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62-650: Turtles Forever aired on The CW4Kids on November 21, 2009. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their master Splinter are startled to watch a video broadcast of the Turtles fighting the Purple Dragons on TV. The Turtles break into the Purple Dragons' HQ and discover that their "imposters" are actually alternate versions of themselves . The teams escape together. The 1987 Turtles landed there after fighting their Shredder and Krang over mutagen in

124-534: A Yu-Gi-Oh! marathon, with Vortexx premiering the following week on August 25, 2012. Some of Toonzai's programming, including Yu-Gi-Oh! , Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal , Sonic X , and Dragon Ball Z Kai continued to air on the block until September 27, 2014, when Vortexx ended its run. It was the final children's block on The CW to be broadcast only in standard definition , because blocks like Litton's Weekend Adventure on ABC and NBC Kids were broadcast in high definition . In most markets, CW affiliates used

186-486: A letterer . In 1985, Eastman and Laird hired Cleveland artist Ryan Brown to assist them as an inker , and a year later penciler Jim Lawson and cover painter Michael Dooney joined the studio. These six individuals would allow Mirage to expand into a number of spin-off and companion titles, starting with Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , designed to fill in continuity gaps in

248-499: A 1993 interview with Stephen Bissette and Stanley Wiater, interviewer-editors of Comic Book Rebels , Laird commented: Laird: ...Ask me how many other comic books I've drawn? CBR: Okay, how many other comic books have you drawn? Laird: Zero! CBR: All right, how many book covers and album jackets have you done? Laird: Zero! Zero! It's all been Turtles! Since that time, Laird has been able to find time to pursue some other comic book work, including publishing Stupid Heroes , and

310-536: A 25th anniversary celebration which featured a top-10 episode countdown preceding the film's television premiere. In the United States, an uncut version aired from October 31 to November 14 in a form where three weekly 26 minute episodes were shown in a half-hour slot per week. The uncut version of the film later appeared on the CW4Kids's website on November 16, 2009, which includes 8 minutes of footage cut from

372-406: A contract with. For the score, most of the music from the 1987 series was owned at the time by that series' producer, Fred Wolf Films , and would require a license fee to be used in the show. For a cost-effective solution, the special used many of the productions' frequent talents and used their in-score team to make a soundtrack reminiscent of the original series. Fathom Events originally planned

434-470: A dispute between Fox and 4Kids involving 4Kids' failure to pay the network for its time lease, and the network's inability to maintain guaranteed clearances for the block, due to difficulties getting Fox affiliates and stations that would be used as default carriers of the block in markets where the Fox station did not carry 4Kids TV to air it. On April 27, 2010, 4Kids announced the rebranding of The CW4Kids under

496-547: A number of subsequent printings over the next few years, as the Turtles phenomenon began to take off. Laird's newspaper experience led to the duo creating "a four-page press kit", that, according to Flaming Carrot creator Bob Burden 's own Mystery Men press-kit , included "a story outline and artwork that they sent to 180 TV and radio stations," as well as both the Associated Press and United Press International . This led to widespread press coverage of both

558-405: A quarter of a million dollars to fund his general store. It got to the point where I was getting overwhelmed with making these kinds of decisions, and it was suggested to me that a foundation might be a good way to "separate the wheat from the chaff", providing official and clearly delineated channels through which people looking for money had to make their way. Laird recalled that the publication of

620-490: A result of that delay?" It occurred to him that "there must be so many times where a self-publishing venture can sink or float on the strength of" a relatively small amount of money, so he felt a desire to use some of his "good fortune, in the financial sense, to help people out" (and, in addition to the creators, the foundation also aids those "involved in charitable organizations"). Moreover, he cites "[a] big difference" between his and Eastman's personal Turtles situation and

682-634: A special event to commemorate the franchise's 25th anniversary to theatrically release Turtles Forever across the United States of America on October 29, 2009, with plans for an introduction "hosted" by the Leonardo , Raphael , Donatello and Michelangelo themselves, followed by a documentary by Peter Laird about how he and Kevin Eastman created the characters with rare original comic book art, archival pictures and all-new interviews. However,

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744-659: Is a portmanteau of "toon" and the Japanese term banzai , reflecting the majority of anime programming on the block. The block was replaced by Saban Brands ' program block Vortexx , which debuted on August 25, 2012. On April 11, 2013, the Toonzai website redirected to the Vortexx website. Since October 4, 2014, the only 4Kids' shows that still air on broadcast television are Pokémon , Yu-Gi-Oh! , TMNT , and Sonic X . Vortexx ended its run on September 27, 2014, and

806-671: Is an American comic book writer and artist . He is best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with writer and artist Kevin Eastman . Laird was born on January 27, 1954, in North Adams , Massachusetts . Toward the end of 1983, Laird was earning just ten dollars an illustration from a local newspaper in Dover, New Hampshire . He was also doing illustrations for fanzines like The Oracle . In May 1984, Laird and Kevin Eastman self-published

868-404: Is being applied for and why. Laird's "experience with the Turtles and self-publishing" was a learning process that, he felt "would be very valuable to other people to go through" as well, "in teaching creators about themselves, about life [and] about the hard reality of business." He cites the summits he, Eastman, Scott McCloud , Dave Sim and others had (which led directly to the formalizing of

930-601: The Project Fanboy website, Laird was quoted as saying: The initial impetus for creating the Xeric Foundation was frustration – when the Turtle thing started getting really huge, people started coming out of the woodwork to ask for money. Many of them were legitimate charitable organizations or creators needing funding, but there were also quite a few ridiculous things – like the total stranger who asked me for

992-551: The Technodrome . During the battle, the dimensional teleporter malfunctioned, sending them all to the 2003 dimension. Checking recent tremor reports, the Turtles find the Technodrome, only to have to battle an army of Foot Soldiers led by Bebop and Rocksteady . When 1987 Shredder sees the two Turtle teams, he theorizes that another Shredder might exist in this dimension. After escaping the Turtles, Shredder locates Ch'rell,

1054-486: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became such a success (and in such a short space of time) came as a surprise to both Eastman and Laird. Laird has stated on several occasions that: …start[ing] the Turtles…was a goof; it was not anything we envisioned directing our lives in any way, shape, or form. It was like, ‘Hey, this looks like fun! Let's self-publish it! Let's see what happens!’...Suddenly, and just completely out of

1116-478: The "Creator's Bill of Rights," setting out in writing the necessary working arrangements that comics creators felt ought to be met regarding ownership of their work and proper remuneration, etc.) in informing his decision to set up the foundation, but also notes that he received "many requests for money," necessitating the creation of the Xeric Foundation's charitable end simply to deal with such requests "in an organized fashion." Indeed, when asked in an interview on

1178-491: The Prime Turtles. Bebop unknowingly reactivates the Technodrome's laser beam, which vaporizes Ch'rell. With their foe defeated and their worlds restored, the two turtle teams and their allies return to their respective worlds, while the Prime Turtles decide to go get some pizza. In the real world, Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman put the finishing touches on the first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , hopeful that

1240-521: The TMNT property and Mirage Studios itself, creating "a demand for the interestingly-titled comic that caught everyone by surprise." With the solicitation of their second issue, Eastman and Laird's Turtles comic began a meteoric rise to success, bringing in advance orders of 15,000 copies. This, Eastman has been quoted as saying, "basically ended up with us clearing a profit of two thousand dollars apiece. Which allowed us to write and draw stories full-time: it

1302-541: The Technodrome with help from the Cyber Foot, much to the dismay of Shredder and Krang. Ch'rell and Karai use Utrom science to revise the Technodrome with the combined technology having been used to make Ch'rell's new Shredder body and create new Foot-Bots, which are stronger than the 80s Foot Soldiers. Analyzing the mutagen that affected Hun, they reverse-engineered it to transform some Cyber Foot into Mutant Foot Soldiers with two of them resembling Tokka and Rahzar . Using

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1364-474: The Technodrome, the Turtles and Splinter are attacked by Hun and the Purple Dragons, who want their mutagen, seeing how Mohawk had been mutated into a mutant dog due to him having been recently in contact with a fighting dog. In the course of the fight, Hun is accidentally exposed to it and turns into a mutant turtle. He wanders until coming upon the Technodrome, now under the control of Ch'rell, who takes Hun back into his service. Ch'rell and Karai begin rebuilding

1426-539: The Turtles are preparing for their fight, they discover that Shredder has started attacking the 2003 universe with the upgraded Technodrome and the Mutant Foot Soldiers. Casey Jones and April O'Neil try to hold the enemy off before the Turtle teams arrive. After entering the Technodrome to find Splinter, they are captured by Ch'rell, who plans to wipe out every version of the Ninja Turtles across

1488-442: The Turtles escape to Turtle Prime, where they encounter their prime counterparts. The twelve Turtles team up and are joined by Splinter, Karai, 1987 Shredder, and Krang against Ch'rell. During the battle, Ch'rell's exo-suit grows giant, but proves to be vulnerable to the Technodrome's laser beam. Utrom Shredder seizes the Prime Turtles and attempts to destroy them and the entire multiverse, but the 1987 Turtles break his balance and save

1550-589: The Turtles' popularity increased, further people were added to the studio, including Eric Talbot (who attended Eastman and Lavigne's old high school), writer Stephen Murphy , and Brown's friend, Dan Berger , who was brought in from Ohio to ink the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures title from Archie Comics . Aside from Eastman (whose creative differences and other pursuits saw him leave and sell his interest to Laird and Mirage), these individuals have remained with Mirage to

1612-540: The Utrom Shredder, on an icy asteroid where he was banished. They beam Ch'rell to the Technodrome and revive him from the block of ice he was frozen in, but find him too insane for an alliance and try to vivisect him. However, Ch'rell's adopted daughter Karai , who had been monitoring his exile, breaks into the Technodrome and frees him, declaring the weapon's technology property of the Foot Clan. While tracking

1674-507: The block originated, then relaunched as an online-only video on demand service). 4Kids Entertainment took over programming the block on May 24, 2008, premiering under the name The CW4Kids . In addition to programming the block, 4Kids also handled responsibilities for its content and advertising revenue. At the time of the block's launch, 4Kids also programmed the competing 4Kids TV block for Fox , until that network nullified its time leasing agreement with 4KidsTV on December 27, 2008, due to

1736-460: The blue, this Turtles phenomenon emerged. And really – from day one – just took over. It was a rapidly accelerating process which culminated in essentially taking over our lives. Completely. This led to increased pressures on the two creators (and the team which they formed to help them), including a prolonged period (about a year) of artist's block in Laird. The "incredible growth and complexity of

1798-458: The book will sell, before going out for pizza. Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman make voiceover cameos as themselves. Additional Voices By Jason Griffith, Sean Schemmel, Bruce Falk, and Matthew Piazzi. None of the original voice cast from the 1987 cartoon series reprised their roles, but the original music from the show was not used in this special. In the actors' case, the original voice cast are members of SAG-AFTRA , which 4Kids did not have

1860-409: The business" that sprang up around their instantly-successful Turtles properties led to Laird's "suddenly discover[ing] to my horror that I no longer enjoyed drawing. It was a real shock, because if I ever had anything that I could rely on... it was that I loved to draw." Laird and Eastman's creations went on to become a popular cultural phenomenon, forcing both of them to take regular sabbaticals from

1922-606: The charitable foundation as being "that the Xeric grants are not loans, which have to be paid back, but actual grants, which do not." He "credit[s] Kendall Clark, who has run the foundation for me from the beginning, as one of the main reasons it has worked as well as it has... she's done a wonderful job." The naming of the foundation "originated out of a Scrabble game with [Laird's] brother Don," " Xeric " simply being "a word [he] like[d]" ostensibly meaning dry and desertlike – but which ultimately "has absolutely no direct connection with

Turtles Forever - Misplaced Pages Continue

1984-561: The comic to deal with the day to day pressures of running what had become a multimedia franchise. Eastman sold his share of the franchise, with the exception of a small continuing income participation, to Laird and the Mirage Group on June 1, 2000. On March 1, 2008, Laird and Mirage bought out Eastman's remaining rights and interest and the two went their separate ways. Concerning Eastman's departure, Laird stated his belief that Eastman "was just tired of it." On October 19, 2009, Laird sold

2046-477: The comics world," by providing grants for self-publishers. While Eastman founded Tundra Publishing to embody the ideals of the Creator's Bill of Rights from a publisher's standpoint, Laird's vision involved funding rather than actively publishing individuals' work. His reasoning for this decision was in part simply due to him having "far too much to do as it is with Mirage ." He "preferred to do something where it

2108-412: The creek don't rise , if we go on for another couple of decades, and I'm able to put more money into the basic funding of the Xeric Foundation, then the amount of money that can be given out can really be raised significantly." He hoped that ultimately the figure can be raised from "thousands of dollars" to "hundreds of thousands of dollars," to support an increasing number of large and small projects. In

2170-419: The different sets of Turtles, with "the 1987 crew [...] a little more mature than their 2003 counterparts". The review from DVD Talk called Turtles Forever a "mostly forgettable endeavour" and said that the "cheap shots [against the 1987 Turtles] are pathetic and get old immediately". The CW4Kids Toonzai (formerly known as The CW4Kids from May 24, 2008 to August 7, 2010, or stylized as TOONZAi )

2232-404: The entire lineup, but it had two hours earlier, running from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. San Diego 's XETV-TV , aired three hours from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and two hours from 10:00 a.m. to Noon. San Antonio 's KMYS , which affiliated with The CW in 2010, aired it on Sunday and Monday before 5:00 a.m. Other stations preempted portions of the block, while Shreveport, Louisiana 's KPXJ-TV preempted

2294-617: The final hour of the block. Columbus, Georgia 's WLTZ-DT2 preempted the first half-hour of the block. While The CW recommended that its affiliates carry The CW4Kids/Toonzai block at 7:00 a.m. to Noon Saturday mornings (regardless of time zone), its secondary CW Plus national feed for smaller markets aired the Toonzai block an hour earlier on its broadcast and cable-only affiliates in the Central , Mountain and Alaska time zones , as The CW Plus operates two separate feeds running on Eastern and Pacific time zone schedules. The only exception

2356-574: The first black & white issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , at an initial print run of 3000 copies for the forty-page oversized comic. It was largely funded by a loan from Eastman's uncle, Quentin (the experience of which had a profound impact on Laird, and led indirectly to his later work with the Xeric Foundation ), and published by the duo's Mirage Studios , a name chosen because "there wasn’t an actual studio, only kitchen tables and couches with lap boards." That first issue received

2418-476: The first issue of his and Eastman's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic came about thanks to a loan the two secured from Quentin Eastman, Kevin Eastman's uncle. Although the two were able to pay him back swiftly, it led Laird to speculate about what could have been: "if we hadn't gotten that loan from him at that point in our lives, it might have taken us a couple more months to raise that money from other sources, and who knows what might have happened differently as

2480-473: The foundation." The creative side of the foundation involves the usual application process, but in addition, the foundation began with "an advisory committee made up of three... people working in the industry" whose input is sought on how best to proceed with each application. Submissions are evaluated prior to Laird's involvement, and then he makes the ultimate decisions based on their recommendations. Laird stated in 1993 that: "...knock on wood, God willing, and

2542-477: The franchise to Viacom , the parent company of Nickelodeon , but still retains the rights to create and publish up to eighteen black-and-white comics based on the franchise per year. Although ostensibly over-seeing the animated Turtles projects through Mirage, Laird had minimal hands-on involvement in the development of the original animated series , and even less with the Next Mutation series. One of

Turtles Forever - Misplaced Pages Continue

2604-483: The full scripts and the sketching and designing of characters and settings. I've been doing a little drawing myself. Lots of suggestions. I've seen a few of the episodes, and it's neat to see a lot of the stuff I've worked on." While final preparations were underway, he relaunched the official comics canon of the franchise with "Volume Four" (the third published by Mirage Studios), with artwork supplied by fellow TMNT writer, friend, and Rat King creator Jim Lawson . When

2666-446: The graphic novel trilogy Planet Racers , with Jim Lawson . Even this ties into the TMNT, however, since the 2003 TMNT series has episodes based on the theme of Planet Racers . In December 2019, issue #100 of IDW Publishing's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic series featured a teaser ad for an upcoming comic project titled The Last Ronin in which the prospect of a possible reunion and cooperation between Laird and Eastman

2728-473: The inability by Fathom to reach an agreement with 4Kids Entertainment and Mirage Studios led to the event's cancellation. An edited version of the movie was released on July 11, 2009, worldwide on TV. The film was then released on July 29 in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. In other countries, the film aired on The CW as part of their Saturday morning The CW4Kids lineup on November 21, as part of

2790-671: The main title. Operating from a renovated factory space in Florence, Massachusetts , the Mirage team produced most of their work in-house, including the Playmates Toys toy designs and the Archie TMNT comic series, until Tundra Publishing took over the building. Eastman and Laird along with Brown, Dooney, Lavigne and Lawson toured extensively over the years, making personal appearances and attending many comic book conventions. As

2852-463: The more common American comics format and size, and the previous four issues were also reprinted in this size and format with new color covers. Also in 1985, Solson Publications released How To Draw Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Solson would follow this up with the six issue Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Authorized Martial Arts Training Manual as well as one issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Teach Karate volume in 1987. That

2914-452: The movie (which was used for some TV airings and the Region 1 DVD release) removed several additional scenes which remain intact in the "uncut" version of the movie. Some of those key scenes include: Turtles Forever received mixed to positive reviews from fans and critics. Alan Ng of Film Threat gave the film 5/10, calling the film "incredibly dated" and the lack of connection felt towards

2976-485: The multiverse by destroying them in their source dimension, " Turtle Prime ". By scanning the eight turtles' DNA, he finds the dimension, but the Turtles themselves are saved by Karai, who has started to question Ch'rell's goals. The turtles are joined by April and Casey, but realize that Ch'rell has started his plans and their dimension is being erased. After a fight with the Dragons and Hun which results in their erasure,

3038-722: The network's recommended Saturday morning scheduling for the block – though some such as CW owned-and-operated station WUPA in Atlanta aired it on Sunday, instead due to regular Saturday programming. Connecticut affiliate WCCT-TV aired three hours on Saturday, and two hours on Sunday. KMAX-TV in Sacramento, California aired the entire lineup, but it had a four-hour tape delay, running from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. WLFL in Raleigh, North Carolina and WNUV in Baltimore , aired

3100-463: The new name Toonzai , a name change that took effect on August 14, 2010. On June 26, 2012, Kidsco Media Ventures, an affiliate of Saban Capital Group , finalized a bid to acquire 4Kids' agreement with The CW for the block. On July 2, 2012, it was announced that Saban Brands , via Kidsco Media Ventures, began programming the block, which would be relaunched under the name Vortexx . Toonzai quietly ended its run on The CW on August 18, 2012, after

3162-423: The new series proved a success, Laird relaunched Tales of the TMNT to accompany the fourth volume. Following a successful deal to revive the Turtles theatrically, Laird put Volume Four on hold to develop the new film, leaving several plot lines unresolved. Tales of the TMNT was thought to go on hiatus in 2008, and the franchise's future beyond its on-screen presence was uncertain, but staff confirmed that this

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3224-540: The original version that aired on TV. The edited version was released on non-anamorphic widescreen DVD on August 24, 2010 in North America from Nickelodeon / Paramount Home Entertainment . The uncut anamorphic widescreen version was later released in 2011 on DVD in the PAL DVD regions (2 and 4). There are currently no plans for an American release of the uncut anamorphic version on home video. The edited version of

3286-477: The present. Stephen Murphy stepped down from his position as the managing editor in the middle of 2007 in favor of Dan Berger; Murphy remained as the creative director. In 1988 , Mirage Studios participated in the drafting of the Creator's Bill of Rights for comic book creators. In addition to his other interests, Laird founded the Xeric Foundation, a nonprofit organization created after considerable thought, as "an appropriate way to give back something extra to

3348-533: The station's Saturday morning timeslot, making Boise one of the only television markets where Kids' WB and The CW4Kids was not available through over-the-air analog broadcasts before the KNIN-TV's analog signal shutdown on June 12, 2009. † - Program transitioned from Kids' WB! ‡ - Program transitioned to Toonzai † - Program transitioned from The CW4Kids ‡ - Program transitioned to Vortexx Peter Laird Peter Alan Laird (born January 27, 1954)

3410-405: The trans-dimensional portal, Ch'rell learns that there are many parallel universes filled with Ninja Turtles. Hun, Bebop and Rocksteady are dispatched alongside an army of Utrom Foot-Bots to capture the Turtles by breaking into their lair. The lair begins crumbling, forcing the Turtles to use their dimensional portal projector to escape into the 1987 universe while Splinter is captured by Hun. While

3472-435: The unique products of this series, female turtle Venus , is notorious for becoming one of the additions to the franchise that Laird most despises. However, he took a more active role in the next TMNT animated venture , acting as "a consultant, and... working with the guy I consider the head writer, Lloyd Goldfine." In this role, he says "[f]rom the get-go I've been looking at everything, from day one. Story premises, outlines,

3534-542: Was an American Saturday morning cartoon children's television block that aired on The CW from May 24, 2008 to August 18, 2012. The block was created as a result of a four-year agreement between 4Kids Entertainment and The CW. The original name for the block from May 24, 2008 to August 7, 2010, The CW4Kids (stylized as THE CW4K!DS ), was retained as a sub-brand through the end of the block's run in order to fulfill branding obligations per 4Kids Entertainment's contract to lease The CW's Saturday morning time slots. The name

3596-431: Was enough to pay the rent, pay the bills, and buy enough macaroni and cheese and pencils to live on." The Turtles phenomenon saw the duo invited to their first comics convention at the tenth annual Atlanta Fantasy Fair in 1984, where they mingled with the likes of Larry Niven , Forrest J Ackerman and Fred Hembeck (among others). With their (November 1985) fifth issue, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles downsized to

3658-622: Was in Boise, Idaho , where they had two CW networks (both The CW and The CW Plus), The CW Plus affiliate (now a MeTV affiliate) KNIN-DT2 carried the block (also aired an hour earlier), but the main CW affiliate (now a Fox affiliate) KNIN-TV declined to carry the block or the block's predecessor Kids' WB upon becoming a charter CW affiliate after the affiliation switch from UPN in September 2006; KNIN-TV instead carried syndicated E/I programming in

3720-460: Was more of a transfer of capital," with "all the worries... on other people's shoulders." The foundation itself, he explains is: "actually two foundations in one. One half of it is for charitable organizations, and the other half is for creators who want to self-publish their comics." That later half is perhaps what the foundation is best known for, working much the same as any benevolent fund, involving an applicatory process detailing how much money

3782-404: Was not the case. It was confirmed on Steve Murphy 's blog that Peter Laird was intending to return to Volume 4 and that the title would return, distributed digitally by Mirage. With the success of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Eastman and Laird hired a core group of artists to help with the increasing workload, beginning with Eastman's high school friend Steve Lavigne , brought on in 1984 as

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3844-563: Was replaced by Litton Entertainment 's One Magnificent Morning . On October 2, 2007, The CW announced due to a joint decision between the network's parent companies Time Warner and CBS Corporation that it would discontinue the Kids' WB programming block, due to the effects of children's advertising limits and competition from cable television, and sell the programming time to 4Kids Entertainment . Kids' WB ended its run on The CW on May 17, 2008 (Kids' WB, like The WB Television Network that

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