Stan Sakai will write the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The First Ronin miniseries with art by Soo Lee, coming in March 2027 from IDW Publishing.
In the story, set in 1600s Japan, General Kameyama is losing a great war when four yōkai (supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore) who look like humanoid turtles come to his aid. The series features new character designs and mythology created by Sakai.
The five-issue series is described as a “spiritual predecessor” to TMNT: The Last Ronin, which was based on a story by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird (see “Previously Unpublished Story by Eastman and Laird“). That comic spawned a number of follow-ups (see “Two New ‘Last Ronin’ Tie-Ins“) with a finale planned for Summer 2027 (see “‘Last Ronin’ Finale“).
Said Sakai, “I have been a huge fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) since 1984, when both the Turtles and Usagi made their debut. I enjoyed all of their incarnations, including The Last Ronin, so I am really excited to be writing The First Ronin. It will have new variations of the Turtles, not mutants this time but yōkai.”
TMNT: The First Ronin will have the following cover lineup:
- Cover A by Soo Lee
- Cover B by Stan Sakai, Emi Fujii
- Cover C by Ito
- Cover D by Fero Pe
- Cover E by Andrew K. Currey
- Cover F Sketch Variant
- Variant RI 1:10 by Julie Sakai
- Variant RI 1:15 by Soo Lee (full art)
- Variant RI 1:25 by Godtail
- Variant RI 1:50 by Tokitokoro
- Variant RI 1:100 by Ito (full art, red moon)
Click Gallery below for covers!
Source: ICV2
