Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American
comic book artist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
and writer best known for co-creating the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...
with
Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ''
Heavy Metal''.
Early life and career
Eastman was born in
Springvale, ME. He attended
Westbrook High School in
Westbrook, Maine
Westbrook is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States and a suburb of Portland. The population was 20,400 at the 2020 census, making it the fastest-growing city in Maine between 2010 and 2020. It is part of the Portland– South Portla ...
, with comic book illustrator
Steve Lavigne
Steve Lavigne (born September 22, 1962) is an People of the United States, American comic book illustrator best known for his lettering and coloring on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title for Mirage Studios. He is the creator of Cudley the C ...
. He grew up a comic book fan, with
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...
as his idol and ''
Kamandi'' as his favorite title of his.
In 1983 he worked in a restaurant while he searched for publishers for his comics. He met a waitress who was attending the
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...
and followed her to
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571.
Northampton is known as an a ...
.
While searching for a local underground newspaper to publish his work, he began a professional relationship with
Peter Laird, who worked at nearby
Dover, New Hampshire, and the two collaborated for a short time on various comics projects.
[Wiater, Stanley & Bissette, Stephen R. (ed.s) ''Comic Book Rebels: Conversations with the Creators of the New Comics'' (Donald I. Fine, Inc. 1993) ]
In May 1984, Eastman and Laird self-published the first black & white issue of ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''. The forty-page oversized comic had an initial print run of 3,275 copies and was largely funded by a US$1000 loan from Eastman's uncle Quentin. It was published by the duo's
Mirage Studios, a name chosen because, as Eastman says, "there wasn't an actual studio, only kitchen tables and couches with lap boards."
[Bob Burden's ''Mysterymen'' Presskit: Kevin Eastman](_blank)
Accessed April 22, 2008 By September 1985, their first issue had received three additional printings.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Laird's newspaper experience led to the two creating a four-page press kit, which included a story outline and artwork. They sent the press kit to 180 television and radio stations as well as to the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
and
United Press International
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 2 ...
. This led to widespread press coverage of both the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' and Mirage Studios itself, creating a demand for the comic.
With their second issue, Eastman and Laird's ''Turtles'' comic began a quick rise to success, bringing in advance orders of 15,000 copies, five times the initial print run of the first issue. This earned Eastman and Laird a profit of $2,000 each and allowed them to become full-time comic book creators.
The ''Turtles'' phenomenon saw the duo invited to their first
comics convention at the tenth annual
Atlanta Fantasy Fair
The Atlanta Fantasy Fair (AFF) was a multigenre convention which took place once each summer in Atlanta, Georgia from 1975 to 1995. Organized by A.C.F.F., Ltd., the convention was a nonprofit entity designed to promote the fantasy genre in the A ...
in 1984, where they mingled with notable comic creators like
Larry Niven,
Forrest J Ackerman and
Fred Hembeck.
Their fifth issue of ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' was released in November 1985, and was downsized to the more common American comics-format and size. The previous four issues were also reprinted in this size and format with new colored covers. Also in 1985,
Solson Publications
Solson Publications was a New York-based black-and-white comic book publisher active in the 1980s. The company was founded by Gary Brodsky, son of long-time Marvel Comics executive Sol Brodsky; the name of the company was derived from Brodsky's n ...
released ''How to Draw Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''. Solson would follow this up with the six-issue ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Authorized Martial Arts Training Manual'' as well as one issue of ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Teach Karate'' volume in 1987.
Licensing
Mirage's ''Turtles'' comic led to a widening media presence for the heroes. Eastman and Laird began to widely
merchandise
Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more ...
their property. Dark Horse Miniatures produced a set of 15
lead figurines for role-playing gamers and collectors,
Palladium Books
Palladium Books is a publisher of role-playing games (RPGs) perhaps best known for its popular, expansive '' Rifts'' series (1990–present). Palladium was founded April 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by current president and lead game designer Kev ...
produced a
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
featuring the Turtles, and
First Comics
First Comics was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991, known for titles like '' American Flagg!'', ''Grimjack'', ''Nexus'', ''Badger'', '' Dreadstar'', and '' Jon Sable''. Along with competitors like Pacific Comics ...
reprinted in four volumes the first eleven issues as color
trade paperback collections.
Palladium's role-playing game brought the Turtles to the attention of
licensing agent Mark Freedman and the Turtles phenomenon took off, with the various characters soon appearing on T-shirts, Halloween masks, mugs, and other paraphernalia. A five-part televised cartoon mini-series based on the Turtles debuted in December 1987. The half-hour episodes were produced by
Osamu Yoshioka
was a renowned Japanese lyricist. Vice-president of the Japan Lyricists' Association. Earlier he used the pen name "" (pronounced the same).
Songs with lyrics by Yoshioka
Kayōkyoku
* Kazuhiko Shima
* Sayuri Ishikawa , , ,
* Seri Ishik ...
and the animation was directed by
Yoshikatsu Kasai from scripts by
David Wise and Patti Howeth. The mini-series was successful, leading to a full series, with the mini-series forming the first season. The series had a 9-year, 10-season, 193-episode run. Bob Burden writes:
In January 1988, Eastman and Laird visited
Playmates Toys, who wished to market
action figure
An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually mar ...
s based on the comic book and animated cartoon series, further cementing the Turtles' place in history and making Eastman and Laird extremely successful.
Multimedia
Multiple other ''Turtles'' comics, toys, books, games, and other merchandising items have subsequently appeared, overseen and sometimes fully created by Eastman and Laird. Among these are five live-action films: ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...
'' (1990), ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'' (1991), ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'' (1993), ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...
'' (2014), and ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows'' (2016), with Eastman making a brief cameo in the latter. Four more television series were also created: ''
Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation'' (1997), ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...
'' (2003), ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...
'' (2012), and ''
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''. There was also an animated feature film, ''
TMNT'' (2007).
Eastman wrote the 2012 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' episode "Lone Rat and Cubs". He also co-wrote the 2016 stand-alone TMNT short "Pizza Friday".
Eastman and Laird parting ways
Creative differences began to strain Eastman and Laird's partnership. In an interview in 2002, Laird noted that the two hadn't spent much time together since 1993. Eastman moved to California while Laird stayed in Massachusetts.
On June 1, 2000, Laird and the Mirage Group purchased Eastman's ownership in the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' property and corporations. Eastman wanted to move on to other projects. The buyout was completed on March 1, 2008.
In 2011, Eastman began working with the ''TMNT'' series again as a writer and artist on the
IDW comic series, as well as an adviser on the
2014 reboot of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' film series. Eastman is said to have a cameo in the film as a doctor, and has voiced the character Ice Cream Kitty in the
2012 CGI series.
In December 2019, issue #100 of
IDW Publishing's ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comic series featured a teaser ad for an upcoming comic project titled ''The Last Ronin'' in which the prospect of a possible reunion and cooperation between Eastman and Laird was held out. The project was confirmed in April 2020, with a TBD release date sometime in the summer, and was subsequently released in October 2020.
Tundra
Foundation
While co-managing
Mirage Studios, Eastman and Laird often spoke of the difficulties in maintaining creative control of their work. Eastman decided to address this problem by using his own personal knowledge and connections to help other creators. Approaching Laird with his ideas, Eastman was met with a less than positive response:
Intentions and output
Eastman founded
Tundra Publishing in 1990, to realize personal and other projects. He joined with other comic creators like
Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. He is best known for his non-fiction books about comics: ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and '' Making Comics'' (20 ...
and
Dave Sim to form the
Creator's Bill of Rights
The Creator's Bill of Rights (officially, A Bill of Rights for Comics Creators) is a document drafted in November 1988 by a number of independent comic book artists, writers, and publishers, designed to protect their rights as creators and publish ...
. Eastman felt obligated to expand it beyond theory and into practice, providing a forum for comics creators to work for a publisher while maintaining ownership of their work.
Rick Veitch has written that:
Moreover, Eastman provided a forum for
Marvel and
DC creators to work on projects that they could not otherwise realize:
Projects (partly) realized by Tundra included:
Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...
and
Bill Sienkiewicz's ''
Big Numbers'', Moore and
Eddie Campbell's ''
From Hell'', Moore and
Melinda Gebbie's ''
Lost Girls'' (these last two original serialised in
Stephen R. Bissette
Stephen R. Bissette (born March 14, 1955) is an American comic book artist, editor, and publisher with a focus on the horror genre. He is known for working with writer Alan Moore and inker John Totleben on the DC Comics series ''Swamp Thing'' in ...
's ''
Taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
'' anthology, which was also part-published by Tundra), ''
The Crow,''
Mike Allred's ''
Madman
Pierfrancesco Botrugno (born 25 July 1988), better known by the stage name Madman sometimes stylized as MadMan is an Italian rapper.
Biography
Early years, ''Escape from Heart''
Madman entered the world of hip hop by participating in the 2 ...
'' and
Dave McKean
David McKean (born 29 December 1963) is an English illustrator, photographer, comic book artist, graphic designer, filmmaker and musician. His work incorporates drawing, painting, photography, collage, found objects, digital art, and sculp ...
's ''Cages'', and others.
["Talking to Kevin Eastman 1: Turtle Days, Turtle Nights" by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean, August 31, 2007](_blank)
Accessed September 25, 2013
Eastman initially thought that his experience at Mirage gave him "a pretty good grasp of what a publisher should be, and what a publisher needs to do," although he swiftly realized that "Tundra was ''not'' like publishing the Turtles."
Difficulties
As part of Eastman's designs for Tundra were to produce personal projects of a more adult nature than the Turtles-oriented Mirage was geared towards, this saw Tundra fitting in the dubious middle-ground, as their intended product sat somewhat awkwardly between the comic shop and the book shop. Eastman says that he "thought that the audience was a lot larger than it actually was," citing his personal assumption that readers would "grow up through ''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
'' and discover ''
The Sandman'' and then ''
Dark Knight'' and ''
Watchmen'' and beyond." The relatively new in-roads of comics and graphic novels into bookshops worked against Tundra at the time.
Eastman swiftly became aware that Tundra and the Turtles differed considerably, not least since the latter was successful enough to effectively run itself, with a few 'nudges' "to keep it moving along." Tundra, on the other hand, dealt in new properties, which required "building from the ground up," and was "a lot more work" than Eastman had anticipated, growing far too quickly for comfort, and requiring considerable injections of time and money, rather than being profitable.
Speaking in 1992/93, Eastman was optimistic that the company had "finally reached the point where
t hadslowed up enough... to be giving individual projects the time and attention they require
" Shortly thereafter, Tundra was bought out by
Kitchen Sink Press, closing its (solo) doors after just three years, losing Eastman between $9 and $14 million.
Aftermath
Despite heavy financial losses, Eastman remained philosophical about his work with Tundra. In a 2007 interview, he drew the analogy that:
He made mention of the multiple award nominations Tundra received during its first and second years, including
Harvey Awards and
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are List of Eisner Award winners, prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Acad ...
s, but noted that despite critical acclaim, the company was not making money on its titles, and had to cease production. He noted that Tundra was one of the earlier creator-owned companies, "before
Image
An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensio ...
really took off" and before
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...
' "
Legends line."
Eastman admitted that Tundra tried to do too much too quickly, and ran into difficulties accordingly.
He also suggested that "
t one book made any money".
He also believed that part of Tundra's downfall was tied to his offering Marvel and DC employees the chance to work on creator-owned and personal projects. He has stated in an interview that:
''Heavy Metal''
Kevin Eastman had been a longtime fan of the science fiction and
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
magazine, much of whose content was translated from the French, and appeared in the original ''
Métal Hurlant'' publication of which ''Heavy Metal'' is only the American-licensed incarnation. He cites the publication as bringing
Richard Corben to his attention as the "second greatest influence" on him as an artist, after
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...
.
He saw in its pages European art which had not been previously seen in the United States, as well as an
underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority ...
sensibility that nonetheless "wasn't as harsh or extreme as some of the underground comix – but... ''definitely'' intended for an older readership."
Discovering ''Heavy Metal'' had been put up for sale, and with one of Tundra's stated aims, to bring a more adult sensibility (and mature, adult ''readers'') to comics, overlapping with the magazine's target audience, Eastman decided that ''Heavy Metal'' was "the final piece of the puzzle", and looked into purchasing it. Noting that:
Eastman purchased the magazine in January 1992.
Despite the audiences for ''Heavy Metal'' and Tundra's intended product (as well as more mature-themed comics in general) being of a broadly similar demographic, Eastman recognized from the start that "most of the audience who read ''Heavy Metal'' buy it off the
newsstands; they're not going into comic book stores," and stated early on that his intention was to produce "numerous crossovers from the cutting edge of comics creators" to expose the magazine's readership not just to the comics industry, "but anything from the visual media that can cross over."
Eastman also attempted to bring some European hardcover comics to America, using ''Heavy Metal'' to help serialize them and both defray the costs and boost readership. Initial interest, however, was "fairly cool."
Eastman sold the magazine to digital and music veteran David Boxenbaum and film producer Jeff Krelitz in January 2014. Eastman continued to serve as publisher of the magazine until 2020, and is a minority investor in the new ''Heavy Metal''.
Other Works
Aside from his work on multiple ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' projects, and as publisher of Tundra Publishing, Eastman created ''
Fistful of Blood'', a black and white graphic novel featuring a blend of influences from
Spaghetti Western
The Spaghetti Western is a broad subgenre of Western films produced in Europe. It emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by foreign critics because most o ...
and horror. The book featured art by
Simon Bisley
Simon Bisley is a British comic book artist best known for his 1990s work on ''ABC Warriors'', '' Lobo'' and ''Sláine''.
Early life
Simon Bisley began drawing when he was six years old. He is self-taught, with only a short one-year stay at an ...
and was published by Heavy Metal.
Eastman has acted in a small number of films, including ''
Guns of El Chupacabra'' in 1997 and ''
The Rock n' Roll Cops
''The Rock n' Roll Cops'', also known as ''Rock n' Roll Cops 2: The Adventure Begins'', is a 2003 martial arts action film directed by Scott Shaw. The film stars Scott Shaw, Kevin Eastman, Julie Strain, Robert Z'Dar and William Smith. The film wa ...
'' in 2003. He also had a supporting role in the 2004
Troma
Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them p ...
film ''
Tales from the Crapper
''Tales from the Crapper'' is a 2004 straight-to-video anthology film that was a spoof of the ''Tales from the Crypt'' comics. The film was released by Troma Entertainment.
Plot
Troma Entertainment co-founder and B-movie director and producer Llo ...
''. Before that, he had a cameo in the 2000 sequel to ''
The Toxic Avenger'' called ''
Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV''. and had a small role in the firs
TMNTmovie as a garbage collector. He also wrote one episode of the animated children's series
Corn & Peg
''Corn & Peg'' is a Canadian animated children's television series produced by Nelvana for Nick Jr. and Treehouse TV. The series revolves around the titular best friends, a unicorn and pegasus named Corn and Peg respectively, who are dynamic do-g ...
.
He was the subject of an interview in the documentary films
''Independents'', and ''
Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''.
Kevin spends most of his creative time working on a new TMNT series with
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly re ...
, and editing Heavy Metal. He has partnered with writer, director and producer
Robert Rodriguez to develop a new series of Heavy Metal inspired animated and live action films.
Art collection
Eastman purchased his first piece of original artwork ("a couple of pages that were penciled by
Michael Golden and inked by
Bob McLeod for
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...
' ''
Howard the Duck''") at the
Atlanta Fantasy Fair
The Atlanta Fantasy Fair (AFF) was a multigenre convention which took place once each summer in Atlanta, Georgia from 1975 to 1995. Organized by A.C.F.F., Ltd., the convention was a nonprofit entity designed to promote the fantasy genre in the A ...
, the convention he and Laird attended in 1984.
Collecting subsequently became "quite an addiction" for him, and combined with his experiences in getting his, and others', comics work recognised as "Art," led to him founding the
Words & Pictures Museum
The Words & Pictures Museum of Fine Sequential Art was an art museum in Northampton, Massachusetts devoted to exhibitions of narrative art, cartoons, comic books, and graphic novels. Open to the public from 1992 to 1999, the Museum's collection ...
,
which operated as a brick-and-mortar museum from 1992 to 1999.
Personal life
Eastman has 1 son whom he had via surrogate named Shane. He was married to
Julie Strain from 1995 to 2006.
Eastman married actress and producer Courtney Carr on October 5, 2013. They live in San Diego with his son Shane, and pet
dachshund
The dachshund ( or ; German: " badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety o ...
s.
References
External links
Twitter accountOfficial siteDeviantart page*
Gary Groth interviews Kevin Eastman��PDF download (270kB) from the ''
Heavy Metal'' site; this piece appeared originally in ''
The Comics Journal
''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...
'' No. 202
Official ''Heavy Metal'' websiteKevin Eastman interviewfrom ''
Newsarama
Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website GamesRadar+, also owned by FutureUS.
History
...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastman, Kevin
1962 births
20th-century American artists
20th-century American writers
21st-century American artists
21st-century American writers
American comics artists
American comics writers
American film producers
Artists from Portland, Maine
Inkpot Award winners
Living people
Mirage Studios
Publishers of adult comics
Role-playing game artists
Westbrook High School (Maine) alumni
Writers from Northampton, Massachusetts
Writers from Portland, Maine