So this is the--
I think the first print "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" comic.
CHUMLEE: Ninja Turtles?
So you're talking the very first "Ninja Turtles"?
I'm pretty sure this is the one I had when I was a kid.
My mom kept it, so this is the very first one.
RICK: '84 is when it came out.
Who was your favorite Ninja Turtle?
There was Rafael, Michelangelo--
You know who you remind me of?
Master Splinter.
Because he was like the rat ninja boss teacher.
Yeah, just like you, the rat ninja boss teacher.
[LAUGHS] OK, so tell me, how much you want for it?
Well, I saw somewhere that one of these went for $50,000.
[WHISTLES]
OK.
So how much do you want for it?
$60,000?
So more than they went for.
This is signed.
OK.
I know there's big money here if it's a first edition
and it's in great shape.
You know what, I don't know what his signature looks like.
I mean, looks like a Ninja Turtle.
RICK: I know someone who will definitely know about this.
OK.
I am going to go call him and see if I can get a hold of him
to come down here and take a look at it.
- OK. - All right?
I'm going to go look for some pizza while you're gone.
Help customers.
You know what?
Pizza does sound kind of good.
Like I said, I've met this guy a couple times.
He was gracious enough to come down.
Kevin Eastman.
Hey, Chumlee.
KEVIN: Pleasure to meet you.
I'm sorry you're friends with Rick.
[LAUGHS]
Let me get around there.
Hey, nice to meet--
I love your work. - Thanks.
Is this yours? - Yes, yes.
Oh, fantastic.
Wow.
CHUMLEE: So I've heard the stories,
but I might as well hear it from the horse's mouth.
How did this comic actually come about?
It really came out of a complete joke.
Both Peter Laird and myself wanted to be
Jack Kirby when we grew up.
We wanted to write and draw comic books for a living.
I was a huge fan of Bruce Lee, and I
figured, if Bruce Lee was an animal, what
would be the stupidest animal?
I had this idea, did this sketch,
turtle in a Kung Fu pose, mask on,
nunchucks strapped to his arm.
And I put it on Pete's desk, and I said,
this is going to be the next big thing.
He got a laugh.
He drew four turtles, each with different weapons, and we said,
this is the dumbest thing we've ever seen.
[LAUGHTER]
So the big question is, is this a first printing?
KEVIN: Yes, it's definitely a first printing.
So what's the difference between the first printing
and the second printing?
The second printing was a little bit lighter and more
of a pinkish tone to it, so I definitely
know this is a first printing just because of the deep
rich redness of it, so.
My signature is undeniable, because ever
since the very, very beginning, I always
wanted to make it different than anybody else, the way
they were signing the comics.
So I added a turtle head on each one.
So this is definitely my signature.
All right.
Do you know what these things go for?
KEVIN: [SIGHS] I've seen them range,
you know, all over the map price-wise.
You have no idea what it's worth.
No idea what it's worth, so.
KEVIN: All right.
[LAUGHS]
But it's legit.
That's your signature.
Yes, 100%.
OK, at least we know that, and we'll figure out a price later.
We'll have lunch soon, dude.
I'll call somebody up, and we'll get this figured out.
Look forward to it. Thanks, guys.
See you.
All right, sorry to do this to you, but when we're talking
a lot of money, I sometimes have a lot of people look at things.
Let me call one more guy and have him take a look at it.
All right.
I'm sure this guy can figure out a price on it,
so give me, like, 15 minutes.
OK.
I'm really excited to see what the experts say.
Knowing that Kevin said it was a first edition
and that was his signature, I'm hoping
maybe I can make a little bit more
than what I was coming in for.
So what do we got here?
A first edition, first printing
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" signed by Kevin Eastman.
You had this when you were a kid?
When I was a kid, yeah.
It's my original comic book.
I was there when this book came out.
I laughed at this book.
I didn't care about this book.
I didn't buy it.
Became the biggest thing in the world.
There was only 3,000 of these things printed.
Just for some context, "X-Men," 300,000 print run.
Spidey, 250,000 print run.
So it's super rare, then.
It is, but what we're going to have to do
is we're going to take a look at it first.
Let's have a look at the condition of this book.
You got one little tiny ding there, and then,
oop, what do we have here?
Couple little-- what's that?
Like stain.
Now if you're aware of grading, it's
usually like an 8.0, which is called
a VF, which is a Very Fine.
From what I can see, this is a 9.4.
So this is a special book.
[LAUGHS] I don't know how you kept it in this condition
for so long.
I don't know if you had it in some weird room
floating in the air.
But you did a great job.
Now, you want the good news?
Hm?
They can press that little flaw out.
Oh, wow.
There's a possibility that you can get this book to a 9.6.
- Oh, wow. - OK?
OK.
So we need to take that into consideration.
So what's it worth?
A 9.4 straight right now, $11,000.
Ah.
And that's including his signature?
Yes.
That's including the signature.
OK.
So how much more would this bring if it was a 9.6?
We're talking, minimum, $20,000.
OK.
But in current condition, retail value at $11,000.
Yes.
OK. Thanks, man.
Appreciate it.
All right, thank you very much.
All right, guys.
See you.
OK, it will retail for $11,000.
I mean, I'll give you $8,000 for it.
Agh.
I mean, obviously I wanted to go $60,000.
I mean, would you go, like, $30,000?
The chance that it can--
No.
--still go to $20,000.
Well, I guess--
Yeah, but that makes zero economic sense.
[SIGHS] All right, what about $15,000?
There's a chance you could make $20,000 off of it.
Yeah, no, no, no.
I'm a businessman, not a gambler.
You know, I think I'll just try to get it pressed
and see what it comes back and then kind of go from there.
OK.
But if you change your mind, $8,000.
All right, thanks.
I'm really shocked that it came down so low,
so what I'll probably do is get it pressed
and then just hold onto it.
Then hopefully it'll go up to what it's really valued at.