New Peter Laird Interview with Cartoonist Kayfabe

[staypuftweepel]

I haven’t had a chance to listen to the whole thing yet, but it’s nice to see Peter Laird back with a new interview.

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[AquaParade]

Truly exciting to hear from Peter again. Feels like it has been so long.

[Anarchistguy]

Man I love cartoonist Kayfabe. Their passion for the craftsmanship of comic books is truly amazing.

[IndigoErth]

Thanks for sharing, nice interview, will keep it playing in the background to listen to it. Pushing 70, so it's nice to see him do this while he has it in him to give an interview like this.

[Andrew NDB]

He talks about doing more comics.

[IndigoErth]

Ones he has done or still wants to?

Only caught about 23 min before the video crapped out and refused to resume playing.

[Andrew NDB]

Start around the 49 minute mark.

On vol. 4, "I would like to do it." And "I would like to one day get together with Kevin and just do a Turtle comic." Also "it would be a great enjoyment."

[staypuftweepel]

A new collaboration between him and Kevin Eastman would be really neat. It would be cool for him to do it on his own without it having to go through IDW. I still wish he’d finish volume 4, but I don’t think that’ll ever happen. I could see a new Eastman/Laird collaboration happening before he’d finish volume 4 just because he seemed more excited to talk about that kind of project. It’s nice to know the two of them are on friendly terms. The whole TMNT explosion would have been tough for any two friends.

It’s pretty interesting to hear him talk about how he sometimes wonders where the TMNT comic could have gone if the licensing never took off and it was just him and Eastman making comics without all of the distractions. I kind of think the licensing had to take place for them to continue the comics.

[Andrew NDB]

I think the important distinction is that him saying stuff like "it would be a great enjoyment" and "I would like to do it" is very different than him saying in years past he had no idea if he could ever be in a headspace again where he could even imagine doing more Turtles.

It'd be neat to see a Vol.4 completion and some kind of vol.5. Like Kevin and Peter putting out like a special every year. Barring that, them creating a new TMNT comic reboot.

[AquaParade]

Totally wild that Peter himself floated the idea of working with Kevin again or completing volume 4. Really nice to hear this in the wake of the movie storyboards leaking. More good comics to possibly look forward to.

Makes me wonder about The Last Ronin. Seemed like a good chance to work with Kevin already presented itself, so I’m thinking that he either got a boost of inspiration from seeing how positively received the “original” version of TMNT was getting or he didn’t want to participate in TLR because it essentially treads over everything he did with Jim Lawson.

Either way, can you imagine what it may look like if they do a new book together? Pretty crazy to think.

[Monty Mole]

This is wild! Never thought I'd see Peter Laird involved in anything again. Let alone mention interest in doing more Turtles.

[IndigoErth]

Start around the 49 minute mark.

On vol. 4, "I would like to do it." And "I would like to one day get together with Kevin and just do a Turtle comic." Also "it would be a great enjoyment."
Wow, that's awesome if he wants to and it happens. I really had just believed and accepted that he'd retired from any interest in TMNT and moved on, esp now that he's getting up there in age.

[CyberCubed]

His voice is sounding really weak there, I know he's old now but I hope he's in good health. Honestly sounded like he was struggling to get some words out.

[Galactus]

That's certainly sounds more encouraging than any statement he's made about making more TMNT comics since the sale. Steve Lavigne was recently on a podcast and said when he told Peter that The Last Ronin topped the New York Times Best Seller List he didn't believe it. Maybe that made him think there is an audience for an Eastman and Laird TMNT book. At least some of the success of TLR was due to it's marketing making it seem like a reunion of the turtle's creators.

It'd be neat to see a Vol.4 completion and some kind of vol.5. Like Kevin and Peter putting out like a special every year. Barring that, them creating a new TMNT comic reboot.

If it was published by Peter himself it would have to be black and white and set in the Mirage universe. I believe that was two stipulations of the contract that allows him to publish TMNT comics. I'm not sure whether they'd view a reboot as being part of the Mirage universe or whether they would even pay too much attention to care. As Peter said letting him publish eighteen comics a year was a small price to pay to own the franchise so I doubt they'd quibble over minor details. Of course it was published by IDW they could pretty much do what they want. While their work would have to go through an approvals process I doubt Nickelodeon would veto anything the two of them would come up with.

[Sharman]

It's obviously really exciting that he's interested in doing some more TMNT but I also find it interesting that it was he who reached out to Kayfabe for the interview. Seems to reinforce the idea that he wants to keep his toe in the biz, as it were.

[Cowabung-Gal]

I heard from a fellow nerd that Peter Laird is not that “friendly” toward fans. Is that true?

[Andrew NDB]

If it was published by Peter himself it would have to be black and white and set in the Mirage universe. I believe that was two stipulations of the contract that allows him to publish TMNT comics. I'm not sure whether they'd view a reboot as being part of the Mirage universe or whether they would even pay too much attention to care. As Peter said letting him publish eighteen comics a year was a small price to pay to own the franchise so I doubt they'd quibble over minor details. Of course it was published by IDW they could pretty much do what they want. While their work would have to go through an approvals process I doubt Nickelodeon would veto anything the two of them would come up with.

I don't remember if there was a B&W clause but I don't recall ever hearing about one. The biggest thing with his 18 comics a year clause is that he himself has to be heavily involved in the comics that come out under it. He couldn't just publish a new Tales of the TMNT with different writers and artists or anything. I also asked him if there would be anything stopping him from, say, having a 3rd party character cross-over with the TMNT under his clause and he said he didn't see any reason why not.

[frank_one]

I don't know. He doesn't look and sound like someone who is ready to jump on a new creative adventure. More like an old man remembering the good days and daydreaming about the great stuff he COULD still do but never will. Finger crossed I'm wrong.

[AquaParade]

I think a new comic from Peter and Kevin might just be strange as hell, but there is way too much curiosity at play.

And there is a chance that they will still compliment each other like peanut butter & jelly. If the comic is great, that's a bonus. I want to see what this thing looks like.

For science!

[CyberCubed]

I don't know. He doesn't look and sound like someone who is ready to jump on a new creative adventure. More like an old man remembering the good days and daydreaming about the great stuff he COULD still do but never will. Finger crossed I'm wrong.

I mean he is 68, it's easy to forget how old he is since he's pushing 70 now.

In our minds we still think he's in his 50's...but he's much older now.

[IndigoErth]

Volumes of mirage (edit: including Last Ronin) are the only comics I really have for the most part, but if he DOES actually work on more, well those are a must have. I feel like that would kill my hands now at this age, so props to him if he can still make it happen at nearing 70.

[Xav]

Here's Peter going through Issue 1.

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[Andrew NDB]

I'm surprised it's not the PBBZ version. :D

[frank_one]

These videos are great!

[MrPliggins]

Never thought I’d see more interviews like this with Laird. Truly great to hear him muse about the history of the property for two hours. Some neat tidbits of info in there too. Like he could have purchased the entire #1 original art from Eastman for $200k. If memory serves it didn’t go much higher than that at auction. With the recent sale of the #8 cover for $78k, I can only imagine what that #1 OA would fetch today.

[Cowabung-Gal]

I heard from a fellow nerd that Peter Laird is not that “friendly” toward fans. Is that true?

Since nobody is answering my question, I can assume that it is in fact true.

Regardless, I’d still like to meet him and have him sign one of my posters.

[Andrew NDB]

Honestly, we largely don't know. Only a select few have even met him. He doesn't really travel far.

[oldmanwinters]

I'm surprised it's not the PBBZ version. :D

Heh, it's a pretty old controversy these days, but the reference still amuses me, what with how upset the fanbase got with the idea the original issue was going to be replaced with Laird's digitally remastered special edition.

[Andrew NDB]

Heh, it's a pretty old controversy these days, but the reference still amuses me, what with how upset the fanbase got with the idea the original issue was going to be replaced with Laird's digitally remastered special edition.

It was the tones replaced with the cheapy ones plus Laird actually going through and changing little bits of dialogue, like the Turtles' first words.

[oldmanwinters]

It was the tones replaced with the cheapy ones plus Laird actually going through and changing little bits of dialogue, like the Turtles' first words.

All things considered, I regret not picking up a copy back when it was readily available at reasonable price via the official Mirage website.

[CyberCubed]

Mirage studios is dissolved as a business so how can he even create a new comic if he wanted? Wouldn't IDW be publishing it if he could? It's not like he can self publish through Mirage anymore.

[Andrew NDB]

Mirage studios is dissolved as a business so how can he even create a new comic if he wanted?

Easy. The same way I can, or anyone can: you have a company print it for you. I'm not even sure Mirage Publishing was actually printing their own comics in house at all.

[Galactus]

I don't remember if there was a B&W clause but I don't recall ever hearing about one. The biggest thing with his 18 comics a year clause is that he himself has to be heavily involved in the comics that come out under it. He couldn't just publish a new Tales of the TMNT with different writers and artists or anything. I also asked him if there would be anything stopping him from, say, having a 3rd party character cross-over with the TMNT under his clause and he said he didn't see any reason why not

I could be my faulty memory about the comics having to be black and white as part of the contract but I'm positive there was a page limit. I'm not sure if that would hamper anything they'd come up with if they were to publish themselves.

I remember him responding to you on the comment section of his blog about him having to be "heavily involved" but he couldn't recall precisely what that meant. It would be interesting to find out would he have to write and/or illustrate the book or would being an editor (certainly an important role) be enough to satisfy their requirements.

It was the tones replaced with the cheapy ones plus Laird actually going through and changing little bits of dialogue, like the Turtles' first words

He confirmed early on that intended to publish the 'remastered' issues alongside reprints of the originals. That always seemed fair to me since you had a choice of which to buy. It wasn't a George Lucas situation were he was insisting for years you couldn't see Han shooting first and had to sit through Monsters Inc rejects doing a musical in Jabba's Palace.

[MrPliggins]

Since nobody is answering my question, I can assume that it is in fact true.

Regardless, I’d still like to meet him and have him sign one of my posters.

I met him in '93 along with the rest of the Mirage crew. Granted it was 30 years ago, but he seemed excited to talk Turtles with fans at that point.

[AquaParade]

Since nobody is answering my question, I can assume that it is in fact true.

Regardless, I’d still like to meet him and have him sign one of my posters.

You’re in a fairly small pool of people. I’m not sure that’s the logical takeaway.

[CyberCubed]

I met him in '93 along with the rest of the Mirage crew. Granted it was 30 years ago, but he seemed excited to talk Turtles with fans at that point.

I mean, 1993 was less than a decade after TMNT debuted in 1984, and he was a lot younger back then. Of course he'd be a lot different back then than people who met him from a decade or two after

[Andrew NDB]

He confirmed early on that intended to publish the 'remastered' issues alongside reprints of the originals. That always seemed fair to me since you had a choice of which to buy. It wasn't a George Lucas situation were he was insisting for years you couldn't see Han shooting first and had to sit through Monsters Inc rejects doing a musical in Jabba's Palace.

But you could see that. The VHS tapes of the OT didn't go away, and it wasn't that many years before the unaltered OT appeared on DVD in the collector's editions.

[AquaParade]

Someone mentioned that Peter Laird was in disbelief that TLR made the New York Times Best Seller list, when he was told, until he saw it for himself.

Can’t remember if it was here or in the YouTube comments but it’s pretty wild.

Could very well have been part of what rekindled his interest - the idea that people are into, essentially, his version of TMNT. I think he became disillusioned because he felt like the public was more interested in the Fred Wolf’isms than what he brought to the table, but I obviously can’t speak for him.

[oldmanwinters]

Someone mentioned that Peter Laird was in disbelief that TLR made the New York Times Best Seller list, when he was told, until he saw it for himself.

Can’t remember if it was here or in the YouTube comments but it’s pretty wild.

Could very well have been part of what rekindled his interest - the idea that people are into, essentially, his version of TMNT. I think he became disillusioned because he felt like the public was more interested in the Fred Wolf’isms than what he brought to the table, but I obviously can’t speak for him.

Interesting theory. One thing Mirage never had was a hype-man who could drum up interest in the actual comic content. The original issues hit it big by novelty of the name and organic word of mouth, but after the Surge licensing era most casual folks never paid the comics any interest.

To some degree, I like to think fan websites like Tmnt Entity and Turtlepedia helped serve as entry portals into the history of Turtles print media.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

I'm holding out hope that Peter will return to TMNT one day because I've always loved how he handled the property. It doesn't feel the same without. I hope it's been long enough where he's willing to come back to it. I know it's wishful thinking but I would love for him to buy it back from Paramount.

[CyberCubed]

Remember back in like 2014 or something, Peter Laird said he would wrap up Vol. 4 in just 6 more issues. Yeah...it's nearly a decade later and we're still waiting.

[Andrew NDB]

Remember back in like 2014 or something, Peter Laird said he would wrap up Vol. 4 in just 6 more issues. Yeah...it's nearly a decade later and we're still waiting.

I believe he said 5. But he also threw out several other ideas, including maybe one day he'd just throw kind of a synopsis of the last issues to the internet. Not very exciting ones.

One thing I think to keep in mind with any Vol. 4 finisher is that until around the sale, Pete was just plugging away, putting out issues whenever he felt like it. I don't believe he was writing anything to where he knew the volume would end at any particular point. Now, maybe around the time of the sale he thought to himself, "Oh, better start thinking of wrapping this up" but who knows how far he got with that.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

Curious to know more about the Karai and Casey plotline, haha.

[CyberCubed]

Back in Dec. 2001 when the first Vol. 4 issue came out, I was still in 10th grade in High School. Let that sink in. Some of our entire lives went by since this series (and the last Mirage series to date), was going on. It has been over 20 years.

[Anarchistguy]

Here's another interview. This time with BOTH Eastman and Laid

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[frank_one]

Oh boy! It keeps getting better!

[MrPliggins]

Awesome! Looking forward to part 2.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

These are great! I hope one day Peter Laird comes back to the property. Also, buy it back Peter!!

[Toxin45]

These are great! I hope one day Peter Laird comes back to the property. Also, buy it back Peter!!

easy there peter getting his mojo back would be cool just have him wrap up volume 4 and 5 first. Maybe time has changed a lot he would change his mind on alot of things. Wonder if he has the turtles having more recurring foes and a new version of shredder?

Like what are his opinions on the current idw comics and current media of tmnt. Basically did he changed his mind on a lot of tmnt stuff

[LeotheLateBloomer]

easy there peter getting his mojo back would be cool just have him wrap up volume 4 and 5 first. Maybe time has changed a lot he would change his mind on alot of things. Wonder if he has the turtles having more recurring foes and a new version of shredder?

Like what are his opinions on the current idw comics and current media of tmnt. Basically did he changed his mind on a lot of tmnt stuff

You just won't stop leaving those who like his work alone, will you?

[Toxin45]

You just won't stop leaving those who like his work alone, will you?

not saying that like we know peter laird is great and all but i am wondering if he will finish mirage volume 4 and start volume 5 as the finale.