In one of the most thrilling recent crossovers in comics, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Naruto crossover is a fusion that has fandoms across the world buzzing. At San Diego Comic-Con 2025, The Beat sat down with the writer behind this bold collaboration, Caleb Goellner, whose work continues to redefine the boundaries of genre storytelling. No matter what kind of ninja fan you are, this crossover promises action, heart, and some serious nostalgia-fueled hype.
In Goellner’s interview with The Beat, we discussed how this epic mashup came to be, how the fans have responded to the series, and how the story is like a perfect slice of pizza.
OLLIE KAPLAN: Can you please introduce yourself to our readers and the project we’re here to talk about?
CALEB GOELLNER: I’m Caleb Goellner, and I’m here to talk about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto from IDW Publishing.
KAPLAN: Can you give a one-sentence pitch on the project?
GOELLNER: It’s your two favorite ninja properties, fighting it out, bro-ing down, facing evil, and realizing their hopes and dreams together.
KAPLAN: Will there be lots of pizza?
GOELLNER: I can promise eventual pizza in the story.
KAPLAN: Are there any particular Easter eggs for long-time fans of both series?
GOELLNER: The whole book celebrates the two properties at the same time. It’s like a pizza; it’s about the ingredients and the toppings, just like Naruto’s ramen. It’s about bridging the flavors, bringing everything together. Writing it and working with Hendry Prasetya, the interior artist, and our editor, Thea Cheuk, is all about ensuring everybody has a great time reading it.
KAPLAN: What’s that collaborative process like between you all?
GOELLNER: You know, it’s pretty traditional. I write a script. I pitch the editor. I must ensure the idea is clear to all stakeholders because many people were involved in this project—on the Shueisha side, TV Tokyo side, VIZ Media side, and IDW side. We want to ensure that we’re achieving the goal of introducing Naruto to the Turtles fans, to ensure that eventually, if Naruto fans haven’t spent time with the Turtles, they will get that quality introduction and have fun.
The scripts flowed since we did a lot of work at the front. It was a great time. Then, the art team did their thing, and sometimes, I got to look at it, but I didn’t have much feedback. They were smashing bricks, doing awesome work, and I’m happy to be on the team.
KAPLAN: Is it typical for it to be that smooth with your art team?
GOELLNER: For me, it is. You hear many horror stories in comics from everywhere when working on a huge character, brand, or IP on something that hasn’t been done before. I credit it to my extraordinary, egoless, perfect personality. No, I’m just kidding. I stay calm, cool, and amenable to feedback and put my best foot forward. This was as smooth as any writer could have wished for. It was a blast.
KAPLAN: What kind of prep process did you do up front?
GOELLNER: Pitching, and you know, thinking about different versions of the Turtles and different eras of the Naruto chronology, and how they can work together to tell a fun, cohesive story. In the case of this book, Naruto has a beginning, middle, and end, and the fans care about the continuity. So I wanted to find these pockets where the characters were in a good place to go on an adventure with new characters, like the Turtles. That was my primary concern because certain characters in Naruto can’t be off playing with Turtles; depending on where they’re in the story, they must be off in some other country becoming evil. It’s a whole thing. Once I communicated that to my editor, they said, “Bingo,” so it was pretty easy. We talked to everybody on the Japan side, and we were able to move forward quickly. So, it was a great process.
KAPLAN: What pockets of TMNT and Naruto does this story fit into?
GOELLNER: We took the earliest chapter of Naruto, where the characters are on Team 7. It’s Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and their teacher, Kakashi. As for the Turtles, there are so many different versions. I looked at my favorite crossovers, without magic portals or multiverses, where the characters zip around to other worlds. I decided that there are just turtles in Naruto’s world, and these are the turtles that live in Naruto’s world, which freed up any continuity tension and eliminated the need for over-explaining any magic and mojo. I decided to put early Naruto and the new version of the Turtles together. It’s quite the sandwich or pizza.
KAPLAN: Was the idea pitched to you? Or did you pitch this crossover?
GOELLNER: Thank you, talented licensing people who bring collabs to life in the background. Sometimes they’re merchandise. They often come to the comics world instead because stories support broader efforts. So, I heard from IDW for this project, and they’re like, “Hey, do you have any ideas for this?” And fortunately, I had a lot. It was great working with everyone, and I was excited for the chance to work on what’s probably the biggest project of my career so far.
KAPLAN: Were there any ideas you initially had that ultimately didn’t work out?
GOELLNER: I can say that there are different versions of the Turtles, of course. One of the new versions is the latest animated film, Mutant Mayhem. It also has an animated series, Tales of the TMNT. And so, I was like, “Oh, well, this is the newest version of the Turtles.” In that film, they’re big anime fans. So I was like, “Maybe there’s something there. Maybe we can scratch at that.” But that line of Turtles is doing its own thing right now, and they don’t want to mix and match. They are prioritizing building that Turtle line and doing cool stuff with it. For example, a new IDW book based on that world is coming out this fall.
I pitched six or seven concepts to show I’m flexible and ready to jam on whatever. So, that was one. I like that movie, which was at the top of my mind when pitching and where my heart was the entire time, because it’s what I thought would work best. So, with this comic, it was one of those cases where your first truest idea is sometimes your best, and I was glad it resonated with IDW. I think the fans like it better than any other idea we could have had, too, so I was happy we went that way.
KAPLAN: What’s the fan reaction?
GOELLNER: As far as I’ve seen, it’s universally positive. I got one angry email from someone who I don’t think read the book, and it was like a kid, you know? It was like, “You’re ruining Naruto or something.” But everyone else is like, “I love Naruto. I love the Turtles. The book is awesome. Thank you for working on this.”
You don’t get that response with every book. If you work on certain characters, what you do almost doesn’t matter since people are passionate. But over my comics career, I’ve been fortunate. I’ve worked on Turtles, and the Turtles have easily one of the most adaptive, open-minded, chill fandoms. They appreciate what they appreciate and will come to the signings and tell you what they like and don’t like. But everybody’s been super positive about this crossover, which has been great.
KAPLAN: I’m always curious about open, chill fandoms like the Turtles because there are opposite fandoms. What about the IP and the storytelling creates that vibe?
GOELLNER: I don’t want to compare it. I don’t want to pick on a toxic fandom because it’s obvious which ones have their issues.
KAPLAN: My question is more about how some fandoms foster positivity.
GOELLNER: Turtles, it comes down to the story of their creation. From its very genesis, two friends bonded over their love of comics and had a vibe. They captured that and made their own thing. It was magic. You know, the name, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the feeling, everything about it is magical, and everybody got something out of it. It was very iterative of indie comics, like black and white, violent, tough guy. Then you had this goofy cartoon that was super fun, silly, and very superhero. You know, they got different colored masks.
Next thing you know, there’s a toy line, and they were doing mashups in the toy line from the beginning. And then, in the comic, they’re collaborating with their friends. So, right away, you already have Usagi Yojimbo meeting the Turtles. So, Turtles fans, they mutate, and they like the mutations. You get different versions of the Turtles that people are delighted to see repeatedly, doing something new and modern.
Naruto is an emotional story about a hero. It’s about somebody who wants to devote their life to the service of others, like that’s Naruto’s whole character. So, if you care about what the characters are about, the Turtles are a family that sticks together no matter what. Naruto is somebody who wants to serve his whole village. It’s just that people are attracted to those stories because they want to believe in something and be positive and cool. So it makes it easy to tell those stories and talk to people about them.
KAPLAN: Do you think people want positive stories right now? Because the world’s so dystopian…
GOELLNER: I like them, although I’m biased because that’s what I want. So, there’s room for everything all the time because even when things are going well, you’ll have a bad day. Then, you’ll have a great day even when the world seems on fire.
There’s something in the soup, so the point of stories is to capture the human experience at a given moment. And, I don’t know, people are happy to see something that makes them happy. Sometimes there’s nostalgia involved; it takes them back to a simpler time where, at least in their life, they just played. You know, many of these stories are about the attitude of a kid where, like, you’re just playing and enjoying being with these characters and seeing their world. Even if it’s not pure escapism, it’s a treat in the day. Seven-year-olds aren’t usually worried about taxes or real estate prices. But, it might take their mind off of school being stressful, not liking their teacher, or there are kids in their class that they’re not getting along with. It’s like a nice bite of pizza. When the world’s on fire, it still tastes good.
KAPLAN: Then, you touched on this a little, but why do you think these two properties are a good match, thematically and tonally? Maybe outside of the obvious ninja stuff, but you can talk about that too.
GOELLNER: Well, being ninjas… It’s funny. For example, in the 80s, there was a big ninja boom in cinema, and people were concerned because, as far as historical ninjas go, they’re just assassins and spies. They’re not friendly. They’re not necessarily heroes; they might do heroic things to serve a nobler cause. But, ultimately, they’re stabbing people in the back in the dark. Like, that’s what ninja did, stuff like that.
But Naruto is a fantasy, you know? Naruto is a fantasy world with retro-futuristic elements, and they’ve got magic, talking animals, and all this stuff that works with Ninja Turtles. Because they’re talking turtles, walking around, living in the sewer, hanging out. There are more mutants daily throughout New York and the world, so there’s also an element of high design. The Turtles look super cool. Naruto looks amazing because it has excellent design and art. So, it’s like two plus two equals four. It’s a magical formula for fan delight.
KAPLAN: Were you a fan of both properties growing up?
GOELLNER: Naruto hit when I was in late junior high or early high school. It didn’t come to America until I had just graduated from high school and college. But I’m a huge comic book reader. I worked in a library through most of my teens and well into my 20s, all through college. I read every comic through the library system because I love comics. It’s my medium, and I want to read everything, so I read manga. I loved manga from the first time I saw the drawings. I love the style—I like cartoony art. And, you know, the Ninja Turtles theme song was written by a Japanese studio, so it looks like anime. A Japanese animation studio did the original opening of The Real Ghostbusters season 1. It’s straight-up anime, and it’s fantastic. So, even without necessarily knowing it, you’re an anime fan if you grew up in the 80s.
I got the job because somebody asked, “Do you like Naruto?” And I’m like, “Yeah, I’ve read it all. I’ve seen the anime. I love Naruto. Who doesn’t?” So, I was extremely excited to work on Naruto. I was a little bit intimidated. But you stay calm and focus on the mission, which makes the fans happy. And since I’m a fan, I got to include myself in that equation. It was just a blast.
KAPLAN: That leads me to the question: As a fan, was there anything particularly rewarding about doing this?
GOELLNER: The most rewarding thing is always the reader’s reaction. The best thing about working on this is that sometimes you work on books and you’re at signings and stuff, and people are buying them for the first time. They haven’t read it, so they say, “Hey, thank you for signing my thing.” But you know, you’re not quite sure what the reaction is; they’re just excited about the idea. Maybe they haven’t read it yet. But when you’re doing signings, and the book’s been out for a minute and is concluded, they’re just waiting for the trade. People are telling you how much fun it was to read. And that was the comment I was getting over and over, “Fun, fun, fun.” I’m like, “Dude, that was the mission. We did it.”
It’s extremely rewarding to know that you made somebody’s day, or ten minutes, or however long it took them to read that comic, a little better because you worked hard and cared. It makes it feel like a nobler calling than just wanting your name on a book or a paycheck. A true positive fan response is everything.
KAPLAN: I freaking love crossovers. I very much want to see characters crossover into other universes.
GOELLNER: Crossovers were the connective tissue of the early Marvel books. If you’ve been a comic book reader in the West for long, it’s a part of it. Like, the bigger the world gets, the deeper it goes, the more you feel like you live in it with those characters. So I think we’re sort of in a collaboration era. You know, the Turtles will meet Godzilla soon, for example.
KAPLAN: Godzilla’s smashing everyone this year. The whole world.
GOELLNER: The entire Earth is Godzilla’s stomping ground. So, it’s a good time for it. The approaches I see being taken are carefully considered. People—writers, artists, editors and the whole team—are trying to make these things special and meaningful, like watching a fresh movie or something. They’re not these superficial little cash grabs that they could be and perhaps have been in the past in some cases. So, I think as long as these mashups, collaborations, crossovers, whatever you want to call them, as long as they’re done in the spirit of truly delighting the fans and having a great time, you can make things that are just a joy to work on, a joy to read, and a joy to share.
KAPLAN: And then, is there a crossover that hasn’t happened yet that you would like to happen? Or would you like to write it yourself, maybe?
GOELLNER: Yes. Lots. Tons. I’m excited to see the shape this collaboration era takes, as long as it keeps moving forward in a positive direction. Sign me up for any opportunities that might come my way, as long as I can do them earnestly and with actual appreciation and love for the characters. I keep telling my editors, “I’m ready to rock.”
KAPLAN: I’ve heard from other creators that it’s also an opportunity to break into new markets when they work on these kinds of stories.
GOELLNER: This is by far the most successful thing I’ve worked on, commercially speaking, and the fan reaction and its volume and scale. I think it sold more than 100,000 copies, the first issue, which is a massive milestone for me. And, you know, I’m doing this show and more conventions, and I’ve done signings all over the country now. There’s a genuine appetite and appreciation for it; to be a part of that, you can’t be anything but grateful and appreciative.
KAPLAN: Returning to the fans, have you seen any incredible cosplay or fan art of your specific book?
GOELLNER: I’ve seen some fan art come through. I see young fans drawing on their iPads or something. Or, it’s funny, like friends of mine who are professional artists who think it’s rad, and they’re doing a cool portfolio piece or something on Instagram to try to get work. And then, it’s like, let’s get 1,000 likes on Instagram in 10 seconds. Off the top of my head, my buddy Juan Alcalá did a fantastic piece. He’s on Instagram. Follow him.
I haven’t seen any cosplay or custom action figures yet. But if you’re reading this and you’re doing any of that, tag your boy (editor’s note: check out Goellner’s social media here) so that I’ll see it on social media and give it a like. I’m excited about it.
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KAPLAN: Is there anything else you want to add?
GOELLNER: Thank you for reading the book. If you liked TMNT x Naruto from IDW, I also did a book with Nick Dragotta a couple of years ago, who’s doing Absolute Batman right now. It’s called Ghost Cage. It was also done in the spirit of true love for manga and everything we like in comics, whether from the U.S., Japan, Europe, or wherever. So, if you like this book, please check out Ghost Cage from Image. You can also check out some of my other books. A couple of years ago, I collaborated with Coleman Engle from Tapas Media on Rest Area 51.
I’ve got more upcoming TMNT stuff, including an issue in the Battle Nexus event this fall at IDW.
KAPLAN: Anything to tease from that?
GOELLNER: A bunch of awesome Turtles characters from different parts of the Turtles canon are going to fight and have feelings, and it’s going to be a ball. They don’t just fight, they feel.
Stay tuned to The Beat for more coverage from SDCC ’25.
The trade paperback edition of IDW Publishing’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto arrives October 7, 2025. Pre-order your copy here!
