Now TMNT Gets a Saturday Morning Adventures Comic from IDW

Following the success of GI Joe: Saturday Morning Adventures, IDW has announced a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic bringing that same 80s cartoon spirit to the TMNT. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures captures the “radical retro vibe” of the original TMNT cartoon series, according to a press release. The comic will be written by Erik Burnham with art by Tim Lattie and, like the GI Joe version, will run for four issues.

The press release contains more details:

Cowabunga, dudes and dudettes! The love for ’80s pop culture never fades, and by popular demand, IDW is giving fans what they want with the September debut of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures, a faithful new comic book inspired by the classic cartoon, shipping monthly and featuring the fan-favorite creative team of writer Erik Burnham and artist Tim Lattie.

In 1987, the world at large was introduced to the TMNT by way of a catchy theme song and action-packed animation. The cartoon’s aesthetic returns in a four-issue miniseries, featuring an all-new set of standalone stories. Whether it’s the Heroes in a Half Shell getting trapped in a VR simulator, one of General Krang’s stalwart stone soldiers abandoning their post in pursuit of hair-metal superstardom, or concepts even more awesomely absurd, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures is 100 percent guaranteed to thrill fans of all ages.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #1 will be available with multiple cover variants for retailers and fans to enjoy, each capturing the gnarly nostalgia of the 1980s, including Cover A by series artist Tim Lattie, Cover B by beloved TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman, Cover C by Tony Gregori, and a Retailer Incentive edition also by Lattie.

Burnham said the following about the comic:

I’m no stranger to writing the TMNT for IDW, but this is different. The version of the Turtles that exploded onto TV screens in 1987 was the version that I first met, and it brought me a lot of joy…and getting to play in this particular corner of the sandbox has built upon that joy! Humor, action, and plenty of high concepts were packed into each episode, and we’re following that path. I’m not sure if anyone in comics is having as much fun as Tim Lattie and I are with these done-in-one stories!

And Lattie added:

Growing up in the late ’80s, nothing was like the experience of discovering TMNT: playing with the toys, watching the show, or waiting in a crowd with the hopes of getting a chance to try your luck at the arcade game. It’s rare enough in life to be able to do what you love for work, but to work on something you grew up loving is hard to comprehend. What else is there to say… Go ninja, go ninja, go!

GI Joe: Saturday Morning Adventures is so good it’s been an absolute shame that IDW waited until they’ve lost the GI Joe license to start making it. Hopefully, this won’t be the last TMNT one. And it comes at a perfect time, with TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge hitting consoles recently, so if you need a dose of retro Turtles before this comic hits stores in September, you can’t go wrong by playing that.