TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is getting five new comics to celebrate its 40th anniversary

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, IDW Publishing launches five new comics! They include two ongoings, two one-shots, and a new anthology.

First we have Ninja Turtles: black, white and green arriving May 8th. This is an independent anthology series with a radical array of acclaimed writers and artists on each new issue, including Declan Shalvey, Pauline Ganucheau, Javier RodriguezAND Jock.

This series “unleash visually stunning narratives using only black, white and green.” Shalvey said: “Working on the Turtles is a dream come true. As a child I was a total Turtles nut (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 this to happen on the anniversary of the Turtles is a real pleasure… the icing on the cake, or pepperoni on the pizza, if you prefer.”

Next up we’ll have two large one-shot issues in June. On June 5th, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Alpha, which will set the stage for the future of the TMNT universe. Featuring a story created by a fan-favorite creator Tom Waltz with art of Gavin Smith. This story will “explore the aftermath of the epic and thrilling Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #150, including the appearance of 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 the New York Times best-selling artist Chris Burnham. This compelling story will set the tone for Aaron’s relaunch in July.”

On June 12th we’ll have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo: Saturday Morning Adventures, which sees the return of everyone’s favorite honorable samurai and timeless rabbit. He will team up with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles again in a whole new dimension! This comic comes from the veteran TMNT writer Erik Burnham and animated artist Jack Lawrence.

In August there’s TMNT: Nightwatcher, “Violence and discrimination against mutants are rampant, and a new vigilante will rise to fight it…but who is this fearsome fighter who bravely stands up to those who wish to harm mutants ?”

Nightwatcher is an ongoing series that comes from the 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 a reference point to explore that world in an action-packed adventure format that I hope people will love. spin-off series, I want it to stand on its own as something you enjoy in its own right, and not just because it’s TMNT related. Expect heartwarming stories, Saturday morning action cartoon vibes, and awesome vigilante bullshit!

Finally, this September, there is TMNT: Mutant Nation, another ongoing series that will bring a variety of characters into the spotlight! This series comes from Tom Waltzco-author of over 100 issues of TMNT and The Last Ronin and will be joined by a spectacular narrator Sophie Campbell and other fan-favorite TMNT creatives to continue exploring the rich universe and its many mutants.

Waltz shared, “Con 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 an extremely diverse and exciting cast of characters and settings over the years, and I’m thrilled to continue to be a part of its continued evolution alongside other creators, telling more TMNT stories that we all hope continue to entertain our surprisingly enthusiastic readers and faithful… both old and new!”

IDW Editor-in-Chief Jamie S. Ricco added, “You can’t stay this popular and exciting for four decades without having variety, and if TMNT has proven anything since its debut in 1984, it’s that characters can adapt to all kinds of comic book stories, from the ultra hysterically funny series, aimed at young, old and everyone in between. What we wanted to do over the course of this year was build the line so that there was a Turtles book for everyone. If you’re a fan of the art beautiful and high concept, you’ll like BLACK, WHITE & GREEN, for example. If you’re a fan of superheroes, NIGHTWATCHER might make you particularly itch. And MUTANT NATION is our celebration of the long history IDW has with TMNT, offering our regular readers all the characters they grew to love in those first 150 issues and maintaining continuity as we enter an entirely new phase of Turtles storytelling.

Co-publisher IDW Marco Doyle then said, “One of the greatest things about being at IDW is seeing all the amazing and diverse talent that has worked on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles over the years. We wanted to create a series of books that reflected that talent and allowed them to tell a wide range of a range of stories that would excite all types of fans. Doyle added: “It’s an honor to publish TMNT comics during the 40th anniversary of the iconic franchise, and we’ve gone to great lengths to truly celebrate the unforgettable creations by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird”.

There are more TMNT comics on the way, but this onslaught of comic projects is sure to have fans hooked! Check out all the covers that have been revealed for these projects below!