its true

The four anthropomorphised turtles in the popular comic series “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” were named after four famous Renaissance artists: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael. The comic series, first published in 1984 vas a parody to four of the most popular comics of the early 1980s: Marvel Comics’ “Daredevil” and “New Mutants”, Dave Sim’s “Cerebus”, and Frank Miller’s “Ronin”. It found fame quickly, and enjoyed massive popularity in the late eighties and early nineties, expanding to TV cartoons, films, video games and action figures.