Teenage

When Kevin Eastman and his friend Peter Laird self-published (with a little help from a generous uncle) their first issue of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” in 1984, they didn’t expect to sell “a single copy” of the admittedly silly comic. More than 30 years — and an ever-expanding empire of “Ninja Turtles” films, television, video games and toys — later, Eastman’s still going strong.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, the veteran comic-book writer and illustrator will present a free, kids-only workshop at the Lawrence Public Library, where he’ll share tips on creating and drawing your own comic book characters. (Of course, costumes are encouraged.) Later, he’ll stop by Lawrence’s Boom Comics for an autograph and memorabilia signing at 2:30 p.m. Tickets for the Boom Comics event cost $30, and can be purchased in person at 2429 Iowa St. or by calling the store at 856-2709.

Here, in advance of his upcoming Lawrence appearance, Eastman shares his thoughts on storytelling, responsible pet ownership and the surprisingly enduring popularity of “Ninja Turtles.”

Teenage

What did you read as a kid?

I grew up in a very, very small town in Maine — I mean, downtown was a store that was also a gas station, and we didn’t even have a stoplight. But I loved comic books because it seemed to me that whatever I could imagine and whatever I could draw, I could take myself to any world I wanted to — past, present or future. And I loved the whole graphic storytelling element. I started reading comic books when I was very young, and at some point my dad, who is a big reader and still lives in Maine, said, “I love that you love comic books, but there are some really great, fantastic worlds within books.” And he said, “Instead of a comic book, why don’t you read this book called ‘Watership Down?'” I love that book. After that, he gave me “The Hobbit,” and then I read “The Lord of The Rings,” (which) I think I’ve read about a dozen times over my lifetime. I love reading and I love storytelling, and I’m lucky that I have the job that I have, really.

It’s interesting that you mentioned “Watership Down,” which not unlike “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” also involves anthropomorphic animals who live these complex lives underground. Was that book an influence on your “Turtles” work at all?

One of the first movies I saw growing up was “Planet of the Apes.” It was mind-blowing to me. I just loved these animal characters, much like “Watership Down.” There was a comic book that was really influential to me when I was younger, drawn by a guy named Jack Kirby, who created everything from Spider-Man to Fantastic Four to Captain America. I was just at the right age, I think 9 or 10, and he made this comic book called “Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth.” It was set in this “Planet of the Apes” kind of world, with mutant animals taking over the world. I think a combination of things like “Watership Down,” fantastic stories like “The Lord of the Rings” and these big, huge, epic adventures, and mutant animals, I think, definitely had an influence on the eventual creation of the “Turtles.”

For people who aren’t familiar with the story, how did “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” come about?

I met this fantastic writer-artist named Peter Laird, and we kind of bonded immediately over Jack Kirby. We decided to form this studio, which we called Mirage Studios. It was (in) our living room at the time. He and his wife were renting this house in Dover, N.H., and I rented a room (there). So, we formed this studio called Mirage Studios, and one night, I just thought of this funny idea. I was a huge fan of Bruce Lee, and I thought that if Bruce Lee were a martial-arts animal, what would be the silliest and dumbest animal that he could be? So, I did this sketch of a turtle kind of standing upright with a mask on, and he had this nunchuks strapped to his arms. And I said, “Hey, Pete, this is going to be the next big thing. Ha ha ha.” And he laughed and kind of copied my drawing, and in kind of (an act of) studio one-upmanship, I said, “Why not do a whole team of these?” So, I did this pencil sketch of four turtles all standing with different weapons in their hands, and I put this comic-book logo across that said, “ninja turtles” and then inked in it with an ink pen.

He added “teenage mutant” to the title and we both looked at this drawing and said, “Alright, this is the dumbest thing that we’ve ever seen, ever. Why don’t we tell a story about how these characters became these teenage mutant ninja turtles?” It was November of 1983 when that drawing was done, and May of 1984 is when the first comic book, which we self-published, (came out). We borrowed money from a really supportive uncle, and I had money and Pete had money, and we just put everything into publishing that first issue. We never thought it would sell a single copy, but we ended up selling out of the first issue, and it just kept going and going and going. We were so thrilled because, being big fans of Jack Kirby, we were living the dream. We were writing and drawing comic books for a living, and it could not have been a better job — ever. And I’m still doing it. I’m 54, and the first comic book came out when I was 21. So, I’m 54 and I’m still writing and drawing turtle stories and I’m still having literally the best time of my life.

Teenage

Are you surprised to see how popular the Turtles have remained with kids, not just the original generation of kids who experienced it in the ’80s and ’90s, but today’s young fans who are experiencing the series for the first time?

My first, and most sincere and honest, response is that it’s humbling. It’s a huge honor. I think of stuff that I grew up on, whether it be Bugs Bunny or Scooby Doo or Superman or Batman — these different characters that have just withheld the test of time. When the Turtles were done, we did it out of passion, out of love, out of our dream to do comic books, but we never thought that would be the one thing that would still be around 32 years later.

When I was younger, it was like, you can’t tell a child what’s cool and what’s not cool. We’re going to make up our own minds. And the fact that there was a generation in the late ’80s and early ’90s that found the Turtles interesting and fun and cool, and then, now, 30-plus years later, there’s a whole new audience finding them cool and interesting….that, to me, is even more epic.

You have a son, right? Does he find it cool?

Yeah. My wife, Courtney, and I have a 10-year-old son. It’s so funny — my son doesn’t think I have a real job. My wife and I do conventions and we do tours and we do different stuff, but 99 percent of the time, we work at home. Courtney runs the business side and I do the drawing stuff. But he’s like, “Dad, you stay home and you draw turtles all day. That’s not really a job.” And I’m like, “Well, it is a job” (laughs).

He can draw, but he’s a total sports kid. I mean, the kid has a 50-mile-an-hour fastball at the age of 10. Some of the neighborhood kids know that I draw and created the Turtles, so when the neighborhood kids think it’s cool, then my son thinks it’s cool.

When the series was first exported to Europe, the name was changed in the UK to “Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles,” because apparently the British government felt the word “ninja” had violent implications. How did you feel about this censorship at the time?

We kind of created this philosophy, if you will, around ninjaship being an honorable thing, and it’s really not. People used to say, “Hey, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ — you guys must be hugely popular in Japan and Asian countries.” And we’re like, “No.” If you actually break it down, ninjas were not “good” characters. They weren’t heroic characters. They were often evil and bad characters. So, it’s almost like saying, “Teenage Mutant Bad People”? (laughs).

It was adapted into each country’s culture very differently, and when they decided to change the name to “Hero Turtles” in the UK and some other European territories, it was like, “Well, we understand the laws,” but you know, actually, “Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles” kind of makes more sense in that they were kind of heroes. But back in those days, Peter and I had full control and full say over anything that (dealt) with the “Turtles,” so it made sense to us and we were happy to accommodate it.

That brings up another interesting point. The fact that it actually worked here as a concept and as an idea in the United States, which is amazing in itself, but the fact that it went to other countries and other languages and other foreign cultures and still has some kind of resonance with the kids — it’s like, Are you kidding me? It was mind-blowing to us, for lack of a better term.

I was reading a lot about “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” overseas, and quite a few articles popped up about the huge ecological problem in the UK caused by “Turtle” fans taking in terrapins as pets and later releasing them into the wild, which apparently is still an issue today. Do you have any words of wisdom for people thinking about turtles as pets?

When “Turtles” first came out, we’d get these letters from parents that would be like, “Can you please tell our son or our daughter that the ‘Turtles’ aren’t real and that they don’t live in the sewers? Because our son or our daughter walks by a sewer grate and they go, ‘Hello, Donatello and Michelangelo.’ They think the ‘Turtles’ are real, much like when I was a young child and I used to put a bath towel around my neck and think I was Superman, running around the house yelling “I’m Superman!”

But what we teach our son is, ‘These are forever pets. These are ours, and they count on us to take care of them and make sure we’re their best friends and we’re good parents.” That’s what I tell fans. If you have a turtle, bless you, but take care of it.

What advice do you have for aspiring young comic-book artists and writers?

Anything you’re passionate about, you’ll find your own path. If you like to read, then you’ll read a lot. If you like to read and that inspires you to write, you’ll write. To me, it was, don’t be shy or ashamed of being inspired by the people who inspire you. If you like J.R.R. Tolkien and if you like “Lord of the Rings,” he’s an amazing writer, and that’s a fantastic thing. Don’t be shy to copy that person, at least to start, because you’ll find your own path as you get older and you become more educated.

Passion is most important. Love of what you do. And then, application. If you love to write, write. If you love to draw, draw. You just have to spend the time to train yourself to do the best you can. And have fun.