Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Writer Gene Luen Yang Details New Villains, His Favorite Turtle

Writer Gene Luen Yang is offering up some juicy details about his upcoming run on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The relaunched comic from IDW Publishing has been under the stewardship of Jason Aaron. Along with artist Juan Ferreyra, they’ve pushed the Heroes in a Half-Shell to their absolute limit. As they wind down their celebrated run, fans await to see what Gene Luen Yang and artist Freddie E. Williams II have planned for the Turtles. While we’re a few months away from the baton being passed, Yang is teasing what the TMNT team has cooking, which does include some new villains.

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ComicBook caught up with upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles writer Gene Luen Yang at San Diego Comic-Con. Yang spoke about the differences between writing for the TMNT compared to his other comics like Superman and Shang-Chi, who his favorite Turtle is, having to follow Jason Aaron, what story elements from his run will carry over, and more.

ComicBook: Gene, you’re such a legend already in the comic book industry. You’ve written for Superman and Shang-Chi. What makes the Ninja Turtles different than those heroes, and how are you approaching this new era of Ninja Turtles?

Gene Luen Yang: Well, I have a real heart attachment to the Ninja Turtles. You know, I remember watching the cartoon on TV with my brother when we were kids. I remember playing with the action figures. I remember stumbling across those old Eastman-Laird black and white comics and kind of being blown away by both the grittiness and also the imagination. Ninja Turtles, like how would you even categorize them in terms of genre? They go into space, they fight demons. It’s like everything, but it all still works together.

Are you prepared for how many people are going to ask you who your favorite Ninja Turtle is?

So mine is Donatello. So first, I think he’s like the thoughtful one, and I also think it’s badass that everybody else has metal in their weapons, but he does not, and he can still keep up with just a wooden stick.

Were there any seeds from Jason Aaron’s run that you wanted to build on starting at number 13, or did you come in with your own vision from the start?

Oh, absolutely. I love Jason Aaron’s run. In fact, it’s a little bit intimidating for me to be following him, because I’m such a big fan of what he’s done with the Turtles. One thing is, I really love the way in which he re-established the brotherhood between the Turtles, because at the beginning of his run, they’re all separate, and by the end they’re really bonded together again. So we’re starting #13 off with them bonded that way. We’re really emphasizing the fact that they’re together again, and it feels really good to see them together again.

Without getting too spoiler-ly, he’s writing to something really big, and it’s something that we just can’t ignore when we continue the story, right? So I’m hoping, if everything falls into place, that the folks who really love his run will feel like our run honors what he set up.

What’s it been like working with Freddie Williams on this?

Oh, he’s incredible. I think he has this perfect blend of cartoony flair, but then there’s a serious emotional layer underneath, right? He’s able to handle really fun, cartoony action, but also the really serious moments. So, I think his crossover stuff, I think is probably what he’s most well-known for. I’m a fan of all of that stuff, and I’m hoping that the script will harness that energy. That cartoony outer layer with a deep emotional core underneath.

I have heard, and correct me if I’m wrong, that you guys are introducing a brand new assassin or a villain to the fold. So, tell me a little bit about them and how formidable they’re going to be for the Turtles.

I mean, that’s one of my favorite things; the Rogues Gallery is just as important. It’s robust, and it’s really interesting. Again, they have villains from almost every genre. They have villains like karate villains, and they have space-age villains. They have walking Triceratops, which I think is amazing. So, we’re trying to introduce something on top of that. We’re introducing a masked assassin who kind of vacillates between being a villain and an ally. So, the hope is that one of the driving questions is, what is this guy? Is this guy a good guy or a bad guy?

Was there any particular character that you were most excited to get your hands on when it came to jumping into the Turtles universe?

I think it’s the four Turtles. I think what I love the most, and sort of what Jason set up, is, the way he leaves the Turtles allows me to write banter between them. I love the fact that Leo gets on Raph’s nerves sometimes. I love the fact that Mikey is always the happy one. And I love the fact that Donatello sometimes sits in the background and thinks and kind of processes before he externalizes his story.