Mirage Studios

Note: Not to be confused with the American film company Mirage Enterprises.

Background

Mirage Studios (also known as Mirage Publishing, Mirage Licensing and The Mirage Group) is the production company of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, founded in 1983. Based in Northampton, MA, they are responsible for the comic book series and the subsequent franchise it has spawned. In 2009, Nickelodeon acquired the franchise from Mirage, and because it's unclear whether or not they had further projects to work on, Mirage stopped producing comics and went dormant a year later in 2010, though they continued to sell merchandise on eBay. In 2021, Mirage stopped selling merchandise and ended all operations, but kept their website active as an archival resource for the comics they produced.

(1995, 2003-2010)

Logo: On a green background, we see a white box with what appears to be a stylized head drawing of a ninja turtle with an angry expression and a big nose similar to the early design of the Turtles from the 1980's, inside an orange box. Below is the word "MIRAGE" in a black box, with "STUDIOS, INC." in a future-type font.

Trivia:

• This logo is based on Raphael in the original comic line from the 80's. It is more focused on his face, his expression and the direction he's facing.
• There are licensing and publishing folders from the company that show a live action picture of a turtle drawing and painting the logo. This is probably a reference to the live action TMNT trilogy from New Line Cinema and Golden Harvest.

Variants:

• On comics, "MIRAGE" is in a different font (Antique Olive Compact) with no box, and "PUBLISHING" in the same font replaces "STUDIOS, INC."
• The colors vary depending on the product. Many comics have the logo entirely red, and Tales of the TMNT has the logo in a black box, with the turtle head either red, orange or green.
• On TMNT, the logo is in-credit, the turtle head is grey, and "MIRAGE" is white. On TMNT: The Video Game, the logo is still in-credit, but it uses the regular colors.
• On Space Unagi, the background is white and "LICENSING" replaces "STUDIOS, INC." This variant also appears on some merchandise and promotional material.
• Sometimes, there is nothing below the "MIRAGE" text.
• The logo can also have no box enclosing it.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: The end theme of the show. On Space Unagi, a majestic Japanese theme plays instead.

Availability: Appeared on the 4Kids version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as the 2007 movie TMNT. Also appeared on comics from the studio since 2001 through 2010 as well as trailers for video games from the studio. This logo also appears in the credits of TMNT: The Video Game.