In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, IDW Publishing is releasing five new comics! They include two ongoings, two one-shots, and a new anthology.
First up we’ve got Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White & Green coming on May 8th. This is a indie anthology series featuring a radical lineup of acclaimed writers and artists on every new issue including Declan Shalvey, Paulina Ganucheau, Javier Rodriguez, and Jock.
This series will “unleash visually striking short stories using only black, white, and green.” Shalvey said: “Getting to work on the Turtles is an absolute dream come true.I was a total Turtles nut as a kid (had the Turtle Van, the sewer playset, the works) and have always loved the characters. It’s amazing to see the passion behind these characters, even through all the different iterations over the years. I’ve been hoping someone would invite me to do something with them for a long, long time. For it to happen on the Turtles’ anniversary is a real treat… the cherry on the cake, or the pepperoni on the pizza, if you will.”
Next we’ve got two oversized one-shot issues in June. On June 5, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle: Alpha, which will set the stage for the future of the TMNT universe. Featuring a story by fan-favorite creative Tom Waltz with art by Gavin Smith. This story “will explore the aftermath of the epic and emotional Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #150, including an appearance from the fan-favorite fifth Turtle Jennika.” This issue will also see the debut of “Eisner Award-winner Jason Aaron’s TMNT writing with a 10-page prelude drawn by New York Times bestselling artist Chris Burnham. This gripping story will set the tone for Aaron’s relaunch in July.”
On June 12th, we’ve got Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo: Saturday Morning Adventures, which sees the return of everyone’s favorite honorable samurai and rabbit out of time. He will be teaming up with the Ninja Turtles again in a whole new dimension! This comic is coming from TMNT veteran writer Erik Burnham and animated artist Jack Lawrence.
In August, there’s TMNT: Nightwatcher, “Violence and discrimination against mutants is running wild, and a new vigilante will rise up to combat it… but who is this fearsome fighter standing bravely against those who wish to harm mutants?”
Nightwatcher is an ongoing series that comes from writer Juni Ba and artist Fero Pe. Ba said in a statement: “I find the world of TMNT extremely fun and fascinating, and I want to use the character of Nightwatcher as an anchor to explore that world in an action-packed adventure format that I hope people will love. While it’s a spin-off series, I do want it to stand on its own as something you like for itself, and not just because it’s tied to TMNT. Expect some heartfelt stories, Saturday morning action cartoon vibes and cool vigilante badassery!”
Finally, this September, there’s TMNT: Mjutant Nation, another ongoing series that will bring an array of characters into the spotlight! This series comes from Tom Waltz, the co-writer of more than 100 issues of TMNT and The Last Ronin and he’ll be joined by spectacular storyteller Sophie Campbell and more fan-favorite TMNT creatives to continue exploring the rich universe and its many mutants.
Waltz shared: “With TMNT: Mutant Nation, we have the opportunity to further expand our long-running IDW TMNT universe alongside Jason Aaron’s relaunch of the main ongoing TMNT series. We’ve built a massively diverse and exciting ensemble cast of characters and settings over the years, and I’m ecstatic to remain a part of its continued evolution alongside fellow creators, telling more TMNT stories that we all hope will continue to entertain our amazingly enthusiastic and loyal readership… both old and new!”
IDW Editor-in-Chief Jamie S. Rich added: “You can’t remain as popular and exciting for four decades without having variety, and if TMNT has proven anything since its debut in 1984, it’s that the characters can adapt to all kinds of stories in comics, from the ultra serious to the hysterically funny, aimed at young, old, and everyone in between. What we wanted to do over the course of this year was build out the line so that there is a Turtles book for everybody. If you’re a fan of cool art and high concepts, you will like BLACK, WHITE AND GREEN, for instance. If you’re a superhero fan, NIGHTWATCHER might scratch a particular itch for you. And MUTANT NATION is our celebration of the long history IDW has with TMNT, giving our regular readers all the characters they have come to love over those first 150 issues and maintaining the continuity as we enter a brand new phase of Turtles storytelling.”
IDW Co-Publisher Mark Doyle then said: “One of the great things about being at IDW is seeing all the amazing and diverse talent working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles over the years. We wanted to create a slate of books that reflected that talent and allow them to tell a wide range of stories that would thrill all kinds of fans.” Doyle added, “It’s an honor to be publishing TMNT comics during the iconic franchise’s 40th anniversary and we’ve gone all-out to truly celebrate Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s unforgettable creations.”
There are more TMNT comics on the way, but this onslaught of comic projects will definitely tide fans over! Check out all of the cover art that has been revealed for these projects below!
