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It's pretty apparent to me that for Laird, TMNT is a huge albatross around his neck and that he's slightly ashamed of or embarrassed by it all. It's good for "us" that TMNT became a big huge thing, but lest we forget that he once had aspirations to be successful as a "real" writer and all of that had to go away once he forever became "That Ninja Turtles Guy". This silly comic he came up with in college wasn't supposed to be his life's work, or the sole thing he was known for, but it became so overpowering that there was nothing he could do about it. Good for Us, bad for him.
He's pretty similar to George Lucas in some ways, but one key place in which they differ is that Star Wars was always Lucas's "magnum opus" but for Laird TMNT was just a thing he did for a few laughs and to make a buck before breaking out and doing "real" work. They both became defined by their One Big Thing, to the point where nothing else they ever attempted would ever be treated fairly on its own merit... but Lucas was mostly fine with that, while Laird I don't think ever was.
Laird has even implied that he almost wishes he'd never created TMNT in the first place, and that he only can't commit to that because his life might have been very different and his daughter may not have been born. So if not for his daughter, his wording made it sound very much like he would in fact wish TMNT out of existence. Which isn't the kind of thing you say when you're immensely proud and satisfied with your life's work.
I do kind of wish he was more at peace with all of it, but... well, given what so much of TMNT has turned into, even back when he HAD some say in it, I can't really blame him for feeling the way he does. Nor can I blame him for saying "I've had enough" and walking away once the money was right.
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