donnie can be trusted with nuclear codes!

2003 Donatello

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) Concept Art Special: The Peter Laird Files

I love that the origin of TMNT was just one artist trying to make another artist laugh. Its so poetically beautiful

So, the fandom jokes about how fucked up SAINW is and how it messed us up as kids, etc.

My guys... my buddies... pals...

If Peter Laird had gotten his way... the damage to thousands of children’s psyches would have been incalculable...

Cut to Karai's ship bringing the challenger to face the Shredder, in whatever arena setting is deemed appropriate. The Shredder awaits, huge, imperious, threatening, supremely confident. Legions of Foot ninja ring the area. Nearby, something about eight feet tall and four feet around is draped with a covering bearing the Shredder's mark. Karai's ship settles to the ground... the hatch opens, dropping to the ground (like a ramp) and down it comes Karai. She stops and bows to the Shredder. Then, a Turtle comes down the ramp -- it's Mike. The Shredder is as amused as Karai was at the impertinence of this crippled adversary. But before he can spew too many insults, another Turtle comes down the ramp. It's Raph. Then Leo comes down the ramp and joins his brothers. Now the Shredder chuckles. This is more like it! Two almost worthy adversaries. The Shredder smirkingly reminds the Turtles of the rules -- they can't BOTH fight him -- they have to pick one. "Maybe you need help in making that decision," he says -- "Perhaps another vote...?" With that, he rips the covering off the thing next to him. Horrified gasps from the Turtles -- because what is revealed is that universe's Donatello, posed stiffly on a pedestal. Stiffly, that is, because he's DEAD and STUFFED! (IF we can't get away with this, maybe we could have him frozen or something.)

—Peter Laird, 2k3 cartoon development notes [Blast from the Past #386: Mar. 22, 2004: Re: TMNT - 73 Outline]

what the fuck do you mean "if we can't get away with this"? of course you can't fucking get away with showing don’s taxidermied corpse on a children’s tv show, peter.

Welcome to:

Out of context Peter Laird quotes!

(These are TMNT 03 production notes from Laird's blog ) This will be a short running series <3 P1|P2|P3|Bonus

I got the same vibes from these😅 I was like, “It’s the man-boobs meme!” 🤣😜🫣

Past TMNT creators return to celebrate 40 years of Turtles

The oversized one-shot ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 40th Anniversary Comics Celebration’ will arrive in July.

Cover by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 40th Anniversary Comics Celebration, 72-page one-shot featuring contributions by various creators associated to the series like Jim Lawson, Ciro Nieli, Tristan Jones, Paul Harmon, Steve Lavigne, Andy Suriano, Ronda Pattison, Pablo Tunica, Freddie E. Williams II, Sophie Campbell, Tom Waltz, Lloyd Goldfine, Khary Randolph, Emilio Lopez, Dan Duncan, Erik Burnham, Sarah Myer, Luis Antonio Delgado, Chris Allan and more.

Main cover by Peter Laird (old unused pencils) and Kevin Eastman, variant covers by Sophie Campbell, Isaac and Esau Escorza, Simon Bisley, Michael Dialynas, Vincenzo Federici, Khary Randolph, Emilio Lopez, Michael Cho, Dave Wachter, and Ben Bishop

Peter Laird and Wendy Pini - ElfQuest Cutter and Turtle Donatello (1987) Source

“…Wendy Pini sketch/layout pencils of ElfQuest character Cutter (later inked by Laird) and Turtle Donatello trailing footprints of a large creature (both by Laird) that unknown to them is standing over them gazing downward.”

Welcome to:

Out of context Peter Laird quotes pt2!

More production notes!

Pt1|Pt2|Pt3|Bonus