Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles goes dark in R-rated ‘The Last Ronin’

Back in 1987, comic book creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created the first chapter of the black and white indie hit Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT).

Spanning a multitude of movies, cartoons and comics, video games, and toys in more than three decades, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello battled petty criminals, evil overlords, mutated creatures, and alien invaders while attempting to remain hidden from society under the sewers of New York City.

In 30 years they did all that while remaining mostly teenage. Well, the turtles are teens no more in the dark series TMNT: The Last Ronin, a new five-part IDW comic book by Eastman and editor Tom Waltz that sees a bleak future for the gritty amphibian reptiles.

Drawn by Esau and Isaac Escorza, the idea for the five-issue series TMNT: The Last Ronin spawned from the final issue of a long-running story arc back in 1987, TMNT issue #11.

Within the dystopian society of a "walled" New York City, global warming and political turmoil are rife. In the darkness lies a lone Turtle who seeks vengeance for his fallen brothers. Dressed in black and brandishing the weaponry of his brothers, the identity of the "Ronin" remains a well-kept secret. Who is the Ronin? Who, or what wiped out the cowabunga dudes?

Well, the world will find out as soon as TMNT: The Last Ronin drops its first issue on Oct. 28.