IDW revives The Mutanimals as TMNT mini-series

The Mutanimals, shaky allies of IDW’s latest incarnation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back and headed into mini-series all their own.

If you’re a reader of IDW’s TMNT book, then you’re already familiar with the Mutanimals. The team actually has their roots back in the ’90s comic book series, which was significantly more lighthearted than this one, though the vibe is the same. Basically, they’re a group of mutant animal superheroes, not unlike the TMNT themselves.

In the IDW books, they’re allies of the Turtles (though not the friendliest of them), and that’s a theme that’ll carry over into their first solo-starring mini-series. Readers can expect to see Old Hob, Slash, Mondo Gecko, Herman the Hermit Crab, and Pigeon Pete take on the mysterious Null Group in the four-issue series, which will be written by Paul Allor (The Utrom Empire and Turtles In Time) and drawn (including covers, though artist Ben Bates will provide an alt look for the first issue) by Andy Kuhn, who actually created leader Slash’s new look for the comic.

“IDW and all the creators involved have done an amazing job introducing the Mutanimals into this universe,” said Allor. “It’s very exciting to see them get their own mini-series, and an absolute honor to be the guy writing it, especially since it means working again with artist Andy Kuhn. Every TMNT tie-in and mini has offered the readers something new and awesome, and we hope to continue that streak on TMNT: Mutanimals.”

“I’m super-stoked to be a part of the team that’s bringing The Mutanimals back,” said Kuhn. “This year my Christmas is four months long!”

I’m pretty stoked myself, as The Mutanimals was a part of that early ’90s Archie Comics series that had a boatload of fans, me included. In that TMNT ‘universe’, the Mutanimals were a pretty different-looking team, and only had a few shared members between the group that’s to be featured in the new comic. Oddly enough too, that pretty cartoony affair ended with the team being actually killed off by the Null Group (if I remember correctly). Whether that’s something that readers would look for in this new iteration, we don’t know, but since the move to kill them all was purely driven by the fact that the proposed animated series starring the team was dropped, its probably not in the cards this time around.

Look for IDW’s Mutanimals to kick off their four-issue run this December.