It’s a big moment in the TMNT universe, with two iconic characters stepping into the spotlight, and you, the fans, brought the heat with your questions!
This week on TMNT Tuesday, AIPT asked your questions with Dan Watters, writer of the upcoming Shredder miniseries, and Alex Paknadel, helming the Casey Jones series, to dig into what makes these complex antiheroes tick. From rage-as-armor character studies to action-packed martial arts mayhem, both writers are carving out bold new corners of the IDW TMNT universe.
What makes TMNT so timeless? How violent is Shredder going to be? Which Casey Jones is the best Casey Jones? You asked—Dan and Alex answered. Plus, check out the interior art that has never been seen outside of the recent TMNT panel!
So grab a slice, strap on your hockey mask or gauntlets of doom, and let’s dive into a fan-fueled deep-dish conversation that proves once again: there are no small characters in the TMNT world. Just big stories waiting to be told.
Cowabunga, let’s go!
For even more answers from Dan and Alex, don’t miss our recent interview.
AIPT: Hi Dan and Alex, David Brooke here from AIPT. Excited for both of your series. To kick things off, I have a question for each of you, then we’ll dive into the fan questions!
First off, Dan, your Shredder miniseries frames him as a ronin, stripped of the Foot Clan and on a mission of revenge. What were the biggest storytelling challenges in reframing such an iconic villain as a lone, vengeful antihero—and how did you approach retaining his menace while making him emotionally resonant?
Dan: Honestly, the approach wasn’t a challenge. It was a chance to strip the character back to his core. Taking away the resources he’s amassed for himself gives Shredder the opportunity to show us what he’s made of. He’s always been a man with a set of blades and the willpower to bend the universe to his will, but how does he go about doing that when the blades are all he has? That’s a story I want to write.
AIPT: Alex, your Casey Jones series dives into his recovery and the trauma of being shot, giving him a kind of working-class vulnerability. How did you balance his raw, scrappy energy with this more reflective, emotionally grounded version of the character?
Alex: As I see it, the raw, scrappy energy is the armor for a deeply reflective and emotionally grounded guy. There’s no contradiction. In my eyes, the Mirage and IDW iterations of the character (and everything in between) are entirely complementary. They’re nesting dolls. Accordingly, I felt I could confidently pursue this line that the more vulnerable Casey is – or fears he’s becoming – the scrappier and more aggressive he becomes. It’s a dream for a writer because you have this guy for whom rage is a mask, but who still has this rich and very nuanced emotional reality. He contains multitudes, and I feel like I could explore that forever.
AIPT: Time for fan questions!
For both of you, from Brent Jackson: What do y’all think makes TMNT such a cherished and ongoing franchise? It’s been around since 1984, as we see with Shredder and Casey Jones, even side characters and villains are as popular as the turtle brothers. I’m interested in what the writers of the latest TMNT “spin-offs” think of that?
Alex: This is going to seem kinda romantic, but I honestly think it’s the youthful energy of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Here were two young guys who just put their all into this scrappy indie book – every little thing they thought was cool, from samurai movies to New York graffiti culture – and it became this behemoth. There were all these incongruous elements that shouldn’t have worked together, but somehow the genius of those two guys and the boundless brilliance of youth made it work. Ten years older and they’d have “known” that you can do mutant turtles or you can do ninjas, but you definitely can’t do both because that’d never work, right? Except it did. Everything they stirred into the pot enhanced the flavor. It’s like the Kirby stuff – there’s just so much energy that it sustains it for decades. It’s beautiful, really.
Dan: Any franchise that has this sort of longevity tends to have flexibility, and that’s the case here. TMNT has been revamped and reinvented dozens of times. You’ve got cute and cuddly incarnations, and then you’ve got incarnations where Raphael gets half his face ripped off. You’ve got a Pizza Hut music tour, and you’ve got Last Ronin. There’s a core to these characters – which includes the side characters like Shredder and Casey – which remain true to themselves no matter how much they’re chopped and changed, remixed and blended. The bottom line is they’re iconic and versatile, which means they never get old. There’s always a new take, and they’re always a pleasure to spend time with.
Courtesy IDW
AIPT: George J. asks: Mr Paknadel, how much do you like Casey?
Alex: I adore Casey – in many ways because he’s everything I’m not. I’m rather quiet and reserved, and of course, I’m a tremendous physical coward. Casey, on the other hand, is brash and headstrong, and he’s never walked away from a fight in his life. That said, where I grew up in the east end of London, I knew a lot of guys like Casey: split knuckles, painful pasts, and loyal to the end. Guys like Casey used to step in when I got cornered in the schoolyard. They’re the guys who step up when nobody else will. I promise I’m not getting cocky here, but I really do weirdly feel like I’ve met the guy dozens of times.
AIPT: Andrés Galindo-Olarte asks: For Dan Watters, how much of the previous run of TMNT, which found a Shredder heroic and at peace, will inform this new take on Shredder?
Dan: The previous run isn’t informing ours – we’re continuing directly on from it. I would argue that Shredder has never been at peace, however. He was last seen in THE ARMAGEDDON GAME and off-world, because he couldn’t face returning to Earth. He also has so much blood on his hands, and let’s not let him off the hook for that, either – there are characters about to make themselves known who certainly won’t.
A snow leopard mutant.
Courtesy IDW
AIPT: Brent Jackson asks: I have always loved Casey Jones; I’m not sure if it’s the character design or his attitude that draws me to him. What do you think makes him such a compelling character in a world filled with mutants, ninjas, aliens, and all the other madness of the TMNT universe?
Alex: I think you nailed it in your question, Brent. It’s about contrast. He’s just a blue-collar guy with the contents of a sporting goods store slung over his shoulder in a world of ancient blood feuds, aliens, and ninjas. He’s the underdog’s underdog, and we love him for it. I also think there’s a Greek chorus aspect to him since – particularly in the IDW continuity – he acts as a kind of reader surrogate. We have this rough diamond – this archetypal New Yorker – on hand to ground all this far-out stuff. I think he’s compelling because in some respects, he’s our entry point into this world.
AIPT: Alex, Charlie wants to know if you have a favorite iteration of Casey Jones?
Alex: Hi, Charlie! I do, but I should caveat this by saying I love all iterations. That said, gun to my head, I’m going to have to go with the Mirage version – if only because I’m a huge fan of all the inspirations for the character. Late seventies and eighties street punk movies are very much my jam, so I just love Casey when he’s this Tasmanian Devil of bone-crunching violence and sporting quips.
AIPT: Echo is wondering if there are any fun facts about the characters you love.
Dan: The fact that Shredder was killed off in his first appearance in the first Turtles comic – in brutal fashion – and was subsequently resurrected in more and more byzantine ways as they realized they had a hit on their hands, until we had a worm-infested shark mutant with Shredder’s consciousness chasing down the Turtles.
AIPT: From @batmanyhypeguy, What is your favorite TMNT character of all time?
Dan: I’m honestly writing the guy. I’ve always enjoyed the villains the most. My background’s in horror, so that’s my bread and butter. I’ve been rooting for Shredder to take down those pesky turtles since I was about three years old.
AIPT: Andrew Isidoro asks, since this is both writers’ first foray into the TMNT world. What has been their favorite part of delving into the universe? What was the scariest part?
Dan: Any world where there are decades of lore to draw on and reshape is always energizing. Digging through old stories to find ideas that spark new ideas and can be moulded to fit the tone of the story we want to tell. It’s one of the joys of comic books.There’s inevitably a weight to carrying on the story of a character who’s beloved, but honestly, fear is death when it comes to writing. You’ve got to put that part of yourself away in a box somewhere in the back of your head and get on with writing.
AIPT: Muhammad asks: Hi, Dan. Will any characters from the other TMNT comics appear here, or will this be a standalone? Thank you
Dan: At the beginning of our story, we’re focused on establishing the Shredder on his own terms. But the books are coexisting in the same world and indeed the same city, and Shredder’s actions set him on a collision course with characters you know and love. We’re telling our own story, but it’s certainly not siloed off, and at a point, I suspect the turtles are going to want a word.
AIPT: From George J: Mr Watters, how violent is Shredder gonna be in the book?
Dan: He’s dressed up in knives and quite upset. So there’s going to be a measure of violence. Michele has been drawing from the Raid movies and other contemporary martial arts films, and you’re going to see us lean into that side of things. This is an action-heavy comic book, with some set pieces that the art team is choreographing the hell out of.
AIPT: How excited are you both to construct a side-plotline of the ongoing IDW TMNT series!?
Dan: The current TMNT series Jason Aaron has put together with a murderer’s row of artists has been phenomenal, and the grit of the tone it strikes has certainly opened a door towards what we’re creating in Shredder. A fresh start that honors that which came before, but also a marginally more grounded tone, despite the fact that we’ll be traversing the globe and sticking a twig into the hornets’ nests of all sorts of corners of the mythology; magic, mad science, and mutants, oh my.
AIPT: Both of your books explore characters operating outside the central TMNT team. What did that narrative freedom allow you to explore thematically, and did you collaborate in any way to ensure the emotional or tonal arcs of Shredder and Casey Jones complement each other across the broader TMNT universe?
Dan: Alex and I collaborate frequently, so we talked about this plenty. We don’t want to be treading the same ground at the same time, but the books will be in conversation with each other. I’d say we both have generally off-kilter approaches, so we’re headed in different directions to explore different preoccupations.
Speaking only to my title, I do think that not having a big ensemble cast to write does grant a certain freedom. It makes the book nimbler; we can dance around and dig into one character’s mindset and history – hopefully in a way that’s never been done before. I really think we’re going to show off sides to Shredder you’ve never seen. I’m looking forward to getting readers started on this journey.
And that’s a wrap on the latest fan-driven TMNT Tuesday! Be sure to keep coming back as AIPT serves up the most exclusive look at the Ninja Turtles each week!
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