With Paramount having canceled the Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, and with the Mutant Mayhem sequel still a ways off, IDW Publishing remains the best and only source for new adventures set in this TMNT universe. Even as the publisher prepares to wrap up their second Tales of the TMNT comic, they’re prepping another follow-up dubbed Tales of the TMNT: Tear in Time.
IGN can exclusively reveal a new preview of Tales of the TMNT: Tear in Time. Check out the slideshow gallery below to see cover art for issue #3 and early, uncolored interior artwork from issue #1:
The cover above is particularly noteworthy because it features the Turtles wearing costumes inspired by various other futuristic TMNT stories from years past. Michelangelo is wearing his TMNT: The Last Ronin costume, Donatello is wearing his Flash Forward costume, Raphael is wearing a costume from the 2003 animated series, and Leonardo is wearing his costume from Rise of the TMNT.
Tales of the TMNT: Tear in Time is written by Andrew Joustra and drawn by Louie Joyce. Both creators also provided IGN with some exclusive commentary about the new series:
Andrew Joustra
I’m so excited to be going on more adventures with the turtles in Tales of the TMNT. Tear in Time will be my third arc for the series, and I’m thrilled that we have an opportunity to tell more stories and build out this corner of TMNT further. We’re not done yet and there’s even more to come after Tear, but that’ll remain a secret for now!
Not to be dramatic, but the fate of the entire Tales universe is at stake! This arc is massive in scale, bringing in characters from Mutant Mayhem, the Tales TV series and our previous arcs in the comics. I think it will help to establish Tales more firmly in the greater TMNT continuity with the inclusion of one of my other favorite characters from the franchise: Renet Tilley. I really wanted to give Renet an opportunity to shine and show some genuine growth in her character. She’s going to have her hands full, to say the least.
The finale of Coastal Chaos is also fast approaching, and the turtles will have to get creative in their next encounter with Armaggon. It’s clear that he has them outmatched in the water, so they concoct a plan to level the playing field. Armaggon won’t make it easy for them, so they’ll need to get some help from their Mutanimal friends if they want to save the city. And there’s a surprise you won’t want to miss in the final pages that help set up the events of Tear in Time…
Louie Joyce
One of the great things about drawing TMNT (y’know, beyond getting to draw mutated ninja turtles that are also teenagers) is how rich the supporting characters and wider universe is. There is so much to pull from! We’ve had a blast pulling in characters from the cartoon and movies and establishing new versions of characters like Fugitoid, Zog and Armaggon. With this new arc Andrew has crafted an epic story that takes the Tales universe and really widens the scope in a way we haven’t seen yet!
Honestly, there’s so much to tease with Tear in Time, but I don’t think any words I type would do as good a job as the cover for issue 3 does! I had so much fun drawing this cover and it’s always an honour to get to put your own little spin on something as iconic as the original TMNT #1 cover!
As for the final issue of Coastal Chaos, there’s a big time mutant animal showdown at the docks! What more do ya need?
Tales of the TMNT: Coastal Chaos #3 will be released on November 18, followed by Tales of the TMNT: Tear in Time #1 on December 16. You can preorder both issues at your local comic shop.
In IGN’s Tales of the TMNT review, Tyler Robertson wrote, “The first half of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles never reaches the heights of Mutant Mayhem. But it still plants a unique flag in the ground by beautifully reimagining the film’s animation style, retaining most of the key elements that made Mutant Mayhem amazing, and telling a story that delves into the psyches of the individual Turtles. The return of Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon, Shamon Brown Jr., and Micah Abbey and the personal journeys their characters embark on give us even more reason to care about the already-lovable versions of these iconic characters.”
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.