Ninja turtles 37 years 1984 2021 for the memories Shirt
The great irony of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”If you were a kid in the 1980s or 90s, you probably spent some time reading, watching, or playing with four adolescent reptilian martial arts experts with irregular DNA. To make sure I got the scoop on everyone’s favorite pizza-obsessed heroes in a half-shell, I went straight to the source—co-creator Peter Laird—who was kind enough to answer our burning questions about the franchise. If you’re looking for a thorough history of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this is a pretty good place to start.From a Simple SketchStruggling artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were living in Northampton, Massachusetts, when they came up with the Turtles in November 1983. As a joke, Eastman drew a turtle standing on its hind legs, wearing a mask, with nunchucks strapped to its arms. Eastman wrote “Ninja Turtle” on the top of the page. Laird laughed and then drew a more refined version of the turtle.
Ninja turtles 37 years 1984 2021 for the memories Shirt
Not to be outdone, Eastman drew four turtles, each armed with a ninja-style weapon. Laird outlined the group shot in ink and added “Teenage Mutant” to the “Ninja Turtles” title.As Eastman and Laird began fleshing out the Turtles to create a comic book, they had to give the Turtles names. At first they tried Japanese names, but it just wasn’t working. So they tried great Renaissance artists instead – Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. Laird told me, “It felt just quirky enough to fit the concept.”In May 2012, that original drawing of the Turtles sold at auction for $71,700.The Daredevil ConnectionThere are many aspects of the Turtles that are a nod to Marvel Comics’ superhero Daredevil. For example, Splinter, the Turtles’ father figure and sensei, is an homage to Daredevil’s sensei, Stick. The Foot Clan is a take-off of the ninja clan in Daredevil known as The Hand. However, the coolest connection is that the Turtles and Daredevil seem to share the same origin story.