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IDW Publishing, Nickelodeon, and Paramount are preparing for a dramatic revamp of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) franchise under the vision of Thor writer Jason Aaron, and interest is high - higher for a TMNT comic in decades, according to the publisher.

IDW is reporting it has received 300,000 orders for July 24's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 - which would exceed the previous modern-day TMNT highpoint of 2020's TMNT: Last Ronin #1 - which has a 130,000-copy first printing. The publisher doesn't specify what its print run for TMNT #1 will be - as normally publishers order more than what their orders are for expected re-orders from comic stores and bookstores.

"Thank you to all the retailers and fans out there for believing in what we’re cooking up with this new series and for supporting the book in such a massive way," Aaron says with the news. "There are so many cool covers to choose from, and this summer there’ll be loads of pizza parties and big events all over the country revolving around this launch and the 40th anniversary of the Ninja Turtles. But at the end of the day, I’m mostly just excited for people to hold the book in their hands and see Joëlle‘s incredible art and read the beginning of what should be a crazy fun ride of a story."

Former DC executive editor Mark Doyle, who joined IDW in 2021 and has risen to be the company's publisher, says the comic publisher and TMNT's owners have pushed this project harder than usual.

"From the comic book creatives to IDW staff and our friends at Paramount, everyone working on this series has truly gone above and beyond to make sure it's an epic and compelling tale that adds to the incredible legacy of the characters that Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created 40 years ago,” says Doyle. "The whole team deserves this success and we couldn't be more grateful for the stunning amount of support we're getting from both fans and retailers. We know this is a TMNT story that'll be one for the ages for fans everywhere, both new and old."

While Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1's first printing is double that of TMNT: Last Ronin #1, sales for 5-issue series ultimately came to 840,000 copies before a collection was released.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 by Aaron and artist Joëlle Jones goes on sale July 24, with different artist drawing subsequent issues. Pre-order your copy now on Amazon.

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