Who co-created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird?

Kevin Eastman co-created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird.

Eastman and Laird developed the concept in Northampton, Massachusetts, during the early 1980s. Their first black-and-white comic book was published by Mirage Studios in 1984, introducing the four turtles, Splinter, April O’Neil, and the Foot Clan. The project began as a parody of popular comics, but its characters quickly developed their own mythology.

Eastman and Laird shared writing and artistic duties in the original comics, although their individual contributions varied across stories and editions. A common mix-up is attributing the creation of the turtles to later television producers, toy companies, or film studios. Those companies helped expand the franchise, but Eastman and Laird originated the characters and the comic-book world. Laird later became especially associated with editorial direction and franchise management, while Eastman remained closely connected to the property’s creative history.