IDW Publishing introduces a fresh creative team for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He is joined by dynamic artist Freddie E. Williams II (Batman/TMNT, He-Man/Thundercats) to mark the hero’s major new chapters in a semi-shell.
Jan and Williams are taking the reins from Jason Aaron and Juan Ferrelia. That “back-to-bass” run made the series a critical and commercial success last year. I’ve read all about it in AIPT’s exclusive TMNT Tuesday column. Their final issue, #12, arrived this September, with Yang and Williams making their Ark debut on December 10th.
For Yang, assignments are deeply personal. He grew up obsessed with the original TMNT manga and manga, recreating the turtle fight with the action figure. “The fusion of gritty martial arts and wild imaginative storytelling blew my mind,” Yang shared with THR, noting the profound impact Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird had on his career, including self-published comics funded by Laird’s Xeric Foundation.
Williams, who previously described the TMNT crossover but never described the interior, reflected that sentiment. “The original Mirage comic made me fall in love with the medium,” he said. “Drawing a turtle now is a dream come true.”
Much of their story arc remains under the rap, but the new run begins with optimism as the Turtles reunite. Until a deadly new assassin named Ujigami Surface threatens a vulnerable peace.
To celebrate the launch, IDW offers a special blind bag variant program featuring covers from top artists such as Daniel Warren Johnson, David Nakayama and Clayton Crane. The main cover is by Williams and comes with a variant by Dustin Nuguen.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #13 will be on sale on December 10th. The final order cut-off is October 20th.
