Summary

  • IDW's TMNT relaunch will honor the franchise's gritty Mirage Studios origins while ushering in a new era with Jason Aaron's vision.
  • Aaron wants the Turtles to feel grungy and raw - a celebration of the past with an eye to the future.
  • The new series will launch in July and take place within the current IDW continuity.

The gritty style of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is being brought back just in time for the franchise's 40th anniversary. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird first launched their original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics in 1984 through Mirage Studios. The nature of their early stories was a far cry from the more family-friendly tone of the '80s cartoons that would soon become a staple of the brand.

As writer Jason Aaron prepares to kick off a new era for the Turtles, he's looking to that past. According to Aaron in an interview with ComicBook.com, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are going to revisit that gritty tone from the comics of old for its new relaunch. Aaron's interpretation will be the latest rendition of the beloved Turtles, continuing the universe launched by IDW Publishing's line of comics focusing on the Heroes in a Half-Shell.

tmnt original weapons teenage mutant ninja turtles 1

A 10-page story in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Alpha will serve as a prelude to Jason Aaron's summer premiere for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

IDW acquired the services of the mastermind behind Marvel's five-year Avengers arc to bring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back to their '80s comic book roots. Aaron's run will begin in July's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1. Each of the first four issues of the new series will focus on a different Turtle, with art provided by four different artists.

Ninja Turtles Eastman Laird Comic Artwork
Related
Original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Were A Gritty Sign of Things to Come

The early black-and-white TMNT is now a testament to the underlying cultural twist towards the surreal superhero sardonicism the genre is known for.

Jason Aaron Wants to Bring Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Back to their Roots

Original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the comics

This is a new number one, a celebration of the Turtles' anniversary, honoring everything that's come before while also pointing back to where things started. And for me, just trying to do a book that has some of that same grit under its nails.

When asked about his vision for the TMNT relaunch upon first discussing the concept with IDW, Jason Aaron says that he didn't have anything "overly complicated" in mind. As a fan of what IDW has done with the Turtles, particularly with the best-selling Last Ronin saga, he knew he didn't want to reboot the franchise completely. He wanted his Turtles continuation to be an actual continuation within the same continuity. However, he did know that he wanted to connect the modern interpretation of the Turtles with the original Mirage Studios series that made him a fan of the characters to begin with.

He starts gushing about the original TMNT book that created his jumping-off point into comics. He ired that Mirage's books "looked different, felt different. It felt like a book that was grungy and raw and had dirt and grime under its fingernails, and I loved all that." Aaron wants to recapture that tone through his relaunch. "This is a new number one, a celebration of the Turtles' anniversary, honoring everything that's come before while also pointing back to where things started. And for me, just trying to do a book that has some of that same grit under its nails."

Jason Aaron's TMNT Is a Step Forward, While Also Celebrating Its Past

tmnt original weapons teenage mutant ninja turtles 2

The violent and grimy - almost to the point of pure dirt - nature of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Mirage Studios directly contrasts the more uplifting, wholesome style that's been prevalent for the past several decades, dating back to the '80s cartoons. While the more recent IDW comics have leaned the Turtles in a darker direction, their Mirage origins are way darker by comparison. Jason Aaron's aspirations to echo the darkness of that era of TMNT is as much a means to celebrate the past as it is to educate newer fans of where the Turtles came from.

To celebrate a franchise's past, a creative team must also look forward to where the franchise is going. That's why it's so vital that Jason Aaron wants to continue delving into IDW's years-long continuity. Aaron's purpose in revisiting the Turtles' older tone is more than just a nostalgia trip, it's going to serve as a guide to take the Turtles into a new future. As an avid fan himself, Jason Aaron understands what made Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a household name, and is prepared to use the past to add to its ongoing legacy.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 is slated for a July release, while Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Alpha will preface the new series the following June.

Source: ComicBook.com