Welcome to the first-ever edition of TMNT Tuesday, your new #1 location to get insights into IDW’s ongoing and robust lineup of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.
Each week, we’ll field your questions from the creative teams behind the TMNT universe, including senior editor Andy Khouri and writers like Jason Aaron. From the core Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ongoing series to exciting spin-offs like TMNT: Mutant Nation, the crossover TMNT x Naruto, the gritty TMNT: Nightwatcher, the epic TMNT: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution, and the nostalgic TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures, no corner of the Shelliverse is off-limits.
Ever wondered what it’s like to sit in the editor’s chair for one of the most iconic franchises in pop culture? In this exclusive weekly column, TMNT editor Andy Khouri opens up about his journey from lifelong fan to shaping the future of the Turtles, answering fan questions about the series’ legacy, upcoming projects, and where to dive into the expansive world of TMNT comics. From revisiting classic Mirage vibes to teasing surprises for 2025, this is a must-read for shellheads everywhere!
Read on to see your questions answered! Plus, don’t miss exclusive preview pages for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#6 and TMNT: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution #4!
Upcoming TMNT releases:
- TMNT #6 on sale January 29, 2025
- THE LAST RONIN II #4 on sale January 29, 2025
- FEBRUARY 3, 2025
PRE-ORDER DEADLINE:
TMNT: MUTANT NATION #5 - FEBRUARY 5, 2025
ON SALE:
TMNT: SATURDAY MORNING ADVENTURES #21
Courtesy IDW
To kick things off, Andy, thank you for opening up the TMNT office for fans! Can you share the journey that led you to becoming the editor for TMNT? Were you a fan of the franchise growing up, or did your path to this role take a surprising turn?
Andy Khouri: I’m from that original generation of TMNT fans. I was too young for the Mirage comics, but I was the right age for the premiere of the animated series, toys, and 1990 film, all of which led me to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s brilliant work. Some readers may be aware of the old color graphic novel collections published by First Publishing; those were my first Ninja Turtles comics, and I still have those very same copies on my desk at this very moment, decades later. They were absolutely foundational to my lifelong love of comic books of all types and, in turn, my career.
After the tremendous success of the TMNT relaunch from Jason Aaron et al., IDW was looking for an editor to focus exclusively on the TMNT line, and my name came up. I had been a DC Comics editor working on these kinds of high-quality adventure comics with legacy characters, and I’d also worked with my TMNT editorial predecessors on other books before any of us were at IDW. Even so, the TMNT call was a surprise in that I’d never anticipated working with these characters. And I certainly never imagined working with Kevin Eastman on these characters. I was very pleased to be asked aboard such a successful enterprise with such a fantastic fanbase.
IDW’s history with TMNT is extremely unique, not just in Turtles history, but in modern American comics history, and I take that very seriously. Even before we signed the papers, I’d gotten caught up on IDW’s entire TMNT mythology, literally every issue of the main book and all the spinoffs, and from there we just went to work.
Before we kick off fan questions, as the editor for TMNT, what excites you most about giving fans a direct line to ask questions and share their thoughts about the series?
AK: As the publisher, we know how well the books sell; we know people are reading them, but numbers are abstract. It’s gratifying when readers take the time to seek you out as a creator or editor to tell you what they think or ask questions about the work. I love seeing that readers are paying attention and engaging with the material with excitement and curiosity. I thank all of you for reading and for sending your questions to TMNT Tuesday.
The first question of the column ever comes from Kyle McBournie: What is your recommendation for the best place to start reading the TMNT comics?
AK: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #1 by Jason Aaron and Joëlle Jones, the biggest launch of last year and arguably one of the best reviewed series on the stands right now. Everything you need to know is elegantly and thrillingly expressed in that and the subsequent issues of our new series, and we’re only getting started.
But if you want to go even deeper, I strongly recommend investing in TMNT: THE IDW COLLECTIONS. These are a series of oversized collections that reprint the entire IDW canon in chronological order, including the main TMNT series and all the spin-offs, tie-ins and events. Available in print or digitally, that 150-issue run is one of the very, very few American comics of the 21st century that was written and largely edited by the same story team – Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Sophie Campbell, and Bobby Curnow – for over a decade. It’s a cohesive, continuous saga that builds and builds. While our new book is a relaunch designed for an easy entry point, all of the wonderful stories of the previous run remain canon and actively inform everything we’re doing now.
Covers to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6, out January 29th!
Next up, Andrew Isidoro asks, Will there be any more anthology series like TMNT: Black, White and Green?
AK: We have no specific plans at the moment, but I’d love to do another TMNT: BLACK, WHITE AND GREEN. But probably not this year. However, MUTANT NATION, which had been a serialized dual narrative in 2024, is transitioning into a traditional anthology format in 2025, where you’ll see different characters and creators in every issue, with stories taking place in-universe, unlike TMNT BW&G.
CJ: What is your favorite TMNT storyline?
AK: I can actually narrow this down to my favorite single issue: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: VILLAINS MICRO-SERIES: KRANG #1 by Joshua Williamson and Mike Henderson, released in 2013 and edited by my boss Bobby Curnow. This is probably my single favorite panel from the entire IDW run:
A panel from TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: VILLAINS MICRO-SERIES: KRANG #1.
From the Ninja Turtle Power Hour, a weekly TMNT podcast: What is your pie in the sky, hail Mary vintage character you’d love to see brought into the IDW-verse? The fandom cries for Simon Bonesteel!
AK: I really want to tell you, but I’m afraid it’s a spoiler for something coming up this year! If you remember this answer, ask me again in one year and I’ll tell you who it was!
Next up from Al: Thanks for your work on the Turtles! I’ve been a fan for over 30 years. After the success of Saturday Morning Adventures, are there any plans for comics based on the 2003 show? The 40th Anniversary shorts were great.
AK: Everyone loved the 40th Anniversary special, and its success has inspired some thinking along those lines. No plans, nothing to announce, but I can tell you we are aware of the interest.
Adam C asks, do you feel like Mirage fans really resonate with the new books, and can find something similar to what they used to bring to the stories?
AK: The new series is its own creature. While it invokes the Mirage era, it certainly doesn’t and won’t imitate it. Indeed, the book will become even more distinct as we progress, just as its predecessor did. Doubtlessly, there are some Mirage fans for whom this series, or perhaps any non-Mirage series, isn’t their cup of tea. But I do think we are honoring that original work in the most vivid and visceral way the IDW canon ever has before, which is appropriate for the 40th anniversary, of course.
That said, we do know quite definitively from reviews, interviews, retailers, distributors, communiques from fans, conventions, posts on Turtles message boards and elsewhere, and all the other market data that we collect that the Mirage readers are overwhelmingly pleased with the new series. Jason’s work is evocative of the original comics by Kevin, Peter, and their collaborators, and I know for a fact that some of our series’ artists modulated their styles to pay homage to the artwork of the Mirage era. That “back to basics” approach is very deliberate and remains a primary creative mission statement for the book, and we’re pleased with the amount of positive feedback recognizing this
And that’s a wrap on Andy’s answers, but wait, there’s more!
Check out exclusive preview pages for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6 and TMNT: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution #4! Come back next Tuesday for another edition of this totally tubular column!
Exclusive interior panels from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6, out January 29th!
Exclusive interior panels from TMNT: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution #4, out January 29th!
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