Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1: Coastal Chaos is written by Andrew Joustra and published by IDW Publishing. Artwork and Colours are by Louie Joyce. Letters by Jeff Eckleberry. Main cover art (left) is by Louie Joyce.
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1: Coastal Chaos is available from September 9, 2026 in comic book stores and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your physical copy from Forbidden Planet or digitally from Amazon Comixology UK.
Synopsis
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water…Tales of the TMNT is back! The Turtles once again head down somewhere grimy, smelly, and wet—the Jersey Shore. (Sorry, New Jerseyans!) What starts as a fun family vacation turns into coastal chaos when Mikey almost gets attacked by something with big teeth, a big dorsal fin, and big…arms?! We’re gonna need a bigger shell…
Review
It came as a shock when issue six of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2025-2026) by Joustra landed with no word on issue seven. It didn’t make sense because everything I’d read so far was amazing. So where was issue seven? I fired off frantic emails and scoured social media, only to discover nobody knew the status of the series. It couldn’t be over!
Luckily, it wasn’t!
IDW finally announced that Joustra and Joyce’s Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would continue after their fantastic six-part Fugitoid run, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
The wait is well worth it, too.
Coastal Chaos kicks off with a fantastic new number one that you won’t want to miss.
While performing a stand-up set at a comedy club, Mikey recalls the Turtles’ summer holiday to the Jersey Shore, where an enormous beast nearly eats him alive. The encounter sends the Heroes in a Half Shell on a mission to protect the beach and discover whether Superfly’s attack in TMNT: Mutant Mayhem mutated any… sharks!
Coastal Chaos crackles with energy. Joyce’s art is delicious, Joustra’s script flies, and the dialogue perfectly captures the youthful energy you expect from the boys in green. The story also skirts the edges of Spielbergian horror, drawing most obviously from Jaws as the Turtles close in on the terror lurking beneath the water. Joustra handles those Jaws influences with precision, never letting the story slip into parody.
But who is this killer in the water?
All signs point to the introduction of Armaggon!
For those who don’t know, Armaggon has taken on several different forms across the comics over the years. At various points, he’s been a time-travelling shark obsessed with power and a bio-weapon engineered by the Triceratons.
Will this version simply emerge from Superfly’s machine going off in the East River during the events of Mutant Mayhem? Or is there something more behind this mutated Carcharodon carcharias?
Either way, expect a familiar origin with fun twists. If Joustra’s Fugitoid run proved anything, it’s that he excels at reinventing the Turtles’ rogues’ gallery in fresh ways for the Mutant Mayhem universe.
With Tales of the TMNT back, the series once again becomes essential reading for Turtle fans old and new. And with a brand-new number one about to drop, there’s never been a better time to dive into the fun.
You can pre-order Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1: Coastal Chaos from August 3rd.
Verdict
Taste of TMNT: Coastal Chaos #1 is one shell of a good time! It’s great to have Joustra and Joyce back and bringing the fun and building on their fantastic Fugitoid arc while folding in characters from the Tales of the TMNT animated series.
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