Chapter 385: Episode Ones I
And so... that was it.
They've finally arrived, they've shown, and pioneered what's to come.
And oh... has it just begun...
Then again, for something that has been building up for quite this long now... it can't be just that, right?
Well... in all actuality, it is actually as simple as that.
It was just Episode 1 of both Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dragonballs respectively...
What more could one expect?
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As it turns out... there was a lot to expect.
However, these supposedly simple 'episode ones' seem more than enough to make up for it.
As a matter of fact, these did kind of send quite some people into a sort of frenzy.
The animation, the story, the art, the spectacle, and the implications...
All of it seems to have compounded into one whole package. Two actually but they're one of the same.
Creed projects. Anything of the sort, they'll frenziedly love that.
Of course, it was the usual that got caught up in it
Who else could they be than the long-established Creed fandom?
Mostly ranging from nerds, geeks, and children of the like.
With people like Fanboy and those like-minded people that might as well be fanboys too
Assuredly so, they are the comic book enthusiasts that are most eager for anything that Creed puts out.
Oh, how enthusiastic and eager they were for the Turtles and Goku to take to their TVs.
Ever since the Comic-Con tease up until recently... they waited and waited...
And finally, their patience pulled through...
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were here... and so was the mystical adventure for the Dragonballs...
What was played out and shown wasn't exactly new.
Too many times they've flipped the pages of their collection to already know what and when it will happen.
However, being spoiled by the suspense didn't exactly stop their interest, did it?
If anything, they seemed driven to want some more. More, more, and more...
Spoiled is what they truly were.
What didn't help was the fact that the shows just supplemented what they've read and complemented their imagination of what it always had been.
It's not just the shift from speech bubbles to true speech that got them...
It's also not just the new and exciting scenes that the familiar comic panels hadn't encompassed...
It was also the affirmation that their favorite stories got a storytelling upgrade!
Not much can be taken from the phenomenon... except maybe the fact that Creed's fanbase is just that crazy.
Even comic book purists can't help but be caught up in this animation craze.
It had to be said that both Dragonball and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are the ones that started it all.
Refreshing and renewing the comic book industry into what it would be.
With that bustling comic book industry in an obvious downturn... it would seem that the two titles were here to reinvigorate it once again!
Not just via continued comic book serialization but with animated syndication as well.
They can't wait to see how these shows will reshape the televised animation industry, just as how they shaped the comic book industry before it.
Hopefully, it would also upsurge the downturned trend that their beloved niche is in.
More than anything, they can't wait to talk and talk about it. Discuss and debate as they always had.
What happened in these supposedly simple first episodes seems to have brought them back to the hubbub during the first comic book issues... and they just can't help but want to revel in it once again!
On that note, Mr. Counterboy, of Creed Store, could only sigh.
He's already expected busy days to come and his unfortunate role as a question and answering sponge throughout all of it.
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Sigh, indeed.
Sighing editor's sighs were a bit different. As it was a devolved habit that he goes through from time to time.
With Creed at it once again, it can't be helped.
Sighing editor just sigh, sigh, sighed.
Much like the obviously predictable invigoration of the comic book community... DC the comic book giant was invigorated too.
The catalyst was more or less the same... Creed's animation project!
Such excitement it must have brought to the comic book reading community...
However, it was a bit different on the publishing end of things.
There were so many things to take away from Creed's animation debut but it all boils down to Creed's enviable way of doing things once again.
Instead of being lumped in the same slump that most publishers are in... Creed Comics had so many things that got past that.
They had done so in the most brilliant of ways just like the brilliant kid that helms it.
It's not just comic books. There's toys, movies, and video games... and it's all corresponding successes on those ends.
And with this televised move... they're obviously moving forward even more.
Translate comic books into animated shows. No muss cause it was as simple as that.
Like usual DC wanted to emulate that...
Unfortunately, they can't be as straightforward as how Creed had done it.
With jumbled DC story timelines, the high cost of all the animation procedures like storyboarding, screenwriting, and whatnot is already expected.
Now, compare that to how Creed had done it... and the stark contrast just made sighing editor sigh once again.
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That sighing plight seems to travel far and wide...
It was another comic book editor this time around. That goes by the name of Jim Shooter.
Stoicness could only get him so far as he's already accepted what's to come.
The recent showcase of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dragonballs only served to strengthen that.
There's a lot that can be said about the far-reaching implications of such a showing...
And Shooter can only marvel at what it could mean for Marvel!
At this point, everything is pretty much set in stone, however, the recent prospect of animation is pretty much the final clincher that will hasten things into place.
The pushback will most probably die down which means that Creed didn't just step foot in the animation business... they also stepped it up with their acquisition as well.
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Of course, aside from the Big Two of Comics, there's a whole lot more people that can't help but wrapped their heads around what Creed's animation entry could result in.
Take Hasbro... who knows what animation and cartoons meant for someone in the toy business... from the inside and out...
From their Real American Heroes like the G.I. Joes to the magical friendship of My Little Ponies...
If a comic book-dependent toy business is already troublesome enough as it is... then Creed's debut into the cartoons meant that they became a true blue competitor that's hard to dismiss.
Without a doubt, the already rowdy toy market is just going to get even more rowdier than it already is.
On the side, there's even Worlds of Wonder that's getting inspired. If Turtles and a monkey boy can do it, then there Teddy Ruxpin can do it too.
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Setting aside the symbiosis of animation and toys... a certain animation giant was kind of disturbed as well.
Of course, it's Disney in this case with Eisner at the helm.
For someone who's an advocate of diverging from the usual House of Mouse practice, animations and cartoons weren't too much in the picture.
The recent mediocrity of The Great Mouse Detective only served to prove Eisner's point to diversify.
That didn't mean that Disney's animating pride is dismissible though.
And Creed's active pivot into that was quite the action to think about.
Two cartoon shows for the small screen weren't the issue. The issue would be when it shifts into feature-length and on the big screen.
Given Creed's track record in movies... the infallible Disney would be in for a shock!
Eisner had to do something about such possibility... and it would seem that his plans had to be hurried along.
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Back to the root of it all...
And unlike how absurd everyone was in...
Alexander didn't really have much to say about the spectacle of it.
It was just the first episodes and he's technically the plunderer, the producer, and the re-creator.
Oh yeah... there's musician and voice actor, too...
Basically, he had overseen the whole process and the whole series for a dozen times now... so the novelty has kind of worn off.
It's really not much and he's just kind of glad that they've got it over with.
Broadcast, albeit in syndication, was finally achieved and entry into the field of television ultimately settled...
At this point, Alexander was in relief... but not truly...
After all, in due course from here... there were far more interesting things to come.
Like the influence that the shows will produce and the harvest that can be gathered from them.
Receptions, ratings, and statistics, ranging from the good to the bad. That's quite a lot of variables to cover...
And sure enough... Alexander had to sift through plenty of that.
His Saturday morning had long been over but it would seem that the topic of cartoons would still ensue for a long while after that.
Probably even more so than it had been for the first day...
Obviously, such a sentiment was not isolated... as it extended to quite a lot of people.
And to think... all of these... ruffled and brought out... by just a couple of episode ones...