Some would say that childhood memories are priceless. Others would say they’re worth $6,500.
That’s how much the sketch to your left is worth, according to the most recent bid. Yes, it’s true: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman is auctioning off the first sketch of the reptiles who became Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo.
If you’re a true Turtlehead, you may recognize the image from early press coverage of the series and a few comics. Eastman and his partner, Peter Laird, drew and inked the pic in November 1983. Soon afterwards, they came up with a back story for the characters they’d invented. Eventually, these weapon-wielding terrapins would become heroes in a half-shell who starred in three animated series — including an upcoming show from Nickelodeon — and four feature films.
Sure, dropping four figures — or even five, depending on how the bidding goes — for an 8.5-by-11-inch piece of paper might seem extreme. But in a world where the next generation of turtles is neither mutant nor teenage, I can understand why someone would pay to hold on to a simpler era — a time when glowing ooze had the power to transform humble pet shop refugees into pizza-loving crime fighters. Those were the days! READ FULL STORY »
