Straight from the sewer to the stars! Cowabunga goes cosmic in this Eastman prelim for the second-printing wraparound cover to TMNT #6, as the Turtles trade sewer shadows for a space-arena throwdown against the mighty Triceratons. The image is strikingly close to the final published cover, with one key difference: this prelim includes all four Turtles -- Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello -- while Mikey was left off the finished version to ease the congestion.
The piece also captures a key moment in early Mirage history, when the scrappy black-and-white indie sensation had already outgrown their scrappy parody origins and were proving just as comfortable with wide-screen science fiction as with ninja mayhem. Strong demand led to reprints well after the original release, fueled in part by the explosion of the cartoon and toy lines, and this was no plain reissue: the second printing received a new wraparound cover by Eastman, Eric Talbot, and Steve Lavigne, turning the "Triceraton Homeworld" storyline into a sprawling melee. This prelim, however, is pure Eastman.
Created in ink, marker, and white paint over graphite on Bristol board with an image area of 13" x 10". Slight toning, whiteout corrections, light smudging/soiling, marginal notes, and handling wear. Signed and dated by Eastman in the lower left image area, with a signed artist label adhered to the back of the piece. In Excellent condition.
