#picture this. its 1988 and reddit doesnt exist but you still need to be a bitter little pill. dljdfngfdsfg

[istherewifiinhell]

okay. okay. if anyone is in for. "a good time" (why they put that in scare quotes? SHH). mirage issue 15. found anyway you read comics online and broke ;}. which came out after 16 dont worry about it. has a letters section. to set the scene. this is after eastman and laird have a soft separation and dont work together on books like they used to. this after (first seasons of) the show is out. and its after each of there "solo" debuts (each has a different inker and the mirage studios letterer), and after the first main book with a 'guest' artist soloing the issue.

suffice to say. fans never change. tho its funny you used to have to pay postage to say it. its. everything you could possible imagine it to be. what is this crap? you guys cant work apart? whys the plot not going HOW I THINK IT OUGHT. its soft baby shit and you guys are sell outs. etcetcetc. incredible stuff. self parody really.

made even funnier that the section also includes one of theeeee most prototypical concerned parent letters. those foul turtle comics! think of the children. which. imma include some of lairds response too cause i think its interesting to hear from. one of the guys who's. maybe most had that levied at him. like. ever?

(extra graph breaks mine) On the values of the turtles:

On think of the children:

... If you had read all of our books, you would have seen that we try to use the "off-screen" approach wherever possible, keeping the actual act of violence outside of the panel. Also, if you had taken the time to read all of our books, I'm sure you would have seen that we do not have the Turtles going out looking for trouble, fighting for the sake of fighting, being bullies, or using excessive force; just as we also do not have them cursing continuously (if at all, really) or using slang or poorly structured language excessively in fact, the Turtles by and large speak with correct grammar and syntax, and only speak otherwise when under stress or responding to excitement.

If you had spent the extra effort to really read our books, you would have also seen that the values that we promote through the Turtles' words and actions are positive ones, including respect for the rights of the individual; reverence for the wisdom that comes with age; and recognition of the value of a caring family life, among others. Yes, the Turtles aren't perfect characters - they lose their tempers, they squabble, they insult one another. But they also help others in need, and try to do the right thing, and care for each other. And isn't that they way it is in real life? Why shouldn't our comic book reflect that?

d'ya think he's mad?

I'm always concerned when I hear people fussing and fuming over sex and violence in the media; when they imply that merely being exposed to either or both will turn any child into a sociopath or psychopath. That, put quite simply, is crap. It flies in the face of all common sense: Of all the millions and millions of us who were exposed to thousands of hours of sleaze and violence on the tube and in books and magazines, how many of us turned out to be violent cases?

Think about it. There is no simple "cause and effect" relationship. What truly matters is the way the parent or parents of each child bring that child up… and that is scary to some who would rather not make the effort needed to teach their children to lead good and just lives, and finding a convenient scapegoat (comic books, movies, TV, etc.) is much more appealing, as it offers an easy cover for their own failings.

on comics as a medium:

you know what yeah i think he might have had enough.

But I would like to try to get you to see that your view of comics as a strictly children's medium is way off base. It is not now, and never has been. Think about it- just because there are large, hardcover illustrated children's books, do you expect all large, hardcover, illustrated books to be for children? Of course not; and the same holds true for all media, including comic books.

Comics can be for young kids… but they can also be for teenagers… and they can be for adults. In fact, they can be for all ages, and that is the way we approach the Turtle books. We believe they are suitable for all ages, and do not require some kind of label to protect innocent young children from their contents.

In closing, I would like to touch on one of your statements, that "At best these comics should not be printed…". I have to ask you, do you really believe that? Because if you do… well, I'll just say that I am grateful for the fact that you are not an omnipotent being, because I would hate to live in the kind of creatively constipated, simple-minded, and facistic world you would surely create.

"At best these comics should not be printed…" - have you no conception of what a mind-bogglingly insensitive and dictatorial statement that is? It's as if I were to say to you, "At best Bonnie Winter should never be allowed to speak her mind." Does that sound like the "land of the free, home of the brave" to you?

It doesn't to me.