I'd say it was a good move on IDW's behalf to have original TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman on hand to help produce this new incarnation. It is a solid way of having a connection to that old Mirage Studios fan-base of cult fans while at the same time offering a new direction from what Peter Laird offered for the past 9-10 years. He hasn't had a direct influence on anything Turtle related since "TMNT: THE NEXT MUTATION" ended on FoxKids in 1998 I think, and he sold his rights to the franchise to Peter Laird sometime in 1999 or 2000 I think (which retained a small revenue sharing angle until 2008). From there, Laird dove into his Mirage stuff, relaunching the comic in 2001 and the cartoon in 2003 on FoxBox/4Kids TV, and spat out more video games and even a feature film in 2007 (which, despite what some thought of it, actually was a modest hit that made a profit, just not as much as what WB expected).
The last time TMNT comics were licensed to a non-Mirage company was with Image Comics in the mid to late 90's, as well as with Archie Comics around that time.
Of course, I imagine it was a bit of fate, as Tom Waltz says, that Eastman just so happened to want back on the TMNT bandwagon after so long. But it also is likely timing. I imagine Eastman had to have regretted signing away his rights to Laird after the franchise was reborn in the new decade, and especially celebrated a 25th anniversary in 2009 that even got the Empire State Building lit up green for the event. He naturally didn't get a chunk of that $40 million payday that Laird got from Nick/Viacom, unless Laird was generous or there was some fine print somewhere. Still, with the Turtles outside of Laird's wheelhouse, this was the perfect opportunity for Eastman to at the very least get a regular comic gig writing/drawing the Turtles again. The two had clearly not gotten along since the Turtles hit it big; in 2002, Laird claimed that he and Eastman hadn't had much to do with each other since about 1993, which was when the (terrible) third film launched. Eastman drifted onto other things, such as running the HEAVY METAL magazine and being married to Julie Strain.
I think the difference is that Eastman was probably the one more willing to embrace Hollywood compromises and alterations to their work, while Laird was more irritated by that sort of thing. Basically, if you want to know why Bebop, Rocksteady, and Krang weren't in the 90's films, it was because Laird hated them, along with virtually every alteration done to the franchise by the 1987 cartoon. While I can respect that, since it is his baby, going out of his way to avoid alluding to that in later films could have put off some audiences.
The art by Dan Duncan looks good; of course, he'll be working with Eastman's layouts and Eastman was always a talented artist. The premise sounds solid, basically re-telling the classic stories in new ways, like Ultimate did for Marvel. At the same time...the concept of "Old Hob" sounds a little weak. What's the best enemy for a mutant rat - a mutant cat!? And is Old Hob himself chased by a mutant bulldog while we're at it? At any rate, it does certainly sound like the Shredder is someone who will be built up and whatnot. New characters are fine, but the main importance should be on reintroducing the old classics in new ways.
Casey Jones included, of course.
Maybe I am reading too much into this, but I would not be at all surprised if some of whatever comes up here finds a way into the script for the next TMNT film, which is being written as we speak and may be released in 2013 (as it is being filmed next year).
