Mirage Studios

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Mirage Studios
Industry Comics
Founded1983, in Dover, New Hampshire
Founder Kevin Eastman
Peter Laird
DefunctSeptember 9, 2021, 2 years ago
FateDormancy, Dissolved
Headquarters Dover, New Hampshire (1983–1984)
Sharon, Connecticut (1984–1986)
Northampton, Massachusetts,
United States
Products Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Divisions Mirage Licensing, Inc.
Mirage Publishing, Inc.
Mirage Management, Inc.

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 franchise it has spawned. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

Faux manhole at the site of the original studio in Dover TMNT manhole Cover.jpg
Faux manhole at the site of the original studio in Dover

Mirage Studios was started in 1983, in Dover, New Hampshire. The company was named "Mirage" because there was no actual company. Less than a year before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 was published in May 1984, Eastman and Laird began experimenting with numerous series. Mirage then moved to Sharon, Connecticut, and stayed there for two years before ending up in Northampton, Massachusetts.

With the success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Eastman and Laird hired a core group of artists to help with the increasing workload. The first addition to the studio roster was Eastman's high school friend Steve Lavigne, brought on in 1984 as a letterer. [4] [5]

In 1985, Eastman and Laird hired artist Ryan Brown to assist them as an inker for the Turtles. Brown would be the first in a long line of artists, other than Eastman and Laird, that would work on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. In the following year, two new members were added, penciler Jim Lawson from Connecticut and New Jersey's Michael Dooney who would paint a number of covers. With the addition of these four core artists along with Peter and Kevin, Mirage's Ninja Turtles output would expand over the next couple of years to include numerous Mirage spin-off titles, as well as a companion comic book entitled Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . In 1989, Kevin Eastman invited freelance illustrator A.C. Farley to do cover paintings for the TMNT collected books. Peter Laird also invited Farley to do issue #29 of the TMNT comic. Farley was eventually invited to be part of the studio and crafted many paintings and comic artwork for the TMNT until his departure from the studio to resume his freelance business in 2004. [4]

In 1991, Mirage secured an interlocutory injunction against Counter-Feat Clothing for similar designs of drawings. [6]

The Mirage artists operated out of a renovated factory space in Florence, Massachusetts. This is where the bulk of the creative output was done, such as the Playmates Toys toy designs and the Archie TMNT comic series, until Tundra Publishing took over the building. [7]

Eastman and Laird along with Brown, Dooney, Lavigne, Lawson and Farley toured extensively over the years, making personal appearances and attending many comic book conventions in Detroit, Chicago, Hawaii, San Diego, Ohio, Boston, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire among many others. As the TMNT went mainstream, later additions to the studio would include Eric Talbot from Eastman's and Lavigne's old high school, writer Stephen Murphy, and Brown's friend, Dan Berger, who was brought in from Ohio to ink the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventure title from Archie Comics. In 1988, Mirage participated in the drafting of the Creator's Bill of Rights for comic book creators.

On October 21, 2009, it was announced that Viacom had purchased most of Mirage's rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property. Mirage retained the rights to publish 18 issues a year, though the future involvement of Mirage with the Turtles, and the future of Mirage itself, was unclear at the time of the announcement. [8] Mirage went dormant on December 31, 2009.

Since August 2011, IDW has held publishing rights to TMNT comics under license from Viacom.

On September 9, 2021, the company's website announced that its divisions had been completely dissolved, and all e-commerce sales would wind up on September 19, 2021. The website has remained active in archive form to document the comics published before IDW took over its rights, and is no longer actively updated. [9]

Titles

Mirage produced many titles, although most did not remain in publication for more than a few issues. Comics published include:

Related Research Articles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, commonly abbreviated as TMNT, is a media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers trained in ninjutsu who fight evil in New York City. Supporting characters include the turtles' sensei, a rat called Splinter, their human friends April O'Neil and Casey Jones, and enemies such as Baxter Stockman, Krang, and their archenemy, the Shredder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Eastman</span> American comic book artist and writer

Kevin Brooks Eastman is an American comic book writer and artist 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 Metal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Laird</span> American comic book artist

Peter Alan Laird is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with writer and artist Kevin Eastman.

Rat King (<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>) Fictional character

The Rat King is a fictional character in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles multimedia franchise. The character was created by Jim Lawson and first appeared in the comic Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 written by Jim Lawson and has made various appearances since, in the comic books and other media, such as animated series and video games.

Karai (<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>) Comics character

Karai is a fictional supporting character appearing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and related media. She is usually a high-rank member of the Foot Clan outlaw ninja organization. She was originally introduced in Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's comic book series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1992. Since then, she has appeared in several different Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, television series, films, and video games. She is depicted as Shredder's second-in-command or adopted daughter in most versions and shares a rivalry with Leonardo and is at times considered his love interest. In one version of the comics, she is the granddaughter of the immortal Shredder, while in the 2012 series, she is Hamato Miwa, the only child of Hamato "Splinter" Yoshi and the late Tang Shen.

Venus (<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i>) Fictional character within the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise

Venus de Milo is a fictional superheroine within the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. She first appeared in the television series, Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. There, she was portrayed by Nicole Parker and voiced by Lalainia Lindbjerg. She was the only female turtle prior to the introduction of Jennika in the IDW continuity in 2019, and Lita the following year. Venus is currently the only turtle named after a work of art, rather than an artist like the rest of the turtles.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (Mirage Studios) American comic book series

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) is a comic book series that was published by Mirage Studios between 1984 and 2014. Conceived by Kevin Eastman 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, seven feature films, numerous video games, and a range of toys and merchandise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Lawson (comics)</span> American comic book writer and artist (born 1960)

Jim Lawson is an American comic book writer and artist best known for his work on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. Lawson created the Rat King and also co-created the series Planet Racers with Peter Laird. He is also the writer/artist of the black-and white-comic series Paleo: Tales of the Late Cretaceous. For more than 20 years he was a writer and artist of TMNT comics, but in 2009 he announced that he would depart from TMNT following Peter Laird's sale of the property to Viacom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Brown (comics)</span>

Ryan Brown is a comic book writer and artist and toy designer best known for his work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the animated series Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Lavigne</span> American comic book illustrator (born 1962)

Steve Lavigne 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 Stump and Sling.

Stephen Murphy is an American comic book writer and editor known for his work on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. With Michael Zulli, he was co-creator of the critically acclaimed 1980s independent comic The Puma Blues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gizmo (Mirage Studios)</span> Black and white comic book series

Gizmo is a black and white comic book series created, written, and illustrated by Michael Dooney first published by Chance Enterprises, and later published by Mirage Studios in May 1986. It tells about the story of two space adventurers: Gizmo Sprocket, a robot with a cool attitude, and Fluffy Brockleton, an anthropomorphic dog. They are accompanied by Soto, a sentient, pan-dimensional space vehicle that resembles a trailer truck. Gizmo has crossed over with the character Fugitoid from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

<i>Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> US comic book series

Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, called Tales of the TMNT in its later Volume 2 incarnation, is an anthology comic book series published by Mirage Studios, starting in May 1987, presenting additional stories featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their supporting cast as a companion book to the main Turtles comic series filling in the gaps of continuity in the TMNT universe. It was published in two distinct volumes.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an entertainment franchise about a group of anthropomorphic turtles who fight evil.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a superhero team created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, have appeared in seven theatrical feature-length films since their debut. The first film was released in 1990, at the height of the franchise's popularity. Despite mixed reviews from critics, it was a commercial success that garnered two direct sequels, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, both of which were modest successes.

Sophie Campbell is a comic writer and artist known for her indie comics such as Wet Moon and Shadoweyes, and for her art on the Jem and the Holograms comics, as well as IDW Publishing's ongoing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series. She primarily writes and draws characters who are adolescent or young adult women, including various races, body types, sexual orientations, and abilities. In 2019, she became the lead writer of IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for which she designed the character Jennika.

<i>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> (IDW Publishing) Ongoing American comic book series

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an ongoing American comic book series published by IDW Publishing. Debuting in August 2011, the series is part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles media franchise created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and was the first new comic incarnation of the Turtles to debut after the franchise's sale to Nickelodeon in October 2009. It is the fifth comic book series in the franchise's publication history and serves as a reboot of the franchise's story and characters.

<i>Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</i> 2014 American film

Turtle Power: The Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 2014 documentary about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise directed by Randall Lobb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennika</span> Comic book character

Jennika, also known as Jenn or Jenny, is a superheroine appearing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. She was introduced in issue #51 of the first comic book series by IDW Publishing in 2015, and was developed by Tom Waltz and franchise co-creator Kevin Eastman. She was designed by series artist and writer Sophie Campbell. Jennika is the second female mutant turtle character in the franchise's history, after Venus and preceding Lita the year after her mutant form first appeared.

References

  1. Douglas C. McGill (December 25, 1988). "DYNAMIC DUO: Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird; Turning Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Into a Monster". The New York Times . Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  2. Gustines, George Gene (July 14, 2012). "Image Comics Is Having a Creative Renaissance". The New York Times . Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  3. "Tv & Video". Los Angeles Times. June 25, 1990. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Jason Heller (August 7, 2014). "30 years later, the first 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' comics still pop". Entertainment Weekly's. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  5. Andrew Farago. "The fascinating origin story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". The Week. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  6. Catherine Colston; Kirsty Middleton (2005). Modern Intellectual Property Law. Psychology Press. pp. 637–. ISBN   978-1-85941-816-1.
  7. Gary Groth (January 3, 2012). "The Kevin Eastman Interview Part 2". TCJ. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  8. Rodney (October 21, 2009). "Viacom Acquires Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". The Movie Blog. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
  9. Mirage Studios (September 9, 2021). "The Mirage Group Website".