Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird: First-Ever Drawing of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1983) on Auction via HeritageAuctions
“Peter and I were sharing a studio – our living room – in Dover, NH,” said Kevin Eastman. “One work night, in an effort to make Peter laugh, I drew a sketch of this character I called a ‘Ninja Turtle’ and threw it onto Peter's desk. He did laugh – and did a version of his own, to which I needed to take it one step further and did a pencil sketch of four different Turtles, each holding a different weapon. I gave it to Peter, who wanted to ink it in. When he did, he added ‘Teenage Mutant’ to the ‘Ninja Turtle’ part of the logo and we both fell off our chairs!”TMNT STORY-CONTINUES: The next day the pair decided they needed to come up with a story about the characters and began to hammer out the details, making it an homage/parody of some of their heroes and inspirations. Working through the winter of 1983-84, and after finding a local New England printer, they borrowed money from Eastman’s Uncle Quentin and we printed the first 3,000 copies, including the now legendary premiere at a local Portsmouth comic convention on May 5, 1984. “Even to this day we still try to completely understand the reach of the turtles,” added Eastman, “and it all started with this drawing…”
The art that launched a Pop Culture empire: First Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles illustration offered at Heritage Auctions - as part of the May 10-11 Vintage Comics & Comic Art Signature® Auction. The drawing, expected to bring $50,000+, is being consigned by TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman; is the first full artwork of the TMNT, which led to one of the most successful comics character franchises in history.
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