One of IDW Publishing’s most beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series is preparing to take its final bow.
TMNT Tuesday can exclusively reveal first details and covers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #41, an oversized 48-page finale arriving September 23 from writer Erik Burnham, artist Sarah Myer, artist Dan Schoening, colorist Luis Antonio Delgado, and the creative team that helped turn the series into one of the longest-running and most beloved celebrations of the classic 1987 animated series.
For more from Burnham and Myer, don’t miss our TMNT Tuesday #8 interview.
For years, Saturday Morning Adventures has served as a love letter to the cartoon that introduced countless fans to Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and their colorful cast of allies and villains. Packed with humor, heart, deep-cut references, and an unmistakable affection for the source material, the series has become essential reading for fans of the original show.
Now, the adventure comes to a close with a finale that sounds every bit as delightfully chaotic as readers would expect.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Surprise! It’s an extra-sized Saturday Morning Adventures finale, featuring a final battle with some evil geese from another dimension, an appearance by a heroic duck, and even a peek at the future of Old Man Mikey, who we last saw in the Battle Nexus crossover! Grab your cereal bowls and gather round one last time—cowabunga!
The oversized issue arrives just three months after issue #38 hits comic shops on June 24 and serves as a celebration of everything fans have loved about the series.
For Burnham, the experience remains one of the highlights of his career.
“It was genuinely one of the best experiences I’ve had in my career. Everyone who worked on this book (from creative collaborators to the editors to the folks at Nickelodeon and anyone who touched the book in between) made it fun, and hopefully had some fun as well. Heck; you can’t have one of the longest runs in the modern comics industry, unbroken and on-time by the same crew, without a lot of joy in the process. I’m proud of us, and I’d come back in a heartbeat. Thanks for being there!”
Artist Sarah Myer reflected on what working on the series has meant both professionally and personally.
“Recently at a panel, I was asked ‘What have you learned from working on an IP like ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’?’ As the TMNT SMA series comes to a close, I’d like to emphatically repeat my answer: that I’ve learned that dreams can and DO come true! And that you’ve got to be ready for it when it comes knocking! If you told the kid who drew incessantly as a child, taping their fingers together for Friday Pizza night and preferring to watch the 1987 TMNT cartoon instead of live action shows on TV, that they’d someday have the opportunity to draw the Turtles for a living OFFICIALLY and that they’d get to meet fellow TMNT fans from all over the world, I don’t know that they’d believe you, though they’d certainly tell you ‘WOW! That would be so awesome, I hope it happens!’
“Working on TMNT SMA has also been career affirming for me. My prior experience as a comic artist was working on my own graphic novels which I absolutely love doing, but I had begun to think maybe monthly comics would not be in the cards for me. Imagine my surprise when my editor on a graphic novel told me he’d shown my TMNT fan art to Charles and Nic at IDW, who emailed me and offered me an official variant cover gig. From there, IDW kept asking me back and I said yes to every opportunity for the love of Turtles. I never ever could have guessed my first monthly comics series experience would be for something I have loved since I was a little kid, and I’m so thankful to everyone at IDW and Nickelodeon for these opportunities. I approached the first variant cover in 2022 as my first and possibly last official Turtles Illustration, and everything that’s followed 20+ issues and 4 years later has felt like a dream.
“I’m proud of my work on the series because I have the great privilege of sharing the TMNT love with our fantastic editor Thea, ultimate super-fan editor at Nickelodeon, Jeff, and with my teammates on the series Erik, Dan, and Luis. Thank you also to Aub, Gregg, Samantha, Anthony, and the marketing and events team for the opportunity to be on panels, sign comics, and travel to meet fellow TMNT fans.
“I’m proud that I sometimes get the opportunity to contribute ideas or Easter eggs where it’s called for in the script, and the creative collaboration with this team is always built upon respect, mutual admiration, and a common fandom through Turtles. Whenever a reader tells me a panel or facial expression I drew made them laugh, it makes my day. I appreciate all of the readers following along and absolutely love it when I get to meet them at conventions, because it’s always a good time talking about our favorite moments from the TMNT franchise, favorite characters, or discussing observations about different iterations of the franchise (I’ll talk with you about ’87 Raph’s stand up comedy ambitions or whether Donatello’s college degree is legitimate for an hour). There is something for everyone across all generations in TMNT, and I am so honored to be part of the fandom and to have contributed in some small way to the vast trove of official lore.
“As for what I’d like to tease about the final issue… I think fans will be touched by what Splinter has to say about family; I know I really enjoyed drawing him during some poignant moments with Leonardo towards the end of the issue. And fan favorite Ace Duck returns in all his Goose-punching glory which is always an absolute blast to draw; Also keep an eye out for some Kirby-Crackle-laden power ups! And never forget: There are always more dimensions and portals out there, and many more adventures to be had. Thanks for reading and Cowabunga!”
Longtime cover artist Dan Schoening also reflected on returning to the characters that first made him a fan.
“In 1987, I was introduced to the TMNT through the animated television show. I vividly remember watching the pilot episodes when they first aired… and after that, everything was Ninja Turtles for me. From trading cards to action figures and video games, I was hooked. It was an absolute honor to circle back and be able to work with an amazing creative team to pay homage to characters and stories that still mean so much to me.”
Colorist Luis Antonio Delgado echoed the sentiment.
“Few things in life feel like closing a circle in life like getting to work on a book based on the cartoon that made me fall in love with the TMNT when I was just a kid, simply put, it feels like a dream that shouldn’t happen in real life. But not only that exact same thing came true, I was able to do it for several more years and accompanied by the most amazing group of artists and friends anyone could ask for. I can only hope that other fans enjoyed this book as much as we enjoyed working on it, and we gave our heart and soul to it; it was a project based on love and dreams and we enjoyed every single minute of it. So thank you to everyone who joined us on this ride and I hope we get to come back to this universe some day, until then… Cowabunga, my dudes!”
With evil geese from another dimension, the return of Ace Duck, a glimpse at Old Man Mikey’s future, and one final adventure from the team that made it all possible, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #41 looks set to deliver a fitting sendoff for a series that captured the spirit of Saturday mornings better than any comic on shelves.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #41 goes on sale September 23, 2026. Pre-orders are due August 17.
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