During New York Comic Con, we had the pleasure of sitting down and chatting with Dan Watters and artist Michele Bandini, the creative team behind IDW’s ongoing Shredder series, and Amankay Nahuelpa, artist on the current Casey Jones miniseries, to talk all things TMNT.
Over the course of our conversation, the creators not only discussed their previous fandom for the series, but also teased major status quo developments for two iconic characters in the TMNT universe.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Taimur Dar: Comic creators who are involved in the TMNT project always become fans. I’m sure many of you do too, but how was your introduction to TMNT or what was your previous knowledge of the franchise?
Dan Watters: I remember watching 80’s cartoons with my grandfather. An artist I worked with, Caspar Wijngaard, led me to IDW from the beginning, so I’ve continued to follow suit as best I can.
Michele Bandini: My first connection to the Turtles was through comics. I grew up in the 90s and discovered this show as a child. I’m still a big fan of this series. As I said in a previous interview, my favorite is Mikey. I think the 2012 show really captured the characters as well as the first show. I continued reading IDW comics and kept up with everything including the last movie. Unfortunately, in Italy everything arrives after 6 months, so you have to wait.
Amankei Nahuelpa: I think we’re all from the same generation, so we grew up with the Turtles of the 90s. I think it was the (original) movie that really clicked for me. It’s funny, one of my favorite characters was Casey Jones, and it’s so cool to draw him now. He was my favorite character along with Raphael. I was lucky that my parents bought all my toys. That’s very similar to what we’re all saying.
Taimur Dar: What I appreciate about IDW’s approach to TMNT comics is that it allows creators to express their own unique voices while still being part of a shared world. It’s similar to what James Gunn is doing at DC Studios, where Superman and Peacemaker both have their own style and tone. How do you put your personal stamp on these Shredder and Casey Jones projects?
Dan Watters: When we first talked about this book, it was definitely about wanting to do something more stripped down and grounded. Find what interests you most and pursue it tenaciously.
Michele Bandini: Among the characters, you see Shredder rejecting all things technological and sci-fi. This book has a really down to earth feel to it. Of course the main character will too. When we first talked about major influences for this book, I thought of the combat movie The Raid. We wanted a more realistic, darker book from the beginning. That was our approach.
Amankei Nahuelpa: For Casey Jones, we wanted to keep the traditional look of the ’90s comics and obviously give him a more updated version of his outfit. From a story standpoint, we wanted it to be grounded but gritty, just like they wanted it to be grounded with Shredder. Our references were 70s New York movies like Taxi Driver. We wanted to insert Casey into a darker, grittier world. We’ll be introducing some new characters and villains, and bringing back others that have appeared in previous iterations (of the series). The story isn’t just about battles and action. It has deeper emotions.
Dan Watters: Alex Paknadel, who writes Casey Jones, is also in my writer’s studio, so you’ll see some lines between those two books. We often interrupt the story and tend to be on the same page about things.
Taimur Dar: The last time we saw Shredder, he was in Dimension Z. Will fans learn why Shredder came back to Earth?
Dan Watters: That’s a big part of what’s going to be revealed in the first arc. By the end of the first arc, we’ll know exactly what happened in Dimension Z, how he came back, and why he’s so angry about it.
Taimur Dar: The first issue of Casey Jones introduced a mutant snow leopard named Ludovic. How did you go about character design?
Amankai Nahuelpa: Ludovic is a looming figure, like a snow leopard, a very tough guy, but also emotional. He constantly struggles between transforming into a human and maintaining this mutant form. He’s not just a villain, he goes deeper into that. We wanted him to be big and tough, but also[convey emotion]when he’s not in his villainous form.
The second issue of Taimur Dar: Shredder introduces a new villain named King Cobra. I didn’t realize this was the first character to appear in the Mirage Studio series. Michele, can you tell us what went into his design?
Michele Bandini: For King Cobra, I wanted to do a tribute to The Raid. When we designed the villain, we wanted something similar to the younger version of Shredder, but in a different way. When I created the characters, I wanted a story behind them. He’s a Japanese man who grew up in Indonesia, so he’s similar to Shredder, but if (he) took a different path. I wanted a down-to-earth opponent who didn’t have much power, but was very well trained. So it’s a fair fight, but Shredder is on another level so it’s not that fair.
Taimur Dar: Lastly, can you tell us about the end of this first arc of the Shredder series and where the characters end up at the end of this Casey Jones miniseries?
Amankay Nahuelpa: I’m sure the fans will get what they want from Casey Jones. Alex has done a great job writing this article. The team’s biggest concern was to honor all of Casey Jones’ history through comics, movies, and TV shows. You can tell he’s not just some guy wearing a hockey mask and kicking some ass.
Dan Watters: In the second arc, his whole motivation changed. He returned from Dimension Z changed. It will bring a new status quo that readers have never seen before with Shredder. I hope they agree that it makes a lot of sense. It will have a big impact on the entire line.
Michele Bandini: I want to thank all the fans for showing me love here and in Toronto. Many people stopped by my table with interest and said they loved the book. I’m really happy. I will always fight to deliver the best story possible and earn the love of my fans. Because I think the fans deserve the best.
Stay tuned to The Beat for more coverage of NYCC ’25.
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