We couldn’t have made this headline up even if we tried. Two legendary ninja properties are finally colliding! In this East meets West collaboration, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be joining forces with arguably Japan’s most beloved ninja series, Naruto.
The Perfect Ninja Storm
According to this news report by IGN, this collision course is a joint effort between IDW Publishing and Viz Media. This collaboration will take the form of four issues with a number of industry pros making up the production roster. The series will be written by Caleb Goellner of Sonic the Hedgehog fame and illustrated by Hendry Prasetya who previously worked on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The cover for issue #1 has already been released and it was created by Prasetya alongside Jorge Jiménez who has worked on Batman.
Details on Issue #1
The story appears to be set in the Hidden Leaf Village prior to the beginnings of Naruto Shippuden. Teenage reporter April O’Neil has a meeting with Hokage Tsunade which sparks the curiosity of ninjas Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi. Soon the sinister Foot Clan appears with plans fixated around April who might hold valuable information on some mutation research that the clan is interested in. Caught between the Hidden Leaf Village and the Foot Clan, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show up to help her out!
We’re absolutely loving the released illustrations of this collaboration. So far it seems that the artwork mirrors Kishimoto’s style a bit more with the ninja turtles taking on Hidden Leaf Village motifs such as the headband and masks that resemble the Anbu black ops squad. Surprising nobody, the aesthetic is working both ways and we’re excited to potentially see Kakashi’s Team 7 adopt some of the ninja turtles cool urban style as well. Based on public information, it doesn’t seem like Naruto creator, Masashi Kishimoto, is involved. However, he’s no doubt given his blessing and would be stoked about ninja icons meeting ninja icons.
Check for more details around November 13th this year, when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto #1 will be released.
