TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

KEVIN EASTMAN & PETER LAIRD

Kevin Eastman (b. 30 May 1962, USA) was born in Portland, Maine to Sandra and Kim Eastman. His childhood was spent in the tiny hill town of Groville, Maine, where he grew up with his three sisters, Marlene, Judy and Maryann. An inherited talent, Kevin began drawing as soon as he was able to hold a crayon. The eventual discovery of comic books gave meaning to his crazed doodling. Basically, a self-taught artist Kevin studied mainly from the school of comics. Jack Kirby, Russ Heath and John Severin were his early favorites, before he moved on to the more unusual styles of Richard Corben and Vaughn Bodé when he reached high school.

Kevin's first published work appeared in Clay Geerdes' Comix Wave and Brad Foster's 'Goodies' mini-comics in 1980-81. In 1982, fate brought Kevin to Northampton, Massachusetts where he met Peter Laird. This artistic friendship led to the formation of Mirage Studios in 1983 and the creation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shortly thereafter.

Kevin married the girl of his dreams, actress Julie Strain. He is currently working on several new projects and is the owner/publisher of the popular comic magazine Heavy Metal.

PETER LAIRD

Peter Laird (b. 27 January 1954, USA) was born in North Adams, Massachusetts in 1954. His interest in drawing was evident at an early age, but it wasn't until high school and the discovery of Jack Kirby's work on 'The New Gods', 'The Demon', and other titles, as well as 'Conan' by Barry Windsor-Smith, that drawing became a serious passion.

Graduating from the University of Massachusetts with a B.F.A. in Printmaking, Peter entered the professional world with a sincere desire to become a freelance illustrator and comic book artist. After five years of struggling to attain this goal with some small successes, Laird's life was transfigured by two significant events that occurred within a year of each other. First, he met Kevin Eastman, and then he met his future wife, Jeannine. These two events dovetailed serendipitously when Peter moved with Jeannine to Dover, New Hampshire, which happened to be a mere twenty miles away from Ogunquit, Maine, where Kevin was working at a lobster restaurant.

After forming Mirage Studios in the summer of 1983, Peter and Kevin went on to create the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Peter started working on a graphic novel serial with Jim Lawson entitled 'Planet Racers'. This futuristic series took a look at motorcycle racing across vast galaxies while a sentient computer plots to wreck havoc upon society. Laird currently provides editing and lettering services for TMNT Web Dude Dan Berger's comic, 'gutwallow: the gingerbread man'.

In the moments that aren't taken up by dealing with mutant reptiles, Peter enjoys seeking out interesting dinosaur toys (especially Triceratopses) and action figures, motorcycling with artist buds Jim and A.C. Farley, walking through the woods with Jeannine and the dogs, exploring the wonders of computer graphics... and drawing.