IDW's long-running Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic is about to reach a major milestone, with the 150th issue now on the horizon. But #150 is more than just a number, as this issue marks a major turning point for the TMNT franchise.
IGN can exclusively reveal that TMNT #150 will serve as the conclusion of writer Sophie Campbell's long run on the series. Campbell has been the lead writer since TMNT #101, and was also an artist on the book prior to that. Among other things, Campbell is notable for designing the female Ninja Turtle Jennika. Issue #150 will serve as the culmination of Campbell's work on the series, while also laying the groundwork for what comes next.
The buildup to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #150 begins in issue #145, which kicks off the "Road to 150" branding. This new story arc sees the TMNT family divided and Donatello taking it upon himself to stop the rise of a new villain called Armaggon. Unfortunately for Donnie, it's already too late to prevent Armaggon's arrival.
Check out an exclusive preview of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #145 below, featuring new black-and-white art by Vincenzo Federici, and then read on for more thoughts on this major milestone from the creative team:
The creative team on this new TMNT story arc also includes colorist Ronda Pattison and letterer Shawn Lee, with co-creator Kevin Eastman serving as story consultant.
"It's crazy that I was only supposed to write 12 issues at first, but now here I am almost 50 issues later," Campbell tells IGN. "It's been a huge honor not only getting to write the series and these characters I love so much, but to have Kevin, Tom [Waltz], Bobby [Curnow], and the folks at Nickelodeon trust me enough to let me take the reins for this long. I never in a million years thought I'd make it this far and be able to do some of the things I did on the series, I'm still amazed at some of the things they let me get away with. It's been incredible."
Campbell adds, "I also have to thank the readers, of course, they made it all possible, so thank you so much to everyone who kept on reading and embraced me despite having to fill Tom's big shoes. And you know what, even the people who thought I was the worst TMNT writer of all time, I want to say thank you to them, too. Just anybody who read it and had an opinion, it's all good, it's an honor to inspire that sort of energy from people. Even though I'm taking a break to work on some other stuff, I will almost definitely be back in the world of TMNT soon enough."
"When I finished writing issue #100 of my long TMNT run, a lot of folks asked me how I felt about leaving the monthly series I'd spent so many years working on," says previous TMNT writer Tom Waltz. "My answer was that I was excited, because I knew I was handing the reins over to the uber-talented Sophie Campbell, whom I'd had the supreme honor of collaborating with many times on the book prior, with each and every one of those collaborations having been pure joy, creatively and personally. Nobody needs me to tell them how skillful Sophie is both as a writer and an artist -- her work speaks for itself. But for those who might not know, Sophie is a spectacular person and teammate behind the scenes, and I was confident the series was going to be in excellent hands. And here we are, coming on 50 issues later, and Sophie's proven me right, month after month. We at Team TMNT always say that change is constant, and the changes Sophie brought to TMNT -- stylistically and thematically -- have always served to make our long-running series bigger and better. I couldn't be more proud of what she's accomplished...and can't wait for fans to witness the grand plans she's put together for all our favorite characters on the road to the milestone 150th issue!"
“Sophie joining the TMNT team was like finding the perfect puzzle piece that we didn’t even know we were missing," says IDW's editor-in-chief Jamie S. Rich. "She brought an interesting balance to what Tom Waltz was doing. Sophie’s work always showed a boundless imagination, opening up where the Turtles could go and how they might deal with the adventures they’d find there. At the same time, no matter how big the ideas, it was tempered by a true humanity. Sophie has compassion for the innocents of the world, making her ideal for writing about mutants struggling to find their way and the heroes that help them.”
Eastman adds, "With great pride and respect I celebrate the accomplishments of a very important visionary creator who has brought such spectacular concepts, thrilling heartfelt stories and brilliant characters to life in the IDW TMNT universe, but most of all the epic dose of humanity that grounds it all. As issue 150 looms on the horizon, the mark and the spark of this body of work speaks volumes and will endure."
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #145 will hit stores on November 8, 2023, with issue #150 due out in early 2024.
For more on the TMNT franchise, learn more about the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin sequel and check out IGN's review of TMNT: Mutant Mayhem.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
