Peter Laird
Description
Peter Laird is an American comic book writer and artist best known as the co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Born Peter Alan Laird on January 27, 1954, in North Adams, Massachusetts, he developed an early interest in comics, reading titles such as Superman, Batman, and The Incredible Hulk, with artist Jack Kirby becoming a significant influence on his work. Before his breakthrough in comics, Laird earned a living creating illustrations for a local newspaper in Dover, New Hampshire, as well as for various fanzines.
In May 1984, Laird and his creative partner Kevin Eastman self-published the first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles through their own company, Mirage Studios. The name Mirage Studios was chosen because there was no physical studio, only kitchen tables and couches with lap boards. The initial print run was 3,000 copies for the forty-page black-and-white comic book, which was largely funded by a loan from Eastman's uncle. The unexpected success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles grew into a major multimedia franchise, including numerous comic spin-offs, animated series, films, video games, and toys.
While Laird is not an anime or manga creator in the traditional Japanese sense, his original comic book works have been adapted into Japanese animation productions. One such example is the anime film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Legend of the Supermutants, also known as Mutant Turtles: Chōjin Densetsu-hen, for which Laird received credit for the original comic book source material. This represents his authorship being adapted into the anime medium rather than him directly creating manga or anime works.
Beyond the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, Laird has worked on other comic projects including Stupid Heroes and the graphic novel trilogy Planet Racers created with artist Jim Lawson. His artistic roles have encompassed writing, penciling, inking, coloring, lettering, and editing. Laird also founded the Xeric Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides grants to support self-publishing comic book creators, established as a way to give back to the comics community based on his own experiences with self-publishing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
In terms of his involvement with animated adaptations, Laird had minimal hands-on involvement in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. However, he took a more active role in later animated projects, serving as a consultant and reviewing story premises, outlines, scripts, and character designs. He has expressed particular disapproval of certain franchise additions, such as the female turtle Venus from the Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation series.
Laird sold the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise to Viacom, the parent company of Nickelodeon, on October 19, 2009. As part of the agreement, he retained the rights to create and publish up to eighteen black-and-white comics based on the franchise per year. Eastman had previously sold his share of the franchise to Laird and the Mirage Group in 2000, with Laird buying out Eastman's remaining rights and interest on March 1, 2008.
In May 1984, Laird and his creative partner Kevin Eastman self-published the first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles through their own company, Mirage Studios. The name Mirage Studios was chosen because there was no physical studio, only kitchen tables and couches with lap boards. The initial print run was 3,000 copies for the forty-page black-and-white comic book, which was largely funded by a loan from Eastman's uncle. The unexpected success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles grew into a major multimedia franchise, including numerous comic spin-offs, animated series, films, video games, and toys.
While Laird is not an anime or manga creator in the traditional Japanese sense, his original comic book works have been adapted into Japanese animation productions. One such example is the anime film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Legend of the Supermutants, also known as Mutant Turtles: Chōjin Densetsu-hen, for which Laird received credit for the original comic book source material. This represents his authorship being adapted into the anime medium rather than him directly creating manga or anime works.
Beyond the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, Laird has worked on other comic projects including Stupid Heroes and the graphic novel trilogy Planet Racers created with artist Jim Lawson. His artistic roles have encompassed writing, penciling, inking, coloring, lettering, and editing. Laird also founded the Xeric Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides grants to support self-publishing comic book creators, established as a way to give back to the comics community based on his own experiences with self-publishing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
In terms of his involvement with animated adaptations, Laird had minimal hands-on involvement in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. However, he took a more active role in later animated projects, serving as a consultant and reviewing story premises, outlines, scripts, and character designs. He has expressed particular disapproval of certain franchise additions, such as the female turtle Venus from the Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation series.
Laird sold the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise to Viacom, the parent company of Nickelodeon, on October 19, 2009. As part of the agreement, he retained the rights to create and publish up to eighteen black-and-white comics based on the franchise per year. Eastman had previously sold his share of the franchise to Laird and the Mirage Group in 2000, with Laird buying out Eastman's remaining rights and interest on March 1, 2008.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview