This cult-classic TMNT #1 suddenly gained a lot of attention.But what’s behind the renewed attention for tmnt 1? Why are fans and those who like to sell comic books chasing tmnt #1 harder than ever?
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic series
The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic series wasn’t born inside Marvel or DC – it came out of two friends’ small indie press in 1984. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, working under the Mirage Studios banner, put together a black-and-white, limited-print comic as a parody of the darker superhero books of the era (Daredevil, X-Men, Ronin). What they didn’t expect was that this quirky idea of four turtles trained in ninjutsu, living in New York’s sewers, would explode into a PHENOMENON. The first print run was only about 3,000 copies, making those originals super rare and valuable today.
The early Mirage comics were much darker than the cartoon or toys that followed. Story arcs like “Return to New York” pushed Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo into brutal battles with the Shredder and the Foot Clan. “City at War” was about an epic arc that tore New York apart and forced the Turtles to question their roles as heroes. There were also wild crossovers: the Turtles fought alongside characters like Usagi Yojimbo and even Batman decades later.
More about teenage mutant ninja turtles issue 1
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1, released in May 1984, is one of the wildest success stories in comic history. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, working out of their kitchen table under the Mirage Studios name, self-published this black-and-white comic with a tiny print run of just about 3,000 copies. They thought it would be a one-off parody – mixing bits of Daredevil, X-Men, and martial arts movies into a weird experiment. Instead, it was the start of a billion-dollar franchise.
Teenage mutant ninja turtles 1 sets up everything: the Turtles’ origin, Splinter’s backstory, and their first fight with Shredder. Unlike the goofy cartoon most people remember, this debut was way more raw and violent. In the tmnt #1 the Turtles killed enemies, blood was spilled, and the tone was closer to underground indie comics than something to entertain kids.
How much is the tmnt 1
Teenage mutant ninja turtles issue 1 has become one of the most expensive comics of the late 20th century, and the numbers speak for themselves. Teenage mutant ninja turtles comic #1 started as a small black-and-white indie print run in 1984 but is now worth six figures! The teenage mutant ninja turtles #1 price ladder looks something like this:
- 9.8 – record high $230,000
- 9.6 – about $66,000
- 9.4 – about $46,500
- 9.2 – about $36,000
- 9.0 – about $31,200
- 8.5 – about $30,000
- 8.0 – about $24,000
- 7.5 – about $19,000
- 7.0 – about $15,000
- 6.5 – about $13,300
