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Oroku Saki is back. The iconic Turtles villain is set to make his grand return to IDW Publishing this summer in TMNT: Shredder.
You would be wise to lose your flippant ways
If you’ve been reading IDW Publishing’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles books over the years, you’ve been on a ride that few incarnations of the fiction have achieved. There for most of it too, was Shredder. The TMNT’s arch-foe, Oroku Saki has been through hell (literally) and was missing in action for quite a while art this point. Thing is though, as comics fans know all too well, you just can’t keep a good villain down.
So with that in mind, an older and even more villainous Shredder will be making his return to IDW’s TMNT universe this very summer. It won’t be in the pages of the recently relaunched ongoing though, as Shred-head is getting his very own title, called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder, and it’s set to take fans on a journey of stone cold revenge.
Telling that tale will be writer Dan Watters and artist Michele Bandini, neither of which are strangers to superheroics, with Watters having worked on Batman: Dark Patterns and Bandini a Spider-Man: City at War alum. If you’re looking for familiar ‘Turtles’ names though, have no fear, as long-time TMNT artist Mateus Santolouco has not only designed Shredder’s new look, but also provided the standard cover plus a foil variant of it.
Scope that out below, along with all of the other covers that’ll be hitting with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #1.
Prepare for the rags-to-revenge story of the ultimate ronin. Returned forever changed by a maddening ordeal beyond imagining, betrayed by all around him, and no longer with the Foot Clan, Shredder will quest deep into New York’s criminal underworld as a former protege has formed their own rival clan with sinister plans for the city. In his deadly mission for vengeance, enemies both old and new will brutally discover what defiance will bring them at the end of the Shredder’s blades.
“The bad guys always have the best stories, and Shredder is no exception,” said Watters. “This story is Shredder on a quest of revenge – rejecting the gods and allegiances he’s made over his long and storied history, reminding New York exactly why it feared him so much – and why it should do so again. This is the kind of character I love to write. Driven, ruthless, and crawling his way back to the top with a new purpose. This is going to be a hell of a ride.”
IDW Publishing press release
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #1 is set to hit stores this August the 13th. Pre-orders will be open through July 7th, and include the collection of variants that you see above.
Want more quotes from the book’s creative team? Those are below.
“I’m from the ‘80s, so I grew up with TMNT and I always wished to have the chance to work on one of their books since I was little kid. Yup, I wanted to be a comic book artist since I was five years old, and my favourite characters have always been the fun-loving Michelangelo and the ruthless ninja master, Shredder,” remarked Bandini. The artist added, “A revenge story with one of the coolest characters ever created? I can’t wait to see Shredder get back what he deserves: the crown of the deadliest villain New York has ever seen!”
“TMNT: SHREDDER was the new title I was most eager to develop when I took the TMNT job,” stated Senior Editor Andy Khouri. “Shredder is unquestionably one of the coolest, most fearsome and iconic villains in the history of American comics, and the time is right to take him back to those sinister roots. Dan Watters was the only writer I approached about the project. His bibliography – which includes characters like Batman and Lucifer, as well as his own innovative indie comics – reads like a training manual for how to write about Shredder, a character as steeped in mysticism as he is in blades and blood.” Khouri continued, “Dan’s story is at once a back-to-basics approach that welcomes the new readers of Jason Aaron’s historic TMNT run while building on the indelible backstory of IDW’s version of this classic character.”
“Working with Dan on this dark and mysterious new tale is Michele Bandini, a rising star in our industry,” commented Khouri. “Michele’s stunning cover artwork is just a taste of the passion and creativity he’s bringing to the project. Synthesizing comic book traditions from America, Europe and Asia, TMNT: SHREDDER will stand next to TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES as one of the most gorgeous books on sale this year.”
IDW publishing press release
