Frank Miller Draws First Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cover

Frank Miller was one of the major influences on Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird when the duo, then in their twenties, created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the early 1980s.

Miller’s popular work on Daredevil, which centered on a hero who received his powers from radioactive elements, finds a sensei, and fights a ninja clan named the Hand, were direct elements that the budding writer and artists borrowed in their creation of four turtles, who thanks to radioactive elements, become anthropomorphic, find a sensei, and fight a ninja clan named the Foot in New York City.

So it’s fitting, and a little overdue, that Miller would come to work a TMNT cover.

Miller, known for his groundbreaking work on The Dark Knight Returns and Sin City, is providing one of the covers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles No. 300, IDW’s celebration of a milestone publishing landmark.

“It was fun to jump into the playground with the Ninjas for this cover and reminisce that they were born by Peter and Kevin as homage to my Daredevil run,” said Miller in a statement. “This one is for the fans.”

The original TMNT began life as an indie comic put out by Eastman and Laird’s Mirage Studios. IDW has been publishing TMNT comics since 2011. The 300^th issue takes into account all the issues of TMNT that have been published since the title, and subsequent media property, launched in 1984.

The issue is due to hit shelves July 22, and will also feature a never-seen-before cover by Eastman and Laird (which we are rectifying by giving it a preview below).

The issue will also have a cover by J. Scott Campbell and Juan Ferreyra, among other creators. IDW is also putting out a blind bag for the issue as well, all but guaranteeing No. 300 will be one of the top-selling indie issues of the year.

“As a lifelong Ninja Turtles fan, it’s awesome to be able to celebrate the landmark 300th issue of TMNT and we’re going all-out to celebrate,” said IDW’s director of sales Ryan Balkam in a statement. “From a blind bag with an amazing artist lineup to Frank Miller’s first-ever TMNT drawing and a never-before-seen piece by Kevin and Peter, TMNT No. 300 will be the ultimate reading and collecting experience for TMNT fans this year.”

On top of the notable covers, the special milestone issue will set up a new storyline by Gene Luen Yang and Freddie E. Williams II, plus a back-up story that celebrates the many eras of TMNT from Eastman, Tom Waltz, and other fan-favorite creators.

Dovetailing with Miller’s cover contribution to TMNT is the anniversary of Miller’s own work, The Dark Knight Returns. The seminal comic, a Batman tale that ended up reshaping the comics medium, is celebrating its 40^th anniversary. Additionally, Miller has his memoir Push the Wall arriving in July.

Check out Miller’s cover, in both a black and white and color versions, below. And keep going to see that Laird/Eastman one.