In 2023, IDW launches Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures. This is the most radical ongoing comic series that revisits the world of the popular 1987 comic book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Two years later, the series is still going strong and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. During New York Comic Con, we had the chance to sit down with TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures writer Eric Burnham and artist Sarah Meyer to discuss the future of everyone’s favorite Heroes in a Half Shell.
Taimur Dar: I think the greatest joy for creators working on the TMNT series is being able to create new characters, especially mutants. Through TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures, we had the opportunity to add new mutants to the Toybox, including Ptah. TMNT: How do I create a new character for the Saturday Morning Adventures universe?
Eric Burnham: We come up with story ideas and look for toys and comics to see if anything fits. I just like creating new characters. Because sometimes it’s much more fun to change the story with characters that don’t exist. It’s as simple as deciding on a concept that fits the way you draw Danny (Schoening) and Sarah. A mummy and a crocodile with a weird brain was a fun idea that was perfect for the Turtles. It’s a simple answer, but it’s the correct answer!
Sarah Meyer: Ptah was a really interesting character to design because we already had a crocodile-like character. So I knew he had to look believable so that he could exist in the same world as a reptilian character, but at the same time not be mistaken for Leatherhead. There’s also a shape language seen in different versions of the Turtles. For example, in 1987’s Turtles, there was a set way to draw the fingers of various mutated characters. I know it’s not going to be realistically rendered in the way you see it in IDW or the Mirage continuation. It’s about translating everything through that visual lens and thinking about how much detail he can put in without it looking like he doesn’t belong in that world. Mummy Bakari was very excited about his powers, which made him look like an invisible man made of bandages. It was fun when the bandage flew forward. I also thought it would be interesting to have the students hold a small doll in their hands and tell the story when they gave their presentation at the end. 100 percent of it fits into that world.
Eric Burnham: When he was writing “Putah,” he thought he was going to be very thin. The exact opposite of Leatherhead. And I looked at the picture and said, “This is even better.”
Sarah Meyer: I really jacked him up and drew him!
Taimur Dar: The next issue of TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures features the return of Mutagen Man. I rewatched this episode for the first time in decades, and there was a lot I had forgotten. Changing his original, admittedly somewhat boring appearance-altering ability to the ability to mutate others is quite inspired. What does it mean to revisit episodes and put new twists on Mutagen Man?
Eric Burnham: When I need a connection to an episode, I go back and watch the episode. I’ll check the Wiki to see if I’m doing anything really weird. If I still make mistakes, Sarah will make sure I don’t screw up and embarrass us all. It seemed like an obvious difference that Mutagen Man could mutate people rather than being able to change himself. It was fun and a new way to play for Sarah.
Sarah Meyer: One of the things that struck me about Mutagen Man in the comics was that he was voiced by Rob Paulsen. “I’m so ugly!” This poor guy! That’s what I thought every time I drew his expression. I think people tend to think of him as a super villain. But he is a very sad man. I think a lot of people are thinking about the body horror element. Of course, there was also a darker version of Mutagen Man that delved into a sadder side of body horror. His facial expressions were a lot of fun, as it’s difficult to create emotes with bulging eyes and a skeleton face. I said to Eric, “You’ve written the most realistic sequence in the history of comics: Someone trips over a cat!” I’m looking forward to that.
Taimur Dar: Speaking of cats, it has been revealed that Ice Cream Kitty will be appearing in TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures. Is this a one-time appearance or can we expect more appearances from Ice Cream Kitty?
Eric Burnham: Ice Cream Kitty makes another brief appearance. I don’t know if it will be long term.
Taimur Dar: The upcoming TMNT: Battle Nexus miniseries, which sees multiworld versions of the half-shelled heroes battle each other, will feature one-page back-up stories from both of you. Do you think this is not Mr. Ogg’s scam like before?
Eric Burnham: Yeah. It’s only one page, so it’s more of a comedy. In fact, “this” Turtles and “this” Turtles are meeting. We do not try to mislead or “cheat” our readers. It’s exactly what it says on the package. Sarah also collapsed the panels to fit a lot of content into one page. I hope you enjoy it.
Taimur Dar: The manga market is quite volatile in terms of the longevity of manga titles. The fact that TMNT: Saturday Morning Adventures has been running for nearly three years is no small feat. Is there anything you can tell us about your long-term plans?
Eric Burnham: I just submitted issue #40! It’s a little difficult because I don’t remember where I am right now. There are some fun things to click together. We’re bringing back Evil Goose and Ace Duck from the April special. It will be published in issue 41.
Sarah Meyer: To be honest, I’m just as excited as everyone else! Panda Khan was published with artwork on cover A issue #37. All I can say about it is that this is a historic moment and I will now start inking the pages of issue 37 as soon as I get back from the convention.
Eric Burnham: I worked on an inventory issue with Dan Schoening, and it had some of the funniest stuff I’ve ever written. It’s a question of before or after Panda Khan. We take inspiration from well-known sources that people will recognize when they read them. It’s not subtle and I can’t wait for people to get to it.
Stay tuned to The Beat for more coverage of NYCC ’25.
Something like this:
Like loading…
