REVIEW: Thundercats #1

For the first time in a while, a comic has generated a huge amount of interest to the tune of over 100K copies on pre-order. I know what you are thinking, which Batman book is this? Well surprise surprise, its not a bat, but a cat or in this case, its Thunder, Thunder, Thundercats….HOOOO!!!!

If you were a kid in the mid to late 80’s you were pretty much spoilt when it came to “Saturday morning'”cartoon shows. You had He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, MASK, Dungeons and Dragons, Defenders of the Earth and of course, the show with probably the best opening sequence, Thundercats! This new run is a kind of return to that which was once great. Gone are the more adult version of the ‘Cats from Wildstorm, in its place is a book that tries to reinsert the cartoons history. Fleeing a devastated Thundara, the ‘Cats land (crash) onto Third Earth where a young Lion-O, now in a more adult body thanks to the vagaries of space travel, must learn how wield the powerful Sword of Omens and lead the Thundercats!

Declan Shalvey may have taken notice of the recent Transformers reboot and decided to forego a kind of off-centre origin tale. Shalvey wisely decides that readers know who the ‘Cats are, their relationships and their overall goal. With a minor altercation all the pieces are set in place albeit with a couple of earth-shattering changes. The dialogue works well for fans of the show; the ‘Cats all sound on point, though I do think Tigra sounds older and Cheetara younger than I remember; it will be interesting where and how the potential love triangle will play out. Shalvey keeps the newer readers in mind with the minor setup points.

The art is provided by Drew Moss who is no stranger to animated based comics following his work on Gargoyles: Dark Ages. Here, Moss uses clean lines, if a little too cartoony to set a rather light tone for the book. I get that the first issue should have a lighter feel, being as the “ever living’ doesn’t fully darken the ‘Cats lair; for now the art feels sun shiny, which is probably a true reflection of both the original show and the more recent reboot locales. Moss keeps the panels moving and full of pace for the cast, cleverly building on the uniqueness of each cat be it Lion’O’s strength, Cheetara’s speed and Tigra’s cunning. The light tone is further emphasised by colorists Chiara Di Francia and Martina Pignedoli who work well throughout the various locations in the book. I am looking forward to seeing more of their work as the series continues and the confrontations that come down the pipe. Jeff Eckleberry’s letters are spot-on, clear fonts set amongst the action, ensuring the art works, escalating for the fan favourite Thundercat call to action! There is a litter of variant covers to choose from; a true buyers choice for sure!

I am not sure what I was expecting for a book that has a pre-order of, reportedly, 170K. The book doesn’t reinvent the wheel, nor does it really set the ‘Cats amongst the pigeons. Instead, we get a fun book that features the hallmarks of a classic fan favourite cartoon.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

Overall – 4 Stars

Written by; Declan Shalvey
Art by; Drew Moss
Colors by; Chiara Di Francia & Martina Pignedoli
Letters by; Jeff Eckleberry
Published by; Dynamite Entertainment

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network