Kevin Eastman’s The Last Ronin, a TMNT story set in a hypothetical dark future where Michelangelo is the last living Turtle, was a huge hit for publisher IDW. It made the New York Times bestseller list and drove the company to introduce expansions like a prequel called Lost Years and even a book consisting of just the covers. Now it’s time for the next step, as Eastman and IDW announce The Last Ronin II. Turns out the Ronin wasn’t so “last” after all!
You thought we’d seen the last of The Last Ronin, the lost Ninja Turtles story that Kevin Eastman and IDW resurrected last year. But it sold well. REALLY well. New York Times bestseller list well. Well enough for an additional book consisting of just the series’ covers to be a thing.
In 1987, just as the Ninja Turtles were on the verge of breaking through to the mainstream, Eastman and Laird were cooking up their most epic comic book storyline ever, The Last Ronin. For some reason, though, the script was abandoned and never turned into a book. Decades later, the idea was picked back up and dusted off by IDW, who has been releasing The Last Ronin in trade format since October of 2020. Four volumes have been released, and with this upcoming fifth, the narrative comes to a close.