Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Studios)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Studios)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American comic book published by Mirage Studios from 1984 to 2009, from Image comics from 1996 to 1999, reprints done by First Comics from 1986 to 1988, Heavy Metal from 2008 to 2009, and by IDW Publishing from 2012. Originally conceived by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird as a one-off parody, the comic's popularity has gone on to inspire a major pop culture franchise, including four television series, four feature films, numerous video games and a wide range of toys and merchandise.

Over the years, the Turtles have appeared in numerous cross-overs with other successful independent comics characters, including Dave Sim's Cerebus, Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon, Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot and Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo.

In 2009 Peter Laird sold the Turtles franchise to Viacom, parent company of the Nickelodeon TV channel, and shut down Mirage Studios. At WonderCon 2011, it was announced that IDW Publishing had been given the rights to publish new issues and reprint the older comics.