Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto is going live in October 2024.
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| (Photo: IDW Publishing) |
Naruto knows a thing or two about teamwork, and this fall, those skills will be tested by none other than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In October, IDW Publishing and Viz Media are coming together to bring Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto to life. The epic crossover will take fans to a world where Splinter and Kurama exist alongside one another, and we have been given a new look at the event thanks to a variant cover.
Posted by Anime News Network, the variant cover below showcases the TMNT crossover beautifully. Naruto can be seen at the very front as he wields his famous Rasengan in hand. As for the turtles, the heroes in a half shell are dressed up for battle with their headbands facing forward. It won't be long before Team 7 partners with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and this new cover promises plenty of action when the crossover goes live.
Kim Jacinto drew the artwork for the below variant, which will be a 1:50 variant (meaning that retailers receive one copy of the variant for every 50 copies they order of the inaugural issue).
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| (Photo: IDW Publishing) |
Of course, fans are eager to see why surprises are in store for this manga-comic collaboration. Caleb Goellner (Sonic the Hedgehog) is writing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto while Hendry Prasetya (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) oversees its illustrations. Raúl Angulo is coloring, and Ed Dukeshire is lettering. Jorge Jiménez and Prasetya drew the main cover art for issue #1, which will ship on November 13.
As for the story, the crossover will follow Team 7 in their own universe as they travel to the turtles' turf. Speaking with Goellner recently, ComicBook.com learned more about the story firsthand, and it was there the writer teased Prasetya's incredible vision.
"Team 7 will actually be headed to a new version of the TMNT's turf! We metaphorically (and I guess literally) added a TMNT section to the world of Naruto for this story so we could make it feel as lived-in and authentic as possible. Series artist Hendry Prasetya has done a ton of truly stunning design work to make this possible, of course. He's got powerful design jutsu," Goellner shared.
"Can you believe Kim Jacinto's awesome cover? It's beyond humbling to get to be part of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto crossover and to see artists like Kim, Hendry Prasetya, Jorge Jiménez, Felipe Smith, and others put their respective spins on Masashi Kishimoto and Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's creations," Goellner said of the variant cover in a statement provided to ANN. "We've been working hard to deliver pure fun with the power of friendship and can't wait to show everyone what we've got cooking."
IDW describes the story of the crossover comic:
It's the coolest ninja matchup you could have ever dreamed of, had you dared! The Heroes in a Half-Shell meet the host of the Nine-Tailed Fox in the crossover everyone will be talking about.When teenage reporter April O'Neil has a clandestine meeting with Tsunade, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village, it garners the attention of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi. They aren't the only ones who are wondering what the two women were discussing, though. The sinister Foot Clan have their own interest in April's visit, as they think she might hold the valuable information on mutation research being conducted by the scientist Baxter Stockman. With April caught between the forces of the Hidden Leaf Village and the Foot Clan, it can't be long before the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show up to lend her a hand!
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Naruto franchises have previously collaborated for merchandise at the Box Lunch retail chain.
Masashi Kishimoto launched the ninja manga Naruto in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1999, and ended the series in November 2014. The manga has spawned the Naruto and Naruto Shippūden television anime series, OVAs, several anime films, spinoff manga, the Boruto sequel manga and anime series, a series of novels, stage plays, and video games.
The Many Crossovers of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Of course, the TMNT franchise is no stranger to crossovers. From Batman and Garfield to Transformers, Stranger Things, and even Thomas & Friends, the heroes in a half-shell have done it all, but Naruto has been a bit more stingy. When it comes to Western IPs, Naruto has not done many collabs like this one, so manga readers will want to pay close attention. And of course, new Naruto fans can brush up on the Hidden Leaf's history easily enough these days. Masashi Kishimoto's manga is available on the Shonen Jump app. So for more info on Naruto, you can read its official synopsis below:
"Twelve years ago the Village Hidden in the Leaves was attacked by a fearsome threat. A nine-tailed fox spirit claimed the life of the village leader, the Hokage, and many others. Today, the village is at peace and a troublemaking kid named Naruto is struggling to graduate from Ninja Academy. His goal may be to become the next Hokage, but his true destiny will be much more complicated. The adventure begins now!"
From ComicBook.com:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto Writer Talks Crossover Appeal and Ichiraku's Pizza in Exclusive Interview
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are ready to see what Naruto is all about!
There is only one thing that could make the Hidden Leaf Village better, and that is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Back in 1999, artist Masashi Kishimoto couldn't have seen how big Naruto would become, and he definitely did not imagine the hero's future team-up with our fave heroes in a half shell. It wasn't long ago that IDW Publishing and Viz Media revealed their special Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto comic run. And here at ComicBook, we were able to chat with writer Caleb Goellner all about the unexpected crossover.
As you can read below, Goellner dives deep into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto while dropping some big teases. From Ichiraku's pizza ramen to the ninja's favorite jutsu, nothing was off limits. So if you want to know more about the epic comic crossover, you can read our interview with Goellner below:testing testing
Exclusive Interview with Writer Caleb Goellner
It's official! Naruto and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are teaming up. Caleb, what was your first impression of this all-star crossover? How did you become involved as the writer on this project?
Goellner: I found out about the potential crossover after a few conversations with industry peers that pretty much came down to, "Hey, you've read all of Naruto, right?" I had no idea what I was getting into when I answered "Yeah, and Masashi Kishimoto's Samurai 8, and Boruto and all of the various spin-offs." Needless to say I was extremely stoked to be asked to pitch on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto and land the gig. It's a profoundly rad pairing.
Obviously, Naruto is an icon in the anime and manga industries. Series creator Masashi Kishimoto laid out a thorough profile for the ninja, of course. How did you approach writing for Naruto in this comic run?
Research is always key when you're writing for established characters, so I re-read a ton of the Naruto manga – not only the early Team 7 adventures, which loosely feed into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto miniseries, but also the Shippuden era. Early in the pitching stage, I wanted to figure out as many potential story scenarios as possible to give all of the project stakeholders flexibility, so I re-watched several Naruto movies and sat my OG 2003 Bandai Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi figures on my desk as faux totems of power.
And of course, the TMNT are taking to the Hidden Leaf Village. What kind of challenges did you face (if any) while finding the team's fit in the Naruto Universe?
Team 7 will actually be headed to a new version of the TMNT's turf! We metaphorically (and I guess literally) added a TMNT section to the world of Naruto for this story so we could make it feel as lived-in and authentic as possible. Series artist Hendry Prasetya has done a ton of truly stunning design work to make this possible, of course. He's got powerful design jutsu.
Obviously, I have to ask. Are the TMNT bringing New York-style pizza to the Hidden Leaf? I feel like pizza ramen could be good!
Stay tuned and stay hungry. All will be revealed by issue #4 🍕
Looking at this impressive crossover, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto has a lot of elements to juggle in bringing two IPs together. What has been your favorite part of the project's development and production?
Working with my IDW editor Thea Cheuk, who is also a huge Naruto fan and very knowledgeable and cool manga and anime person, has made this process extremely streamlined and fun. I already had a lot of experience writing different versions of the TMNT, but the guidance I had as we met with partners like VIZ, Shueisha, TV Tokyo, and others made this ninja collab as smooth as you can ask for from a writing standpoint. Of course, as a writer, my FAVORITE part of the process is always seeing art come in. Getting to work alongside Hendry is a huge privilege and seeing his designs makes me step back and feel Six Paths Sage Mode levels of gratitude to be on this book.
We know the TMNT crew have the skills to stand against some of the Hidden Leaf's top heroes. What can you tell me about the turtles and their new powers as they become enmeshed in the Naruto Universe?
Let's just say the TMNT and Team 7 are going to discover mutual respect for one another very quickly. Shinobi tend to let their attacks do the talking, and fans will have a lot of fun seeing these teenage ninja throw down.
It is amazing to see an IP as big as Naruto team with IDW for an official crossover. Why do you think this anime x comic collaboration works so well? And do you feel like Western comics need more crossovers like this?
The magic of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto is pretty self-evident, but the main reason it works in my opinion is that the TMNT as a concept already has so much innate shonen energy. I mean, I've always loved the two Japanese TMNT anime OVAs and the resulting toys. I could easily imagine a TMNT series created specifically for Shonen Jump.
I'm not sure if western comics and manga "need" more IP-focused crossovers in general, but I know fans of both will always appreciate fun crossovers done at a high level and in good faith. We're already seeing stuff like Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man have an impact on the crossover conversation, and I suspect there will be more to come as Gen Z/Gen Alpha express their passion for anime and manga in the wider culture. Working in and around the industry for most of my career, I'd definitely be down to work on anything where I could help bring out the best in the characters as they come together for fans.
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Stream the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe, including Mutant Mayhem and Tales of the TMNT, on Paramount+! Try it FREE at ParamountPlus.com!
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More Nick: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ Movie Sequel and Paramount+ Series in the Works!
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