Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo will reunite this July for a special one-shot comic, presented by IDW Publishing and Dark Horse Comics.

Legendary creator of Usagi Yojimbo, Stan Sakai, will write and illustrate this new adventure, now 20 years in the making. Both long-running franchises have met before, in comics, toys, and cartoons. Miyamoto Usagi will once again meet Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo on a quest to save Japan, from the maniacal Jei.

“I had wanted to reunite Usagi and the TMNT for awhile, but these are not the Turtles that he knew,” said Stan Sakai. “Relationships have to be reestablished, suspicions overcome, and trust earned. The survival of all Japan literally rests on them working as a team.”

The comic will also feature exclusive extras including layouts, pin-ups, character studies, and more.

“Stan and I both started out the same year, 1984, and here we are still living the dream telling stories with characters we created over three decades ago,” said Kevin Eastman, co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. “I love the fact that our two creations were intertwined from the beginning and could not be more thrilled that Stan is coming back to tell a new story in the IDW TMNT comics universe.”

This TMNT, Usagi Yojimbo crossover event arrive this July in standard comic book format and a limited deluxe hardcover collector’s edition. Also available will be a special variant cover by David Petersen (Mouse Guard). Ask your favorite comic shop retailer for more info.

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