In just three weeks, TMNT Tuesday was already where Shellhead gets an internal scoop with everything in the turtle. This week we bring you something special to you: Jason Aaron, the author who pilots a teenage mutant ninja turtle into an unknown sewer, answers fan questions. Aaron has built a reputation for redefine iconic characters like Thor and Batman, and now he brings that signature approach to our heroes in semi-shell.
Aaron is chasing things away by looking back at the turtle’s impact on his comic book journey. From there, he is divided into balancing his creative vision with the rich 150 heritage of IDW. He teases a dark day for New York, with villain Hieronymus Hale tightening his grip and Karai plotting out of the shadows. And if you think that firefighters’ fights are fierce in No. 6, Aaron promises that Juan Ferreira’s art will explode the next arc to new heights.
Plus, there’s a lot of fun with fan fuel! Scotty P wants to know what TMNT/Scalped Crossover looks like (spoiler: Don’t hold your breath), and Aaron reveals his favourite panel so far. Grab a slice of pizza and settle for an epic chat with the new TMNT Mastermind. Trust us, you don’t want to miss what’s hiding in issue 8!
Scroll down and see your questions answered, and then unlettered preview page for teenage mutant ninja turtles #7!
Important TMNT Dates:
TMNT Mutantonation #4 #8 Pre-order Date Monday for sale February 12, 2025
AIPT: Jason, thank you for taking part in TMNT’s Tuesday fun! I’m interested to get things started, you wrote Batman, Thor, what do you enjoy writing specifically?
Jason: Hey, hello, thank you for letting me be part of this. The Ninja Turtles are such iconic characters and I really love the instrumental parts they performed in comic book history, dating back to the childhood days when I first discovered comics. I love getting the opportunity to say something with those characters and hopefully show old and new things what I think is cool about them. I also need more comics with Nunchuck.
aipt: Nunchuck is seriously lacking in all the comics, as you said it. Strange!
Move on to fan questions, we start with Owen. Owen asks: You want to carve your own creative spin into a semi-shell on your hero, while still staying true to the previous 150 issues. ?
Jason: Hey, Owen. I think that’s always a challenge, right? Whether I’m Thor or Batman, anyone writes it. I always want to try out what I find most important in making each character interesting and exciting. Everyone involved in Tom (Waltz) and Sophie (Campbell) and IDW Run gave so many cool and fresh stories with these characters. I was happy to be part of that world.
Courtesy IDW
AIPT: And I’m glad you provided a great story in it!
Next, Scotty P asks: The turtle has had many crossovers recently. How do you write the TMNT/Scalped crossover series? Yes, I know this is a ridiculous question.
Jason: Ha. You’re about to fire me, Scotty P? I love to bring my turtles to dark, dirty places. But a scalped world may be just too much a step. (Folded Omnibus Vol. 1 doesn’t mention that he is in the store now, I will be forgiving.)
Returning to the TMNT question, AIPT writer CJ asks: Are there any turtle characters that I haven’t written yet but want to do?
Jason: A few. I wanted this opening story to be very locked in and focused.
aipt: It’s a good idea to keep that answer simple, Jason!
John then asks:
Jason: I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s clearly a dead rat Donnie carries around. Question #7 is on sale later this month!
Courtesy IDW
AIPT: Jason, I know what you did there!
Amkhir asks: what will you see in Hale’s future? Do you think he’ll be a short villain that everyone will forget, or do you have a bigger plan for him? Because his court and speech skills have already been seen to be sufficient to hide his more personal reasons.
Jason: Well, I certainly have a big plan for Hieronymus Hale. Beyond that, who knows, it’s not something I can decide. I’m just here to tell the story as I see it. Also, the dark design of Hale in New York City will be explained in detail in Issue 8.
aipt: Issue 8 sounds crazy and crazy! Andrew then asks: How does working with five different artists on the first five questions and how does it differ from a single artist (Juan Ferreyra) on multiple issues? What were some of the challenges and surprises?
Jason: Both were great experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed the fantastic cavalry of artists who have come to work through these opening issues. They all brought such a beautiful perspective to these characters and their world. There were no challenges, but everyone who signed up was so incredible talent.
And the same applies to Juan. Because #6 is when the story threads finally come together. And if you like what you saw from Juan in question #6 and I was blown away, you’ll see what he does when the action is featured in our second arc.
Courtesy IDW
aipt: Next, Tiffany Uguu makes Jason think about each turtle’s journey.
Jason: I loved writing each of them. I think Raf was his first idea to put him in prison. I realized he liked it. The Leo problem was a special treat. Because I wanted to work with Cliff Chen for about 15 years. Donnie’s story changed the most as he was originally intended to become a circus prisoner, but it turned into an underground “safari.”
And of course, like I said, I liked writing about nunchak and tried to do that some of my childhood karate experiences. survive.
AIPT: Time to choose your favorites, Owen asks: Are there any favorite panels of running so far?
Jason: Hmm, that’s a difficult question. I think I’ll say the panel in question #6 by Juan, where Donnie is about to get xed by firefighters. When I first met Juan and Holy Hell, I was able to see that page in New York, which looks even better.
Courtesy IDW
AIPT: And finally, another question from AIPT, Karai, is hiding in the shadows. What can you tease about her? And what about Casey’s position? He really struggled, man!
Jason: As you can see in question #6, poor Casey is in coma after being shot by Hale. As for Karai, yes, her absence will be addressed. Why is she in the shadows and what exactly is she doing… #8 gives us the first glimpse into the answer.
