The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Are Getting Their First Official Manga in Years Thanks to a Hit Anime Crossover

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are officially heading back to the world of manga, and it's all thanks to the crossover that no one saw coming.

2024's fan-favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto crossover series from IDW Publishing is about to get a whole new kind of collected edition that fans likely didn't see coming. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto will be available in a proper manga format this October, marking the first time in years that the Heroes in a Half Shell have received such treatment.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto

Image via IDW Publishing

• Written by CALEB GOELLNER
• Art by HENDRY PRASETYA
• Colors by RAÚL ANGULO
• Letters by ED DUKESHIRE
• Main cover art by JORGE JIMÉNEZ

While the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have made several forays into the realm of manga and anime, they haven't been featured in a proper manga format for quite some time. From 1994 to 1995, readers could find the Heroes in a Half Shell headlining Myūtanto Tātoruzu Gaiden, published by Dengeki Comics, which was initially produced as a spin-off of Dengeki Super Famicom magazine.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also got the chance to become tokusatsu heroes courtesy of another Dengeki Comics production, Super Turtles 1: Seinaru Myuta-seki no Nazo, which marked the next chapter of a short-lived and exceptionally obscure era for the franchise. While the series itself didn't do much in the way of popularizing the Super Mutants line of toys that accompanied it, both have become cult classics unto themselves in the decades since.

Believe It, Naruto Has Met The Turtles Before

2024's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto came as both the first real anime crossover the Turtles had seen in years and the first crossover with a major Western IP in Naruto history. Over the course of five issues, the series' heroes battled against villainous forces both new and old alike, all to the delight of fans of both franchises.

The official solicit synopsis for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto from IDW Publishing reads, "It's the coolest ninja matchup you could have ever dreamed of, had you dared! The Heroes in a Half-Shell meet the host of the Nine-Tailed Fox in the crossover everyone will be talking about. When teenage reporter April O'Neil has a clandestine meeting with Tsunade, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village, it garners the attention of Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi."

The solicit text continues, "They aren't the only ones who are wondering what the two women were discussing, though. The sinister Foot Clan has its own interest in April's visit, as they think she might hold valuable information on the mutation research being conducted by the scientist Baxter Stockman. With April caught between the forces of the Hidden Leaf Village and the Foot Clan, it can't be long before the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show up to lend her a hand!"

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto Manga Edition from IDW Publishing is set to be available this October.

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  Created by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird

  First Film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

  Latest Film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

  First TV Show Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

  Latest TV Show Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

  First Episode Air Date December 14, 1987

  Brothers Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo and Donatello are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, fighting evil in comics, television, movies and more.

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  Created by Masashi Kishimoto

  First Film Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

  Latest Film Boruto: Naruto the Movie

  First TV Show Naruto

  Latest TV Show Boruto

  First Episode Air Date September 21, 1999

  Naruto Uzumaki, a mischievous adolescent ninja, struggles as he searches for recognition and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the village's leader and strongest ninja.