Before they were a multimillion-dollar media and licensing franchise, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were just a funny idea that two young artists in Western Massachusetts introduced in a black-and-white book with a 3,000-copy print run. For one of your hosts, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s original series is a longtime favorite by a pair of hometown heroes; the other is coming in fresh, having only ever seen the cartoon and movie adaptations. We’ll read the three-issue arc that kicks off the series, consider the Turtles in the context of the Black-and-White Boom (and Bust), and discuss how the creators’ idiosyncratic vision and artistic chops elevate the comic beyond a one-joke parody of Frank Miller and various other influences.