With the arrival of a brand-new ongoing creative team, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are leaping even further into their latest (and best-selling) era. ScreenRant spoke with writer Jason Aaron and new ongoing artist Juan Ferreyra at New York Comic Con 2024, where the two spilled exciting details about their process and what's to come for the brothers.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title relaunched with a new #1 at IDW Publishing this past summer, garnering massive sails and true critical acclaim for its new direction, courtesy of Aaron and a rotating roster of superstar artists. But starting with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6, the brothers are officially reuniting just as Ferreyra s the team as the new ongoing artist.

ScreenRant met with Aaron and Ferreyra behind the artist's table in NYCC's bustling Artists Alley, where the new team discussed everything from their excitement over the new creative team - including oncoming editor Andy Khouri - the original Mirage Studios comics, and Ferreyra's stunning cover work, on display at the con. Check out the interview below, edited lightly for clarity.

Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra Unite as the Ongoing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Creative Team

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6 Variant Cover by Juan Ferreyra

Screen Rant: With the recent announcement of Juan [Ferreyra] and Andy [Khouri, Editor] coming on board with you, Jason, you’ve basically got a whole new Turtles team here, which is very exciting. What's it been like working together so far?

Juan Ferreyra: I’ve worked with Andy before, he and I worked on Green Arrow for three years or four years at DC, and it was always a pleasure, because we had a great feeling about what he wanted me to do and my artistic abilities or whatever. He let me do and experiment a lot. It was always fun. He was open to being connected all the time, so it felt like a really good team. It makes you feel like a really nice team. Now he just arrived, so we are getting used to [having him on the team], but I bet it's going to be awesome. And well, working with Jason’s script now, for me, it's amazing. Great.

SR: What about for you, Jason? What's it been like getting the team together?

With this issue, everything is slammed together and really sets the stage for everything to come from this point.

Jason Aaron: I mean, you know, it's all new. I haven't worked with Andy before, I’ve been a fan of Juan’s stuff for a long time, but we haven't worked [together] before. We just met for the first time today, which is fitting that it's here in New York City, because this first issue that we're working on is kind of the issue where the turtles, the four brothers, are back together for the first time in a long time. They come back to New York City for the first time in forever, and then from there everything goes wrong. Nothing is the way it used to be.

This book, I really think even more than any of the issues we've done so far in this new volume, very much has the grit and feel and big action of the original Mirage Studios book. We're back in the sewers, back on the streets of New York. But this is all new, like this is not a kind of turtle story we've seen before. New York has changed. The brothers have changed. Their relationship has changed. The villains against them are familiar, and there's the Foot, but there's a new villain running the show, and his objectives are different. And just the way the city is really weaponized against them is something that the brothers haven't had to deal with before.

So Juan coming on board with this issue is perfect, because even though this is issue six, those first five issues were different in that they were focusing on singular characters and bringing all those pieces together, but with this issue, everything is slammed together and really sets the stage for everything to come from this point.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Brings the Brothers Together After a Long Separation

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6 Variant Cover by Carson Thorn

SR: So the story so far, right - there are only two issues that have been released, probably three by the time this interview comes out - is as much about what it means to be separated from family as it is about whatever is up with the Foot, right? It's so much about the brothers themselves. So why does it matter right now for the brothers to be separated, and can fans expect when they're finally reunited?

JA: Well, the separation was, I liked the idea of doing a very typical kind of story of like, the band has broken apart and we put them back together. But to see with these guys - they're still the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, right? But they're not thirteen. Like they're - I'm not going to say what age they actually are because who knows? But still, they've lived a lot of life by this point in their late teens. In my mind, as a dad whose son is nineteen and starting college, character-wise that's what I'm looking at. These guys, they feel like they know who they are, they've been through a lot together.

But they're at a point in their lives where they’re growing in different directions and still trying to find the way forward. How do they do that together? They're thrown back together. Things have happened in the past, like there’s a year’s gap between the end of the previous volume and this one. Some things happened that are kind of hinted at, but nobody's told us what they were. We don't know what happened between the brothers. But they’re just at a point in their life where they're like The Beatles when they were making Let It Be or Abbey Road, right? They look like they’re four guys who are from four different bands.

They're going in different directions and it's like, how do they make this work in the way that it used to? How can they be a family again? Can they be a fighting force again? And to face this foe, who’s really got them outnumbered and overwhelmed in a way they're not used to. Can things work in the way they used to, and if so, how? And if not, then what the hell do they do from here?

Looking for even more exciting stories starring the Turtles? Check out more of IDW's line, including the brand-new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto official crossover by Caleb Goellner and Hendry Prasetya, available now from IDW Publishing.

SR: Juan, when it was announced that you were coming on board, you talked a little bit about, in the announcement, drawing the Turtles as a kid and ing your connection to this franchise when you were a child, which is so lovely. I wanted to ask you both what it means to you to be working on this franchise in particular. I mean, Jason, you just mentioned the connection to your kids as well and that kind of emotional connection to the story, to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So what does it mean to you to be working on the title?

JF: For me, it's a dream come true. Truly. When I was a kid, I was watching them all the time and drawing them. At the time, I didn't know it came from a comic, if I knew it would be even better, but it was amazing. And like I said in the interview, I said to a friend of mine, “Hey, I'm doing the Turtles next,” and he said “No, no, wait! I when we were kids in high school and even before high school and you were drawing the Turtles all the time! And I couldn't believe someone could draw them so accurately!”

It was from my best friend, and with my best friend, I never talk about art. It was the first time he talked to me in relation to art and about the Turtles. So it was weird and I love it. Working with Turtles after so much time, I never thought that I was going to work on them - because it was a dream when I was a kid. But when they offered it to me, I was like, “Oh, it's a good idea!” And then when they said it was with Jason, I was like, “Oh, yeah!” right away, because I love what he does. And he was one of my favorite writers. So I said, yes, immediately!

Jason Aaron Reveals More About How Mirage Studios Influences His TMNT Story

Mirage Studios Published the Original Black-and-White Turtles Comic in the '80s

JA: The original Mirage Studios book was a big book for me as a kid. Mid-80s was kind of my sweet spot for first getting into comics in a big way. I went from just sort of pulling random issues off the spinner rack to being a regular weekly reader of comics. And Turtles was one of those books that spurred the big indie explosion in the mid ‘80s. All these black-and-white indie publishers popped up doing every kind of genre and book you can imagine. I was eating up so much of that stuff, and so Turtles was one of the first ones, for me, that jumped off the shelves. I think issue four was the first one that I read.

To me, that's still the Turtles. Like, when I think of those characters in my mind, I think of them in black and white. I think of that original book, before the movies and toys or anything. I mean, I saw the movies in theaters. I bought the toys. I watched the cartoon even though I was too old to watch it by that point.

JF: But you started with the comics?

For me, it's just about that...going back and reading those issues again, pulling them out of my long boxes...

JA: Yeah, it all goes back to the comics, I think. For me, it's just about that, recapturing, going back and reading those issues again, pulling them out of my long boxes, the same ones I bought off the rack back in the day. And just trying to do something that captures that same kind of raw feeling that that book had. Because that book was absolutely just two guys in a small, shitty apartment doing their own comic, right? It's all very punk rock, what they were doing.

And all the ‘80s movies and every Frank Miller comic, everything that was going into their brains and coming out into this book, we're going back to that stuff, too, and just trying to put as much of that kind of flavor into this as I can. Without it being like a - we're not trying to do an ‘80s flashback comic. We're not trying to do something set during that period, or not trying to just regurgitate the same stuff over and over again. We’re still doing a new story that we nobody's told before, just with that same sort of flavor.

The New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Book Is in Great Artistic Hands

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 Cover by Rafael Albuquerque

SR: Jason, what's it been like working with the rotating roster of artistic talent for the first arc? And does it change your approach to writing at all?

JA: To me, it's easy when you get to work with a series of incredible artists, right? There's no downside to that as the writer. I don't change what I do in any way. I don't know how to write for one specific artist or another. I just write the story the way I know how to write it. This is the way I see it. This is the best version of it that comes out of my head, leaving it open enough for that artist to come in and interpret it and tweak it however they need to, however they see it. Just so we end up with the best version of the story, right?

That's my job, as always. Like, here's the shit you need, let me just kind of step out of the way and you do - you don't need me. Juan doesn't need me to tell him how to draw the Turtles fighting ninjas on the streets of New York. He can do that way better than I could ever do it in my head. I just had to give him cool shit that he's excited to draw. So it's been a ridiculous wealth of riches with all these artists we've had on the books so far.

JF: I read all the previous issues, they are amazing. The funny thing is that they sent me, for example, the Leo issue [by artist Cliff Chiang], but without the balloons because they weren't ready yet. So I read the whole thing, and it was amazing. You could follow it perfectly without even reading the balloons, and it was amazing. It was like, “oh Jason pulled an issue without balloons. Amazing! What a bold choice!” [All laugh]

JA: Well, Cliff Chang is really, really good. That issue is really gorgeous.

JF: Yeah, but the script is also good! It was amazing to follow. I could follow everything without reading the balloon, and it was even better.

SR: I mean, that's a sign of a great comic, right? It's not that the writing isn't there, but that the writing has created the opportunity to create that.

JF: Yeah, It was clear, and you could follow everything. It was amazing.

SR: In the first two issues, and I assume the third one too, though I haven't gotten the chance to read it, it really struck me how much Raphael and Mikey's internal monologues were driving the story forward. So how did you find the voices for these characters in such a voice-driven structure, narrative structure? What’s it been like spending time in the minds of these characters?

JA: I really like writing narration captions. I like digging into a character's head. That part, to me, is always some of the most fun. I think it's the same as when I sat down to write Star Wars for the first time, or Spider-Man. They’re characters that you've read so many times, who have been so fully formed and fleshed out over the years by so many different creators - that voice is already in your head. You don't really have to dig for it or figure it out or work for it.

I mean, some of it, you know - I'm trying to put these characters in situations we haven't seen them in necessarily before and see how they deal with that and how that reflects upon who they are. But to me, the voices kind of came naturally, just because I've basically been doing research since I was a kid with all the Turtles comics that I've read over the years.

Juan Ferreyra's Ninja Turtles Art Is Next-Level

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #7 Variant Cover by Juan Ferreyra

SR: Juan, for you, what's been your approach towards making your take on the Turtles distinct and unique?

JF: First, I tried to do it the way that I would like to see them with my style, but also when I started to read the first issues and read all the interviews and stuff like that, that they wanted to make it more gritty, it was even better. The first sketches that I did, they were digital and digital inks and digital colors. Because I thought that's what they wanted.

But then when I started to read and stuff like that, they wanted more gritty or more grounded or more stuff like that, so I decided to switch the digital stuff and go back to inks and watercolors, and I chose the more grainy paper that I used to do. Then I finished the colors easily on Photoshop and changed the the brushes that I use and now it's also more painted-like and more textured and stuff like that to make it achieve what I want.

I also chose from all the artists that I've seen before doing the Turtles and I take the way they do it, the stuff that I like from each artist that I've seen before, and also add my own stuff. And then I blend it. And that's what comes out. And also it's always evolving. First issue is one thing, and the second issue changes completely - or not completely, but it grows! If you change completely, it would suck. But it grows and the characters start to grow every time you draw them. That's why I love when you're able to draw longer stories, because the characters start to grow inside of you. It's not the same in issue one and at the end of the issue. I love that.

SR: Doing prep for the interview, I saw one of your covers of the Turtles jumping between the buildings. What a great cover, I immediately sent it to my friend. Seriously, what a great cover.

JF: [Finds the original cover on his table] I think it was the first sketch I did. Yeah, I did this sketch for this one, yeah. And they chose this one [gestures] and that one for the next issue.

JA: That was a good choice. I’m glad they kept that.

Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra Discussing the Lasting Legacy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #7 Cover by Jorge Fornés

SR: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Me too! So why do you guys think that TMNT has captured so many people’s imaginations literally for so long?

JF: Because they are fun characters, the stories talk to people, especially kids. Being a teenager and having brothers and fighting and getting together to do stuff. Eating pizza.

SR: That’s a good answer. Eating pizza does capture one’s imagination.

JA: I mean, they're a great idea. They're a great visual. They're great characters. It's hard to know what goes into the alchemy of characters that can stay popular and get reinvented so many times in so many different mediums, right? Like for 40 years. Who knows? That doesn't just happen, right? It's a lot of work by a lot of different people to keep those characters relevant.

I'm just happy that we're getting to do this book the way we see it, the way we want to do it on the 40th anniversary of the Turtles. The response has been beyond amazing from the sales, the response from fans, from longtime Turtles readers to people who are picking up this book for the first time in forever. Who knows how that all happens, what goes into that? I'm just happy to be a part of it now.

SR: Can you give us a hint about what you're most looking forward to in the coming arc that Juan is starting us off on?

JF: First, to tell a good story that ends up in a really nice arc and everyone enjoys it. For now, I'm really having a lot of fun. Even though they asked me for some changes and things like that, because it's normal, because we’re working in a franchise, but I don't feel bad about the changes that they ask me for. Usually when they ask me to change a lot of stuff, I'm pissed! But now I'm not pissed because it's fun to draw them and every page is a pleasure. I don't feel like waking up and like I’m having to work. It just flows. It's amazing. So I hope that stays in the whole arc. Telling a good story and that people enjoy it.

JA: This whole first arc has been called Return to New York. Issue six, Juan’s first issue, is really the one where that title means something for the Turtles, right? The four brothers make their way back to New York City, and that's really kind of when the story begins. The biggest part of the story - again, it goes back to everything I talked about, to the Mirage Studios book and trying to pull that grittiness into it. We see that on every page of what Juan’s doing from here on out.

So I think it's just that, people seeing Juan’s work on this. And you know, issue six is like, pretty much - page three to the end is all action, right? Once it gets going, it never stops. And that's kind of going to be the idea for this arc overall. It's tons of action, tons of exploring the streets and sewers and rooftops of New York City. And tons of, you know, the Turtles getting their butts kicked by ninjas.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 is available now from IDW Publishing. TMNT #6 is available January 29th, 2025.