. Yes, they are. I think "disheartening" is probably the better word.

Bobby says he always loved the red bandannas, was partial to them himself, was a little leery of the whole "in #5 they go multi-color" (until, fairly enough, he read Tom's script and had a turnabout), and that the issues so far we have hopefully serve as a good way of honoring the red bandannas (they do). Sounds more than reasonable enough to me. I guess my only question would be, was it ever a consideration to spin the wheel around 180 degrees and do the opposite... and if not, why not? If it's a matter of just honoring a thing like the color of their bandannas (whether we're talking about the multi-colored ones or the original all-reds) and moving on, why aren't the multi-colored bandannas the thing that gets the 5 issue "nod" before the Turtles adopt a singular color as part of this Ultimate-esque universe?

No, seriously, think about it. The Turtles don't remember their previous lives yet, Splinter hasn't coaxed all of that out of them yet (maybe he never will? time will tell). Raphael is missing, so they're not quite the full "clan" yet nor do they even have a singular ninja-esque mission statement yet beyond 1) Training, and 2) Finding Raphael. Seems to me that this, if ever, would have been the perfect period of time for them to be wearing the multi-colored bandannas. Then when the Turtles find Raphael and take him back to Splinter, as we see, it's suddenly "Game On" for the Turtles and their clan -- you know, with them as a whole clan now, Splinter tells them who they are and what they must do and why he has (and will continue to) trained them so hard... and then off come the colored bandannas and on come the unified red ones (and it couldn't even be brought up, "But they stole Raph's color!" because since going missing he didn't have any bandanna -- the red would be entirely new and would unite them going forward).

That's just me shooting from the hip, but a scenario in that vein that seems pretty natural to me and would have pretty well accomplished all goals and maybe even more -- you know, the colored bandannas would be honored and by launching the book with the colored bandannas that would be an excellent way to coax in former or casual fans only familiar with the colored bandanna spinoff stuff right from the get-go (not that I believe for one moment that doing so would provide anything substantial in the way of sales boosting)... before taking the kid gloves off and getting serious both in-story and figuratively.

[Donnie]

Originally Posted by Grimlock

Well, they sure do look it when they are wearing all red. Now they just look like a toy throwback trying to pull in the casuals.

This is a pretty lame statement. I really don't think IDW did it for any reason besides adding depth to the individuality/past life of each Turtle. I know that's a hairy subject (as you can surely have character development without colored bandanas) but in my opinion the different colors have always added an extra dimension to each Turtle.

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I don't think they made the connection with the colored bandanas for kids/toys...its not like any kids will be buying these comics (who aren't exposed to the Nick show next year first), and there will be no toys based on the IDW comics.

They did it because they felt it would work, not for any other ulterior motive as we know.

Wow, for once we agree.

Andrew brings up great points and his arguments are valid. I like the colored bandanas, but I most definitely agree with him that this topic is running out of gas, it's getting repetitive and circular. At least, that's how I feel about it at this point.

[Toby Barrett]

Originally Posted by Samhain

It may not matter to you, but to some of us it's important. There is nothing ''badass'' about rainbow headbands. Sorry. But a unified color for a ninja clan is, IMO.

So what you're saying is, this mature comic needs mature headbands for mature readers such as yourself.

[Hermano Dyvas]

Originally Posted by Toby Barrett

So what you're saying is, this mature comic needs mature headbands for mature readers such as yourself.

Come on Toby, read the reactions, it should be pretty clear what they are saying by now.

All-Red: Unified Ninja Clan. it even has tactical value because it could confuse enemies.

Which reminds me, the Archie turtles also started out all red and they even used their unified colors to confuse their enemies. Yet, right after that they changed to multi-colored bandana's because Splinter couldn't tell them apart...

I guess we should be glad we didn't get that reason!

[junkboy]

I really do not understand why Tom Waltz is not answering officially to those questions. He comes to the forum generally after each issue. Maybe he is just looking only one topic but he seems to like getting feedback from the fans.
Maybe he was not looking at the Infestation thread. So it was a good idea to open a thread specifically about the colored bandanas. Hope we can get and official answer about it, here.
And as for my thoughts about the situation. Colored bandana thing is a complete nightmare and i have stated by clear thoughts about it at the Infestation thread in more than once i guess.
To whatever "logical" reason they shall link that color change to ( if they will ) , i guess it is very clear that it will happen cause of Nick's enforcement.
"We own the rights, we do not want any confusion when we release the silly new animation and the new crappy Playmates Turtles toys show up at stores So you will make that radical change."

The thing is. For me the color bandana thing is not important. They could make them all pink. ( giving the weirdest choice ) and while i would not be happy, i would not be disappointed like this old toon colors.
At least , we could be saying that IDW was going on its own way.
This is just copying , what they do.

The Image universe was like an own universe of its own. That's why i sometimes even like the Image series more than the original one. I am an Image comics fan so that affects it as well, but other than that, while some ppl did not like it, i still find Image series great.

While i liked the IDW series so far, my feelings towards IDW series is nowhere near to my thoughts about Image series.

And all this talk is meaningless if this is indeed Nick's enforcement. We must be sad not about today's events but the events of years ago, then. When Turtles were made into kid stuff to milk the greatest money from them... and make the casual, non-comic reader ppl remember them that way.
Ofc if it was not done that way, there would not be new Turtles books all those years so far.
So that is a weird dilemma.