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TMNT (1987 Saturday-Morning)

ProMax

Pulled straight out of the storm drain: the 1987 Saturday-morning cartoon where four reptiles in colored bandanas run a franchise on pizza and half-shell attitude. Sewer green is the world you live in; blue, red, purple and orange bandanas are the entire cast of accents. Everything reads like a screenprinted lunchbox — fat black outlines, benday halftone dots pushed till they clog, action bursts, speed lines, and a wordmark that bulges like it was spray-painted on subway tile. This is Reagan-era kid-media maximalism: skateboards, manhole covers, and a pizza slice doing load-bearing graphic work. Turtle power, served hot, extra cheese.

Learn more about the TMNT (1987 Saturday-Morning) style

  • OriginUnited States (Mirage Studios, Massachusetts; Murakami-Wolf-Swenson animation, Los Angeles)
  • Period1987–1996 (series debut 1987; peak toy/TV saturation 1988–1991)
  • DesignerKevin Eastman · Peter Laird · Fred Wolf · David Wise · Chuck Lorre
  • Movements1980s Saturday-morning cartoon branding · toyetic character design · comic benday/halftone illustration · skate-and-street kid subculture

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Slide examples

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