Posted in: Comics, IDW | Tagged: kevin eastman, teenage mutant ninja turtles, tmnt

Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird's TMNT Last Ronin Delayed With Big Changes

A lost piece of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles history was being recreated as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Andy Kuhn, from an original outline written by Turtles co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird back in 1987 and set in 2017. Eastman revisited the future Turtles story from the past, established in 2040, and scheduled as a five-issue series.

The first issue was initially solicited to be published next week, the 19th of August 2020. Naturally, it was late, and the schedule slipped to the 16th of September, and it recently went to Final Order Cut-Off with, I am told, very large order numbers, and it made it high onto the Advance Reorders chart.

But now there's a big change. Esau Escorza and Isaac Escorza, best known for their work on Tarna for Heavy Metal, are now joining the art team with Kevin Eastman, but Andy Kuhn is no longer listed on the creative team. Apparently, this stems from poor retailer reaction to The Last Ronin preview, and a new sampler is in the works.

Also, the book's launch has been pushed back until late October, with the first FOC date now rescheduled to the 5th of October ahead of publication on the 28th of October, while the second issue has slipped all the way into December. Here are the solicited books and current schedules for all five issues.

TMNT THE LAST RONIN #1 (OF 5)
IDW PUBLISHING
JUN200557
(W) Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz (A/CA) Kevin Eastman, Esau Escorza, Issac Escorza
It's the TMNT event of 2020! Springing from the minds of TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird comes an epic like you've never seen before! In a future NYC far different than the one we know today, a lone surviving Turtle goes on a seemingly hopeless mission to obtain justice for his fallen family and friends. Kinetic layouts from Eastman, moody inks from Andy Kuhn and a thrilling script full of surprises from longtime TMNT scribe Tom Waltz all combine to make this one of the most memorable TMNT stories you will ever read!  Oversized in both format and page count, this is a perennial TMNT tale that can't be missed!SRP: $8.99 NEW FOC: 10/5/20 On Sale Date:  10/28/20

TMNT THE LAST RONIN #2 (OF 5)
IDW PUBLISHING
AUG200574
Secrets are revealed as we begin to discover what happened in the past to lead to this nightmarish future.  The Ronin meets an unexpected new ally, but the Foot Clan begins an exhaustive sweep of the Bottom to find the vengeful mutant. And what role does Baxter Stockman play? SRP: $8.99. On Sale Date: 12/16/20

TMNT THE LAST RONIN #3 (OF 5)
IDW PUBLISHING
On Sale Date: 2/17/21

TMNT THE LAST RONIN #4 (OF 5)
IDW PUBLISHING
On Sale Date: 4/14/21

TMNT THE LAST RONIN #5 (OF 5)
IDW PUBLISHING
On Sale Date: 5/19/21

And the preview of the first issue…how much of it will survive, that is.

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