Burnham + Lattie get animated for a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title

‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures’ kicks off in September.

IDW heads back to a world of cereal bowls and catchy theme songs for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures, a “faithful new comic book inspired by the classic cartoon.” Erik Burnham (G.I. Joe Saturday Morning Adventures) and Tim Lattie (Ghostbusters) will team for the cowabunga-inducing adventures of everyone’s favorite indie comic turned TV sensation.

“I’m no stranger to writing the TMNT for IDW, but this is different,” said Burnham. “The version of the Turtles that exploded onto TV screens in 1987 was the version that I first met, and it brought me a lot of joy…and getting to play in this particular corner of the sandbox has built upon that joy! Humor, action, and plenty of high concepts were packed into each episode, and we’re following that path. I’m not sure if anyone in comics is having as much fun as Tim Lattie and I are with these done-in-one stories!”

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Slugfest | The Massive-verse expands with ‘The Dead Lucky’

A round-up of comics publishing news from Image, Marvel, Top Shelf and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you from comics creators, publishers and more. Hit the links for more information.

The Massive-verse — that’s the collection of titles headed up by Kyle Higgins that include Radiant Black, Inferno Girl Red and Rogue Sun, among others — will expand in August with a new title, The Dead Lucky.

Melissa Flores, French Carlomagno, Mattia Iacono and Becca Carey are the creative team for the new title.

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Free Comic Book Day 2022 Gold titles revealed

Diamond Comics Distributors has revealed the 11 gold-tiered titles you can get for free next May.

Diamond Comics Distributors has revealed the 11 “gold sponsor” titles that retailers will have available on Free Comic Book Day 2022, which is scheduled for May 7.

“This year’s lineup of titles has something for every kind of comic fan,” said Ashton Greenwood, Free Comic Book Day spokesperson. “We’re excited for FCBD to return to the first Saturday in May, and we can’t wait to celebrate the day with another incredible line up of comic book titles. We hope fans will safely visit their local comic shops to celebrate and to pick up a few of the great titles available this year.”

Free Comic Book Day returns to its traditional May date next year after a couple of years where the pandemic caused a bit of a shuffle — but what’s new, right? This past year the event was held in August, while in 2020 the date went through several changes before ultimately being cancelled — but comics were still delivered to retailers for distribution as they saw fit during the summer.

Here’s a look at the Gold Sponsor titles; the Silver titles will likely be announced soon as well. Also, there are no DC titles on the list, since they no longer use Diamond, but it’s a safe bet they’ll have free comics available in May as well.

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Comics Lowdown | Action Lab accused of lack of payment and more by their creators

Plus: Joe Bennett, Ninja Turtles, Substack and more!

Action Lab Entertainment, the publisher of Spencer & Locke, Princeless, Jupiter Jet, Midnight Tiger and Molly Danger, among many other titles, has come under scrutiny on social media by a long list of creators for the terms of their contracts, soliciting comics that are never published, lack of payment to creators and poor communications.

At Women Write About Comics, Claire Napier rounds up a number of these allegations against the publisher, from creators like Jeremy Whitley, John J. Peréz, Tom Rogers and Nick Marino, among others. Napier focuses a good portion of her article on Gordon McLean, writer of Supermom: Expecting Trouble, who went missing in December of 2019 around the time that the first issue of his comic was supposed to come out — but according to sources, the comic was canceled and McLean was never told.

Action Lab President Bryan Seaton spoke with Bleeding Cool in a very brief interview on the subject. He talks about many of the speed bumps the company hit during the COVID crisis, but as folks pointed out on Twitter, many of these issues predate the pandemic. Seaton did note he has set up an email address, alecreator@actionlabent.com, that creators can use to contact them directly about any outstanding issues regarding a title.

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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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Mail Call | Wolverine, Ninja Turtles, Star Trek and more

A round-up of news from DC, Marvel, Dark Horse 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.

Marvel has announced Wolverine: Black, White & Blood, a second series starring Marvel’s favorite mutant.

“I can’t stress how exciting it is getting all of these pages from the absolutely killer level of talent assembled for this book,” said series editor Mark Basso. “It’s become a hype cliché, but you’ve really never seen anything quite like this from Marvel Comics. And you’ve only seen a fraction of the first issue…”

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What Are You Reading? ‘Friday,’ Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and more

See what the Smash Pages crew has checked off their “to read” list lately.

If you’re looking for something to read while sheltering in place, you’ve come to the right blog, as the Smash Pages crew has a whole mess of comics to talk about this week. So without further ado …

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Smash Pages Q&A: Sophie Campbell

The writer and artist of IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles discusses what she has planned for the series and more.

Sophie Campbell has established herself as one of the great comics voices of her generation. From her dynamic artwork that redefined Jem and the Holograms and Glory, to the seven volume series Wet Moon that she wrote and drew, to the science fiction superhero saga Shadoweyes, Campbell has built a unique body of work and in 2020, she’s trying something different.

Though Campbell has previously written and drawn Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics over the years, she took over writing and drawing the series with issue #101. With issue #102 out in stores this week, we spoke recently about what she has planned for the series, the new status quo she’s overseeing and her journey from fan to creator.

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Jennika, the fifth Turtle, gets a miniseries next year

‘Guerillas’ creator Brahm Revel will write and draw the miniseries.

The newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle is getting her own miniseries, courtesy of Guerillas creator Brahm Revel. IDW announced a three-issue miniseries starring Jennika will kick off next year.

“Jennika has always been a fascinating character, and her story is now moving in directions none of us could have ever anticipated,” Revel said in a press release. “I’m very excited about the opportunity to revisit Jenn’s past and explore how she’s been handling the recent changes in her life, all while being tested by a world that’s changing just as rapidly as she is.”

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BOOM! + IDW team up for a Power Rangers + Ninja Turtles crossover

Ryan Parrott and Simone di Meo will team up on a five-issue miniseries starring both properties in December.

Two licensed comics will punch, kick and stab their way into a five-issue crossover miniseries this winter. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brings together two of the biggest 1990s afternoon TV icons — and two popular comics franchises currently published, respectively, by BOOM! Studios and IDW Publishing.

Writer Ryan Parrott and artist Simone di Meo will bring the two properties together. Both have worked on BOOM!’s Power Rangers comics in the past. Dan Mora drew the cover for the first issue.

“Honestly, I’m pretty certain keeping this project a secret has taken years off my life. These two iconic franchises were my TV parents, each teaching me valuable life lessons thirty minutes at a time. The Power Rangers and the Ninja Turtles are too insanely awesome not to bring together. I mean, they’re both color-coded teenage martial artists who fight monsters! It just makes too much sense!” Parrott said. “A huge thank you to Hasbro and Nickelodeon for letting me play with so many of their wonderful toys, as it is truly an honor to be a part of such an exciting crossover. I’m the luckiest kid in the world, and I cannot wait for you all to see what we’ve been putting together.”

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Holy cowabunga: Batman, Ninja Turtles team up for action figure sets

GameStop will offer these figures from DC Collectibles exclusively this fall.

Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have met many times now, both in the pages of comics and in an animated movie. So the only logical place this relationship could go next is action figures.

DC Collectibles will release a series of action figures from both universes, as the Bat family and the Turtles appear in two-packs that’ll be exclusive to GameStop starting in September, with a price of $49.99 each, or $249.99 for the whole set.

Check them out below:

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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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