IDW Publishing announced that the all-star team of Gene Luen Yang and Freddie E. Williams II will be taking on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series beginning with issue #13 in December 2025.
“I’ve been a fan of the TMNT since I was young. I remember watching the ‘80s cartoon with my brother and then reenacting the Turtles’ adventures with our action figures,” remarked Yang in a press release from IDW Publishing. “I read my first issue of TMNT at a friend’s house, and I was blown away by the melding of gritty martial arts action and wild, out-of-left-field ideas. Many years later, I began my cartooning career in American independent comics. All of us from that corner of comics owe a huge debt to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Their talent and creativity, both as comics creators and as businessmen, carved out a path for the rest of us to follow. In fact, the very first comic I ever self-published was funded by a grant from Peter Laird’s Xeric Foundation. I’ve admired the Turtles for a long, long time. I’m absolutely thrilled to get to tell their stories at IDW.”
Williams is no stranger to working on the Turtles, but to finally work on the ongoing series’ interiors is a real joy for the celebrated artist. ”Finally I’m getting to REALLY scratch my TMNT itch! I’ve been so lucky to draw the Turtles on covers and crossovers, but it’s not enough, never enough.” Williams continued, “I LOVE the Turtles! The original Mirage comics were instrumental in making me fall in love with the comic book medium, and of course I am SUPER inspired by the POWER and TEXTURE in that early Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird art! Now, after begging Editor-in-Chief Bobby Curnow for over a decade, I am so happy to draw my first FULL ON TMNT series! My goal is to draw at least 450 Turtles per page in each issue! Can’t wait for everyone to see what we’re working on, I’m having a BLAST!”
For those of you with a comic collector bent, IDW Publishing announced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #13 will be shipped with a special blind bag variant featuring the art of Daniel Warren Johnson, David Nakayama, Clayton Crain, and more.
Also announced was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles annual by Kenny Porter and artists Michael Sheifer and Maria Keane.
And if that wasn’t enough, the Turtles also get a Battle Nexus issue.
Before the Turtles begin their new mission in the ongoing series, they’re stepping into a multidimensional tournament! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: BATTLE NEXUS is an action-packed five-week event kicking off in November.
Featuring beloved characters from various incarnations of the franchise – including the classic Shredder from Mirage Studios, Metalhead from the 2012 animated series, Slash returning from the dead and the IDW debut of Ninjara – this adrenaline-filled adventure is crafted by fan-favorite TMNT creatives, including writers Tom Waltz, Paul Allor, Sophie Campbell, Caleb Goellner, and Erik Burnham with art from the Escorza brothers, Ben Bishop, Vitor Cafaggi, Omar Francia, and Hendry Prasetya.
And if that isn’t enough turtles action for you, the TMNT will take on Godzilla, with Tim Seeley and Fero Pe bringing the story to life.
From the innovative minds of writer Tim Seeley and artist Fero Pe comes a jaw-dropping blend of the two pop culture franchises as it’s revealed the Foot Clan exists to stop the onslaught of kaiju attacks, but Shredder and General Krang have different plans to give mutagen a giant upgrade.
A lot of big news coming from IDW Publishing this week!
