Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Female Turtle Co-Creator to Take Over Series

Sophie Campbell, the co-creator of the female turtle Jennika, will take over writing duties on Teenage Mutants Ninja Turtles beginning with issue #101. In addition, she will draw the next new arc of the series following the conclusion of “City at War.” Campbell will be familiar to fans of IDW’s Turtles series, most notably for drawing the “Northhampton” story arc among other issues of the franchise.

Campbell broke the news on Twitter following the celebration of the IDW Turtles series’ 100th issue at Comic-Con. The series has been written for those 100 issues by Tom Waltz, who works with Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman and editor Bobby Curnow on creating new stories for the heroes. The series is now the longest-running Turtles comic in the franchise’s history. Campbell says she will continue to work with Eastman, Curnow, and Waltz during her run on the series.

For his part, Waltz teased on Twitter that he’s not leaving the Turtles universe behind entirely. Upcoming announcements should reveal more about his future with the franchise and at IDW. “Thanks so much to everyone who came to our #SDCC #TMNT panel & to all our fans,” Waltz tweeted. “Your passion and support mean the world to me. And just because I’m moving from the main book after issue #100, the turtles aren’t done with me yet. Look for cool announcements soon!”

In the pages of IDW Publishing‘s ongoing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, a gang war has broken out across New York City. Jennika, Splinter’s chunin in the Foot Clan, was one of the first wounded. The Shredder’s great-granddaughter Karai, Splinter’s rival for control of the Foot, impaled Jennika on a sword. Karai and her gang of mutants then prevented the Turtles from taking Jennika to a hospital. With few other options, the Turtles took drastic measures by reaching out to the Mutanimals, stealing some of the same Dimension X ooze substance that restored April O’Neil’s father to health after his stroke, and heading to Harold Lyja’s lab.

At the lab, Donatello and Lyja infused Jennika with the serum. It was working until Metalhead, the robotic Turtle with a grudge against Donatello, crashed the lab. Metalhead destroyed the one batch of mutagen that the Turtles had on hand and Jennika’s health began to deteriorate again. The Turtles escaped with Jennika and returned to their old sewer headquarters. Seeing no other way to save Jennika’s life, Donatello performed a blood transfusion using Leonardo’s blood. Jennika’s health improved, but she also transformed into a new ninja turtle.

In announcing that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #95, Jennika’s first appearance as a turtle, had sold out and been sent back to press for a second printing, IDW Publishing revealed that Jennika will have a yellow mask when she joins her fellow Turtles.

What do you think of Campbell taking of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Let us know in the comments.