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The concept was apparently borne from a comical drawing that played upon the inherent contradiction of a slow, cold-blooded reptile with the speed and agility of the Japanese martial art. The comic became a loose parody of two of the most popular comics of the early 1980's: Marvel Comics' X-Men, which featured teenage mutants, and Daredevil, which featured ninja clans dueling for control of the New York CitySkyline, with Statue of Liberty New York, New York" redirects here. For alternate meanings, see New York, New York (disambiguation). New York — officially named City of New York and often called New York City to distinguish it from the state of New York, underworld. Eastman and Laird cite the influential work of Jack KirbyJack "King" Kirby ( August 28, 1917 February 6, 1994) was one of the most influential, recognizable and prolific artists in United States comic books. Born Jacob Kurtzburg in New York City, he was also a comic book writer and artist. Early Career He worke and Frank MillerThis article is about Frank Miller, the comic book writer and artist. There is a separate article about Frank Miller, the Premier of Ontario. Frank Miller (born 1957 in Olmie, Maryland) is an American writer and artist best known for his film noir-style c as their major artistic influences.
The small-press black & white comic book was successful enough to inspire a Saturday morning cartoon, which catapulted the characters into a nation-wide merchandising craze. The cartoon, while obviously inspired by the comic book, diverged in almost every way. While the comic was meant for an older audience, the cartoon focused on more standard children's fare and typically avoided overt human violence and any semblance of real conflict. Popularity exploded with the release of a live-action feature film (which more closely followed the comic) and its two sequels. There was also a long-running spinoff comic published by Archie Comics that started out following the cartoon, but as time progressed, diverged into rather overtly propagandistic environmentalist and animal-rights themes.
As the origin story goes, the four pet turtles were exposed to a liquid mutagenIn biology, a mutagen ( Latin, literally origin of change is an agent that changes the genetic information (usually DNA) of an organism and thus increases the number of mutations above the natural background level. Mutagens are usually chemical compounds during a traffic accident at which their young owner, Chet, was a bystander. Most comics fans will recognize the accident, involving a blind man and a truck carrying radioactive waste, as an allusion to Daredevil, which was one of the primary influences in the creation of the TMNT. This mutagen caused the affected animals to become more human-like in intelligence and dexterity. Also exposed to the mutagen was Splinter, a pet rat once owned by ninjutsu expert Hamato Yoshi. Splinter taught himself the art of ninjutsu by mimicking Yoshi during his practice sessions. Trying to escape a bitter love triangle, Yoshi emigrated from JapanJapan (, Nippon/Nihon literally "the origin of the sun") is a country in East Asia situated on a chain of islands east of the Asian continent on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. The largest of these islands are, from north to south, Hokkaido , Honsh to the United States, but was murdered by his rival, Oroku Saki (aka ShredderShredder is the main villain of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He is a ninjitsu master called Oroko Saki and swears to finish off Splinter and the four turtles. The Shredder wears some kind of Japanese Ninja armor. The armors consists of coverings over). This left Splinter homeless, wandering the streets and sewers of New York CitySkyline, with Statue of Liberty New York, New York" redirects here. For alternate meanings, see New York, New York (disambiguation). New York — officially named City of New York and often called New York City to distinguish it from the state of New York,. Still fresh from their accident and wallowing in mutagen, Splinter happened upon the turtles and adopted them. Within days Splinter and the turtles had grown to humanoid size and had developed the power of speech. Splinter grew slower than the turtles. It was then that Splinter decided to train the young turtles in ninjutsu, so they would grow strong enough to exact revenge on the Shredder for the murder of Splinter's beloved Master Yoshi.
The four turtles were named after famed master Renaissance artists whose work their master admired: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Although Michelangelo was indeed misspelled as Michaelangelo, it was an error that stuck until Volume 4 of the TMNT comic, which began publication in late 2001.
The first issue of Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was published in May, 1984. It was printed in an oversized "magazine-style" format using black & white artwork on cheap newsprint. The semi-gloss cover was also black & white, accented with red highlights. The first issue premiered at a comic book convention in Portsmouth, NH, and had a print run of only 3,000 copies. The series continued, albeit sporadically, for nine years, terminating with the publication of issue #62 in August, 1993. During this period the book had a multitude of guest artists, giving the series a disjointed, almost anthology-type feel. Some of these artists, including Michael Dooney, Eric Talbot, Craig Farley, Ryan Brown, and Jim Lawson, continued to work with Mirage Studios for years to come.
In May, 1987, Mirage began publishing a sister book, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which introduced many peripheral characters who were to return later in the series. Jim Lawson and Ryan Brown were the primary creative team on this series.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Volume 2 was launched by Mirage Studios in October, 1993, as a full-color series that maintained the continuity of the previous volume. This short-lived series lasted only two years, with the final issue, #13, published in October 1995.
Based on the success of two cross-overs with his Savage Dragon comic, Erik Larson came to the rescue in June, 1996, with the publication of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Volume 3, which was published in black & white under the Image Comics banner. The 23 monthly issues were written by Gary Carlson and pencilled by Frank Fosco. This volume is notable for having a faster pace, intense action, and inflicting major physical changes on the turtles themselves (e.g. Raphael losing an eye, Leonardo losing a hand, and Donatello becoming a cyborg). However, it is not considered part of the "official" TMNT comics continuity.
Peter Laird and Jim Lawson brought the turtles back to their roots with the publication of TMNT: Volume 4 in December, 2001. It continues to be published, along with a relaunched version of Tales of the TMNT, by Mirage Studios to this day.
Major cross-overs with other successful independent comics characters include Dave Sim's Cerebus the Aardvark, as well as an appearance in two issues of Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot comic book.