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Tom Waltz Kevin Eastman Dan Duncan Biography & Facts

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, commonly abbreviated as TMNT, is a media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained in ninjutsu who fight evil in New York City. Supporting characters include the turtles' sensei, a rat called Splinter, their human friends April O'Neil and Casey Jones, and enemies such as Baxter Stockman, Krang, and their archenemy, the Shredder. The franchise began as a comic book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which Eastman and Laird conceived as a parody of elements popular in superhero comics at the time. The first issue was published in 1984 by Eastman and Laird's company Mirage Studios and was a surprise success. In 1987, Eastman and Laird licensed the characters to Playmates Toys, which developed a line of Turtles action figures. About US$1.1 billion of Turtles toys were sold between 1988 and 1992, making them the third-bestselling toy figures ever at the time. The action figures were promoted with an animated series, which premiered in 1987 and ran for almost a decade. This was followed by the animated series that premiered in 2003, 2012, and 2018, each with a separate continuity. Several films were released; the first, released in 1990, became the highest-grossing independent film up to that point. Numerous video games have also been released, including several developed by Konami. Eastman sold his share of the Turtles franchise to Laird in 2000. In 2009, Laird sold it to Viacom, now Paramount Global. The franchise has continued with new comic book series, television series, films and video games. History 1983–1986: Conception and first comics The comic book authors Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird met in Massachusetts and began working on illustrations together. In 1983, Laird invited Eastman to move in with him in Dover, New Hampshire. That November, Eastman drew a masked turtle standing on its hind legs armed with nunchucks to make Laird laugh. Laird added the words "teenage mutant". The concept parodied several elements popular in superhero comics of the time: the teenagers of New Teen Titans, the mutants of Uncanny X-Men and the ninjas of Daredevil, combined with the comic tradition of funny animals such as Howard the Duck. Eastman and Laird developed the concept into a comic book. They considered giving the turtles Japanese names, but instead named them after the Italian Renaissance artists Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, which Laird said "felt just quirky enough to fit the concept". They developed a backstory referencing further elements of Daredevil: like Daredevil, the Turtles are altered by radioactive material, and their sensei, Splinter, is a play on Daredevil's sensei, Stick. In March 1984, Eastman and Laird founded a comic book company, Mirage Studios, in their own home. Using money from a tax refund and a loan from Eastman's uncle, they printed copies of the first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and advertised it in Comics Buyer's Guide Magazine. This attracted the interest of comic distributors, and all 3,000 copies were sold in a few weeks. Sales of further issues continued to climb. 1987–1989: Toys, animation and video games In 1987, Eastman and Laird licensed Turtles to Playmates Toys. Between 1988 and 1997, Playmates produced Turtles toys including around 400 figures and dozens of vehicles and playsets. About US$1.1 billion of Turtles toys were sold in four years, making them the third-bestselling toy figures ever at the time, behind GI Joe and Star Wars. Influenced by the success of He-Man, G.I. Joe and Transformers, which had promoted toy lines with animated series, Playmates worked with the animation studio Murakami-Wolf-Swenson to produce the first Turtles animated series, which premiered in 1987 and ran for almost a decade. It introduced Turtles elements such as their color-coded masks, catchphrases, love of pizza and distinct personalities. To make it acceptable to parents and television networks, the series had a lighter tone than the comics, with no expletives, less violence and less threatening villains. In the United Kingdom and some other European regions, the franchise was renamed Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles for the violent connotations of the word "ninja". The first Turtles video game was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1989, the first of several developed by the Japanese company Konami. It sold approximately four million copies, making it one of the bestselling NES games. In response to concerns that the series was drifting from its origins, Eastman and Laird published an editorial in the comic in 1989, writing: "We've allowed the wacky side to happen, and enjoy it very much. All the while, though, we've kept the originals very much ours." Eastman later said there was "some stuff that we wish we hadn't said yes to", and Laird wrote of his dislike for the softer tone of the animated series. 1990s: First films, franchise expansion and commercial peak The early 1990s saw the commercial peak of the franchise. The first Turtles film was released in 1990, featuring costumes designed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. It was based more closely on the comic than the animated series, with a darker tone. It was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1990 and broke the record for the highest-grossing independent film, earning more than US$200 million worldwide. A second film, The Secret of the Ooze, was released in 1991. With a rushed production and a lighter tone, it received weaker reviews and was less successful at the box office. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993) was aimed at the Japanese market, the largest foreign market for US films at the time, but failed to see release there and saw weaker reviews and sales. In 1990, a stage musical featuring the Turtles as a rock band, Coming Out of Their Shells, played 40 shows across the United States. The musical was sponsored by Pizza Hut and promoted with an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. A soundtrack album and VHS were released. After the animated series ended, a live-action television series, Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, was created in 1997 with Saban Entertainment. It introduced a fifth, female turtle, Venus de Milo. The series was canceled after one season. Laird later said it was the only licensed Turtles project he "truly regrets". 2000s–present: Sale to Nickelodeon Eastman sold his share of the Turtles franchise to Laird in 2000. In 2003, 4Kids Entertainment launched a new animated Turtles series, which ran for seven seasons, concluding in 2009. Laird had a role in the production, creating a closer adaptation of the original comic. A computer-animated Turtles film, TMNT, was released in 2007 and earned $95 million at the box office. On October 21, 2009, it was announced that Laird had sold the franchise to Viacom. He said he had tired of working on Turtles, writing: "I a.... Discover the Tom Waltz Kevin Eastman Dan Duncan popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Tom Waltz Kevin Eastman Dan Duncan books.