Over the past few months, BANDWIDTH's Animation Archives has strived to give fans of the 80s animation comprehensive information on their favorite childhood series. From GI-Joe to Transformers, Jem to She-Ra, BANDWIDTH has covered several of the greatest animated series that helped to define contemporary American animation. And now BANDWIDTHis proud to provide a much needed and awaited updates on these series. And despite the overwhelming demand by avid fans for VHS and or DVD copies of the series, companies have been slow to take notice. But it looks like some shows maybe on their way back for many of us to share with our children and younger siblings.
My girlfriend said they would make a comeback and brought some old toys at cheap prices in hopes of reselling them one day. I didn't believe her. After all, they tried a comeback only a few years ago with a live action version that even introduced a female character. That bombed. No one watched and the Turtles disappeared.
Everyone knows the cartoon would not have even existed had it not been for the wonderful comic book by Mirage that started it all. Well, guess what? After burrowing around the net for info on the beloved series I hit the official link of TMNT creator Peter Laird's new website, www.planetracers.com. Laird was the co-creator of the black and white 1983 independent comic book classic with Kevin Eastman. Laird is working on a new series called Planet Racers, but on his website devoted to the new series, there is a section called Blast From the Past, which includes unreleased images from the Turtles. In the March 2, 2001 update of this section, Laird announced, "AS of this past week, Jim Lawson has started penciling, from my plot, the first issue of the all-new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series which should see print sometime this year, hopefully late summer or early fall. I'm not sure what kind of publishing schedule the new book will have-possibly bimonthly like the original TMNT comic. It will be black and white, and the first issue (at least as it stands now, in rough layout form) will be thirty-two pages long. I'm very excited to be working on a turtle comic book again, and even more so to be working with my good friend, motorcycling buddy, and Planet Racers collaborator Jim Lawson. Now I have to go start inking...!"
With a new comic book hitting the shelves soon, could the cartoon be far behind. Turtle Power!!
Image Comics will be reissuing the series that fans have been demanding for years. The new comic book will leave off where the old series, featuring all the characters we loved, like Snake Eyes, Duke and my favorite, Flint. In reading last month's Wizard magazine, I verified the information and discovered even more than what was on the Image website.
IIt turns out that the series could be a little bit more advanced than it was when we were kids. Cobra has been destroyed, but surviving factions are banding together to form an all-new Cobra force. At the same time as this is going on, The Dreadnoks have become a national organized gang. Even Duke has gone missing, working Black Ops for a covert government agency. GI-Joe is needed again as Cobra Commander is spotted and dangerous U.S. technology has been stolen. From what it looks like, this series could be much better than its predecessor and aimed at a more mature audience.
The series will be written by Josh Blaylock and drawn by Steven Kurth, and the first issue is scheduled to ship September 2001 with a special cover by DC/Cliffhanger star, J. Scott Campbell. I'm hoping this is just the beginning and that a new animated series will follow soon as well. Go Joe!!!
Mattel has re-released many of the old He-Man action figures. He-Man, Skeletor, Man-At-Arms, Teela, Evil Lynn, Trap Jaw, Beast Man and more are back and look exactly like the originals. The packaging is slightly different, but there is a mini comic book inside each figure (Check out the Totemcon, a convention dedicated to cartoon series of the 80s). With the toys now available for purchase at the $10 range, hope runs amok that a large number of purchases could lead to the resurgence in the drive for a new animated series or possible re-airing of the original series, which may happen sooner than we think.
There is talk that the Odyssey Network will be renamed the Hallmark Network and with that happening, could the owners of He-Man and She-Ra decide that their own network could use the popular cartoon series that sold millions of toys. Maybe the proposed new and spin-off series of the Masters of the Universe will one day see the light of day?
Fans GI-Joe, Transformers and Jem fans do not pass out, you can now BUY your favorite episodes today courtesy of Amazon.com and Ybfree.com Yes, you heard that right. Rhino Video has re-released those 80s animated classics on video. Two volumes for Jem, nine for GI-Joe and a whole slew of videos for the Transformers can be bought right there for your viewing pleasure. More should come in the future if people start purchasing now. Also, two Transformers DVDs have just been released.
It is great to see the 80s classics making a comeback, it was only bound to happen. And now that we are grown with our money we can buy and create companies that will allow us to relive our childhood forever!
Send your comments and or questions about this article to Blackhart@ybfree.com.