Declan Shalvey and Drew Moss have successfully brought ThunderCats back to comics and back to their roots in more ways than one! It’s clear that this creative team knows their stuff when it comes to ThunderCats, as this first issue has been designed to be welcoming to newcomers and cozy for longtime fans. If you grew up with the original ThunderCats series, you’re probably going to be familiar with many of the beats in the list first issue. The first couple of pages handily summarize the original series’ pilot episode and jump right to the ThunderCats on Third Earth, trying to figure out their next moves after escaping the destruction of their homeworld. They’ve incurred some losses, and their leader, Lion-O, is an angsty kid in the body of a man.
For the first chunk of the issue, we are treated to some fun slice-of-life moments as the ThunderCats get used to their new normal. Survival is paramount, so they train hard, forage for food, and catalogue the new species they’ve found near their new home. The stakes are high, but Shalvey and co. wisely keep things light in these scenes. Yes, there’s a bit more blood on display when Lion-O gets knocked around during training with Panthro, but it’s softened a bit thanks to some amusing physical comedy and winking dialogue from Panthro and the ThunderKittens.
That’s not to say it’s all fun and games, though. The book never lets us forget that they’ve all suffered a tremendous loss, and that it’s proving to be difficult for them to gain their bearings. Things go from bad to worse when their enemies arrive. The action is fluid and exciting, with every one of our heroes getting a moment to shine, and the rich bright colors from Arancia Studio give this book the warm glow of a Saturday morning cartoon series. Having loved both incarnations of ThunderCats as a kid and then later as a 20-something, I must confess I had the biggest grin on my face when Lion-O drew the Sword of Omens for the first time — and that wasn’t the only time I felt that way.
This first issue covers a good bit of ground, and folks who aren’t super familiar with the original series’ lore might feel like they missed a few things, especially in the first handful of pages. Even so, there’s a lot to like about ThunderCats, even if you’re a newcomer to the franchise. We get some exciting hints toward the greater evil lurking in the wastelands of Third Earth, and I can’t wait to see how this creative team tackles Mumm-Ra. They’ve already made Slithe a villain worth fearing, which is quite a feat. As someone who literally just re-purchased the original series on DVD, I was pleasantly surprised to see how faithful it is to the classic show, but also very intrigued by the divergences from the source material.
Moss makes some interesting choices with character designs, including a version of Tygra who looks a bit older than we’re used to, or is at least a bit more “distinguished.” The absence of a pivotal sidekick character from this first issue is also worth noting, making me wonder how else the comic may deviate from canon in the future. Considering the shocking final pages, which tease even further changes to the story that fans know, I think it’s safe to say that Dynamite’s ThunderCats has a great number of tricks up its sleeve. Curiosity famously killed the cat, and now it’s killing me to wait for the second issue!
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