Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: copper age, mirage studios, teenage mutant ninja turtles

An Affordable Copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, Up for Auction

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 has been a highly sought-after comic book for a very long time.  The debut issue that launched this now-legendary franchise created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird went to a second printing the month after its 1984 release, and a third printing followed eight months after that.  We've recently seen a first print copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 CGC 9.8 sell for Record $250,000.  According to the Mirage Group, there have been eight versions of TMNT #1, and the first three of these had the same cover and format (early TMNT issues used an oversized 7 3/8" x 10 7/8" format).  Given the market for first printings of this issue, later printings have become sought after by collectors as well, and there's an affordable Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 Third Printing (Mirage Studios, 1985) CGC VG- 3.5 White pages up for auction at the 2022 April 17-18 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122216 from Heritage Auctions.

TMNT #1 has been considered a pricey comic book since shortly after its publication.  Commenting in 1985 on the immediate success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1, Peter Laird noted, "The comic book we were afraid would sit around our living room in unsold boxes upon boxes is now being sold for approximately what a Conan #1 would go for. Believe me — this really blows our minds!"

He's referring of course to Marvel's Conan the Barbarian #1, a 1970 release by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith which was long considered one of the most expensive keys of the Bronze Age.  I'm too lazy to dig through boxes to find my copy of the 1985 Overstreet Price Guide, but the 1987 edition I have handy lists Conan the Barbarian #1 at $70, while noting that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 had gone for prices in excess of $100 over the prior year.  A Conan the Barbarian #1 CGC 9.8 can be had for around $6000 in 2021, which makes me wonder what Laird would think about the notion that a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 now goes for over 40x the price of a Conan the Barbarian #1.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 was also such an instant back issue pricing phenomenon that someone produced counterfeit copies in an attempt to take advantage of the market within the first year.

Legitimate second and third printings of the issue are labeled as such near the top left corner of the inside front cover, and given the marketplace for copies of first prints in any grade, they can be an attractive option for budget-minded collectors due to the fact that they're in the same oversized format.  An iconic comic book that has become a pop-culture milestone, there's an affordable Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 Third Printing (Mirage Studios, 1985) CGC VG- 3.5 White pages up for auction at the 2022 April 17-18 Sunday & Monday Comic Books Select Auction #122216 from Heritage Auctions.

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