Order on the first issue of IDW Publishing's new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series have passed 300,000 copies over a month before release, the company announced.  This is the latest of a string of 80s and 90s property relaunches getting big numbers. ThunderCats #1 from Dynamite Entertainment, for example, sold over 170,000 copies of its debut issue (see "Orders Hit 170K for ‘ThunderCats’ #1").  But 300,000 copies is on a new scale for a comic hit in the post-Covid era.

The new series is written by Jason Aaron (see "Jason Aaron on ‘TMNT’ Relaunch Series"), with art by Joelle Jones.  Aaron thanked readers in a statement accompanying the announcement, and noted the events surrounding the launch.  "Thak you to all the retailers and fans out there for believing in what we’re cooking up for this new series and for supporting the book in such a massive way," he said.  "There are so many cool covers to choose from, and this summer there’ll be loads of pizza partis and big events all over the country revolving around this launch and the 40th anniversary of the Ninja Turtles."

The new core title is only one part of a broad Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles publishing program from IDW this year (see "IDW Expands ‘TMNT’ Publishing Program").

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 passed Final Order Cutoff earlier this week, and will be released on July 24.