Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Reveals Its Darkest Story Yet

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are often thought of as fun, light, and humorous characters. This September, characters from the Turtles' mythology face some terrifying new foes.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hunger #1 is a one-shot comic that features characters coming back from the dead as zombies. Along with all the people coming back from the dead, a blast from the past is back. The villain Hun, who in this universe is Casey Jones' father, is now back from the dead. This issue is by the creative team of writer Paul Allor and artist Gavin Smith.

IDW's official solicitation gives a better glimpse into what the comic holds in store. "As the dead return in “The City that Never Dies,” an old enemy resurfaces. Hun, Casey Jones’ abusive father, was always quick to anger, and his time in the afterlife has done little to mellow him. Back from the dead, he seeks to reclaim his position as the leader of the Purple Dragons, and the only ones who can stop him are two recent returns from the Battle Nexus, Slash and Ninjara!"

TMNT Sees Hun's Most Furious Comeback Yet

“I wanted this comic to feel like a surreal horror story, a brutal gang war, and an intimate character study, all crashing together on one very bad night in Mutant Town. Hun returns from the dead with no interest in redemption or explanation; he just wants his power back. Against that, Slash and Ninjara are trying to find a way back into the world without losing themselves to violence all over again," writer Paul Allor said to AIPT.

“Let’s be honest: Hun is more monstrous than the actual monsters, a cold-blooded opportunist who relishes violence and control. I wrote him as part Ken McElroy, part gangland boogeyman, and all evil bastard. You don’t beat Hun, you just hope to survive him," continued Allor to AIPT.

IDW suggests Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hunger #1 be read between issues #22 (Legacy #300) and #23 of the main Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic written by Gene Luen Yang. This one-shot is oversized and has 40 pages, and its suggested sales price is $5.99. It features covers by artists Gavin Smith, Dev Madan, Jeffery Cruz, Igor Manti, and Isobel Rees.

“I also need to give huge credit to IDW and Nickelodeon for letting me and artist Gavin Smith take some very big swings in the structure and narration of this issue," Allor said in a closing statement to AIPT. This leaves readers to speculate on just how dark this storyline could be. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #23 features a variant cover of a zombified Raphael to celebrate IDW Darks' second anniversary. With the upcoming variant cover and this new comic, IDW keeps taking the turtles to darker and darker storylines.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hunger #1 will be available Sept. 30 wherever comic books are sold.