• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Contact

Cool and Collected

Collecting pop culture toys, comics, and collectibles collections

April 23, 2012 By 4 Comments

First-ever Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles illustration by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird to be auctioned

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - tmnt - Kevin Eastman first-ever art illustration

Consigned by Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman; the first full artwork of the TMNT, which led to one of the most successful comics character franchises in history

DALLAS – The first-ever artwork of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – the illustration that launched one of the most successful character franchises in history – created for fun one night in late November, 1983 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird will cross the auction block as part of Heritage Auctions’ 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.

“Peter and I were sharing a studio – our living room – in Dover, NH,” said 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!”

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.

“From that day forward, through the next 30 years and through this very day, the TMNTs have been a worldwide phenomenon, entertaining hundreds of millions of children and generating close to a billion dollars in revenues,” said Barry Sandoval, Director of Operations for the Comics Department at Heritage. “There have been numerous movies, cartoons, live action shows, toys, you name it. There’s a CGI-animated show being made right now and there’s a major motion picture planned for next year. I can’t think of the last time the first artistic rendition of a major franchise has been offered for public sale. All TMNT fans have seen this piece reprinted in books and articles over the years, and I’m sure they assumed Kevin would never part with it.”

“Even to this day we still try to completely understand the reach of the turtles,” added Eastman, “and it all started with this drawing…”

Filed Under: Other

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. jboypacman says

    April 23, 2012 at 6:16 pm

    I bet this will fetch a pretty penny.

    Reply
    • Brian says

      April 24, 2012 at 11:14 am

      I’d say $50K+ is a pretty penny. 😉

      Reply
  2. Jason says

    April 24, 2012 at 11:03 am

    If only I were rich…

    Reply
    • Brian says

      April 24, 2012 at 11:14 am

      You and me both!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • “Did you say ‘Youts’?”
  • Marx Marvel Tricycles
  • Here there be dragons
  • Vintage Batman Toy Collection
  • Batman Pinbacks

About Cool & Collected

This site is devoted to us crazy few who go to great lengths to acquire items for our collection. Read more.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Support this site:

If you enjoy reading articles on Cool & Collected, I would greatly appreciate you clicking on this eBay link before you do your shopping. I will get a few pennies from any purchase you make, but those pennies can add up. Thank you for your support!

Footer

Submit a Product for Review

Want to have your product(s) featured on Cool & Collected? This is how you can submit something for review.

Recent Posts

  • “Did you say ‘Youts’?”
  • Marx Marvel Tricycles
  • Here there be dragons
  • Vintage Batman Toy Collection
  • Batman Pinbacks
  • Monkeying Around
  • Current View
  • A drawer filled with Joes
  • It’s all good, man.
  • Feeling Green

Topics

  • Art and Photography
  • Books
  • Collections
  • Comic Books
  • Games
  • Other
  • Pop Culture League
  • Shows & Events
  • Toys
  • TV & Movies

Pages

  • About Cool & Collected
  • Blog
  • Contact Cool & Collected
  • Privacy Policy
  • Submit a Product for Review
  • Tips for starting (and enjoying) a collection

Copyright © 2023 Big Fish Design. All rights reserved.