Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures Will Revive ’80s Turtlemania

The revival of 1980s Turtlemania will continue in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures this September. IDW Publishing announced the new four-issue miniseries, which draws on the 1987 for inspiration, on Tuesday, less than a week after the release of the (very good) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, inspired by the same cartoon. The artwork accompanying the announcement even features several of the villains from the game (coincidence?), including Bebop & Rocksteady, Tokka & Rahzar, Groundchuck & Dirtbag, and, of course, the Shredder. Erik Burnham writes the series with artist Tim Lattie, and issues will ship monthly with standalone stories, including one in which the heroes get stuck in a VR simulation, and another where one of Krang’s granite soldiers attempts to become a hair metal rock star.

“I’m no stranger to writing the TMNT for IDW, but this is different,” says Burnham in a press release. “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!”

“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,” says Lattie. “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!” 

“Toys, comics, character-laden graphic tees—my love of pop culture runs deep, and it all started with the original TMNT cartoon,” says editor Charles Beacham. “It’s an absolute thrill for all of us at IDW to bring fans back to that universe in a new, fresh way. Erik and Tim have cooked up some crazy adventures that are sure to have you on the edge of your seat, so grab a big bowl of sugar cereal and get ready for some serious Turtle Power!”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #1 ships in September with multiple cover variants: Cover A by series artist Tim Lattie, Cover B by Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman, Cover C by Tony Gregori, and the Retailer Incentive cover also by Lattie.

While IDW Publishing has held the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics license for more than a decade, this is the first time that the publisher has released comics directly based on the 1987 cartoon, not counting reprints of Archie Comics’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures series that ran alongside the TV show. However, IDW’s original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continuity — featured in what is now the longest-running TMNT comic book series ever — draws inspiration from every iteration of the Turtles, including the ’87 cartoon. That series is heading into its next big story, “The Armageddon Game.”