Image will publish ‘Drawing Blood’ as a 12-issue series

Originally crowdfunded as a graphic novel, the series fictionalizes Kevin Eastman’s life as a comics creator.

Drawing Blood, the semi-autobiographical tale of Kevin Eastman’s rise in the comics world that was successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter back in 2017, is coming to Image Comics as a 12-issue maxi-series in April.

“The completely fictional true stories of Shane ‘Books’ Bookman sums it up the best,” said Eastman. “Set squarely in our collective world of Comics, part autobiographical, part tall tails and legends, I wanted a fictional character we could really put through the paces. Drawing Blood is all that and a basket of kittens…”

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TMNT: Sophie Campbell’s epic run ends with #150 as Jason Aaron preps a relaunch

IDW and Paramount prepare to celebrate 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

IDW has revealed several details about their plans for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 2024, which will “shell-ebrate” their 40th anniversary this year.

First, Sophia Campell’s four-year run crafting stories featuring the turtles will come to an end with issue #150.

“I still can’t quite believe I’ve gotten to work on this much TMNT. I thought for sure I’d get the boot in the first year, but nope – here I am, four years later, still here against all odds,” Campbell said. “It’s really been amazing, truly a dream job. I wonder what my 10-year-old self would think if she knew what she’d go on to eventually do. The fact that this chapter is ending and I’m leaving the series is bittersweet, I’ll miss it for sure but it’s time to move on and let somebody else have a shot at the Turtles, and I’ll be back for more before you know it, whatever form that might take. As two great men once said, ‘Change is constant’ and ‘Life at best is bittersweet.’”

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IDW announces a ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin’ sequel

Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Ben Bishop and company will continue the story in ‘Re-Evolution.’

Casey Marie Jones and the next generation of Ninja Turtles will return for another round of turtle power in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution.

The next chapter is co-written by TMNT co-creator Eastman and Tom Waltz, illustrated by Ben Bishop, Esau Escorza and Isaac Escorza, colored by Luis Antonio Delgado and lettered by Shawn Lee.

“The real heart and soul for me with dusting off and bringing The Last Ronin to life three years ago was my belief that ‘Every beginning must have an end,’” said Eastman. “With all the respect in the world for my co-creator Peter Laird, I wanted to bring full circle to what we started in 1984 and set out to do in 1987. With The Last Ronin, with my friend Tom Waltz and an incredible gathering of brilliant artisans, we accomplished that 33 years later. A very fitting end indeed.”

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‘TMNT: Last Ronin’ expands with a new one-shot, director’s cut

IDW announces a tie-in story focused on April O’Neil as well as a ‘director’s cut’ version of the ‘Lost Years’ miniseries.

Tomorrow sees the release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin–Lost Years #1, the first issue of a new miniseries that serves as prequel to IDW recent smash hit Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, an “Old Man Logan” approach to the latter years of your favorite heroes in a half shell. To accompany that series, IDW has announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin—Lost Day Special, a one-shot that will “straddle both the past and the future of the Last Ronin universe.”

The 40-page special issue, available in May, is by writers Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz, illustrator Ben Bishop and colorist Luis Antonio Delgado. The story will be told from the point of view of April O’Neil, as she and her daughter raise for new mutant turtles.

“As Tom Waltz and I dig deep into the evolution of New York City post-Last Ronin, the Lost Day tale brings the future of all things TMNT up close and very personal,” Eastman said. “Buckle up, things are about to get messy!”

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Return to the world of ‘The Last Ronin’ with ‘The Lost Years’

The popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles storyline gets a sequel in November.

IDW’s The Last Ronin, a sort-of “Old Man Logan” take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, proved to be a huge success for the publisher, with a reported 840,000 copies in print, not to mention a hardcover collection that just came out. So naturally it’s getting a sequel — Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin–The Lost Years.

Kevin Eastman will once again work with Tom Waltz on the story, with SL Gallant and Ben Bishop illustrating it.

“Continuing to expand on an idea Peter Laird and I had 35 years ago with this incredible creative team has been the adventure of a lifetime,” said Eastman. “To continue exploring and telling stories within the Last Ronin universe couldn’t possibly be more exciting for me. I’m so thrilled we get to stay and play here for a while and I can’t wait to share everything we have planned. Buckle up, TMNT fans! We’ve got two turtle universes that are both about to get seriously awesome!”

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Comics Lowdown | UCS will no longer distribute DC Comics starting in January

Plus: News on Terrific Production, Archie Comics, Rebellion, L.A. Comic-Con and more.

Distributors: UCS Comics Distributors, one of the two comics distributors that began working with DC Comics during the COVID-19 industry shutdown earlier this year, has told retailers they will no longer distribute DC’s books as of January 2021. Their accounts will be serviced by Lunar Distribution, the other distributor for DC that came into being during the pandemic. UCS was formed by retailer Midtown Comics, while Lunar was formed by Discount Comic Book Service.

So is UCS going away? Not according to the email they sent to retailers, which you can read over at The Beat. It says “UCS is not closing. We will be offering other exciting items that stores can use!” So it’ll be interesting to see what they offer in the future. John Jackson Miller has additional commentary.

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Mail Call | John Ridley makes his Marvel debut in January

A round-up of news from Marvel, IDW, Top Shelf and more.

Mail Call is a roundup of the announcements we’ve received from comics publishers in our mailboxes recently. Hit the links for more information.

Academy Award winner John Ridley has several projects in the works at DC right now, but DC’s not the only publisher he’s doing work for. Marvel has announced that the writer of 12 Years A Slave will have a story in Wolverine: Black, White and Blood #3. The anthology series will feature short stories about the popular mutant, told in black and white … and red. Jorge Fornés is the artist on his story.

“I can think of no better way to kick off my writing relationship with Marvel Comics than by contributing to a truly fantastic anthology series centered around Wolverine,” Ridley told Marvel.com. “Equally exciting is having the story illustrated by Jorge Fornés. I look forward to writing more stories set in the Marvel Universe, and with their roster of iconic characters.”

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IDW and DC announce Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

James Tynion IV, Freddie Williams II, Kevin Eastman and Jeremy Colwell will work together on a story featuring Krang.

Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are practically old friends at this point, and they will meet up again this May in Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, courtesy of DC Comics and IDW Publishing.

James Tynion IV, Freddie Williams II and Jeremy Colwell will wrap up this final part of this crossover trilogy, with TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman doing variant covers and some “pivotal” interiors as well.

“I still remember the e-mail asking me if I wanted to write the first Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover,” said Tynion IV in a press release. “My brain couldn’t even process what I was reading for a few seconds, and I started having a panic attack about fitting it into my work schedule. Then, finally, I pictured Michelangelo’s reaction to seeing the T. rex in the Batcave for the first time and started laughing out loud.”

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2019 Eisner Hall of Fame nominees announced

Jim Aparo, Dave Stevens, June Tarpé Mills and Morrie Turner will be automatically inducted, while voters will choose four more from a field of 14.

Comic-Con International has announced this year’s nominees for the Eisner Hall of Fame. They include the four judges’ choices — who will be automatically inducted — and 14 other nominees, four of whom will be inducted based on voters’ choices.

The judges’ choices are Jim Aparo, who is probably best known for his work on various Batman titles, including Batman and the Outsiders; Dave Stevens, creator of the Rocketeer; June Tarpé Mills, the Golden Age creator of Miss Fury; and Morrie Turner, creator of the Wee Pals newspaper strip in the 1960s.

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Batman and the Ninja Turtles to team up again in December

When Bane invades the TMNT universe, Donatello looks to Batman for assistance.

Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will meet again in Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, a six-issue miniseries by James Tynion IV and Freddie Williams II.

“What DC and IDW started with Batman/TMNT in 2015 continues to spark interest with fans of these characters that have worldwide recognition,” said Hank Kanalz, DC SVP Editorial Strategy & Administration. “We can’t wait to see what James and Freddie deliver this time around.”


In addition to the 2015 crossover series, the characters also met in 2016’s Batman/TMNT Adventures — although that crossover featured the animated versions of both.

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Usagi Yojimbo meets the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles again this summer

IDW will publish a one-shot featuring Stan Sakai’s famous ronin rabbit encountering the current rendition of the Turtles.

Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo will once again team with Eastman and Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a new one-shot, coming from IDW Publishing and Dark Horse Comics this summer.

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