Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Studios) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
TMNT #4, 2nd print. Cover art by Michael Dooney
Publication information
Publisher	Mirage Studios
Publication date	May 1984–2015
Main character(s)	Leonardo Donatello Michelangelo Raphael
Creative team
Creator(s)	Kevin Eastman Peter Laird

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a super popular American comic book series. It was published by Mirage Studios and featured the famous characters. The comic ran for 30 years, from 1984 to 2014.

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created the series. They first planned it as just a single comic book. But it became so popular that it turned into a long-running series! This comic inspired a huge franchise. It led to five TV shows, six movies, many video games, and tons of toys.

Over the years, the Turtles have appeared in other comics too. They met characters like Cerebus, Savage Dragon, Flaming Carrot, and Usagi Yojimbo.

In 2009, Peter Laird sold the Turtles to Viacom. Viacom is the company that owns Nickelodeon. Mirage Studios closed down at the end of 2009. In 2011, IDW Publishing got the rights to make a new series. They also started reprinting the older comics.

How the Ninja Turtles Began

The idea for the Turtles started with a funny drawing. Kevin Eastman sketched it during a brainstorming session with his friend Peter Laird. The drawing showed a short, strong turtle wearing a mask. It had nunchaku strapped to its arms.

The young artists found this drawing hilarious. It was funny because turtles are slow and cold-blooded reptiles. But this turtle was a fast and agile Japanese martial artist! Laird suggested they create a team of four turtles. Each turtle would use a different weapon. Eastman and Laird said they were inspired by artists like Frank Miller and Jack Kirby.

Eastman and Laird used money from a tax refund and a loan from Eastman's uncle. They started their own company, Mirage Studios. They published one comic book themselves. This comic was a playful copy of four popular comics from the 1980s:

• The New Mutants from Marvel Comics, which had teenage mutants.
• Cerebus, which featured talking animals.
• Ronin.
• Daredevil, which had ninja groups fighting for control of New York City.

The Turtles' origin story has direct links to Daredevil. For example, a traffic accident happens. A blind man and a truck carrying radioactive goo are involved. This is just like Daredevil's own story. In the first Turtles comic, Splinter sees the goo hit a boy's face.

The name "Splinter" also makes fun of Daredevil's teacher, who was called "Stick". The Foot Clan are evil ninjas and the Turtles' main enemies. They are a funny version of the Hand. The Hand was a mysterious and dangerous ninja group in the Daredevil comics.

After deciding their teacher would be a rat ninja master from Japan, Eastman and Laird thought about giving the turtles Japanese names. But Laird said they "couldn't think of authentic-sounding Japanese names." So, they chose names of Renaissance artists instead. They picked the four artists they knew best, with help from Laird's Janson's History of Art book.

Other Ninja Turtle Comics

When the Ninja Turtles were new, each of the four turtles got their own special comic book. These were called "one-shots" or "micro-series." There was also a one-shot comic featuring the Fugitoid.

In 1987, a collection of short stories called Turtle Soup was released. This led to a four-part series with the same name from 1991 to 1992. The Turtles also had a four-issue mini-series with Flaming Carrot. They had appeared in his comics before.

The Fugitoid also teamed up with Michael Dooney's character Gizmo for a two-issue series. Kevin Eastman and Rick Veitch created a story about Casey Jones. It first appeared in a four-issue series called Plastron Cafe. Later, it was colored and released as a two-part Casey Jones mini-series. Eastman then worked with Simon Bisley on a mini-series. It was supposed to be called Casey Jones & Raphael. But after one issue, it was released by Image Comics as Bodycount. This was a four-part series that started with a bigger version of the first issue.

Collected Comic Books

Over the years, many of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics have been collected into books. These are called "trade paperbacks."

The very first collected books were from First Publishing. They released four books from 1986 to 1988. These books included issues #1–11 and the Leonardo #1 one-shot. These were the first times the stories were printed in full color.

In 1988, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collected Book Volume One was released. It came as a trade paperback and a special hardcover. The hardcover was signed by Eastman and Laird. These books were only available by mail order from Mirage. They collected issues #1–11 and the four micro-series one-shots.

Between 1990 and 1991, Mirage Studios published seven volumes of The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These reprinted issues #1-#29 and the four micro-series one-shots. Each book had new cover art by A.C. Farley.

For the 25th anniversary in 2009, Mirage released a new trade paperback. It was called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Collected Book Volume 1. This new edition included Fugitoid issue #1 and some extra materials.

IDW Publishing now publishes new hardcover collections. They got the rights to the Turtles from Viacom in 2011. This includes reprinting the older comics.

Mirage Publishing Collections

• TMNT Collected Book Volume One (Limited Edition Hard Cover, 1988): Collects Vol. 1 #1–11, plus Raphael #1, Michelangelo #1, Donatello #1, and Leonardo #1.
• TMNT Collected Book Volume One (trade paperback, 1988): Collects Vol. 1 #1–11, plus Raphael #1, Michelangelo #1, Donatello #1, and Leonardo #1.
• The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 1 (trade paperback, March 1990): Collects Vol. 1 #1–11, plus Raphael #1, Michaelangelo #1, Donatello #1, and Leonardo #1.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Collected Book Volume 1 (July 2009): Collects Vol. 1 #1–11, plus Raphael #1, Michaelangelo #1, Donatello #1, Leonardo #1, and Fugitoid #1, plus bonus material.
• The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 2 (May 1990): Collects Vol. 1 #12–14.
• The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 3 (June 1990): Collects Vol. 1 #15, 17–18.
• The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 4 (October 1990): Collects Vol. 1 #19–21.
• The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 5 (November 1990): Collects Vol. 1 #16, 22–23.
• The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 6 (July 1991): Collects Vol. 1 #24–26.
• The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 7 (November 1991): Collects Vol. 1 #27–29.
• TMNT: Soul's Winter (February 2007): Collects Vol. 1 #31, 35–36.
• Shell Shock (December 1989): Collects short stories by different authors and artists.
• Challenges (1991): By Michael Dooney.
• TMNT – The Collected Movie Books (June 2007): Collects the movie comics: TMNT Movie Prequel #1 – Raphael, #2 – Michaelangelo, #3 – Donatello, #4 – April, #5 – Leonardo, and TMNT Movie Adaptation.

First Publishing Collections

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Book I: Collects Vol. 1 #1–3.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Book II: Collects Vol. 1 #4–6.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Book III: Collects Vol. 1 #7–9.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Book IV: Collects Leonardo #1 and Vol. 1 #10–11.

Image Comics Collections

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TPB: Collects Vol. 3 #1–5.
• Bodycount TPB: Collects Bodycount #1–4 mini-series by Kevin Eastman and Simon Bisley.

Heavy Metal Collections

• Bodycount TPB (2008 rerelease): Collects Bodycount #1–4 mini-series by Kevin Eastman and Simon Bisley.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – 25th Anniversary: A Quarter Century Celebration: Selected reprints with some stories colored.

IDW Comics Collections

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 1 (December 2011): Collects Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #1–7, and Raphael #1.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 2 (April 2012): Collects Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #8–11, along with the Michaelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello "micro-series" one-shots.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 3 (August 2012): Collects Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #12, 14, 15, 17, and 19–21.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 4 (April 2013): Collects Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #48–55.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 5 (October 2013): Collects Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #56–62.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 6 (January 2016): Collects various short stories/one-shots published between 1985 and 1989.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 1 (June 2012): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issue #13 and stories from the Shell Shock TP.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 2 (August 2012): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #16, 22, and 23.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 3 (December 2012): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #27–29.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 4 (March 2013): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #32, 33, and 37 and “The Ring” from Turtle Soup Vol. 2 Book One.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 5 (May 2013): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #34 and #38–40.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 6 (August 2013): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #42–44.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 7 (November 2013): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #45–47 and six short stories from Shell Shock.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 8 (May 2014): Collects Mirage Studios' Vol. 2 issues #1–5.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 9 (December 2014): Collects Mirage Studios' Vol. 2 issues #6–9.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 10 (April 2015): Collects Mirage Studios' Vol. 2 issues #10–13.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Works, Vol. 1 (May 2013): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #1–7, and Raphael #1.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Works, Vol. 2 (October 2013): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #8–11, Michaelangelo #1, Donatello #1, and Leonardo #1.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Works, Vol. 3 (September 2014): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #12, #14–15, #17, and #19–21.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Works, Vol. 4 (December 2015): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #48–55.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Works, Vol. 5 (August 2016): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #56–62.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics, Vol.1 (April 2018): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #1–7, Raphael #1 and Michaelangelo #1.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics, Vol.2 (May 2019): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #8-13, Donatello #1 and Leonardo #1.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics, Vol.3 (May 2020): Collects colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #14-21.

Turtles in Other Media

The Ninja Turtles from the comics have also appeared in other types of media.

Comics

• The current IDW comic series has small connections to the Mirage comics. In Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything! #1, the beginning connects to a story from Tales of the TMNT Vol.1 #7. Also, in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo, past meetings between Miyamoto Usagi and the Mirage-Turtles are mentioned.

Animation

• The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon from 2003 ended with Turtles Forever. This was a special movie that brought together three different Turtles worlds: the 2003 cartoon, the 1987 cartoon, and the original Mirage comics.
• A similar idea was used in the 2012 cartoon. An episode called "Transdimensional Turtles" featured the 2012 Turtles meeting their 2003 versions.
• In both specials, a plan from another dimension threatened the Mirage Comics world. This world is called Turtle Prime or the Primary Turtle Dimension. If it were destroyed, it would wipe out all other Turtles and their realities!