‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’: IDW’s Comic Book Relaunch Unveils First Look

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles began their lives in comic book form 40 years ago before going on to become a media and merchandizing brand and are currently enjoying a massive revival in the sequential art format. In fact, the top selling graphic novel in North America for two years in a row has been TMNT: The Last Ronin, the collected trade paperback of the acclaimed mini-series from the early 2020s.

IDW, the company which holds the TMNT license, is capitalizing on the half-shell heat but launching a new ongoing series, one that will return the series to its gritty and action-packed roots seen in the original black and white indie comics from creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.

Simply titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new series is written by Jason Aaron, the comics author behind the gritty creator-owned crime series Scalped and his action-packed work on Marvel’s Wolverine and Thor: God of Thunder, among other titles.

IDW has amassed a killer squad of artists for the new series and, in a unique move, is having the first four issues be drawn by four distinct star artists, each spotlighting one of the Turtles. Joëlle Jones, known for her work on DC’s Catwoman, is drawing issue no.1,  which focuses on Raphael while Rafael Albuquerque (American Vampire) is drawing no. 2 which focuses on Michelangelo. Issue no. 3, the Leonardo story, is being drawn by Paper Girls co-creator Cliff Chiang while Chris Burnham (Batman Incorporated) is illustrating the Donatello-centric issue, no. 4.

“When this new series begins, the Turtles have gone their separate ways and ended up in some surprising places,” said Aaron, explaining the set up of the series. “First up is Raphael, the one mutant inmate in a prison full of killers, as brought to gorgeously gritty life by Joëlle. Can’t wait for folks to read it, and to see where we go from here.”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles no. 1 will on go on sale this July. Heat Vision nunchucked its way into the IDW offices and managed to escape with the first non-lettered, non-colored pages of the book, featuring Jones’ art.