TMNT: The Last Ronin #1

History

The story underlying this issue has roots stretching back to 1987, when co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird — then barely a dozen issues into their original Mirage Studios run — sketched out a 20-page outline imagining a dystopian future in which only one Turtle survived. That outline sat in cold storage for over three decades until Eastman rediscovered it around 2010 during a file reorganization; he then partnered with longtime IDW TMNT scribe Tom Waltz to adapt and update the concept for a projected 2040 setting, since Laird's original 2017-set predictions had become uncomfortably accurate. The series faced a notable pre-launch delay when retailers who received early ashcan previews raised concerns that the initial artwork — by Andy Kuhn — would hurt reader interest; IDW and the creative team responded by rescheduling, replacing Kuhn with pencilers Esau and Isaac Escorza for the present-day sequences and bringing in Ben Bishop for the flashback sequences, while Kevin Eastman handled layouts throughout. The 2023 reissue was published in a standard saddle-stitched format (as opposed to the oversized original) beginning November 8, 2023, and included previously unpublished behind-the-scenes bonus material — its explicit editorial purpose being to onboard new and returning readers ahead of The Last Ronin II: Re-Evolution.

Trivia · 9 facts

• The 2023 reissue (IDW, November 8, 2023) reprints the original TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 (October 28, 2020) in standard comic-book format with added behind-the-scenes bonus content not previously published.
• The reissue was timed by IDW to coincide with the launch of the sequel series TMNT: The Last Ronin II: Re-Evolution, serving as an entry point for new readers into the 'Roninverse' continuity.
• The original issue is the first full appearance of Oroku Hiroto (grandson of the Shredder and primary antagonist) and the first appearance of Casey Marie Jones (daughter of Casey Jones and April O'Neil).
• The identity of the Last Ronin — revealed across the miniseries to be Michelangelo — is treated as a mystery in issue #1; he appears masked and wielding the weapons of all four brothers.
• Written by Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz, from a story conceived by Eastman and Peter Laird; art by Esau Escorza and Isaac Escorza (present-day sequences) and Ben Bishop (flashback sequences); colored by Luis Antonio Delgado; lettered by Shawn Lee.
• The series is set in its own standalone 'Roninverse' universe, explicitly disconnected from IDW's ongoing TMNT continuity.
• The story concept originated in a 1987 outline by Eastman and Laird — originally set 30 years in the future (2017) — and was creatively influenced by Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.
• The 2023 reissue was published in multiple cover variants including a standard cover (Eastman/Esau Escorza/Isaac Escorza), a Ben Bishop retailer exclusive, a Jason Metcalf exclusive, a Noah Sult exclusive, and an IDW online-store exclusive by Eastman.
• The collected hardcover edition of the original miniseries became a New York Times bestseller, and a video game adaptation of The Last Ronin was subsequently announced and remains in development.

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