IDW announces five more ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ titles

IDW continued to roll out their plans for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ 40th anniversary this week, following the news last month of the main series relaunch by Jason Aaron and a quartet of artists that’s coming in July.

In conjunction with this week’s ComicsPRO meeting, IDW revealed five new series they will launch in the coming months showcasing the Turtles from every angle imaginable.

“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,” said IDW Co-Publisher Mark Doyle. “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. 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.”

Here’s the rundown of what they have planned …

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Black, White And Green

Kicking off on May 8, the Turtles get the “Black & White & …” treatment that’s become so popular with characters like Batman, Harley Quinn, Deadpool and even Alien, with the kickoff of Alien: Black, White & Blood this past week. For the TMNT, the third color could only, naturally, be green.

The anthology series will include stories by Declan Shalvey, Paulina Ganucheau, Javier Rodriguez and Jock.

“Getting to work on the Turtles is an absolute dream come true,” Shalvey said. “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.”

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES/USAGI YOJIMBO: SATURDAY MORNING ADVENTURES

In June, IDW will release another team-up between the TMNT and Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo, only this time, it’ll be in the style of the 1987 cartoon. Erik Burnham and aJack Lawrence will bring them back together in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo: Saturday Morning Adventures.

Nightwatcher

August brings a new ongoing series by Juni Ba (Boy Wonder) and artist Fero Pe featuring Nightwatcher, the crime-hunting alter ego commonly associated with Raphael, but has been used by other characters in the past.

“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,” said Ba. “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!”

Here’s a look at the character design by Fero Pe:

Mutant Nation

Another ongoing series, this one an anthology, will launch in September. TMNT: Mutant Nation will feature characters from the TMNT universe in stores by creators like Tom Waltz and Sophie Campbell — two creators who have added a lot to the TMNT mythos in recent years.

“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,” Waltz said. “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!”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Alpha

Finally, June will also bring a title that was mentioned back when the series relaunch was announced — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Alpha. Arriving in stores June 5, this special will feature a story by Waltz and artist Gavin Smith that will explore the aftermath of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #150 featuring Jennika. It will also feature a 10-page prelude to Aaron’s run on the relaunch, in a story drawn by Chris Burnham.

“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,” said IDW Editor-in-Chief Jamie S. Rich. “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.”