Before the cartoons, the toys, and the catchphrases, it started with a single sketch—just one dumb joke to make a friend laugh. Kevin Eastman drew a turtle with nunchucks. Peter Laird added a mask and attitude. Back and forth they went, one-upping each other until a bizarre, brilliant idea took shape. This is the story of that night, that drawing, and how two broke artists turned nothing into something legendary.

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