IDW's hit R-Rated five-issue limited series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin came with an "insane" amount of variant covers, and in June 2023 IDW will collect nearly 200 of them in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin—The Covers, a hardcover collection of every variant cover published.
Of course, the 200-page, full-cover collection also features a new cover by TMMT: The Last Ronin series co-artist Ben Bishop. Artists that illustrated all those variant covers include TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman, series co-artists Esau & Isaac Escorza, and Bishop, along with Mateus Santolouco, Sophie Campbell, Freddie E. Williams II, Justin Roiland, Peach Momoko, Tyler Kirkham, John Giang, Amanda Conner, Rob Liefeld, Simon Bisley, Stan Sakai, and more.
"All five issues of The Last Ronin came with absolutely insane artwork on hundreds of incredible variant covers—not only from top established legendary creators who may have been drawing TMNT their whole lives but from up-and-coming creators and everyone in between," says Bishop in IDW's announcement. "A cover for The Last Ronin was an opportunity, and every artist knew it and wanted to be a part of it."
"The Last Ronin—The Covers is a celebration of the series and its monumental success," adds IDW senior editor Alonzo Simon. "We had so many incredible covers to showcase and the result is this amazing collection of covers from some of the most talented artists working in comics."
Published between October 2020 and April 2022, The Last Ronin told the story of the last living member of the four original Turtles, Michelangelo, as he took up his brothers' weapons for a revenge-fueled quest against the Foot Clan in a dark future, with some familiar faces such as April O'Neil in tow.
The Last Ronin was based on concepts originally conceived back in the '80s by TMNT creators Eastman and Peter Laird. Eastman himself is credited as one of the creators of the limited series, providing layouts for the interior pages.
IDW reports the limited series sold over 850k issues and 125k copies of the collection.
The Ronin-verse will be expanded in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin – The Lost Years, a five-issue limited series set in its world by co-writers Eastman and Tom Waltz and artists SL Gallant and Bishop. The series "straddling Michelangelo's past as a lone wanderer and the future where four new turtles will grow up in his shadow" was originally announced this past summer for a November debut but according to this latest announcement it will now launch in 2023.
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