Cowabunga! In what seems to be gearing up for an ultimate ninja team-up, IDW Publishing will bring Naruto into the world of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). The crossover comic miniseries is expected to debut sometime this October in both physical and digital formats (via Keifer Martin on X/Twitter).
The news comes by the way of Russian TMNT forum Turtle Power, which reported on the release window and credited the cover art to DC Comics artist Jorge Jimenez, best known for his bold and stylish work on titles like Batman, Superman, Nightwing, and more. Following the reveal, the Spanish illustrator took to Instagram with a sneak peek at the draft outlining Naruto in crisp strokes, alongside the caption, “🤫🌀 one moment… Who is this guy?”.
Not much else is known about the TMNT and Naruto crossover miniseries, including story details and writers attached to the project. However, it’s one of the more surprising and interesting developments to come out of the comics scene in recent years, especially with the collision between Western and Japanese culture.
TMNT was originally intended as a parody of popular comic tropes in the 1980s, but has since grown into a generational touchstone that spawned a toy line, a popular animated series, several video games, and seven films starting 1990. A live-action film adaptation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, currently underway at Paramount Pictures, will mark the franchise’s first foray into adult audience territory on the silver screen.
Meanwhile, Naruto is based on Masashi Kishimoto’s manga of the same name, and follows the titular character on his quest to seek recognition from his peers and become the Hokage, the leader of his village. The anime adaptation received a direct sequel titled Naruto: Shippuden in 2007, and remains one of the most popular series to date.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Yonk
