Posted in: Comics | Tagged: frank fosco, gary carlson, idw, image, teenage mutant ninja turtles, tmnt

IDW to Finish Image's TMNT Vol. 3 After 2 Decades; Is There Hope for Image United?

Published Tue, 20 Feb 2018 18:20:23 -0600

Last updated Tue, 20 Feb 2018 21:32:42 -0600

Image Comics never got a chance to finish their 1996 series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 3, but 25 years later, rival publisher IDW has resolved to finish the job. TMNT Vol. 3 ran for 23 issues and notably featured some crossover elements with other Image titles like Savage Dragon.

The series wasn't considered canon by Mirage, and was written by Gary Carlson and penciled by Frank Fosco. That creative team will return to produce three additional issues of the comic, which will be published by IDW, along with a reprinting of the original 23 issue run in full, as single issues, according to a report from io9. The series will be renamed TMNT: Urban Legends. The two additional issues that were previously created as a fan project in 2011 will not be part of IDW's revival.

In an interview with io9, Fosco described what it was like to return to the comic so many years later.

"Being able to do it while we're still alive," he said. "Haha!"

"IDW wanted to do it. The fans seem interested in it," Carlson explained. "Our run has always been the 'black sheep' —unofficial stories of the TMNT.' At the time we were doing a back to basics/not the TV cartoons version of the guys and the fanbase then didn't buy into it."

The first issue (of the old comic) will hit stores on May 16, and fans will need to wait until the end to read the long-awaited conclusion. Hopefully, this trend of IDW finishing old Image Comics series won't end here. Perhaps IDW can finally finish Image United, or Kirkman and Liefeld's The Infinite!

Check out the covers by Fosco and Erik Larsen below: