IDW Publishing is reminding fans that there’s more to the world of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles than the Heroes in a Half Shell. As the main Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series by Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra continues to chug along, the publisher is building on the success with spinoff series focused on iconic TMNT characters Casey Jones and Shredder. The addition of these titles shows IDW’s faith in the TMNT line, and ComicBook is putting the spotlight on Casey Jones and Shredder by revealing the first look at their future covers.
ComicBook can exclusively reveal covers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones #2 by Amancay Nahuelpan and Nikola Čižmešija, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #2 by Kael Ngu, Mateus Santolouco, and Michele Bandini. While story details remain under wraps, Nahuelpan’s cover features best buds Casey Jones and Raphael squaring off as if they’re about to come to blows. As for the Shredder covers, Oroku Saki looks menacing in his updated costume, designed by fan-favorite TMNT artist Mateus Santolouco.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: CASEY JONES #2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Casey Jones is by writer Alex Paknadel (Batman: Urban Legends), artist Amancay Nahuelpan (Green Arrow), and colorist Luis Antonio Delgado (TMNT: The Last Ronin). Now recovered after being shot within the pages of Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra’s TMNT ongoing series, Casey Jones has a second chance at life and he’s going all-out. The vigilante hero’s hitting the streets and doing everything he can to protect the people of New York City, but Raphael and April O’Neil are worried that he’s pushing himself too hard. Things will only get worse as a new strain of mutagen starts changing the landscape of the city and an all-new frightening villain threatens everything Casey believes in.
“As a weird British kid who once had the lyrics to ‘Turtle Power’ committed to memory, I feel like life has come full circle,” joked Paknadel. “IDW and a host of talented creators have deepened and enriched Casey’s mythology over many years, but Amancay and I are making our contribution at a uniquely exciting time. We’re going to be taking Casey back to his roots and confronting him with a terrifying, unstoppable villain who preys on the city’s most vulnerable mutants. If this book is half as much fun to read as it is to make, readers are going to have the time of their lives.”
“I’ve been a big fan of Casey Jones since I saw the cartoons and the movie when it first came out,” remarked Nahuelpan. “Together with Raphael, they’ve always been my favorite TMNT characters and I am a big fan of New York City, so anything related to the Turtles and New York… I’m gonna be more than happy to draw!”
“Casey Jones is one of the best characters in the TMNT universe,” stated series editor Dave Wielgosz. “He’s loyal, brave, pure of heart, and as we’re going to see in this mini-series… more than a little reckless. Alex and Amancay are going to highlight all the attributes that have made Casey an enduring part of any incarnation of the TMNT he’s been a part of and put him through a challenge the likes of which he’s never been through before. If you love street-level vigilante stories and the world of the TMNT, you’re going to love our book.”
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: SHREDDER #2
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder is by writer Dan Watters (Batman: Dark Patterns) and artist Michele Bandini (Spider-Man: City at War), featuring primary covers and a new character design by Mateus Santolouco. Prepare for the rags-to-revenge story of the ultimate ronin. Returned forever changed by a maddening ordeal beyond imagining, betrayed by all around him, and no longer with the Foot Clan, Shredder will quest deep into New York’s criminal underworld as a former protege has formed their own rival clan with sinister plans for the city. In his deadly mission for vengeance, enemies both old and new will brutally discover what defiance will bring them at the end of the Shredder’s blades.
“Shredder was last seen in another dimension guarding an imprisoned demon, so he’s had his hands rather full,” Watters told ComicBook in an exclusive interview. “How he got from there to where he is at the beginning of our series is a mystery we’ll be digging into in the first arc. In which we find him back in New York, alone, with nothing and no one. Utterly unmoored. Which means he also has nothing to lose- so when he’s messed with, he’s ready to unleash hell. He may have been on the side of the angels of late, but he’s still the Shredder at heart- still a warrior soul with centuries of experience under his belt, which is all about to come into play in a major way.”
“Shredder had a ton of charisma since the beginning, so it’s impossible not to root for him, but at the same time I want to make him look terrifying, like someone who came back from hell indeed,” Bandini shared. “I’m always thinking how I would feel about going through all the same stuff and discovering everyone betrayed you and took advantage of your absence. I would be really pissed off, and I’m not a badass ninja master, so can you imagine how dangerous and ferocious he can be? Ok, now multiply it 100 times. That’s the Shredder I will try to bring to life.”
Let us know what you think about the covers for TMNT: Casey Jones #2 and TMNT: Shredder #2 in the comments below!
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