Peter Laird on IDW TMNT

[ZariusTwo]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

And since it's the beginning it means the best is yet to come.

Rubbish. It's telling the same old s*it again, same wall, new coat of paint. Give me the TRUE continuity anyday.

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.

Not really. V4 also showed us April's origin, incorporated the Battle Nexus into canon, was giving us more insight into Karai's descent etc.

The Turtles lives are not defined by that bloody rat. There are still interesting stories to tell

[CyberCubed]

The stories after Splinter's death were largely self contained plots stretched out over 20 issues:

- Donatello gets shrunken by some left-behind Utroms from the TCRI building, and the mutagen makes lizards into somewhat intelligent beings. It was a decent story for what it was, but it could have been told in one or two Tales of the TMNT issues.

- Raphael gets bitten by vampires and mutates...nearly kills Raptaar and Fugitoid, and fights with Leatherhead...after Raph regains conscienceness they arrest the vampires. Again...could have been done in two issues.

- Michelangelo flirts with Regenta, kidnapped and taken to prison, escapes with the help of Triceratons and now wants revenge on Regenta. This was a better plotline we may never seen unfold.

- Leonardo travels to the Battle nexus to find out why warriors were killing Foot. He sees an alternate Shredder and we know there's an alternate Splinter.


These 4 stories were stretched out over 20 issues when they're really no more than 3-4 part stories at most.

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

Rubbish. It's telling the same old s*it again, same wall, new coat of paint.

You are a miserable little man.

V4 also showed us April's origin

Because everyone was totally wondering where April came from before volume 4 right?

incorporated the Battle Nexus into canon

Into Mirage canon.

[azrael]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

These 4 stories were stretched out over 20 issues when they're really no more than 3-4 part stories at most.

Since splnter's death was in issue 11 that leaves 19 comics

4*4=16

plus you had april's origin so there have been to extra issues to add to the experience, this was not an action comic vol4 is a comic about freedom, own path's, and full circles.

btw any story can be condenced

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

- Leonardo travels to the Battle nexus to find out why warriors were killing Foot. He sees an alternate Shredder and we know there's an alternate Splinter.

So Battle Nexus is now in the Mirage-Tales of the TMNT universe? I never liked Battle Nexus at all, prefer the Stump's Asteroid better.

[plastroncafe]

The only usable information we got out of April's V4 origin tale was the confirmation that Laird has difficulty writing female characters.

[Oculus Orbus]

Say what you will guys, but I love Vol. 4 and enjoyed every single issue of it. I hope we see an ending some day.

[azrael]

Originally Posted by Oculus Orbus

Say what you will guys, but I love Vol. 4 and enjoyed every single issue of it. I hope we see an ending some day.

agreed reading them all back to back is a lot better than waiting inbetween each issue.

[King Suck]

Originally Posted by Oculus Orbus

Say what you will guys, but I love Vol. 4 and enjoyed every single issue of it. I hope we see an ending some day.

Agreed. It wasn't my favorite by any means but I remember at the time finding them an enjoyable read.

Im not gonna psychoanalyze PLs comments. PL put in The back door deal with Viacom for him to continue publishing TMNT for a reason. Even if its just a one shot Im hoping we haven't seen the last of Lairds TMNT.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by ZariusTwo

Rubbish. It's telling the same old s*it again, same wall, new coat of paint. Give me the TRUE continuity anyday.

And that's why we're sitting here twiddling our thumbs because Peter Laird is still disinterested in continuing Volume 4.

The Mirage run had 25 years. That was a long time. If anything I am surprised we never had any real reboot until now.

After 25 years of Mirage, and now that Nick owns TMNT, its only natural the comics had their first true reboot. And I'll say it again, once IDW has enough issues under their belt, this series will probably be as loved as the Archie series was.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

After 25 years of Mirage, and now that Nick owns TMNT, its only natural the comics had their first true reboot. And I'll say it again, once IDW has enough issues under their belt, this series will probably be as loved as the Archie series was.

Eh, that doesn't really compute -- IDW isn't a reboot anymore than the Archie series or Dreamwave series was a reboot of the Mirage series.

Different universes, different publishers, even different rights holders now... though even that isn't so black and white with Peter still holding onto the 18 comics a year clause. For all we know IDW could be chugging along at issue #45 and oh, here comes Peter Laird dropping Volume 4, #31, #32, and #33 on us out of nowhere.

I'm not saying that's going to happen... but it could.

[CyberCubed]

Very true, but for all intents and purposes the IDW series is a reboot aimed at the same market the Mirage series was. Its not like this is a comic based on the Nick cartoon, (which we'll apparently be getting at some point), or like what Archie was...its pretty much intended to be a new take on the Mirage material while also taking some cues from the cartoons.

And even if PL continues Vol. 4...he said it'll be no more than 6 issues. Considering his disinterest, it'll be a miracle if we even get 6 more issues out of him.

Of course its possible IDW could publish stand-alone specials that take place in the Mirage universe too, but I kinda see that as unlikely. Maybe if Tristan can finish his Gang Wars story, but that's as far as I see it going.

[Dovahkiin]

Originally Posted by Jester

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

Okay, I haven't read all of it because I only have a few issues due to the fact I live in an isolated place.

--Many ideas in the IDW reboot still doesn't make sense and the reasons behind it are very poor in quality.

[TristanHuwJones]

I'd be more inclined to call it a new take on the Turtles, full-stop. They aren't necessarily taking cues from a particular source. They're just telling stories they dig with influence coming from all available sources.

[Plasticplayhouse]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

And that's why we're sitting here twiddling our thumbs because Peter Laird is still disinterested in continuing Volume 4.

I'm confident that pete still has love for the turtles and at some point he will put pen to paper again.

None of us really have any clue what trials and tribulations pete and Kevin have been through during their journey. I can't fathom what the heck I would do if something I started "just for fun", grew legs, then wheels, then twin turbines and took off to heights that I barely even dreamed of. I can only make guesses to what kind of pressures and problems a situation like that can bring. I don’t fault peter at all for feeling the way he does. Yeah it doesn’t give me the warm fuzzies, but hey, he's the one who lived it and he has the right to feel the way he does. Heavy is the head that wears the crown as they say. kevin got burned out early on, took several years off to do projects that were more personally fulfilling and recently came back to the turtles with new-found vigor. After 25+ years of wearing that crown, pete needs that time too. He specifically mentioned something in his blog to the affect of him not achieving the level of artistry he thought he would have by this point in his life. Like many of us, I'm sure he too has many dreams. He just needs time to explore other passions. At some point the spark/love he had for the turtles will be rejuvenated and he'll be back in some fashion. It may be another 5, 10, or even 15 years, but it will happen. Once you genuinely love something, that love never goes away. It may fade quite a bit at times, but the seed remains.

[marcelangelo]

plasticplahouse, you speak my mind...I couldn't wordsmith it better...some of the same things I said a page before here but nobody commented anything so maybe we are the only two who feel this way, but that's enough for me...

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by Plasticplayhouse

I'm confident that pete still has love for the turtles and at some point he will put pen to paper again.

I had always hoped that when the IDW/Nick era started it would cause some "rivalry" with PL, and he'd feel compelled to continue Vol. 4 to show what *his* view of the Turtles are like.

Imagine if we got new comics coming from Mirage and IDW at the same time? It'd be awesome.

Maybe in the next full years after the IDW comics and Nick cartoon are in full swing, PL will say, "This is not the way I would do things," and he'd feel "compelled" to finish Volume 4 to show his view of the series.

[Sophie Campbell]

i wouldn't blame Laird at all for never coming back to TMNT, i can't even imagine what it must be like for him. why the hell would he want to work on that stuff again at this point? it's easy for us fans to be puzzled by that, like how could he NOT love TMNT as much as we do, but nobody has lived and breathed Turtles like Laird and Eastman have, i can't even fathom what it's like.

can you imagine working on the same characters for over 25 years, but not actually drawing many comics about them and developing them, but rather managing a merchandising empire? at least with guys like Stan Sakai, it's still him doing the comic himself, it's still personal.

i always think about don't Eastman & Laird have other stories and ideas they want to do? even if they did, would people keep demanding more Turtles from them? it seems all-consuming to me, i'm not surprised at all that Laird says he might like to go back in time or whatever to prevent TMNT's creation, he does seem like TMNT has hollowed him out or something which isn't surprising, especially after reading stuff like Kevin Eastman's 1998 Comics Journal interview where he talks about how things were like in those earlier days. it wasn't about the characters and fun anymore. i feel smothered just thinking about it.

i hope Laird's batteries recharge and he does some new non-Turtles stuff. i know he's got other ideas and stories in him. i respect him as a creator so i want him to do what he wants to do, but i almost hope he never returns to Turtles and instead breaks free with new characters and ideas.

[CyberCubed]

Originally Posted by mooncalfe

i wouldn't blame Laird at all for never coming back to TMNT, i can't even imagine what it must be like for him. why the hell would he want to work on that stuff again at this point? it's easy for us fans to be puzzled by that, like how could he NOT love TMNT as much as we do, but nobody has lived and breathed Turtles like Laird and Eastman have, i can't even fathom what it's like.

Then why exactly did he revive it in the 2000's? Starting Volume 4, restarting Tales, making a deal with 4kids to produce a new cartoon, a new toyline, etc.

Peter Laird clearly wanted to bring the Turtles back in 2001 after their initial "death" back in the mid-90's. And he did so because he still liked the franchise.

[rufus]

The 2003 Cartoon could have been an attempt to show the Turtles as more than how they are remembered from the FW series?