Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures # 14...

Out this week from IDW is the second half of my latest two-part Teenage Mutant Ninja: Amazing Adventures tale featuring the threat of our new mutant, the Drip. The lead story features art by Chad Thomas and colors by Heather Breckel. You can check out a preview for the issue here.

This is the last issue of Amazing Adventures for the time being, as IDW clears some room in their schedule for our five-part Batman/TMNT Adventures miniseries.

Want a preview of that highly anticipated series? Well look no further than the back-up tale of this very issue. Also written by me, the second story of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures # 14 features art by Jon Sommariva, who is currently busy drawing some awesome pages for our Batman crossover. Don't believe me? Take a look at his cover for issue # 2 below, as well as an equally impressive variant cover by the great Rick Burchett.

 

See? I wasn't kidding. This comic is going to be great!

To be continued...

So Many Turtles (and even a little Batman)...

San Diego Comic Con 2016 has come and gone, and my big news out of the show this year was the announcement of Batman/TMNT Adventures, a five-issue mini series I'll be writing that features the dynamic art of my sometime Turtles collaborator Jon Sommariva. This series will pair the iconic version of the Dark Knight from Batman: The Animated Series with the current incarnation of the animated Ninja Turtles. This is a dream come true project for me, and I can't remember the last time I've had so much fun writing a script. Look for plenty of guest stars from bat-sidekicks to TMNT rogues to familiar faces from Arkham Asylum...

 

But in all the con craziness, I neglected to mention my newest release, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures # 12. I penned a back-up mystery feature for this issue, illustrated by Jamal Peppers that I'm really happy we got to do. Expect twists upon twists! The issue also features a Muckman story by writer Caleb Goellner and artist Chad Thomas, and a cover by my future Batman/TMNT collaborator, Jon Sommariva.

And don't forget the variant!

And that's not all! Out this Wednesday is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures # 13, the first part of my new two-part tale with artist Chad Thomas, a story featuring a new mutant villain we co-created called the Drip. The issue also includes a back-up tale by the team of Caleb Goellner and Buster Moody, and another great Jon Sommariva cover.

Plus more variant madness!

So my best advice? Head to your local comic shop and get studied up on the Turtles. You'll thank me when Batman/TMNT Adventures hits the stands!

Get excited! It's gonna be great!

A Day In the Life...

Find out how the Ninja Turtles spend a typical day in my new back-up tale entitled (rather creatively) "A Day in the Life" in this month's issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures (# 11). The story is drawn by Ben Harvey, with colors by Heather Breckel and letters by Shawn Lee. The issue also features a Muckman adventure written by Caleb Goellner and drawn by Chad Thomas.

Lots more great Turtles work on the horizon, so check back soon for updates!

Variant cover! Ah!

Ninja Turtles, Basketball, and Frogs With Spears...

A few months ago I was hired to write a comic book with probably the strangest premise of any I've worked on so far. It was a team-up special starring professional basketball player Carmelo Anthony and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It's an admittedly absurd concept, and so I responded in kind with one of the oddest pitches I've ever worked up. Happily, Nickelodeon, IDW, and Carmelo's people were right on the same page, and let me run with the idea. The result is a way-too-much-fun 30-page one-shot, brought to life in style by artist Chad Thomas and colorist Heather Breckel. The issue debuts this week at comic shops.

But wait, there's more!

This Wednesday also signals the release of the second part of my current two-part tale in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures featuring the Punk Frogs. It's also rendered by the ever-busy Thomas and Breckel, and features a back-up tale by writer Caleb Goellner and artist Ben Harvey.

For a free preview of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures: Carmelo Anthony Special click here.

For a free preview of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures # 10, click here.

And don't forget the variants!

Free Comic Book Day 2016...

May 7th is Free Comic Book Day, the one day a year that the majority of comic book stores offer up a great free selection of brand new issues for anyone who pops into their shops. Much like Netflix, Amazon Prime, or other addictive street drugs, the first taste of comics is absolutely free for everyone (in many cases, shops allow shoppers to pick five free titles from their Free Comic Book Day selection). Store owners are hoping you enjoy the quality comics on the stands and keep coming back every Wednesday for another fix, so they're quite happy to start your reading addiction.

This year, a variety of great titles are being offered, from a Marvel tie-in to their new Civil War II event, to an issue of DC Comics' new kids' property DC Super Hero Girls, to independent titles like Love and Rockets. My daughters are pretty excited about nabbing Strawberry Shortcake and SpongeBob issues.

I'll be celebrating the day here in Asheville, North Carolina at Comic Envy (144 Tunnel Rd.), with table set up and a wide variety of my past books and issues for sale. The store is also hosting a raffle and a costume contest, so if you're in the area, be sure to drop by. Free Comic Book Day will be running from 11:00 am until 7 pm., and I'll be sticking around as long as my Batman-like endurance can maintain.

Hope to see you Saturday!

To find your nearest participating comic book store and for a full list of the new batch of free comics to be handed out this years, visit freecomicbookday.com.

TMNT - Amazing Adventures # 9...

Cover by Jon Sommariva.

In December of 1987 I was a fourth grader living on a farm way outside a tiny town called Tipp City, Ohio. We had all of five TV channels at that time (including PBS), so whatever Fox would opt to show in the afternoons was what I watched. (This is why I've committed the Mr. Belvedere song to memory. Thanks, Fox. Thanks so much.) I had a weird little brain into things like The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, karate, drawing, and superheroes, so when the first episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premiered during a trial airing of sorts, fourth grade me flipped the hell out.

I bought the toys, the cereal, and regaled my parents with the latest adventures of the TMNT whenever we took a long car ride. Again, we lived in the middle of nowhere. Every outing included a long car ride. My mom said she didn't mind, however. Since the Turtles were named after renaissance artists, I think she was just happy I was learning something.

Then came my favorite Turtle villains, the Punk Frogs. Mutant Turtles fighting Mutant Frogs, each Frog named after a famous despot?!?! This is what a fourth grader views as sheer genius. This was everything to me for a good few months.

The original Punk Frogs.
Their very wardrobe strikes fear into the hearts of heroes everywhere.

In stores this week is part one of my newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures two-part tale, "The Frogs of War." This issue features my first attempt at writing the Frogs, and at appeasing the still very vocal voice of Fourth Grade Matt. I'm happy to report the Turtles cartoon has matured over the years, evolving from something of a 22-minute toy commercial to true all-ages entertainment. The Frogs have matured as well, now serving as parodies of famous characters ranging from Marlon Brando to Napoleon Dynamite. They were a blast to write, and artist Chad Thomas did a great job of bringing life to the many, many Frogs I requested he draw.

Today's Frogs. The years have been kind.

To see more of this issue, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Amazing Adventures # 9, please click here for a free preview. To, like me, get the Mr. Belvedere song stuck in your head, please click here. You're welcome, and also, I'm sorry.

Variant cover by Ben Harvey.

Batman Character Encyclopedia and Signing...

On Saturday, March 19, starting a 4pm, I'll be signing copies of my newest book for DK Publishing, Batman Character Encyclopedia at the Barnes and Noble in the Asheville Mall in North Carolina as part of the Batman v. Superman Day promotion.

New on book shelves last month, the Batman Character Encyclopedia is a 208-page guide for the current continuity of the DC Comics Universe, a great primer to Gotham City for fans young and old alike.

Check out the sample pages below, and if you're an Asheville Bat-fan, I hope to see you on Saturday!