When Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles debuted on Nickelodeon back in 2018, it faced initial backlash to say the least. Developed and produced by Andy Suriano and Ant Ward, both well established in the animation industry and no strangers to the franchise, Rise of the TMNT was a radical departure from the traditional lore and previous depictions of the beloved terrapin warriors. Despite a shortened second season, the producers were still able to provide a proper wrap as well as a feature film sequel on Netflix.
In the intervening years since Rise of the TMNT went off the air, however, the series has garnered new appreciation from the fans who previously quick to dismiss it. While the TMNT community boasts numerous hardcore and lifelong fans, Colin Stein stands out in recent years for his dedication in keeping the flame alive and well for Rise of TMNT. His efforts have resulted in him spearheading The Art of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This coffee table book is the ultimate tome for the short-lived animated series providing readers an inside look that made Rise of the TMNT a standout in the franchise. Ahead of its release next, The Beat had the opportunity to chat with Stein about this Rise of the TMNT art book and all things “Turtle Power.”
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Taimur Dar: I think it’s fair to say that when Rise of the TMNT was first announced, there was a bit of fan backlash. I’m curious what were your initial thoughts when the series first aired?
Colin Stein: I’ve been a big Ninja Turtles fan my entire life. I loved the 2012 show. I think it’s the definitive version of the TMNT. They did a fantastic series. I still have all the toys. I got their art book as well. Just like you, when Rise was announced we didn’t know what we were going to get. But once we saw it in motion and how it put comedy first, it was incredible. Here I am years later making a book because of how much it means to it. It’s really funny how all fans seem to be the seem way. After Rise, I love giving everything a chance and see something new succeed. It was a weird sensation to go from the 2012 show to Rise and then see how much we should have embraced it immediately. It seems so long ago!
Taimur Dar: How did this art book project come about?
Colin Stein: I was a big fan of Rise. I would make online memes but also fan merch. I’m an adult male who likes cartoons for the target demographic that’s generally children. The things they were making were action figures for kids or bath robes, shampoo, soap, and things that weren’t catering to who I was an adult who appreciates animation. I decided to make stickers, pins, and even cookie cutters. I helped organize community calendars with other fans that I helped design, print, and ship. I even made VHS’s on orange Nickelodeon cassettes. I also made a DVD with an animated menu that had a bonus menu and chapter selections. I just love making stuff for the community.
It finally came to the point where I thought I could make an art book. Since I made so much fan art, a lot of the crew had taken notice of me. Andy Suriano and I have become good friends over the years. We’re actually working together on his next project, The Lost Company. He helped me get these files and get in contact with who we needed to make this work. I made a pitch deck and I just sent it out to everybody that I could. Eventually it got in front of the right people. I had this whole plan to do this Kickstarter to get it going. When Paramount met with me about doing this art book, I didn’t even have to pitch it. It was such a short meeting. It was a lot of hard work and dedication to make Rise stay relevant online. This book is coming out in 2026 and I’ve been working on it for maybe three years. Rise ended in 2020 and the movie came out in 2022.
Taimur Dar: I only became aware through that short story Andy Suriano did for the TMNT 40th Anniversary one-shot that Rise of the TMNT had planted the seeds for a major storyline involving two lost Turtle siblings. How much do you delve into that storyline and any others that never came to be?
Colin Stein: There are so many things they had planned in the beginning. Andy Suriano and Ant Ward, the co-creators of the series, had a whole story planned out for a certain number of seasons. I’m sure you’re aware that Rise was cut halfway through its second season. But they were planting so many seeds and tiny details throughout that they didn’t get to. Since they got cut short in their second season, they had to speed up a lot of those storylines. Karai was supposed to be around a little bit longer. If you’ve seen the back of the book with the section of the lost episodes, so many of those lost episodes were completely out of order. Who knows what they would have done and added to extra stories.
They planted the seeds for the two other siblings. There’s a blink and you’ll miss it in one of the episodes where you can see two extra pods in Lou Jitsu’s transformation pod. We don’t get too much into the siblings because there were certain things I was told we were not allowed to talk about because it could continue on in different formats. I’m clearly biting my tongue on certain things I’m not allowed to talk about.
Taimur Dar: How happy were you then to see that Rise of the TMNT short story that Andy Suriano was able to do for that 40th anniversary one-shot that I mentioned?
Colin Stein: It’s great! I’m also very happy that we got to include that in the book. There is a section for Andy Suriano’s art in comic book format and we put the 40th anniversary Rise story in there. This book is very much a love letter to Andy Suriano and his art and what he’s brought to the Ninja Turtle franchise.
Taimur Dar: I love that Rise of the TMNT added so much to the toybox, in particularly villains. I have a fondness for Meat Sweats. Do you have any favorite baddie or new character that was introduced in Rise?
Colin Stein: What I love about Rise is everything seems new. All the villains weren’t rehashes. Meat Sweats is a completely new character and I love that. It feels like a Mario Kart or Mario Party world where sometimes they’re at odds and other times they’re doing a destruction derby. My favorite new villain I would say is Warren Stone because he’s their greatest foe. I did like what they did with Shredder. A feral Shredder is not something we’ve seen before. It’s not really a new character but it’s a different take. I love it all and enjoy it as a collective.
Taimur Dar: I assume you keep up with IDW Publishing’s TMNT comics, I’m sure you’ve noticed elements from Rise of the TMNT have made it into the comics.
Colin Stein: Warren Stone is a talk show host in the Casey Jones miniseries. In the most recent issue of the TMNT ongoing series, the headstone of Casey Jones’ mother says “Cassandra Jones.” Rise has had much more of an impact on TMNT as a whole than a we realized. Big Mama was in the recent Battle Nexus miniseries. Scratch Warren Stone, Big Mama is my favorite character!
Taimur Dar: Why do you think fans have come around on Rise of the TMNT?
Colin Stein: We all have our theories. TMNT fans don’t seem to like change. There are a lot of older fans and we like to call them “cowa-boomers.” They don’t want to accept that something can be different. When we saw Splinter, he was out of shape, gross, and lazy. It took awhile for us to understand his story. I feel like we live in a world where we want instant gratification and Rise was not instant gratification. You had to be there with the story and follow along. You had no idea what was going to happen next. I get frustrated when you reboot something, it’s the same story over and over. That’s not what Rise is. Ninja Turtles should be different each time. The whole idea is mutating and progression.
Once [fans] saw a clearer picture as a whole, maybe that’s why people accepted Rise more. They didn’t want to wait to see how it ended. They just wanted to know how it was ending. Maybe there was some sort of anxiety about that. A lot of people rewatch shows like The Office or Parks and Rec a lot because it’s comfortable. They know what’s going to happen. But when something new is happening it can cause a little frustration. People share clips of Rise all the time. The animation is topnotch. Maybe that’s something they didn’t stick around to find out when it was airing. A lot of shows find their shows find their audience when they’re available to be binged on streaming. I think the availability of it is why people have given it a chance.
Taimur Dar: As a franchise, TMNT has certainly had its ebbs and flows. It’s an interesting place for the entertainment industry to say the least. The recent Tales of the TMNT series was just canceled after only two seasons and Playmates lost the toy license after four decades. However, there is the Mutant Mayhem movie sequel on the horizon. What are your thoughts on the future for TMNT?
Colin Stein: It seems weird that they can’t keep a series around. Rise only had two seasons and Tales only had two seasons. But the 2012 series had five and the 2003 series had like seven or eight seasons. It’s interesting that’s the route they’re going. Things are getting shorter and shorter and we’re finding out earlier that things aren’t lasting as long as they used to.
You mentioned Playmates losing the TMNT license. This is just a theory, I don’t know anything about the toy industry. The way cartoons used to be funded was by the popularity of the toys. I am just not sure if that’s the world we live in anymore because we have TV shows on streaming. I don’t think we live in a world where a cartoon lives or dies by the toy sales. Playmates wasn’t really doing that good of a job with Rise of the TMNT anyway. I feel like maybe we do need someone else to have a chance to show what kinds of toys they can make. Other companies like NECA and Super7 show they have the ability to make TMNT toys and do it well. I am excited to see when Rise gets its chance to have toys made from other companies. NECA just released new versions of the 2012 series and they look fantastic. Eventually Rise will get its time to shine and get good toys.
TMNT is thriving in the book world. IDW is doing a fantastic job with their Ninja Turtles comics. If you are a Turtles fan and you want that content, it’s there in comic book format. There is so much Turtles happening. Don’t get me wrong, I love my cartoons. But it seems to still be thriving in comics and toys. Ninja Turtles has the ability to grow and evolve.
The Art of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be available wherever books are sold, as a full-color hardcover (ISBN: 979-8-887-24364-1) on April 14, 2026, for a list price of $39.99. For more information please visit the IDW Publishing web site.
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