The Cartoon Art Museum is a California art museum that specializes in the art of comics and cartoons. It is the only museum in the Western United States dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of all forms of cartoon art. The permanent collection features some 6,000 pieces, including original animation cels, comic book pages and early newspaper comic strips.

The Cartoon Art Museum’s latest exhibition celebrates the iconic hit franchise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The TMNT exhibition will include all of the original artwork from the historic first issue from 1984, other early covers and interior artwork from series creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and their associates from Mirage Studios, storyboards and animation cells from the original 1980s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television series and material from the popular TMNT Adventures comic book originally published by Archie Comics.

About the Turtles

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (often shortened to TMNT or Ninja Turtles) are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, named after four Renaissance artists, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu. From their home in the storm sewers of New York City, they battle petty criminals, evil overlords, mutated animals, and alien invaders while attempting to remain isolated from society.

The characters originated in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book before their expansion into a cartoon series, films, video games, toys, and other general merchandise. During the peak of the franchise’s popularity in the late 1980s through the early 1990s, it gained considerable worldwide success and fame.