Ryan Brown (born May 2, 1962,''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The public ...

'' #1485; May 3, 2002; Page 29 in

Lodi, Ohio Lodi is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Harrisville Township, Medina County, Ohio, Harrisville Township, Medina County, Ohio, Medina County, Ohio, United States. It is located southwest of the City of Medina, Ohio, Medina along U.S. Rout ...

) is a

comic book writer and artist developed specialized terminology. Some several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is un ...

and toy designer best known for his work on ''

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 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

'' and the animated series ''

Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa ''Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa'' is a 1992–1993 American animated television series created by comic book artist Ryan Brown, known for his work on ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''. It aired as part of ABC's Saturday morning lineup. It ...

''.

Early life

Ryan Brown is a 1980 graduate of

Norwayne High School Norwayne High School is a public high school in Creston, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Norwayne Local School District, which also consists of a middle school in Creston, and one elementary school in Creston (which opened in January 2010) ...

, in

Creston, Ohio Creston is a village in Medina and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 2,171 at the 2010 census. History Creston had its start in the 1860s when the railroad was extended to that point . An old variant name was Pike Sta ...

Career

Brown created Ninja

April O'Neil April O'Neil is a fictional character from the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comics. She is the first human ally of the Ninja Turtles. Her main love interest in the series is Casey Jones. April made her first appearance in the Mirage comic ...

in a 1985 pin-up published in the fourth printing of ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' #1. He would later bring his interpretation of the character to the ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures'' is a comic book series published from August 1988 to October 1995 by Archie Comics, based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It is mainly based on t ...

'' title published by

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.inking Inking may refer to: *Inking (attack), act of throwing ink on other person *Inking, a defensive activity of certain cephalopods and sea hares * Inking (comic book production) *Pen computing Pen computing refers to any computer user-interface using ...

the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' title in 1985 and continued until 1988, when he and partner

Steve Lavigne Steve Lavigne (born September 22, 1962) is an 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 Cowlick, Sgt. Bananas, and ...

began producing artwork for licensed TMNT products. Brown worked primarily as

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil ...

over Lavigne's pencils. In 1986 Brown and writer

Doug Brammer Doug Brammer (born May 13, 1963) is an American comic book writer. He is known for his collaborations with artist Ryan Brown as well as his association with the swamp monster character Bog Swamp Demon (created by Brown). Biography In 1986 Bram ...

published (under the company name Rion Productions) two issues of ''Rion 2990'', a proposed four-issue limited series which was a tribute to

Japanese comics Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...

."Rion 2990 (Rion Productions, 1986 Series),"
Grand Comics Database. Accessed Jan. 4, 2020. As such, it was one of the first examples of

Original English-language manga An original English-language manga or OEL manga is a comic book or graphic novel drawn in the style of manga and originally published in English. The term "international manga", as used by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, encompasses all ...

. As a

Mirage Studios Mirage Studios was an American comic book company founded in 1983 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in Dover, New Hampshire. The company was best known for the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') comic book series and the subsequent franc ...

staff artist, Brown designed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figure Farmer

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

for

Playmates Toys Playmates Toys Limited is a Hong Kong toy company. The company was founded in Hong Kong in 1966 by Sam Chan as Playmates Industrial, manufacturing dolls for other companies. In 1975, Playmates began marketing their own line of pre-school toys, ...

. According to credits included on the back of turtles action figures, Brown also created Hothead, Scratch, Monty Moose, King Lionheart, Halfcourt,

Wyrm Wyrm may refer to: Folklore * Germanic dragon, a creature from which the modern word originated * Dragon * Sea serpent Media * ''Wyrms'' (comics), a six-issue comic book mini-series by Orson Scott Card and Jake Black * ''Wyrms'' (novel), a ...

Scumbug The following is a list of characters in the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' franchise. Overview * This table shows the recurring characters and the actors who have portrayed them throughout the franchise. * A dark grey cell indicates the c ...

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...

, Doctor El, Wingnut, Ray Fillet, Sandstorm,

Mondo Gecko ''Mighty Mutanimals'' is a superhero team spin-off comic in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. The team first appeared in the comic books series ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures'', where they formed as a team of mutant animal ...

and Rock'N Roll Mondo Gecko. Scratch and Farmer Mike are un-credited on the back of the toy packaging, but Brown has confirmed at different convention appearances that he did create the cat burglar as well as designed Farmer Mike. Brown's comic book series '' The Selected'' is populated with his old unused TMNT toy designs. In the late 1980s, Brown, with partner Stephen Murphy, created the Archie ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures'' universe for

. The team of Brown and Murphy created the

Mighty Mutanimals ''Mighty Mutanimals'' is a superhero team spin-off comic in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. The team first appeared in the comic books series ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures'', where they formed as a team of mutant animals ...

as a

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

of the Adventures title. Brown inked over 80 covers for the Archie ''TMNT Adventures'' title. His character Motorhead appeared in an issue of ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Magazine ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (initially known as ''Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles'' in some European countries) is an American animated television series produced by Fred Wolf Films, and based on the comic book characters created by Kevin East ...

''. Brown created his concept the Hallowieners in 1984. Mirage Studios published a comic book about the giant mutant monster Halloween hot dogs in 1989. Brown was a participant in the drafting of 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 ...

in 1988. Brown also created the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Saturday morning animated television series ''

'' (which debuted in 1992), and helped with development on its corresponding

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

for the

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

. The game itself easily compared to Konami's own

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

game '' Sunset Riders''. From 1995 to 2000, Brown's character

Bog Swamp Demon A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

appeared in a number of titles: first with ''

'' vol. 2, then in a limited series published by

Hall of Heroes ''Hall of Heroes'' was an American independent comic book company that existed in the mid-to-late 1990s. Based in Elkhart, Indiana, Hall of Heroes operated from 1993 to 1999. The company's longest-running titles were two volumes of the antholog ...

, and later comics published by

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

and

Numbskull Press Numbskull may refer to: * "Numbskull" (song), a 1999 song by Ash *''Numbskull – San Luis Obispo Ca 11/2/05'', a 2006 rock album * Numskull (born 1976), rapper from Oakland, California * Numbskull Emptybrook (Finnish: ), the main character of the ...

. Brown appears in the 2014

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

, '' Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', from

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

References

External links

Cowabunga Cartoon Classics! blog

Mighty Mutanimals blog

Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Ryan Mirage Studios Living people 1962 births Nickelodeon people