NYCC 2023: The Escorza Brothers Discuss `TMNT – The Last Ronin’ Sequel

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin took the comics world by storm a few years ago and thrust the franchise back into the spotlight. While the original turtles were all dead by the end of the limited series, a last-page shocker revealed Yi, Uno, Odyn and Moja – the team’s next generation. Their story will be told in The Last Ronin 2 – Re-Evolution. Much of the original’s creative team is returning with Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz again penning the sequel, and Esau and Isaac Escorza illustrating the majority of the book (with Ben Bishop drawing flashback scenes). Comicon.com caught up with the brothers at the New York Comic Con booth for an exclusive interview.

Tom Smithyman: What was your reaction when you were asked to draw The Last Ronin 2?

Esau Escorza: We were assuming that something was going to happen. There was news and rumors about what was going to happen. We were expecting it to be confirmed, but there was nothing for sure. There was a point when our manager said that someone else was probably going to do Last Ronin 2. But when we got the confirmation, we were like “Oh my God! It actually happened!”

Isaac Escorza: When we finally got the news that we were actually doing Last Ronin 2, we were really happy because we can move forward with the closure of the story – with the second volume of three. So that is something that is really good for us.

Smithyman: How exciting is it for you to shape the next generation of turtles? How much of a burden and honor is that?

Esau: To be honest, the full design of the turtles was Ben Bishop’s work. But for this version, we’re seeing them as teenagers. So we’re going to add something new to the characters. Of course, we’re going respect Bishop’s character but we’re going to add something from ourselves.

This is a pretty huge honor to draw the new generation of turtles – especially the teenage version. After all they are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! And those are the ones that everyone will remember. And we’re going to try to add as many elements as we can from our creations, from ourselves. We will try to have new weapons, new costumes, new gear here and there – as long as we are allowed by Kevin.

Smithyman: Without giving away any spoilers, what can you tell me about the story?

Esau: That’s pretty dangerous to ask us! I’ve been sitting in other interviews thinking: “Should I say this?” I can only say that the comic book will be really good and exciting. But I prefer to shut up and not saying anything else.

Isaac: What can I say that isn’t a spoiler? We are not replicating the original turtles; we’re doing something new. But the spirit of the original turtles and the universe – we’re going to see it. We’re not going to lose it.

Smithyman: What kind of weapons do the new turtles use?

Esau: We’ve only started working on the first issue, and they’re using the using the same weapons as the original turtles. But the difference is that every turtle can use every weapon. This isn’t coming out of the blue. In the first Last Ronin, we saw Mike using each of the weapons. But now, they are learning from Mike, and they are using all of the weapons.

Smithyman: Does that make it more difficult to differentiate them when you are drawing them?

Isaac: It’s pretty easy to know who’s who because in the new generation, each turtle is completely different from each other. They are different species. And the costumes are different from each other. They don’t have bandanas or a special color.

Smithyman: What is the creative process like with the writers?

Isaac: We get the script – Kevin sends something like 10 pages per batch. This time, Esau has been working on the layouts. As soon as we have them, we send them over. If they are accepted, Esau does the pencils, and then I’m taking care of all the inking. That’s different from the last series, when we were doing everything together.

Esau: In the first series, Kevin would send the layouts including the weapon designs, even the pages. Now we’re just given the script. So we’re in charge of everything – the layouts, the weapons, the designs, the turtles, the costumes. So far, everything has been accepted on the first try.

Smithyman: The new series has been pushed back until February of 2024, and I know you have a lot of work on it still. But what other projects are you lining up after it?

Isaac: We have a lot of things to do! Right now, we’re working on a book called Satanika. There’s a second volume after that, and we have some original stories that we would like to work on. And we are in discussions with other comics publishers.

Esau: In The Last Ronin universe – or Roninverse – in Kevin’s and Tom’s minds, there are a lot of opportunities that haven’t been revealed. We’ve heard that in other discussions. We know that, probably, we’ll have the chance to participate in that Roninverse expansion.

Smithyman: I know the fans will be looking forward to seeing that. Thank you for taking time out of your busy NYCC schedule to talk.