TMNT Classics Trades Are Disappointing

[CyberCubed]

I hope Volume 2 gets the Ultimate collections treatment. Aren't they technically Eastman/Laird issues? Lawson did the art but he did City at War too.

[Matches Malone]

Originally Posted by frank_one

I hope they're not doing it that way. They should collect those 13 issues under a different title as they're more than casual issues, they belong to a single story arc. Obviously, supposing they're not collecting them all in only one big book, they should find a good way to name it.
Something not chaotic like:

TMNT Volume 2 volume 1
TMNT Volume 2 volume 2

It would be nice something like:

TMNT Volume 2 - Book one
TMNT Volume 2 - Book two

Or they could use the word "part".

I agree, I hope so too. But I have a feeling they won't, since Bobby mentioned that a reason why they titled these books "classics" is so that they can still throw the Image series under the same title, as opposed to if they had called the books "Mirage's TMNT" or something like that. They want to keep all these reprints as streamlined as possible, which is understandable.

TMNT Volume 2 Volume 1 is definitely not the way to go, though. Book 1 or Part 1 is definitely better.

[frank_one]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I hope Volume 2 gets the Ultimate collections treatment. Aren't they technically Eastman/Laird issues? Lawson did the art but he did City at War too.

Eastman's and Laird's involment was very limited. They probably gave him ideas about the plot but, according to miragelicensing.com, every issue has Lawson as the only writer. I remember that Laird said, responding to a letter published in one issue of volume 4, that the only memory he had of him collaborating at Volume 2 was him giving Lawson some tips to make the conclusion of the series easier to understand. Of course, Laird and Eastman drew all the covers (with the exception of the first one wich was by A.C. Farley) of Volume 2 and as far as I know that was their last "graphical" collaboration.
So, Volume 2 probably doesn't deserve the Ultimate Collection treatment but it doesn't deserve to be thrown among the Classics trades either.

[CyberCubed]

Well IDW should be finished collection Vol. 1 this year. With the Ultimate Collections doing "Shades of Gray" and all of City at War, and the "Classics" up to issue #40...they only have to collect up to issue #47.

They can't collect any of the Veitch issues so those 4 are out, and for some reason #18 was skipped as well.

Souls Winter will probably gets its own collection, and then we only need up to Classics TPB #7 to finish off Vol. 1.

[Hardshell]

I imagine nearly all pre-IDW TMNT comics will fall under the "Classics" banner save for Adventures and Tales. That's as streamlined as they can get and as far as they should go.

[FoxZerro]

You want disappointing. I was given the First Collection as a gift the same day that the copy of Shellshocked I had just ordered came in the mail. Seeing the original beautiful artwork, corrrupted by the color was terrible and to have them side by side on the same day I couldn't help but compare.

[frank_one]

Originally Posted by frank_one

So, Volume 2 probably doesn't deserve the Ultimate Collection treatment but it doesn't deserve to be thrown among the Classics trades either.

Wait.. don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to see Volume 2 issues getting the Ultimate collection treatment! Maybe they could have Lawson's annotations this time.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by Jester

There's more to being a fan than buying merchandise, but I can understand what you mean. You find it hard to continue to financially support the franchise.

Well yeah of course. It's not about money or quality of products in a lot of cases it's just my taste. Viacom hasn't really been putting out the kind of TMNT I enjoy. The Nick toon is not the kind of TMNT I want to see and neither is IDW. While I can find a few things about both to like I find more to dislike. Overall I'm left with little things to cling too as to where I made little to no exceptions for any of the Mirage stuff or 2K3. The OT I just accept but it's an ingrained part of my childhood. The Nick toon has the disadvantage of coming past my eyes as an adult and not a little kid. If I was 8 right now I'd be all over it I'm sure. And if I saw the OT as a 20+ year old I'd probably feel the same way about it I do the Nick series.

[bjaxx87]

It's not the quality of the coloring itself that bugs me about the classic trades (I think it's pretty decent), but there are some silly miscolorings.

Some examples that I noticed (without even looking for them)... I'm sure there are more mistakes.

Night Life:
- They mistook the parking meters in the first panel for street lamps (very small street lamps...).
- They colored Donnies bandana as a continuation of his bo staff in one panel during the battle.

New York Ninja:
- In one panel I noticed that they mixed up Chang Lao with one of the mobsters. That can be very confusing...

Don't Judge a Book:
- Sometimes I'm not sure if the coloring studio really understands the scenes it's coloring... A mobster rolls down the stairs, which is shown with him seen in different positions during the same panel. Every position is painted with a different colored jacket! Stylistic device? I don't think so...

Road Trip:
- Again the parking meters that turned into tiny street lamps. That looks so awkward...
- The turtles' "anconal shells" (I hope you know what I mean) look very colorful in one panel.
- They blacked out "The End". Well, I can live with that, but it's still lazy.

If you come to think of the fact that there have been colored versions of "Night Life and "Road Trip", that is pretty slovenly! Maybe they just had the Shellshock versions? While "Night Life's" original colors were a bit lame, "Road Trip" was really nice in "Anything Goes"!

I've got a bad feeling about their upcoming attempt for volume 2...

[Plasticplayhouse]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

which makes the poor coloring job a bigger crime

I'm not a colorist nor have I ever attempted it, (anyone with coloring experience correct me if I'm wrong) but I'm guessing coloring over duoshade is part of the problem. Maybe they don't shade over the duoshade to preserve its effect?

Personally, I LOVE the b/w with duoshade. I'll take it over color any day. That said, if they are going to color these issues than they should eliminate the duoshade/color over it. Give it the same silly pizzaz color treatment the current IDW issues get.

[Vegeta]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Well yeah of course. It's not about money or quality of products in a lot of cases it's just my taste. Viacom hasn't really been putting out the kind of TMNT I enjoy. The Nick toon is not the kind of TMNT I want to see and neither is IDW. While I can find a few things about both to like I find more to dislike. Overall I'm left with little things to cling too as to where I made little to no exceptions for any of the Mirage stuff or 2K3. The OT I just accept but it's an ingrained part of my childhood. The Nick toon has the disadvantage of coming past my eyes as an adult and not a little kid. If I was 8 right now I'd be all over it I'm sure. And if I saw the OT as a 20+ year old I'd probably feel the same way about it I do the Nick series.

Maybe youre tired of the franchise and its time for you to move on.it happens.I personally think idw is fantastic

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by Plasticplayhouse

I'm not a colorist nor have I ever attempted it, (anyone with coloring experience correct me if I'm wrong) but I'm guessing coloring over duoshade is part of the problem. Maybe they don't shade over the duoshade to preserve its effect?

that doesn't explain the obvious coloring errors, like coloring hands as the same color as someones clothes.

the coloring choices are odd at times too, such as the colors chosen on Shredder.

[frank_one]

Originally Posted by Plasticplayhouse

That said, if they are going to color these issues than they should eliminate the duoshade/color over it.

This is it. Coloring over the duoshade creates such an unpleasant effect... and it is silly, after all. I mean, this is not black and white art, you can use colors to shade the characters and the objects, you don't need those duoshade lines!

[Powder]

Originally Posted by bjaxx87

It's not the quality of the coloring itself that bugs me about the classic trades (I think it's pretty decent), but there are some silly miscolorings.

Some examples that I noticed (without even looking for them)... I'm sure there are more mistakes.

Spoiler:

Night Life:
- They mistook the parking meters in the first panel for street lamps (very small street lamps...).
- They colored Donnies bandana as a continuation of his bo staff in one panel during the battle.

New York Ninja:
- In one panel I noticed that they mixed up Chang Lao with one of the mobsters. That can be very confusing...

Don't Judge a Book:
- Sometimes I'm not sure if the coloring studio really understands the scenes it's coloring... A mobster rolls down the stairs, which is shown with him seen in different positions during the same panel. Every position is painted with a different colored jacket! Stylistic device? I don't think so...

Road Trip:
- Again the parking meters that turned into tiny street lamps. That looks so awkward...
- The turtles' "anconal shells" (I hope you know what I mean) look very colorful in one panel.
- They blacked out "The End". Well, I can live with that, but it's still lazy.

If you come to think of the fact that there have been colored versions of "Night Life and "Road Trip", that is pretty slovenly! Maybe they just had the Shellshock versions? While "Night Life's" original colors were a bit lame, "Road Trip" was really nice in "Anything Goes"!

I've got a bad feeling about their upcoming attempt for volume 2...

Those 'silly mis-colorings' ARE the lack of quality control, dude. But yeah, that just goes to show how unprofessionally done they are. Not to mention how overly saturated the colors are for a book that's supposed to be visually dark. Not to mention how cheesy some sh*t is, like Triceratons with red eyes on orange skin. They're white on the cover, let's have some consistency. Besides, the white makes them pop & look more menacing, making them red is what a 4 year old who wanted to make something look evil would do. It's a shortcut and a novice move.

[Jester]

Originally Posted by Powder

Those 'silly mis-colorings' ARE the lack of quality control, dude. But yeah, that just goes to show how unprofessionally done they are. Not to mention how overly saturated the colors are for a book that's supposed to be visually dark. Not to mention how cheesy some sh*t is, like Triceratons with red eyes on orange skin. They're white on the cover, let's have some consistency. Besides, the white makes them pop & look more menacing, making them red is what a 4 year old who wanted to make something look evil would do. It's a shortcut and a novice move.

I don't at all mean this as to be mean, but more to actually see your work....

"Well, if you think you can do better!"

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by Vegeta

Maybe youre tired of the franchise and its time for you to move on.it happens.I personally think idw is fantastic

It's a lot of things but yes that was the summary of what I said. I still buy this stuff though because it's the old material I still enjoy I just wish they would get their stuff together and do it properly. Like others have said, some in more detail then me, this is amateur work that fans on here would most likely do for free just so it could be done properly. I'd really like to see IDW's reasons for this and I'd also wish they'd chime in so they know we're not really happy about this. They usually lurk on here. Maybe we need to make a poll topic so they can really see or maybe they just don't give a crap because they know we will purchase it regardless of how much effort they put into it.

[FoxZerro]

Originally Posted by Jester

I don't at all mean this as to be mean, but more to actually see your work....

"Well, if you think you can do better!"

Seconded... Mostly because I really liked the argument about four year olds using red eyes to make something evil... Made me laugh out loud and make me want to see your take on it Powder

[Bobby Curnow]

For what it's worth I can only speak for myself, and I don't have anything to do with the reprints. If you're dissatisfied, write in to "[email protected]" That's the only way people from IDW are going to see it and for it to have any sort of effect. Not saying it will, but there's no chance otherwise.

[Powder]

Originally Posted by Jester

I don't at all mean this as to be mean, but more to actually see your work....

"Well, if you think you can do better!"

I'd be more than happy to if someone wants to provide me with a good clean scan of a page to color.

[bjaxx87]

Originally Posted by Powder

Those 'silly mis-colorings' ARE the lack of quality control, dude.

Well, yeah, maybe "quality" was the wrong word. What I wanted to say, is that I like the look of the colors, tones and effects. If there weren't those mistakes and some awkward decisions like the red eyed Triceratons that you mentioned, I would be satisfied. Just change some colors and it would be perfect - at least in my opinion.

But to be honest, I would prefer B/W as well.

Originally Posted by Bobby Curnow

For what it's worth I can only speak for myself, and I don't have anything to do with the reprints. If you're dissatisfied, write in to "[email protected]" That's the only way people from IDW are going to see it and for it to have any sort of effect. Not saying it will, but there's no chance otherwise.

Thanks Bobby, that's what I will do! A little quality control would solve all problems, so maybe letting IDW know about it could help.