Despite a long, pandemic influenced release schedule, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin became one of the surprise explosive hits of the 2020s. The now collected 5 issues from Tom Waltz, Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Ben Bishop, and Esau and Isaac Escorza has been in and out of the best selling graphic novels lists since 2022, with renewed life as The Last Ronin universe expands via sequels, prequels and tie-ins.
The main hook of The Last Ronin is a classic dark future setting, a la The Dark Knight Returns or Old Man Logan, where a single Turtle is left to carry on the legacy of Splinter and his lost brothers. The mystery of the main Turtle and his lost clan is steadily doled out over the course of the story, as our last ronin hunts for vengeance against the grandson of Shredder (and son of Karai), Oroku Hiroto.
The Last Ronin is notably based on a 1987 plot idea from Turtles co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, with the story and script executed by modern IDW Ninja Turtles collaborators Eastman and Tom Waltz. Creatively, it’s a nice way to bridge the decades and connect the original self-published black-and-white Turtles with the modern post rise to fame version that re-established a successful comics universe in the 2010s. Like most dark alternate futures, this one isn’t set in stone as the endgame of the ongoing Ninja Turtles comics, allowing for plenty of flexibility in sequels and prequels.
The Ronin-verse is thriving, with both video game and live action movie adaptations in various stages of development. Below you’ll find all the comics and stories in order!
Related:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reading order
Batman: The Dark Knight reading order
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin
Collects: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin #1-5
The general consensus is you don’t need to read any specific Ninja Turtles comics prior to The Last Ronin in order to enjoy the graphic novel. While true, I do think there are some useful pieces of turtles history that can help.
First and foremost, and this will seem obvious, but you’ll definitely want enough familiarity with the franchise that you know all about the four turtles (one is cool but rude, one is a party dude…), Splinter, April O’Neil, Casey Jones, and Shredder. So essentially, if you’ve read any of the comics, watched any of the animated series, or seen any of the movies!
The first real question: What do you know about Karai? Although she debuts in the Turtles “City at War” (an early 90s Eastman/Laird collaboration from the original Turtles run via Mirage publishing), I think the IDW Turtles reboot (essentially the Ultimate Universe for Ninja Turtles comics) is the easiest way to understand Eastman and Tom Waltz’s modern interpretation of the character and her relationship to Shredder. If you read “City Fall,” you’ll have a good grounding for Karai!
The other critical character reference that fell outside my familiarity came from Fugitoid, aka Professor Honeycutt, aka apparently the exact point in time I stopped reading the original Eastman/Laird black-and-white Turtles comics! You can pretty easily catch-up on the dimension-hopping fugitive android’s beginnings via this Eastman/Laird Turtles collection.
Again, everything I’m suggesting here relates to side characters and bit parts. Nonetheless, it led to a little bit of feeling like I was missing some Turtles history on my first read, and it’s easier to fully immerse in the work without that.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin–Training Day
Collects: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin–Training Day #1
Eastman, Waltz, Escorza and Bishop return to “The Last Ronin” between original issues #3 and #4 to explore Casey Marie’s training with her new sensei. Published in 2026, this is the first time the creative team returns to the core text.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin Director’s Cut
For the super fans, the “Director’s Cut” edition includes the original 1987 story write-up from Eastman/Laird, plus Kevin Eastman’s notes upon revisiting the script for a 2020s version. There’s also extensive sketchbook pages showing the depth of thinking and worldbuilding that goes into a story like “The Last Ronin.”
Collects: Novel adaptation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin–Lost Years
Collects: The Last Ronin–Lost Years #1-5, TMNT: Lost Day Special
The “Lost Years” graphic novel functions as both prequel and sequel to “The Last Ronin,” with the majority tracking Mikey’s wandering sojourn leading up to “The Last Ronin,” and the remainder looking at Casey Marie and April’s post “Last Ronin” work training the new turtles. As such, you really can’t skip “The Lost Years” as mere prequel. It’s vital to setting up “The Last Ronin II.”
In the collected edition, the “Lost Day Special” one-shot is placed between Lost Years #4 and Lost Years #5. You could either read it here, or after Lost Years #5. The important thing is you read it before “The Last Ronin II” as it functions as a prequel.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II–Re-Evolution
Collects: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II–Re-Evolution #1-5
The direct sequel to “The Last Ronin” follows up on Casey Marie, April and that new turtles teaser 10 years later, looking at a post Hiroto NYC clearing out space for various gang factions looking to make a power grab. It’s the classic “City at War” template, mixed in with a new four teen turtles to occupy the Ronin-verse.
While we do have new ninja turtles for this universe (and inevitably the sequel), I’d argue “The Last Ronin II” is really April O’Neil’s story. It’s not as thrilling as the original – not by a longshot – but I think if you approach it from the perspective of April’s story, you’ll have a better time.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin Complete Box Set
Collects: The Last Ronin, The Last Ronin–Lost Years, and The Last Ronin II: Re-Evolution
If you want everything released so far all at once, there’s a nice box set.
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