Shell Shocked: Celebrating 40 Years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

​Join us for a shell-tastic celebration as we mark the 40th anniversary of one of pop culture's most iconic franchises: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

This event will take place in person at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) on the 7th Floor.

Join us for a shell-tastic celebration as we mark the 40th anniversary of one of pop culture's most iconic franchises: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! This dynamic panel will dive deep into the history, evolution, and cultural impact of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael, the heroes in a half-shell who have captured hearts and imaginations for four decades.

Whether you're a lifelong fan or new to the TMNT universe, this panel promises to be a celebration of heroism, humor, and the enduring appeal of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Grab your pizza, don your best turtle gear, and come celebrate 40 years of radical adventures and turtle power!
 

Our panel will comprise of TMNT Veterans Ben Bishop, Sarah Myer, and Mateus Santolouco!

We are also hosting two workshops earlier in the day. Visit the links below to register!

3 - 4 PM: Turtle Power: Easy Steps to Drawing Your Favorite TMNT Heroes with Ben Bishop and Sarah Myer

4:30 - 6 PM: Crafting Epic TMNT Stories from Page to Page with Mateus Santolouco

About our Speakers

Ben Bishop is most recently known for his work on New York Times Best Seller “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin” - the story of the lone surviving turtle from TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Ben is currently balancing his time drawing for The Lost Years, the follow up story to The Last Ronin, in conjunction with wrapping up his work on Drawing Blood Vol. 2, the “fictional true story” of how the TMNT were created, only they’re Samurai cats… It’s a long story. Over the last few years Ben’s been lucky enough to work on childhood favorites and legendary licenses such as Lego, Ghostbusters, Batman, Transformers, GI Joe, Power Rangers, Bloodshot, Savage Dragon, Canto and more! Follow Ben on Instagram and Twitter @BISHART

Comic Artist, Writer, and Colorist Sarah Myer (They/Them) is an Eisner and L.A. Times Book Prize nominated author of the graphic memoir Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story (First Second Books), which is the 2024 ILA Young Adult NonFiction Winner, has received multiple starred reviews, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, and was selected as a Kirkus Best Teen & YA Graphic Literature of 2023. Sarah is currently the illustrator and cover artist of several comic issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures, and was previously the colorist of TMNT vs Street Fighter and TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures comics, as well as a variant cover artist of TMNT Usagi Yojimbo: WhereWhen issues for IDW Publishing. In addition to Sarah’s published graphic novel and monthly comics work, they are the writer and illustrator of their independent webcomic Cheer Up, Michael! Sarah’s previous work includes Hello Kitty & Friends Coloring Book (VIZ Media), the Ringo Award Nominated Anthology Votes for Women: The Battle for the 19th Amendment (Little Red Bird Press) for which they wrote and illustrated the installment “Asian American Exclusion,” and the graphic novel Maker Comics: Create a Costume! (First Second Books). In addition to writing and illustrating comics, Sarah previously taught Foundation Studies courses at Savannah College of Art and Design for three years and has attended comic and anime conventions since 1999, exhibiting and selling their art at a variety of conventions since 2002. Sarah can be found at sarahmyer.net and on instagram @smyercomics

Mateus Santolouco is an artist and comic book creator better known for his acclaimed work with IDW’S Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Santolouco has worked for most major publishers in the United States since 2006, including DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics and Dark Horse. Among his fan favourite works are TMNT: Secret History of the Foot Clan and TMNT: Shredder in Hell both written and illustrated by Mateus.

ACCESSIBILITY NOTES

In-Person

• Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue.


• You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.


• This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs.

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Please submit all press inquiries to Lizzie Tribone at least 48 hours before the event: email lizzietribone@nypl.org.
 

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All programs are subject to change or cancellation. 

The 7 Stories Up Series at SNFL is made possible by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).