First Space Ghost, then The Herculoids, now Thundarr the Barbarian! Yes, Dynamite once again brings back characters (and memories) from a classic Ruby-Spears animated show. This time, it’s Thundarr the Barbarian, an animated show that ran for two seasons on Saturday mornings from 1980 to 1981 on ABC (with repeats being shown on NBC in 1983).
In a way, the show was similar to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, which would debut a few years later. Unlike He-Man though, Thundarr’s world was a much darker place. Thundarr and his allies live on a post-apocalyptic Earth 2000 years in the future, where a “rogue planet” hurtled between the Moon and the Earth in the 20th Century, causing the Earth to spin off its axis and plunging it into a new Ice Age that took 2000 years to recover from. Now, magic has resurfaced on Earth and all manner of monsters and mutants wander the terrain, enslaving humans and trying to survive across the decimated landscape. There are councils of evil wizards, armies of half human/half rat warriors called Groundlings and all other manner of beasts.
Thundarr wields a powerful magic sword called the Sunsword. Like a lightsaber, it’s merely a hilt until he fires the blade of it to life on command. Always at his side are his companions Princess Ariel (a sorceress) and Ookla the Mok, a towering half lion/half man warrior. Much like Chewbacca from Star Wars, Ookla talks in howls and grunts but Thundarr and Ariel can always understand what he’s saying.
It’s a great setting and cast of characters, and writer Jason Aaron brings them all to life with his usual mastery in Thundarr the Barbarian #1, drawn by Kewber Baal with colors by Jorge Sutil). Many of the mutant factions appear at the beginning of the issue, as a group of humans are being sold into slavery. Among the factions appearing are the Groundlings, the Carocs (half human/half crocodile creatures), the Man-Apes (Apelike creatures) and the Raiders of the Abyss, possibly the most grotesque looking of the world’s mutants, with striped faces massive pointed ears and wearing hoods most of the time to hide their features.
Dynamite
This opening scene gives insight into each of the mutant factions’ personalities, look and level of menace. Though the Groundlings are potentially the weakest of the bunch, they come off extremely terrifying and intimidating as they roar in on motorcycles like a nightmarish giant rabid rodent version of the Hells Angels.
From here, the story hits full throttle as we get to see Thundarr, Ariel and Ookla battle the Groundlings while searching for an ancient artifact. There’s a LOT that happens in this first issue, with Jason Aaron taking an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach, even tossing underwater adventure and time travel into the mix. With all the action, sorcery and multiple genre elements spattered throughout the story, it makes the book feel like a really great Dungeons and Dragons tale and you don’t know where the story will take you next. As with the best continuations of animated shows, the book transcends the cartoon with deeper concepts and more mature subject matter.
I’ve always been a fan of Kewber Baal’s artwork on various Vampirella series – he draws the sexiest vampires around, and he outdoes himself with his work here, making all the different mutant races of this future Earth visually striking. His battle scenes are laid out in a dynamic fashion and make them thrilling. I especially love the way he draws Princess Ariel as she stands firm, grimly blasting opponents with her arsenal of flashy spells.
Fans of He-Man or Conan will love this book and should race to pick it up this week to get in on the ground floor of this exciting new series.
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