First some backstory!

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created some of (probably THE most) profitable indie comic (comix for you hardcore enthusiasts) characters in history. The TMNT are a huge part of my childhood and if you were a kid in the early ’90s they probably were a massive influence in your life also. A few years ago Eastman sold his share of TMNT to Laird:

UGO: I read that you bought Kevin Eastman’s share of the Turtles. So do you own them now?

PL: Basically. I own all the intellectual property rights to the turtles.

UGO: Wow.

PL: You could say that. I bought Kevin’s interest in 2000.

UGO: Any idea why Kevin sold it?

PL: I think he was just tired of it. He wanted to move on and has other things to spend more time on.

Source.

Since then Eastman has been fairly silent about TMNT and spends most of his time working on Heavy Metal Magazine, but following the 2003 revival of TMNT I’m sure there have to be some pangs of regret. (You can purchase more affordable art at his Heavy Metal site by clicking here.)

But the big story here is that Eastman recently sold the original art for TMNT #1 on eBay for a whopping $250,099.00.

It included the following:

1. 40 pages of original art.
2. The original pen and ink cover.
3. The original logo design.
4. A first print of the issue.
5. The original artwork for the inside cover.
6. A pencil layout for the first advertisement.

Images!

All of this was hosted on a web design firm’s site, they have an open directory where you can find many more images. Just click here to go there.

I’ve personally seen prints of it at shows and didn’t even get a copy of TMNT#1 until it was reprinted recently. You can read it online at the TMNT site by clicking here.