Kevin Eastman - Born in 1962 in Portland, Maine, Kevin began drawing as soon as he was able to hold a crayon. His discovery of comic books gave meaning to his crazed doodling. When Kevin discovered and studied the work of Jack Kirby, Russ Heath, Richard Corben, Vaughn Bode and John Severin, he began to hone his craft. His first published work appeared in 1980, a year or so before he met Peter Laird. In May 1984, he and Laird published Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, creating the hit heroes in a half-shell. Eastman co-writes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for IDW and can sometimes be found at the San Diego Comic Art Gallery. Peter Laird 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.