Are you here because of nostalgia?

[Venom]

Originally Posted by Mayhem

I was old enough and there when the Turtles were originally huge in the late 80s, although I grew up first on the original b/w comics and then the films. So I don't think nostalgia comes into play with me, more a question that I've stayed with the turtles, in most of their incarnations for over 20 years.

You're one of the few folks who hail from that "fabled era" of beginning with the comics and following the Turtles throughout their history.

Say, as a comic fan first, how did feel when the Fred Wolf toon debuted? You were roughly 12-13, so in that transition phase of "cartoons are for kids" mentality...

Did any of your friends read the comics too? Perhaps abandoning them when E&L "sold out" (for lack of a better term)?

[Venom]

Oh, I forgot to add my post:

When I was a kid, I was the embodiment of Turtlemania - if it was Turtles, I had to have it!

I got back into the Turtles back in 2001 when I read a minor blurb in Wizard about Volume 4 #1 hitting that fall.

I followed ninjaturtles.com quite regularly during the down time between 97-01 (the first website I visited when getting the internet was ninjaturtles.com!), and lurked the TMNT mailing list, so I really can't say that I was ever truly out of the fandom. More like "minor hiatuses" because there was a period during late '04 - early '06 when I didn't get any of the comics, then in April '06 ordered every issue I missed from Katie.

During the 4Kids! series run I watched a few episodes, tried to stay awake on Saturdays to watch it (I had a paper route and would get in about 7 AM) but it was a futile effort. I did watch it regularly when it aired on Cartoon Network, but mostly I was a comic fan.

So, in a nutshell, I'm sure nostalgia plays a minor factor in my love of the Turtles, but by and large they are the only franchise that truly spoke to me, and stuck.

[Mayhem]

Originally Posted by Venom

Say, as a comic fan first, how did feel when the Fred Wolf toon debuted? You were roughly 12-13, so in that transition phase of "cartoons are for kids" mentality...

Did any of your friends read the comics too? Perhaps abandoning them when E&L "sold out" (for lack of a better term)?

I'll paraphrase bits that ended up in my intro threads here and on IDW and expand a little... someone at school in my year got hold of the first colour graphic novel that First Publishing released, I want to say 1988 here. It was before the cartoon aired on TV here in the UK that's for sure, or that I was aware of it being shown if anything. If anyone knows WHEN the cartoon started showing in the UK, please let me know.

He had heard that these "Turtles" were quite big in the US and had picked up a couple of the graphic novels when on holiday over there during the summer. I ended up being able to borrow them, and was hooked immediately.

I was able to acquire three of the four graphic novels myself on import (indeed my book IV says "first printing Nov 1988") not that long after, although I couldn't find book III and ended up getting it when Penguin in the UK released all four itself in 1990. By that point, I was 16.

In direct answer to the questions, I never really liked the original cartoon because it was... too cartoony I guess, and nothing like the serious, gritty nature of the original comics that I enjoyed. I'm not really sure how many others read the comics in the end, they may well have bought the Archie stuff because it was easier to acquire; I don't know if the Mirage series was officially distributed in the UK at the time, but the local comic store to my school quite often got issues in, so I was able to buy many of my first series comics there.

I somewhat drifted out of things during the mid 90s due to university, other interests and doing stuff that you do at university heh, but in the late 90s, once I graduated and had a job, and with the advent of eBay, I was able to fill in my gaps and get runs of the colour Mirage and Image comics. I restarted buying the comic afresh, when new issues came out, from the Dreamwave series and Volume 4.

[juxtapose519]

Nostalgia is definitely the reason I'm here. TMNT was probably my biggest obsession as a child, but like all things I moved on. After digging out all my toys of my parent's basement, my interest has been sparked again. I've already got a pretty decent Transformers collection going, so I'm hoping to find some of the accessories I lost from my 88/89 collection so I can complete it and put them on display as well. Sadly, it looks like a lot of my 1990 and later lines have gone missing or I'd keep them too

[pannoni1]

Of course for me! A big chunk of my childhood from 1989-1993 was involved following aspects of the OT, movies, and video games, and am currently in a renaissance phase of my love for TMNT. But upon discovering all the resources of the site and others site, I feel that there is still so much more that I'd love to accomplish (meeting people who worked in various incarnations, passing it on to children whenever I finally get them, collecting some items for investment) in order to be a true life-long fan after taking quite a break.

But I also keep in mind what was nostalgic during each era of the franchise. The OT's background music was typical of what was popular then, along with other cartoons of that era (Real Ghostbusters, Disney Afternoon, GI Joe).

In terms of demographics, I see 1983 as the "token year" to be a true TMNT fan in its heyday. Why? Because when the OT ended, they were still only in 8th grade, and the pilot aired in preschool, and the long Seasons 3 and 4 aired in 1st and 2nd grades for them, key years in someone's childhood before homework and later extracurricular activities take hold. They are also 6/7 when the 1st movie comes out, just old enough to get approval from most parents (I'm a 1985er and while the OT was fine, I caught the first 2 seasons in reruns and the first movie when it came out on VHS). I feel I can relate to people born between 1980 and 1987 most in terms of fandom. My younger brother born in 1988, only was mildly into TMNT and was more of a Power Rangers/Pokemon fan. Still, I was only mildly aware of comics at the time and felt like TV/Movies was the way to go, but of course there's lots that I missed.

[Candy Kappa]

Not really. Of course TMNT was a huge part of my childhood, but I am here because I like the TMNT as a whole

[Donnie]

I'm here because I love the Turtles and all of their incarnations. The fact that I've loved them since I was young and it never changed certainly plays a fact, so if you wanna give it nostalgia points for that I can see. I'm definitely not here because of nostalgia, though - if that was the case I might as well be on an X-Men forum and a WWE forum, ya know? I feel like I'm living with the franchise as it goes/grows rather than trying to relive the past. TMNT is an important bond that my cousins and I share as well, so it's a personal kinda thing.

What's funny to me is that I was so huge into the OT as a kid, and I did everything Turtles related because of it before I found the comics - had the pjs, played the games, toys, etc. I know I watched the OT all the time, but as an adult I hardly remember anything from the actual OT show besides the episodes that were released on VHS like the Turtles spotlight eps, etc. As I rewatch the OT I sometimes find myself remembering the episode, some memory is jogged in the dusty caves of my brain, lol. But coming to the OT again w/ actual "seasoned" passion for the franchise as an adult is interesting.

[Falconhood]

no, i'm here because I always have fond memories of TMNT from my earliest days of my new life, being in a new school, in a homeroom, reading about them in a magazine and thinking they sound really cool.

[UsagiYojimbo]

Originally Posted by Falconhood

no, i'm here because I always have fond memories of TMNT from my earliest days of my new life,

Doesn't that qualify as nostalgic nostalgia?

[Falconhood]

Originally Posted by UsagiYojimbo

Doesn't that qualify as nostalgic nostalgia?

yep!
(watching too much Craig Ferguson lately!)

[Biffard]

It's been a while since I have posted here and I thought this would be a good post to start back up on. I'd say I'm here mainly for nostalgia and reminiscing about the good ol' times I had playing with TMNT toys and watching the shows, but there is a sliver of interest in the new series. I probably won't collect anything from the upcoming line because I grew up with the cartoon series, movies, and action figures. However, it is pretty cool to see that TMNT is still going strong!

[UsagiYojimbo]

Originally Posted by Falconhood

yep!
(watching too much Craig Ferguson lately!)

Always be cheeky whenever possible!

[papa_smurf73]

I would say a part of why I'm here is nostalgia, and the other major part is my mom, believe it or not. My parents separated when I was young. So I lived with my mom until I was 10, just when the turtles were really getting big. I remember her taking me to the store to purchase my first figures... My mom didn't have much money, but she bought them for me anyhow, knowing they would make me happy. So I really lean on the Turtles to bring back memories like those... I remember one Christmas getting a package from my mom. I was living with my Dad at the time. I recall the package having a TON of turtle figures in the mix. I distinctly remember opening Wrym, and being so happy to have that figure. Consequently, I was fortunate enough to find this thread, and find folks who share the same enthusiasm as I do about the turtles. I've very much enjoyed talking with folks here from all over the world.

Anyhow, yes, nostalgia, good memories, and the desire to learn more about the turtles is what brought me to this thread.

[voltron80]

I've been a fan since I was a kid back in 1987, I think what kept me as a fan is that I still have such great memories being caught up in Turtle Mania I had the toys, I had the comic books(Archie then moving into Mirage),seen all the movies and watch the show faithfully til the CBS years when I caught an episode here and there.

They were a big part of my childhood between the summers of 88-93 me and my friends spent our time playing with our TMNT action figures either reenacting that day episode or we were creating our own storylines outside.

Today while I limit the Turtle stuff I buy to books,DVDs and games. I still have the four plush turtle dolls I had since 1990 and all four of the original turtles and Splinter action figures. While my turtle collection isn't as large as it used to be I treasured what I have due to the joy the turtles gave me.

What brought me to this forum? That's easy Dread mentioned this place when Superhero hype closed down the TMNT section in the forum section. As for love for the franchise I'm watching the series, I'm going to buy the games and when the movie comes out I don't care I'm the only 32 or 33 year old dude in the theater.

[Logan]

I think nostalgia most definitely comes into play. The last few years I've been on a kick to re-visit the shows of my youth (GI Joe, The Transformers, Power Rangers, Dragon Ball Z) and TMNT was the most recent endeavor. I really dug the Eastman-Laird issues which I first saw when they were free viewing on the official site (sadly, no longer the case) and a few months ago I acquired the comics and read through them like a madman.

But I've always had an on-and-off interest with the Turtles for some time. It's a fun property.

[Falconhood]

Originally Posted by UsagiYojimbo

Always be cheeky whenever possible!

I think I'm the only person here that didn't have TMNT in my childhood, so it's hard to put them in the same place as He-Man, Transformers, MASK, Superfriends and stuff from my childhood.
They are one of the crossovers that played a big part of my parenthood, and one of the earliest toys of that era, along with Batman the Animated Series figures.