Newsarama posted an article here, which is sourced to Reuters. Peter Laird answers the big question I had about the sale in a blog post: WHY?
First, why did I sell the TMNT? There are a number of reasons, but first and foremost is that I have been doing this TMNT thing for twenty-five years, sixteen of them in partnership with TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman and the last nine as sole owner of the property. That is a long time. It is almost half my life (I’m 55). I never expected to be working on the same thing for this long. And it has worn me down. I am no longer that guy who carries his sketchbook around with him and draws in it every chance he gets. That guy did all of the pre-TMNT artwork you have been seeing on this blog in many of my “Blast from the Past” posts.
I miss — I really, really miss — being that guy.
My fervent hope is that by divesting myself of this wonderful but needful-of-constant-attention property, I might — I just MIGHT — get back to being that guy. Or something LIKE that guy.
Even though I can’t possibly relate, I can understand why he would feel like he does. Still, I’m in shock. It’s stupid, but I kind of feel wounded by this news.
I want to rant about this being a blow to creator’s rights, but it’s not, is it? It’s nothing like what happened with Siegel and Shuster when they sold Superman to DC Comics. It’s nothing like Jack Kirby owning next to nothing of the massive amounts of characters he’s created.
So, why does this bother me so much? Maybe it has to do with the characters being owned by a corporation instead of an individual now. Knowing that the Turtles are owned by a corporation means knowing that everything done with those characters is first and foremost about the bottom line. It’s all about making money. At least when the characters are owned by their creator, there’s some chance that they’ll be handled properly, whether the fans agree with what’s done or not. We want to believe that the actual creator will “do right” by these characters we’ve grown attached to, right?
I can understand being bored with your toys after playing with them for so long. Why not just put them away for awhile (or indefinitely) and work on something else? Why not leave your creations to your heirs?
Ultimately, I guess my bewilderment comes from envy. I wish I could create something as popular and enduring as TMNT, and if I had, I wonder if I’d be able to sell them off.
