IDW Publishing announced at WonderCon a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series. More than 25 years since the iconic heroes debuted in black-and-white comics by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the new series will be what IDW calls a "re-imagining" of those original indie comics, as opposed to the more broad-based humor stories that followed the franchise's pop culture explosion in the late 1980s. Additionally, IDW told ComicsAlliance that the publisher has plans to reprint that original material from Mirage Studios as well as TMNT comics published by Archie. It's all part of an ambitious push by Nickelodeon to return the turtles to prominence, which also includes a new animated series. IDW's new series will debut in the summer.

The most recent TMNT comics were created by Peter Laird in the last decade, prior to his sale of the franchise to Nickelodeon in 2009. IDW's series will be completely new but based on the early material by Laird and co-creator Kevin Eastman.

"Through this partnership [with Nickelodeon], we're able to introduce Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to a new generation of fans, while also providing new stories for the fans who grew up enjoying these comics," said Paula Allen, Senior Vice President, Global Publishing, Nickelodeon Consumer Products. "These all-new comics and graphic novels based on the original series will support the overwhelming demand we've received from the millions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans looking to reconnect with this celebrated franchise."

Perhaps more auspiciously, IDW will reprint the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, which have been unavailable for years. The publisher also has plans to reissue the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures material that was originally created by Archie Comics, although it's too early to know when either initiative will launch.

IDW's new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series will debut this summer. The new Nickelodeon animated series is on track for 2012.