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Sure, comic book characters from New York City are beloved beyond the reaches of the Five Boroughs, but there’s a particular gusto that New York fans bring to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Every time I return to my hometown show of New York Comic Con, I get struck by how many TMNT cosplayers there are. And I'm not just talking the Turtles themselves - I'm also talking cosplayers dressed up as Casey Jones, April O'Neil, Shredder, and so many other Turtles characters. (Take a look at photos #136, #376, #391 in our NYCC cosplay gallery!). 

Since I live in Los Angeles now, I'm not used to seeing so many TMNT cosplayers at my local comic cons, including San Diego Comic-Con. Sure, SDCC and other California shows were inundated with cosplayers dressed as New York heroes like Fantastic Four and Spider-Man this year (I mean, when are there not a bit too many people cosplaying as Spider-Man at any given show?), but for whatever reason, there isn't the same enthusiasm for TMNT out here at West Coast shows than there is in the Big Apple. 

And it isn't difficult to consider why that might be. I mean, part of why I love the Turtles is that they embody the same scrappy chutzpah of New York that powered the early days of punk rock and hip-hop. They're unafraid to challenge our culture's norms about what makes a comic book hero. It doesn't matter that they live in the sewers with their rat dad, the Turtles never waver in their belief that they are the heroes that New York City needs. It's a spirit that my dad has summed up best: "The Turtles got attitude." 

I don't want to sound like I'm gatekeeping TMNT fandom here, but the Turtles just don't hit as hard outside of New York, where almost all of their iconography can be seen on the street on any given day in Manhattan at least (okay, maybe not Shredder and the Foot Clan's whole deal). I miss seeing street hockey games while out and about in the Lower East Side, skaters doing their thing at the skate park beneath the Manhattan Bridge. I think part of what makes TMNT cosplay such a unique facet to NYCC is that there's a sense of hometown pride. 

Obviously, I'm not the first New Yorker to leave my home city for Los Angeles (ahem, Jack Kirby). So maybe I should start bringing a piece of home with me to California conventions in the form of a Casey Jones cosplay. 

Everyone's favorite Heroes in a Half-Shell turn 40 years old in 2024, and the Turtles are arguably bigger than ever, thanks to the hit Last Ronin comic book series, and a hit movie in 2023's Mutant Mayhem. If you want more, we're here with a watch guide, the chance to see co-creator Kevin Eastman tell all, information about their summer 2024 comic book relaunch, and... well, more! Cowabunga, dudes.