Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman had perhaps the best explanation for why the Heroes in a Half-Shell continue to thrive: “You can take them anywhere and do anything.”
He has a point, as the Turtles have been the stars of various comics, movies, and TV shows that feature wildly different takes. They’ve been to space, traveled through time, and met characters ranging from Batman to the Power Rangers. IDW Publishing held a panel titled “The New Era of Turtle Power” this morning to show off a rather diverse range of comics.
In attendance were Eastman, Tom Waltz (co-writer on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin), Ben Bishop (artist on The Last Ronin and The Last Ronin II: Re-Evolution), Caleb Gollener (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X Naruto), IDW editor-in-chief Bobby Curnow, and Gene Luen Yang (Superman Smashes the Klan, Shang-Chi). Brad & Lisa Gullickson of Comic Book Couples Counseling served as moderators.
Eastman kicked things off by saying how “humbling” it was to see Turtles fans of all shapes and sizes, noting that this year’s SDCC marked his 40th year of attending the convention. Curnow echoed his sentiment, saying that it was “heartwarming” to see a room packed full of fans. ”I can do this as a creator, but also remain a fan,” Waltz said when he talked about what drew him to the Turtles.
This led to the discussion of Yang and Freddie E. Williams taking over the ongoing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title from Jason Aaron and Juan Ferrerya. Yang discussed his love of the Turtles, saying that he grew up watching the 1987 animated series with his brothers and being blown away by Eastman and Peter Laird’s original TMNT run for Mirage. “My love of comics is pre-logic,” he said, pointing out how crazy the Turtles concept is and why it works. Williams received praise as well, with Curnow noting that it took nearly a decade to get him on the ongoing TMNT title.
Aaron and Ferreya received praise for their run as well, due to Ferreya’s amazing artwork and Aaron’s approach bringing the Turtles back to their Mirage-era roots. To bridge Aaron and Yuen’s runs, IDW is releasing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles annual by Kenny Porter, Michael Shelfer, and Maria Keane. Jared Cullem is drawing a series of festive covers for the TMNT Annual 2025 and other books that showcase the Turtles in holiday gear, and it looks great.
Talk turned to The Last Ronin, with Eastman discussing how it was “a love poem” to The Dark Knight Returns. “I spent most of my career ripping off Frank Miller,” he joked. Eastman and Waltz also discussed how Re-Evolution was the “inverse” of the classic TMNT origin; since Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo, and Donatello were born out of an accident, Odyn, Moja, Yi, and Uno were deliberately created. Their names, which all translate into “one”, were partly a Star Trek reference but also because their sensei, Casey Marie Jones, has them as “Number One” in her heart.
Bishop talked about how he grew up as a TMNT fan and how surreal it was that he was contributing to the Heroes in a Half-Shell’s legacy, even designing the new generation of Turtles. After a round of praise for Issac & Esau Escorza, Eastman and Waltz hinted that a third installment might be in the works. Next up were the Shredder and Casey Jones miniseries; Curnow said that the books will find Shredder fighting to reclaim his destiny and Casey throwing himself back into vigilantism after being shot in Aaron’s TMNT run.
Gollener said that he loved working on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X Naruto, noting that it was his first comic that cracked 100k in sales. He also talked about how fun it was to draw “handshakes through fisticuffs” when pitting the Turtles against Naruto and friends, saying that it’s how ninja communicate. Other TMNT titles on display included Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #30 by Erik Burnham and Sarah Myer, featuring the return of the Mutagen Man; Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, spinning out of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem spinoff; and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #9 by Declan Shalvey and Drew Moss.
Finally, two major crossovers were announced! While Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X Godzilla by Tim Seeley and Fero Pe was previously showcased at IDW’s Godzilla panel, the biggest surprise was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Battle Nexus. A weekly series featuring most of the creators on the panel, Battle Nexus will reach across time and space, pitting Turtles from different dimensions against each other; Leonardo from IDW, facing the Mirage-era Shredder, is one of those matchups.
Battle Nexus is proof of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ versatility and their longevity. Even after 40 years, creators are finding new stories to tell and new ways to build upon Eastman and Laird’s legacy.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1: Return to New York, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II – Re-Evolution, while the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X Naruto collection goes on sale in October. Check out all our SDCC 2025 coverage here.
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