TMNT Tuesday #35: Jason Aaron reflects on his ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ run

Welcome back to TMNT Tuesday, your weekly stop for Turtle exclusives and creator insights straight from the source. This week, we’re closing out a major chapter with an exit interview of sorts: writer Jason Aaron joins us to reflect on his recently wrapped Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles run for IDW.

We also recently chatted with Juan Ferreyra about finishing off this run, which you can read here.

Aaron discusses paying homage to the black-and-white Eastman and Laird roots, what it meant to help usher in the 40th anniversary era, and how it feels to pass the torch to Gene Luen Yang and Freddie E. Williams II—the new creative team kicking off the next wave of Turtle storytelling.

House ad promoting Aaron’s first four issues (with a star-studded lineup of artists!).

Jason Aaron on Leaving His Mark (and Saying Goodbye)

“I don’t really think about it in terms of adding to the legacy,” Aaron said. “At the end of the day, it’s about telling a cool story that pays homage to the version of the Turtles I fell in love with—the original black-and-white Eastman and Laird Mirage Studios book. That’s where I discovered these characters.”

Aaron first encountered the Turtles in issue #4 of the Mirage run.

“I wasn’t really into the movies or the toys,” he said. “It was just that book that defined them for me—and it was part of that explosion of indie comics in the ’80s that made me want to do this for a living.”

For Aaron, the 12-issue story was his way of doing a modern reflection of what those creators did back then. “They were riffing on Frank Miller and ’80s action movies,” he explained. “This was my version of that—as someone raised on all that stuff.”

Aaron also wanted to bridge the IDW continuity while keeping the story new-reader-friendly.

“I was a big fan of what Tom Waltz, Sophie Campbell, and everyone at IDW did with that series,” he said. “I wanted to carry on some of those threads, but also make it accessible for anyone. It’s action-driven but really digs into who those four brothers are when they’re not kids anymore—when they’re 18 or 19 and figuring out who they want to be.”

One of the highlights for Aaron was working with an incredible lineup of artists, which included Joelle Jones, Rafael Albuquerque, Cliff Chiang, and Chris Burnham. After Darick Robertson drew issue #5, Juan Ferreyra took over with issue #6 and finished out the run.

“It worked out perfectly schedule-wise to have six different artists for the first six issues since they were all standalone stories,” he said. “It’s a pretty insane array of A-list talent.”

On Legacy, Goodbyes, and Letting Go

Reflecting on his body of work, Aaron compared leaving the Turtles to saying goodbye to characters like Thor and Wolverine.

“Wolverine and Thor were six- or seven-year runs for me—big, formative parts of my career,” he said. “But it’s good to remember you don’t own these characters. You’re just their guardian for a while. You tell cool stories and then leave them in a place where the next creators can do something even cooler.”

Aaron takes pride in leaving the book at a natural handoff point.

“This was always the plan—twelve issues exploring who these guys are and dealing with the death of their father,” he said. “We ended on a big moment that sets the stage for the next creative team.”

Passing the Torch to Gene Luen Yang and Freddie E. Williams II

“I feel like we left the Turtles in good hands,” Aaron said. “Gene and Freddie are going to expand the mythology, bring in more characters, and take it to new places.”

Aaron has a personal connection to Williams, too. “He’s another one of the talented Kansas City creators,” Aaron said with a laugh. “I’ve known him for a long time, and I’m glad he gets to draw Splinter again.”

As for what he’ll miss most? “They’re just fun characters to write,” Aaron said. “I never picked a favorite—honestly, I love all four of them equally. The book was very focused on that core cast, and I’m happy with what we did. It’ll make a nice package once it’s all collected together.”

One of the final pages of TMNT #12.
Courtesy IDW