Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird provide a never-before-seen cover for the TMNT 40th Anniversary Celebration comic

It's hard to believe (and it makes me feel ancient), but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been around for 40 years, since 1984. And to mark the milestone, IDW Publishing is releasing a TMNT: 40th Anniversary Comics Celebration one-shot this summer.

The oversized anthology one-shot will include contributions from creators from across the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic history, including a story by co-creator Kevin Eastman, and a cover by both Eastman and his TMNT co-creator Peter Laird, who's been away from the franchise for some time (IDW does clarify that Laird's pencils were drawn in the past, though this specific piece has never previously been published).

Other creators along for the ride include 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, some of whom will contribute to the anthology's multiple stories, and some of whom will provide pin-ups of the TMNT and their supporting cast.

Here's a gallery of covers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 40th Anniversary Celebration including the main cover by Eastman and Laird, as well as 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:

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"Having a childhood dream – in my case to write and draw comics for a living, is one thing – to then actually spending every minute of the next 40 years doing it, is a whole other matter altogether – humbling is the first word that comes to mind," says Eastman in a statement accompanying the announcement. "My co-creation of TMNT with the amazing Peter Laird has been the driving force of living that dream, and working with a number of really talented writers and artists along the way has made, and still makes, the journey the greatest shared experience I never imaged and could not be more grateful for."

"From the raw beginnings of a 40-page self-published black and white ‘origin of’ comic, to the 200-page full color ‘final tale’ of the original TMNT's graphic novel, The Last Ronin, I want to thank the people directly responsible – our fans. Without them, I would not have had the chance to live that childhood dream." 

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: 40th Anniversary Celebration one-shot goes on sale July 10. The main TMNT comic title will relaunch later this year following the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #150, along with a whole new line of spin-off comics.

Check out the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics of all time.