IDW Publishing has announced a new series starring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ archnemesis Shredder, simply titled TMNT: Shredder. Kicking off this August, the book, written by Dan Watters (Lucifer) with art by Michele Bandini (Batman Incorporated), will follow Oroku Saki as he begins to rebuild power in New York’s criminal underworld, albeit this time without the support of the Foot Clan.
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.
While not the first solo Shredder series (that honor goes to 2019’s Shredder in Hell, the aforementioned “ordeal beyond imagining” by writer/artist Mateus Santolouco), the book marks Oroku Saki’s first appearance since the relaunch of IDW’s main TMNT comic by Jason Aaron and co. last year, as well as Watters and Bandini’s debut in the TMNT universe. Alongside Bandini, Santolouco will return to provide covers, and a new character design for the title character.
Senior Editor Andy Khouri states, “TMNT: Shredder was the new title I was most eager to develop when I took the TMNT job. 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. 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.”
Watters comments, “The bad guys always have the best stories, and Shredder is no exception. 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.”
Bandini adds, “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. 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!”
Khouri says of Bandini’s work, “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 [the main] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [series] as one of the most gorgeous books on sale this year.”
TMNT: Shredder #1 will be released on August 13, with a main cover by Santolouco, plus variants by Bandini, Kael Ngu, Dike Ruan, and Stjepan Šejić, which you can check out below. Per AIPT, IDW will further mark Oroku’s comeback with Shredder-themed variant covers for other TMNT comics releasing later this year, namely TMNT #12 (by Kevin Eastman), Mutant Nation #9 (by Fero Pe), and Saturday Morning Adventures #28 (by Erin Hunting). All of this is bound to build more excitement for Shredder’s return to the big screen, in the currently untitled Mutant Mayhem sequel, due out October 9, 2026.
