Some birthdays are bigger than others. To properly celebrate the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hitting their forties this year, IDW Publishing is determined to make a fuss regarding our favorite comic book siblings, including, but not limited to, inviting heavyweight scribe Jason Aaron onto their flagship title. The main monthly comic will relaunch with a new number one in July but remain faithful to IDW's continuity, all one hundred and fifty issues of it.

This week on Comic Book Couples Counseling, Jason Aaron reveals the title of his run's first storyline, how it's layered with meaning, especially for fans of the original Mirage Studios stories, and why it was necessary to collaborate with such wickedly cool stylists like Joëlle Jones, Rafael Albuquerque, Cliff Chiang, and Chris Burnham. We also discuss why he's starting his saga with four solo adventures, with each of the first four issues focusing on a specific brother, and how June's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Alpha #1 one-shot will set the stage and tone for what's to come.

Once upon a time, a young Jason Aaron purchased Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #3 and had his little mind melted. He wants to bring the same punk rock energy to his series that the original creators, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, brought to every one of their comics. We return to this headspace with Jason Aaron, revisit a few of our favorite Ninja Turtle comics, and speculate on what we may see on the page in the very near future.

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: there is no better time to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan. All rapidly on their way, we have a new monthly series written by Jason Aaron, another series titled TMNT: Mutant Nation, Juni Ba and Fero Pe's Nightwatcher spin-off, a Saturday Morning Adventures TMNT/Usagi Yojimbo crossover one-shot, and the artist showcase anthology, TMNT: Black, White, and Green. So, yeah, we had to take a moment and break all that down too. OH! And remember, The Last Ronin II: Re-Evolution hits shops on March 6th!

Keep your eyes glued to the IDW Publishing page as more and more Ninja Turtles 40th Anniversary celebrations are revealed, and make sure to follow Jason Aaron on Twitter, Instagram, and his website.

As always, Omnibus, the Digital Comic Store and Reader, sponsors our Referrals segment. This week, we selected two comic book titles on the site that satisfy this episode's themes. We won't spoil what they are here, but if you click the links below, you'll be immediately escorted to those books.

In addition, this episode is sponsored by Third Eye Comics, your friendly neighborhood comic shop with seven locations in the Maryland, DC, and Virginia area. They're your one-stop shop for all things comics, graphic novels, toys, games, records, movies & more!

Not local but still looking for an awesome place to meet all your comic needs? They've also got an amazing website, shop.thirdeyecomics.com, where you can browse thousands of items, pre-order your new comics, and have it all sent right to your doorstep for a flat $5 shipping rate!

Don't forget to join us for the first-ever Comic Book Couples Counseling panel on March 8th at Washington DC's Awesome Con. Room 206 at 8:30 PM!

Jason Aaron on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles -Return to New York

Comic Book Couples Counseling Podcast