Editing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (section)

===1983–1986: Conception and first comics===
[[File:Tmnt1cover.jpg|thumb|upright|Cover of ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' No. 1 (May 1984)]]
[[File:NH Marker for TMNT.jpg|thumb|[[New Hampshire historical markers|New Hampshire historical marker]] (#289) for the “Creation of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''” in Dover]]
The comic book authors [[Kevin Eastman]] and [[Peter Laird]] met in Massachusetts and began working on illustrations together. In 1983, Laird invited Eastman to move in with him in [[Dover, New Hampshire]].<ref name="Fernandes">{{Cite web|last=Fernandes|first=Megan|title=The birthplace of ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'': Kevin Eastman recalls days in Dover|url=https://www.fosters.com/story/news/local/2021/07/27/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-kevin-eastman-dover-nh-origins-portsmouth-mini-con-peter-laird/7970644002/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-17|website=[[Foster's Daily Democrat]]|language=en-US|archive-date=October 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019221338/https://www.fosters.com/story/news/local/2021/07/27/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-kevin-eastman-dover-nh-origins-portsmouth-mini-con-peter-laird/7970644002/}}</ref> That November, Eastman drew a masked turtle standing on its hind legs armed with [[Nunchaku|nunchucks]] to make Laird laugh.<ref name="Mental Floss-2015">{{Cite web|date=2015-06-27|title=The complete history of ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''|url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/30862/complete-history-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-17|website=[[Mental Floss]]|language=en|archive-date=January 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127221734/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/30862/complete-history-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles}}</ref> Laird added the words "teenage mutant".<ref name="Fernandes" /> The concept parodied several elements popular in [[superhero comics]] of the time: the teenagers of ''[[New Teen Titans]],'' the mutants of ''[[Uncanny X-Men]]'' and the ninja skills and training of ''[[Daredevil (Marvel Comics series)|Daredevil]]'', combined with the comic tradition of [[funny animals]] such as [[Howard the Duck]].<ref name="Collins-2014">{{Cite magazine|last=Collins|first=Sean T.|date=2014-08-14|title=Cowabunga: how ''TMNT'' went from joke to blockbuster|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/how-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-went-from-in-joke-to-blockbuster-230484/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-10-09|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|language=en-US|archive-date=June 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603073105/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/how-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-went-from-in-joke-to-blockbuster-230484/}}</ref>

Eastman and Laird developed the concept into a comic book. They considered giving the turtles Japanese names, but instead named them after the [[Italian Renaissance]] artists [[Leonardo da Vinci|Leonardo]], [[Donatello]], [[Raphael]] and [[Michelangelo]], which Laird said "felt just quirky enough to fit the concept".<ref name="Mental Floss-2015" /> They developed a backstory referencing further elements of ''Daredevil'': like [[Daredevil (Marvel Comics character)|Daredevil]], the Turtles are altered by radioactive material, and their [[sensei]], [[Splinter (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)|Splinter]], is a play on Daredevil's sensei, [[Stick (comics)|Stick]].<ref name="Collins-2014" />

In March 1984, Eastman and Laird founded a comic book company, [[Mirage Studios]], in their home.<ref name="Mental Floss-2015" /> Using money from a tax refund and a loan from Eastman's uncle, they printed copies of the first issue of ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Studios)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' and advertised it in ''Comics Buyer's Guide Magazine.<ref name="Mental Floss-2015" />'' This attracted the interest of comic distributors, and all 3,000 copies were sold in a few weeks.<ref name="Mental Floss-2015" /> Sales of further issues continued to climb.<ref name="Mental Floss-2015" />