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The Expansion of Mirage Studios (1984-1986) - History in a Half-Shell

The Turtle Nexus

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Discover how Mirage Studios evolved from a small indie operation to the driving force behind TMNT’s meteoric rise from 1984 to 1986. Learn about the artists, stories, and milestones that set the stage for Turtlemania in this latest episode of History in a Half-Shell!

📇 EPISODE 185

✍🏻 WRITTEN AND EDITED BY
Javier S. Montano

🎙️NARRATED BY
Ian Smith
Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/ismithbwr

🔖 CHAPTERS
00:00 The surprising success of the TMNT
05:38 Steve Lavigne and the first licensed products
07:43 Ryan Brown, Jim Lawson, Michael Dooney, and Eric Talbot
12:17 Solson Comics and the end of the beginning

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20 Comments

@TheTurtleNexus Creator 1 year ago Pinned

Thanks for watching!
I hope you enjoyed this type of video as much as I do.
What are your favorite stories from this period?

@sammcfarlane2494 1 year ago

I love how one little comedy sketch became a $60,000,000 franchise.

@DoctorPretorious616 1 year ago

I still love those fifteen issues by Kevin & Peter, I also enjoyed "Return To New York" (the original version) and "The River". And while I liked the squat, beaky character designs by Eastman/Laird in the earliest issues, I think that Michael Dooney perfected the look of the Turtles; he's my favorite TMNT artist.

@damnedash9526 1 year ago

This has always been my absolute favorite IP. Hands down. I just love everything about it, and I love to hear these little history bits. Thank you for such a great video! I look forward to the next one!

@ThatFastJuke 2 months ago

As a TMNT fan from the '87 cartoon, I really enjoyed this video

@noneofyourbusiness4616 1 year ago

I'm not a big Turtles fan but was reading indie comics during the black and white boom and bust, so this is a fun video for me. I did have the RPG and some early issues (the latter long sold off). Mark Martin and Rick Veitch were two other artists involved in the early days, with Martin going on to work for Eastman's Tundra as well.

@someguynamedeli1543 1 year ago

This was actually an amazing video dawg I'd love to see the next episodes for History in a Half-Shell especially the TotTMNT ones

@jrr2480 1 year ago

Great video 😊
Maybe in a future video, you can talk about TMNT's History with Marvel Comics. I know Marvel didn't publish them, but they do have a interesting history with each other.

@cheddarcomics 1 year ago

wow what a wonderfully made and well told breakdown of an era of Mirage I had no idea about! Loved it!!

@noodle3384 1 year ago

man i loved this, can't wait for more

@johnpittsii7524 1 year ago

Thanks for the amazing video

@DM006 1 year ago

I love these videos where the story of a franchise is described.
I'll say. For the future I would like to hear you talk about the RPG game and (for as long as I know it's a crossover and has nothing to do with the TMNT world) Cerebus.
I had a very "What if?" question, but I'll save it for the next video because it ties in much more to the cartoon than the comics.

@LuisOsmarRosalesManuel 11 months ago

Love this❤❤❤

@stefanbesendorfer1323 1 year ago

I grew up witth April from the 87's cartoon, so i thought it was normal for her to be a caucasian woman. I'm surprised by her fluid ethnicity. Makes me think about future versions of her after the latest two afro-american ones.

@JONNYSORENSEN_AU 1 year ago

Thank you. Can I ask what programs you used to make the video? Been looking for more good options.

@iamawesome4026 1 year ago

Are you gonna do videos based on the rest of TMNT history for Kevin Eastman and Peter laird with the movie, the shows, and other comics

@JurneeJakes 1 year ago

Ever considering doing a video on Palladium’s TMNT & Other Strangeness TTRPG, and it’s new update on the way?

@HeySamus33 1 year ago

All stories have there begging

@Antonio-f4i8u 6 months ago

April was clearly white in that issue 2, her skin was way lighter than Stockman's one

@fdtdev 1 year ago

no, april wasn't black. you say that while you show a photo of a at most latin like tanned woman. also, there's irrefutable proof on number 2 when showing baxter stockman aside april. stop spreading misinformation. unsuscribed.