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''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
series published by Mirage Studios between 1984 and 2014. Conceived by
Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comic book artist and writer best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine '' Heavy Meta ...
and Peter Laird, it was initially intended as a one-shot, but due to its popularity it became an ongoing series. The comic created the ''Turtles'' franchise of five
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
, six
feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
, numerous
video games 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 feedbac ...
, and a range of toys and merchandise. Over the years, the Turtles have appeared in numerous cross-overs with other independent comics characters such as
Dave Sim Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, best known for his comic book '' Cerebus'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political and philosophical ...
's '' Cerebus'',
Bob Burden Bob Burden is an American comic book artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''Flaming Carrot Comics'' and the '' Mystery Men''. Early life Burden was born the eldest of three siblings in Buffalo, New York. His father worked at Westi ...
's '' Flaming Carrot,''
Stan Sakai is a Japanese-born American cartoonist and comic book creator. He is best known as the creator of the comic series '' Usagi Yojimbo''. Career He began his career by lettering comic books (notably ''Groo the Wanderer'' by Sergio Aragonés and Ma ...
's '' Usagi Yojimbo'', Image Universe series including
Erik Larsen Erik J. Larsen (born December 8, 1962) is an American comic book artist, writer, and publisher. He currently acts as the chief financial officer of Image Comics. He gained attention in the early 1990s with his art on Spider-Man series for Marvel ...
's ''
Savage Dragon The Savage Dragon is a fictional superhero created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon. The character first appeared ...
'' and
Todd McFarlane Todd McFarlane (; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, artist, writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur, best known for his work as the artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horro ...
's ''
Spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: A ...
.'' In October 2009, Peter Laird sold the rights to the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' franchise to Viacom, the parent company of
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
. Mirage Studios was shut down on September 19, 2021. In 2011,
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 ...
secured the rights to publish a new series and reprint the older comics.


Origin of the concept

The concept originated from a comical drawing sketched out by Kevin Eastman during a casual evening of brainstorming with his friend Peter Laird. The drawing of a short, squat turtle wearing a mask with
nunchaku is a traditional Okinawan martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks (traditionally made of wood), connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately 30 cm (sticks) and 1 inch (rope). A person w ...
strapped to its arms was humorous to the young artists, as it played upon the inherent contradiction of a slow, cold-blooded
reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates ( lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalia ...
with the speed and agility of
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
ese
martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...
s. Laird suggested that they create a team of four such turtles, each specializing in a different weapon.The fascinating origin story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''
The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...
''
Eastman and Laird often cited the work of Frank Miller and
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 their major artistic influences. Using money from a
tax refund A tax refund or tax rebate is a payment to the taxpayer due to the taxpayer having paid more tax than they owed. By country United States According to the Internal Revenue Service, 77% of tax returns filed in 2004 resulted in a refund check ...
together with a loan from Eastman's uncle, they formed Mirage Studios and
self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pri ...
a single-issue comic book that would
pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking i ...
four popular comics of the early 1980s:
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 ...
' '' The New Mutants'', which featured teenage mutants; '' Cerebus'', which featured anthropomorphic animals; '' Ronin''; and ''
Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superhero ...
'', which featured
ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp. 2 ...
clans dueling for control of the
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
underworld. The Turtles' origin contained direct allusions to ''
Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superhero ...
'': the traffic accident between a blind man and a truck carrying radioactive ooze is a direct reference to Daredevil's own story (indeed in the version told in the first issue, Splinter sees the canister strike a boy's face). The name "
Splinter A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...
" also parodied Daredevil's mentor, a man known as "
Stick Stick or the stick may refer to: Thin elongated objects * Twig * The weapon used in stick fighting * Walking stick, a device to facilitate balancing while walking * Shepherd's crook * Swagger stick * Digging stick * Swizzle stick, used to sti ...
". The
Foot The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg mad ...
, a clan of evil ninjas who became the Turtles' arch-enemies, satirizes the
Hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "h ...
, who were a mysterious and deadly ninja clan in the pages of ''Daredevil''. After conceiving the Turtles' mentor as a rat who had come from Japan and was a ninja master, Eastman and Laird thought of giving the turtles Japanese names, but as Laird explained, "we couldn't think of authentic-sounding Japanese names". Instead they went with
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
artists, and picked the four they were most familiar with, with the help of Laird's copy of '' Janson's History of Art''.


Publication history


Volume 1: 1984–1993

The first issue of ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' was advertised in issues #1 and #2 of Eastman and Laird's 1984 comic, ''Gobbledygook'', in addition to the
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 publ ...
, issue 545. The full page advertisement in CBG helped gain the attention of retailers and jump-started their early sales. Because of the CBG's newspaper format, many were disposed of, making it a highly sought-after collector's item today. The book premiered in May 1984 at a comic book convention in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsm ...
. It was printed in an oversized, magazine-style format using black and white artwork on cheap newsprint and had a print run of only 3,275 copies. It was a period of intense speculation in comic book investment, with especially strong interest in black and white comics from independent companies. The first printings of the original ''TMNT'' comics had small print runs that made them instant collector items. Within months, the books were trading at prices over 50 times their cover price. The success also led to a black and white comics boom in the mid-1980s, wherein other small publishers put out animal-based parody books hoping to make a quick profit. Among them, the
Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters ''Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters'' (or ARBBH) was written by Don Chin and originally illustrated by Patrick Parsons (under the name Parsonavich) and later by Sam Kieth. It was initially published January 1986 by Eclipse Comics and later ...
, the ''
Pre-Teen Dirty-Gene Kung Fu Kangaroos Lee Marrs (born September 5, 1945) is an American cartoonist and animator, and one of the first female underground comix creators. She is best known for her comic book series ''The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp'', which lasted ...
'', and the ''Karate Kreatures'' were obvious parodies of ''TMNT''. Even
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 ...
featured an advertisement for ''Adult Thermonuclear Samurai Elephants'' in 1986, but it evolved into an X-Men parody eventually released as ''Power Pachyderms'' in 1989. Most of them were sold to comic shops in large numbers, but failed to catch on with readers. This speculation led to financial problems with both comic shops and distributors, contributing to a sales collapse in 1986–87. The "Return to New York"
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vid ...
concluded in the spring of 1989 and by this time the Ninja Turtles phenomenon was well established in other media. Eastman and Laird then found themselves administrating an international merchandising juggernaut, overseeing a wide array of licensing deals. This prevented the two creators from participating in the day-to-day work of writing and illustrating a monthly comic book. For this reason, many guest artists were invited to showcase their unique talents in the TMNT universe. The breadth of diversity found in the various short stories had the adverse effect of somewhat disrupting continuity and gave the series a disjointed, anthology-like feel. Some of these artists, including
Michael Dooney Michael Dooney is an American comic book writer and artist and toy designer best known for his works on the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' series. Dooney also created the comic book series ''Gizmo A gizmo is a gadget, especially one whose real ...
, Eric Talbot, A.C. Farley, Ryan Brown, Steve Lavigne, Steve Murphy, and Jim Lawson, continued to work with Mirage Studios for years to come. Issue #45 kicked off a major turning point, as Mirage made a concerted effort to return the series to continuity. A 13-part story arc entitled "City at War" began with issue #50, which was the first issue to be completely written and illustrated by both Eastman and Laird since issue #11. Both "City at War" and Volume 1 concluded with the publication of issue #62 in August 1993.


Volume 2: 1993–1995

Mirage Studios launched Volume 2 with much fanfare in October 1993, as a full-color series that maintained the continuity of the first volume. Written and illustrated by Jim Lawson, the series lasted only thirteen issues before ceasing publication in October 1995. The cancellation was due to declining popularity and lagging sales as well as a flood at Mirage Studios.


Volume 3: 1996–1999

''
The Savage Dragon The Savage Dragon is a fictional superhero created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon. The character first appeared ...
'' creator
Erik Larsen Erik J. Larsen (born December 8, 1962) is an American comic book artist, writer, and publisher. He currently acts as the chief financial officer of Image Comics. He gained attention in the early 1990s with his art on Spider-Man series for Marvel ...
relaunched the series in June 1996, with the publication of a third volume under the
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-o ...
banner. The series was written by
Gary Carlson Gary S. Carlson is an American comic book writer, editor and publisher, known for his work on his creator-owned comics, such as the 1980s anthology ''Megaton'' and ''Big Bang Comics''. He has also worked on books for Image Comics, such as ''Vangu ...
and drawn by Frank Fosco, and marked the return to black and white artwork. This volume was notable for having a faster pace and more intense action while inflicting major physical changes on the Turtles themselves; Leonardo losing a hand, Raphael's face being scarred, Splinter becoming a bat, and Donatello becoming a cyborg. In a plot twist, Raphael even took on the identity of The Shredder and assumed leadership of the Foot. With Volume 3, the Turtles were incorporated into the Image Universe, which provided opportunities for a few crossovers and guest appearances by characters from Image series. The series ceased publication on a cliffhanger in 1999 with issue #23, and it was no longer considered part of the "official" TMNT canon due in part to a lack of desire by co-creator Peter Laird to follow up material with which he was not directly involved nor fully approved. Raph's depiction as the Shredder however, was referenced in an episode of the third season of the 2003 animated series, "The Darkness Within", where Raph was exposed to his fear of giving into anger and becoming the very thing he hated. After its cancellation, the series remained in publication limbo for nearly two decades, with no reprints or collected volumes. In 2018,
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 ...
, which publishes their own ''TMNT'' comic series, began to reprint the existing 23 issues in full color under the title ''TMNT: Urban Legends'', as well as commission Carlson and Fosco to write and draw an official three-issue conclusion to the story.


Volume 4: 2001–2014

Peter Laird and Jim Lawson brought the Turtles back to their roots with the simply-titled ''TMNT'' in December 2001. Published bi-monthly, the series took the opportunity to correct a persistent error: since the first issue of Volume 1, Michelangelo's name had been misspelled as "Michaelangelo". It is now spelled correctly, consistent with his Renaissance namesake
Michelangelo Buonarroti Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was in ...
. Picking up fifteen years after the conclusion of Volume 2 (and omitting the events of Volume 3), the Turtles, now in their early thirties, are living together in their sewer lair beneath New York City. April and Casey have been married for some time and remain in contact with the Turtles from their nearby apartment. Splinter continues to live at the Northampton farmhouse, where he has become a "grandfather" of sorts to Casey's teenage daughter,
Shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two- dimensional silhouett ...
. The Utroms return to Earth in a very public arrival, subsequently establishing a peaceful base in Upper New York Bay. Since the arrival, aliens — and other bizarre life-forms, like the Turtles — have become more accepted within society. No longer forced to live in hiding, the Turtles can now roam freely among the world of humans, albeit under the guise of being aliens. The series continued until the acquisition of the franchise by Viacom in 2009. As part of the sale, Peter Laird was allowed to continue Volume 4, but issues were released sporadically, as they had been in the months before the sale. Issue no. 31 was originally released as an online comic only, while issue no. 32 was released for the 2014
Free Comic Book Day Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to attract new readers to independent comic book stores. It usually takes place on the first Saturday of May and is often cross-promoted wit ...
, almost 4 years after issue no. 31 was released on line. Issue no. 31 was released in print for the first time for Free Comic Book Day 2015. Mirage retained the rights to publish 18 issues a year, though Mirage Studios was shut down on September 19, 2021.


Related comics

During the early days of the franchise, each of the four turtles received their own one-shot (or "micro-series"), plus a one-shot featuring the
Fugitoid 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 ...
. There was also a one-shot anthology, ''Turtle Soup'', released in 1987, which led to a four-part series of the same name in 1991–92. The Turtles had a four-issue mini-series co-starring Flaming Carrot (the Turtles previously guest-starred in issues #25–27 of the Carrot's own
Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...
-published series), and the Fugitoid teamed up with Mirage regular Michael Dooney's creator-owned character
Gizmo A gizmo is a gadget, especially one whose real name is unknown or forgotten. Gizmo may also refer to: Technology * The Gizmo or "Gizmotron", an effects device for electric guitars * Gizmo key, found on certain flutes * Gizmos, interactive on ...
for a two-issue limited series. Kevin Eastman and
Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics. Early life Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One of six children, he ...
created a story starring Casey Jones, which was initially serialized in the four issue anthology series ''Plastron Cafe'', and later colorized and released with a previously unseen conclusion in the two-part ''Casey Jones'' mini-series. Eastman then collaborated with
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 ...
on a mini-series that was supposed to be released by Mirage under the title ''Casey Jones & Raphael'', but after one issue, it was released by Image under the title ''Bodycount'' as four-part mini-series which began with an expanded version of the sole Mirage-published issue.


Collected books

The first collected volumes were released by First Publishing, who published four volumes from 1986 to 1988, collecting colorized versions of issues #1–11, plus the one-shot ''Leonardo'' #1 (the other three micro series one-shots were not included). In 1988, Mirage Studios released ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collected Book Volume One'', collecting issues #1–11, and the four micro series one-shots. It was available only by mail order directly from Mirage, either as a trade paperback at US $20 (with cover art by Peter Laird; 5,000 copies printed) or as a limited edition hardcover at US $100 (with cover art by Kevin Eastman, 1,000 copies, signed by Eastman and Laird). Between 1990 and 1991, Mirage Studios published seven volumes of ''The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' trade paperbacks, reprinting mostly consecutive issues #1-#29 and the four micro series one-shots, with all books featuring new cover art from artist A.C. Farley. Cover price for Volume 1 was US $16.95 due to this book containing the most issues reprinted, with volumes 2–7 at US $6.95 each, containing an average of three issues reprinted. As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations in 2009, with no new reprint collected books released in many years and long out of print, Mirage published a new trade paperback ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Collected Book Volume 1'' which was released in July 2009 with a cover price of US $29.95, unlike previous editions collecting issues #1–11, plus the four micro series one-shots, this new edition included reprinting ''Fugitoid'' issue #1, and some bonus material. A new hardcover deluxe reprint collection was published by
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 ...
, who had been given the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rights from Viacom in 2011, including reprinting the older comics.


Mirage Publishing

* ''TMNT'' Collected Book Volume One (Limited Edition Hard Cover, 1988), collecting Vol. 1 #1–11, plus ''Raphael'' #1, ''Michelangelo'' #1, ''Donatello'' #1, and ''Leonardo'' #1 (1,000 copies only, all signed by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird) *TMNT Collected Book Volume One (trade paperback, 1988; 5,000 copies printed), collecting Vol. 1 #1–11, plus ''Raphael'' #1, ''Michelangelo'' #1, ''Donatello'' #1, and ''Leonardo'' #1 * ''The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 1'', collecting Vol. 1 #1–11, plus ''Raphael'' #1, ''Michaelangelo'' #1, ''Donatello'' #1, and ''Leonardo'' #1 (trade paperback, March 1990) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Collected Book Volume 1'', collects Vol. 1 #1–11, plus ''Raphael'' #1, ''Michaelangelo'' #1, ''Donatello'' #1, ''Leonardo'' #1, and ''Fugitoid'' #1, and bonus material. (July 2009; 606 Pages, ) * ''The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 2'', collecting Vol. 1 #12–14 (May 1990) * ''The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 3'', collecting Vol. 1 #15, 17–18 (June 1990) * ''The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 4'', collecting Vol. 1 #19–21 (October 1990) * ''The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 5'', collecting Vol. 1 #16, 22–23 (November 1990) * ''The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 6'', collecting Vol. 1 #24–26 (July 1991) * ''The Collected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 7'', collecting Vol. 1 #27–29 (November 1991) * ''TMNT: Soul's Winter'', collecting Vol. 1 #31, 35–36 (February 2007) *''Shell Shock'', collecting short stories by various authors and artists (December 1989) * ''Challenges'', by Michael Dooney (1991) *''TMNT: The Collected Movie Books'', Collects the movie comics: ''TMNT Movie Prequel'' #1 – Raphael, ''TMNT Movie Prequel'' #2 – Michaelangelo, ''TMNT Movie Prequel'' #3 – Donatello, ''TMNT Movie Prequel'' #4 – April, ''TMNT Movie Prequel'' #5 – Leonardo, ''TMNT Movie Adaptation'' (June 2007)


First Publishing

*''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Book I'', collecting colorized versions of Vol. 1 #1–3 (November 1986) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Book II'', collecting colorized versions of Vol. 1 #4–6 (June 1987) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Book III'', collecting colorized versions of Vol. 1 #7–9, along with the short story "Stompers" (December 1987) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Book IV'', collecting colorized versions of ''Leonardo'' #1 and Vol. 1 #10–11 (November 1988)


Image Comics

*Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TPB-collecting Vol. 3 #1–5 *Bodycount TPB -collecting ''Bodycount'' #1–4 miniseries by Kevin Eastman and Simon Bisley


Heavy Metal

*Bodycount TPB (2008 rerelease) – collecting ''Bodycount'' #1–4 miniseries by Kevin Eastman and Simon Bisley (This reprint edition is in magazine sized dimension not comics sized) *Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – 25th Anniversary: A Quarter Century Celebration (Selected reprints with some stories colored)


IDW Comics

*''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 1'', collecting Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #1–7, and ''Raphael'' #1 (December 2011) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 2'', collecting Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #8–11, along with the Michaelangelo, Leonardo, and Donatello "micro-series" one-shots (April 2012) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 3'', collecting Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #12, 14, 15, 17, and 19–21 (August 2012) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 4'', collecting Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #48–55 (April 2013) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 5'', collecting Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #56–62 (October 2013) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection Vol. 6'', collecting various short stories/one-shots published between 1985 and 1989 (January 2016) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Black & White Classics Vol. 1'', collecting Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #1–3, and ''Raphael'' #1 (June 2012) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Black & White Classics Vol. 2'', collecting Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #4–7 (June 2012) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Black & White Classics Vol. 3'', collecting Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issue #9, along with the Michaelangelo and Donatello "micro-series" one-shots (June 2012) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Black & White Classics Vol. 4'', collecting Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #10–11 and the Leonardo "micro-series" one-shot (June 2012) *''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 1'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issue #13 along with a collection of stories from the Shell Shock TP; "Bottoming Out", "New York Ninja", "Word Warriors", "49th Street Stompers", "Junkman", "O Deed", "Road Trip", "Don't Judge a Book", "A Splinter in the Eye of God?", "Night Life", and "Meanwhile... 1,000,000 B.C.". (June 2012) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 2'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #16, 22, and 23 (August 2012) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 3'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #27–29 (December 2012) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 4'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #32, 33, and 37 along with “The Ring” (from ''Turtle Soup Vol. 2 Book One'') (March 2013) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 5'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #34 and #38–40 (May 2013) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 6'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #42–44 (August 2013) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 7'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #45–47 and six short stories from ''Shell Shock'': "Ghouls Night Out," "Crazy Man," "The Survival Game," "The Howl," "Technofear," and "It's A Gas" (November 2013) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 8'', collecting Mirage Studios' Vol. 2 issues #1–5 (May 2014) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 9'', collecting Mirage Studios' Vol. 2 issues #6–9 (December 2014) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Vol. 10'', collecting Mirage Studios' Vol. 2 issues #10–13 (April 2015) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Legends, Soul's Winter'' collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #31, 35-36 and the short stories "A Splinter in the Eye of God," "Failed Instant," and "O-Deed." (December 2014) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Works, Vol. 1'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #1–7, and ''Raphael'' #1 (May 2013) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Works, Vol. 2'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #8–11, ''Michaelangelo'' #1, ''Donatello'' #1, and ''Leonardo'' #1 (October 2013) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Works, Vol. 3'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #12, #14–15, #17, and #19–21 (September 2014) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Works, Vol. 4'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #48–55 (December 2015) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Works, Vol. 5'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #56–62 (August 2016) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics, Vol.1'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #1–7, ''Raphael'' #1 and ''Michaelangelo'' #1 (April 2018) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics, Vol.2'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #8-13, ''Donatello '' #1 and ''Leonardo '' #1 (May 2019) * ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics, Vol.3'', collecting colorized versions of Mirage Studios' Vol. 1 issues #14-21 (May 2020) * ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Omnibus, Vol. 1'', collected colorized versions of 'Tales of TMNT, 1st series' and issues 1-8 of ''Tales of the TMNT'', Vol 2. (May 2018) * ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 1'' collected colorized versions of ''Tales of the TMNT'', Vol 1, issues #1-4 (February 2013) * ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 2'' collected colorized versions of ''Tales of the TMNT'', Vol 1, issues #5-7 (April 2013) * ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 3'' collected colorized versions of ''Tales of the TMNT'', Vol 2, issues #1-4 (October 2013) * ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 4'' collected colorized versions of ''Tales of the TMNT'', Vol 2, issues #5-8 (May 2014) * ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 5'' collected colorized versions of ''Tales of the TMNT'', Vol 2, issues #9-12 (August 2014) * ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 6'' collected colorized versions of ''Tales of the TMNT'', Vol 2, issues #13-16 (November 2014) * ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 7'' collected colorized versions of ''Tales of the TMNT'', Vol 2, issues #17-20 (July 2015) * ''Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. 8'' collected colorized versions of ''Tales of the TMNT'', Vol 2, issues #22-25 (April 2016)


Appearance in other media


Comics

The ongoing IDW continuity features two minor cross-references with the Mirage comics in ''Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything!'' #1, where its intro sequence connects to the story from the ''Tales of the TMNT'' issue Vol.1 #7: "The Return of Savanti Romero", and in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo'', where the previous encounters between
Miyamoto Usagi is a fictional character, who appears in the American comic book '' Usagi Yojimbo'', a Dark Horse Comics book created by Stan Sakai. Usagi is an anthropomorphic rabbit (''Usagi'' is Japanese for "rabbit") and a ronin now walking the '' musha s ...
and the Mirage Turtles are mentioned in one scene.''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo'' IDW Publishing. July 2017


Animation

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 ...
'' cartoon series that debuted in 2003 ended with ''
Turtles Forever ''Turtles Forever'' is a 2009 American animated superhero television film directed by Roy Burdine and Lloyd Goldfine. A crossover film featuring two different incarnations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fighting together, it was produced in c ...
'', a crossover movie with two other Turtles properties: the 1987 cartoon and the universe of the original Mirage comics. A similar idea was used for the 2012 cartoon's episode "Transdimensional Turtles" with the 2012 cartoon iterations replacing their 2003 counterparts. In both specials, an interdimensional plot-launched by the 2003 Utrom Shredder in ''Forever'' and 1987 Krang and the 2012 Kraang in ''Transdimensional''-involved the Mirage Comics world. This reality is referred to as Turtle Prime or the Primary Turtle Dimension, the destruction of which would set off a chain reaction wiping out all other Turtles and potentially their realities.


References


Further reading

*Eastman, Kevin (2002). ''Kevin Eastman's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Artobiography''. Los Angeles: Heavy Metal. . *Wiater, Stanley (1991). ''The Official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Treasury''. New York: Villard. .


External links

* {{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1984 comics debuts American comics adapted into films Image Comics titles Mirage Studios titles
Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...
Comics set in Massachusetts Comics adapted into television series Comics adapted into video games Comics adapted into animated series