Wikipedia

Mirage Studios

Not to be confused withMirage Enterprises.

Mirage Studioswas an Americancomic bookcompany founded in 1983 byKevin EastmanandPeter LairdinDover, New Hampshire.The company was best known for theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(TMNT) comic book series and the subsequentfranchiseit has spawned.[1][2][3]

Mirage Studios
IndustryComics
Founded1983, inDover, New Hampshire
FounderKevin Eastman
Peter Laird
DefunctSeptember 9, 2021, 2 years ago
FateDormancy, Dissolved
HeadquartersDover, New Hampshire(1983–1984)
Sharon, Connecticut(1984–1986)
Northampton, Massachusetts,
United States
ProductsTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
DivisionsMirage Licensing, Inc.
Mirage Publishing, Inc.
Mirage Management, Inc.

History

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Faux manhole at the site of the original studio in Dover

Mirage Studios was started in 1983, in Dover, New Hampshire. The company was named "Mirage" because there was no actual company. Less than a year beforeTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#1 was published in May 1984, Eastman and Laird began experimenting with numerous series. Mirage then moved toSharon, Connecticut,and stayed there for two years before ending up inNorthampton, Massachusetts.

With the success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Eastman and Laird hired a core group of artists to help with the increasing workload. The first addition to the studio roster was Eastman's high school friendSteve Lavigne,brought on in 1984 as aletterer.[4][5]

In 1985, Eastman and Laird hired artistRyan Brownto assist them as aninkerfor the Turtles. Brown would be the first in a long line of artists, other than Eastman and Laird, that would work on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. In the following year, two new members were added, pencilerJim LawsonfromConnecticutand New Jersey'sMichael Dooneywho would paint a number of covers. With the addition of these four core artists along with Peter and Kevin, Mirage's Ninja Turtles output would expand over the next couple of years to include numerous Mirage spin-off titles, as well as a companion comic book entitledTales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.In 1989, Kevin Eastman invited freelance illustrator A.C. Farley to do cover paintings for the TMNT collected books. Peter Laird also invited Farley to do issue #29 of the TMNT comic. Farley was eventually invited to be part of the studio and crafted many paintings and comic artwork for the TMNT until his departure from the studio to resume his freelance business in 2004.[4]

In 1991, Mirage secured an interlocutory injunction against Counter-Feat Clothing for similar designs of drawings.[6]

The Mirage artists operated out of a renovated factory space inFlorence, Massachusetts.This is where the bulk of the creative output was done, such as thePlaymates Toystoy designs and theArchie TMNT comic series,untilTundra Publishingtook over the building.[7]

Eastman and Laird along with Brown, Dooney, Lavigne, Lawson and Farley toured extensively over the years, making personal appearances and attending many comic book conventions inDetroit,Chicago,Hawaii,San Diego,Ohio,Boston,andPortsmouth, New Hampshireamong many others. As the TMNT went mainstream, later additions to the studio would includeEric Talbotfrom Eastman's and Lavigne's old high school, writerStephen Murphy,and Brown's friend, Dan Berger, who was brought in from Ohio to ink theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventuretitle fromArchie Comics.In 1988, Mirage participated in thedraftingof theCreator's Bill of Rightsfor comic book creators.

On October 21, 2009, it was announced thatViacomhad purchased most of Mirage's rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property. Mirage retained the rights to publish 18 issues a year, though the future involvement of Mirage with the Turtles, and the future of Mirage itself, was unclear at the time of the announcement.[8]Mirage went dormant on December 31, 2009. Already completed projects released into 2010, with the rest being canceled. The final project released by the studio was TMNT volume 4, issue 32, released in May 2014.

Since August 2011,IDWhas held publishing rights to TMNT comics under license from Viacom.

On September 9, 2021, the company's website announced that its divisions had been completely dissolved, and all e-commerce sales would wind up on September 19, 2021. The website has remained active in archive form to document the comics published before IDW took over its rights, and is no longer actively updated.[9]

Staff

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Here is the list of writers and artists who were part of Mirage Studios. List in alphabetical order:

Titles

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Mirage produced many titles, although most did not remain in publication for more than a few issues. Comics published include:

References

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  1. ^Douglas C. McGill (December 25, 1988)."DYNAMIC DUO: Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird; Turning Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Into a Monster".The New York Times.RetrievedMarch 12,2015.
  2. ^Gustines, George Gene (July 14, 2012)."Image Comics Is Having a Creative Renaissance".The New York Times.RetrievedMarch 12,2015.
  3. ^"Tv & Video".Los Angeles Times.June 25, 1990.RetrievedMarch 12,2015.
  4. ^abJason Heller (August 7, 2014)."30 years later, the first 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' comics still pop".Entertainment Weekly's.RetrievedMarch 12,2015.
  5. ^Andrew Farago (June 10, 2014)."The fascinating origin story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles".The Week.RetrievedMarch 12,2015.
  6. ^Catherine Colston; Kirsty Middleton (2005).Modern Intellectual Property Law.Psychology Press. pp. 637–.ISBN978-1-85941-816-1.
  7. ^Gary Groth (January 3, 2012)."The Kevin Eastman Interview Part 2".TCJ.RetrievedMarch 12,2015.
  8. ^Rodney (October 21, 2009)."Viacom Acquires Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles".The Movie Blog.RetrievedMarch 12,2015.
  9. ^Mirage Studios (September 9, 2021)."The Mirage Group Website".
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