Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Heroes in a Half-Shell Come Full Circle
Written by Melissa Karen Sances
Photos Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Sponsored by Valley Home Improvement
Published in Northampton Living (October 2023)
“We’re bigger than the Beatles, dudes!” Leonardo yelled over the crowd outside the Academy of Music. The leader of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles emerged from a van to join franchise co-creators Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman at the totally tubular premiere of their second feature film in Northampton.
It was March 1991, the height of Turtlemania. After the release of their first movie, which grossed nearly $202 million worldwide in 1990, the 4 talking, walking, pizza-eating and crime-fighting Turtles were household names. Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello were no longer just revered Renaissance artists; instead, Leo, Raph, Mikey and Donny were down-to-earth dudes who inhabited the sewers of New York City.
Like Leo said, they were also mononymous superstars like Paul, John, George and Ringo. And they were even in a band, however short-lived. During the 1990 “Oprah Winfrey Show” dedicated to the international “Coming Out of Their Shells” tour – otherwise known as the most “Radical, radical, radical!” episode of “Oprah” in existence – the Turtles sing and dance like a boy band while Winfrey touts their “triple platinum” album. As Raphael puts it, “Singing in the sewer is a wonderful sound!”
But back to Laird and Eastman, and little-known Northampton. For their first TMNT movie premiere, the co-creators and 750 of their friends arrived in limos at the Academy of Music. “It was quite the event, red carpet and all,” recalls longtime resident Holly Martineau, now the Director of Development of United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region. For the second premiere in 1991, the duo turned a “Cowabunga Weekend” into a benefit for Friends of Children, a Northampton nonprofit focused on child advocacy. Maybe that’s why Leo arrived in the notably toned-down Turtle Van.
Less than a decade earlier, Laird and Eastman could barely afford to order a pepperoni-and-marshmallow pizza. Eastman, 21, a part-time student at UMass-Amherst and an aspiring cartoonist, noticed Laird’s illustrations in the local newspaper, and was struck by their similar drawing styles. In 1982 Eastman sought out the 30-year-old Laird at his apartment above Sze’s Restaurant. (Sze’s closed a few years later and was eventually replaced by Spoleto’s.) After deciding to work together to create comic books, they moved to Dover, New Hampshire, where one day Eastman sketched a masked turtle brandishing nunchucks. The duo thought this was hilarious – a ninja turtle! – and traded sketches until Laird added the words “teenage mutant.” On a whim, they borrowed $1,200 from Eastman’s uncle to form Mirage Studios – so-named because there was no physical studio – and print 3,000 black-and-white copies of “Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles issue #1.” Cowabunga, dudes! They were in business.
The enormous success of the comic allowed Eastman and Laird to move Mirage Studios from their apartment to an office in Northampton. In 1987 the popular TMNT cartoon premiered, featuring the iconic theme song that captured each adolescent Turtle’s personality: “Leonardo leads, Donatello does machines … Raphael is cool but rude (Gimme a break!)/Michelangelo is a party dude (Party!).” The next year, action figures hit stores, followed by the Nintendo game. By the time Eastman and Laird were named Employers of the Year by the Northampton Chamber of Commerce in 1990, they had become well-known for their philanthropy.
In 1992 Eastman opened the Words and Pictures Museum on Main Street in Northampton. “The museum was awesome,” remembers Judith Fine, the founder of Gazebo, an inclusive intimate apparel store on Center Street. “We had never had anything like it. It was 4 floors, and it took you through the adventure of the Turtles.” Initially located in the Roundhouse building, the museum moved to the 4-floor Beardsley Building (now R. Michelson Galleries) in 1994. It shared the Turtles’ story and curated nearly 100 exhibits before closing in 1999.
In the meantime, Laird and Eastman famously had a falling out, but it took some digging to discover that a woman came between them – specifically, a female ninja turtle named Venus de Milo. A live-action reboot needed their blessing for the new character, and while Eastman was gung-ho, Laird grudgingly signed on. After the new series was panned and cancelled in 1998, Eastman surrendered his rights to the franchise. In 2009 Laird sold his rights to Viacom, now Paramount Global. Since then, 4 Turtles movies have been produced by Paramount, including Mutant Mayhem, the star-studded, Jeff Rowe-directed film released in August. (A sequel and a spin-off series on Paramount Plus have already been green-lit.)
Though Northampton rolled up its red carpet long ago, the city remains the birthplace of a franchise that is now 40 years old. A Turtle mural adorns the wall of The Vault (featured in this month’s Arts Corner), and coming soon to Main Street are 4 embedded manhole covers, one for each Turtle, thanks to a totally awesome grant secured by City Councilor Garrick Perry. “The Turtles tap into that universal experience of coming-of-age,” says Perry. “I’m thankful to introduce new fans and remind old fans why the Turtles are still so inspiring.”
Which is why, exactly? First of all, they are artistes who make the Italian Renaissance sound righteous. “I'm pretty sure my early love for TMNT subconsciously inspired me to get an art history degree in college,” admits Geoff Naunheim, now the Executive Director of United Way of the Franklin & Hampshire Region.
And though the Turtles are technically teenagers, they are “super heroes with street cred,” explains local fan David Gardner. And universal reach: “They’re city sewer street fighters saving the world.”
In other words, they are bodacious and virtuous. “They are strong vigilantes committed to saving the city and the people they love, all while remaining anonymous and in the shadows,” says our publisher Daniel Reider. “They always do what's right even if it goes unnoticed.”
So as we usher in Halloween at Northampton Living and scare up our TMNT costumes for another season, we will channel the great Michelangelo and embrace the joy in our city’s history. Trick-or-treaters, beware: After we forego our haunted pizza for the traditional sweets, our gleeful screams may echo for eternity – God, I love being a Turtle!
This article would not be possible without access to the archives of the Springfield Republican, the Boston Globe and the New York Times; the research of Turtle lovers who have shared generously on the internet; the benevolence of friends; and the kindness of strangers.
Turtle Trivia:
In Boston, Massachusetts, May 5, 1990 was declared Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Day. During a visit to the State House, Kevin Eastman suggested that “Cowabunga!” go on the state flag. Senate President William Bulger boldly put that to a vote – and lost.
In Los Angeles, California, March 19, 1993 was declared Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Day by Mayor Tom Bradley.
Paige Turco, who grew up in Springfield, played April O’Neil in the second and third feature films.
“Turtle Power! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Samurai Heroes” was featured at the Springfield Museums from 2016-2017. The exhibit included illustrations by Eastman and Laird, along with a collection of Japanese swords and armor.
In 2019, Netflix documentary series creator Brian Volk-Weiss successfully reunited Laird and Eastman on “The Toys that Made Us.”
From 2020-2022 “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin,” based on a storyline created by Eastman and Laird in 1987, was released as a 5-part, comic mini-series. A prequel was released this year, and a sequel is on the horizon.
