SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird (The Turtle Fathers)

Without these dudes there would be no Turtles. Here's to Peter Laird (left) & Kevin Eastman (right) who are a huge inspiration to any artist trying to make they're visions come true. Their Turtles represent underground comics, self-publishing, and creating an empire out of something you love doing (living the dream).  Today Peter Laird runs the Xeric Grant, which helps comic artists self-publish their own books. Kevin Eastman owns Heavy Metal magazine, which was one of his main inspirations in creating the Turtles.

Leonardo.

Hello everyone! I recently became a member of the Autumn Society so I could participate in the Ninja Turtle tribute. Thanks for the invite, Jeffro and Chogrin! I hope to contribute to other events as well.

Back story:

In 1986 my older brother came home with the comic book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (issue 7). Prior to seeing the TMNT comic my only real exposure to comics was in Mad Magazine. This was a turning point for me. I had always liked drawing but I never seemed to know where it would go. The TMNT comic, as well as the artists at Mirage Studios, inspired me more than I could explain here. I have always preferred the raw grittiness of the original b+w comics hence the flavor of my illustration. I drew this sketch back in 2003 but put it to color in the past week. I hope everyone enjoys my piece. You all have been doing such awesome stuff!

Also, I have to mention that I had a one shot comic in TMNT #57 back in '96 that can be seen on my blog here if you're interested.

I will be at the Philadelphia show this Friday, June 3. Look for the short guy.