The Herculoids is one of those Hanna-Barbera shows that I thought was on TV for years when I was a kid, but it actually only ran for 18 episodes stretched over two years from 1967 to 1969. The show was brought back in 1981 with 11 new episodes as part of an anthology series called Space Stars, which had five segments each week including “The Herculoids”, “Space Ghost”, “Teen Force” (a variation on early “The Legion of Super Heroes” issues), “Astro and the Space Mutts” (which featured Astro from “The Jetsons”!) and a final segment where they all teamed up against a massive threat.
Yes, way before the good old Marvel Cinematic Universe and Snyder’s DC Universe came along, Hanna-Barbera had already dabbled in a shared universe here and with “Laff-A-Lympics”, where all of Hanna-Barbera’s animated characters participated in sports events against each other every week. Who doesn’t want to see Barney Rubble interacting with Scooby-Doo and Shaggy, or Snagglepuss racing Magilla Gorilla? It made a young kid’s heart swoon.
Dynamite’s The Herculoids #1, written by Tom Sniegoski with art by Craig Rousseau and Omi Remalante, Jr., brings the characters back and doesn’t miss a beat in delivering the same great energy of the original Saturday Morning animated show, which combined the massive scale of Star Wars with the epic jungle tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs. All that’s missing is a bowl of cereal to enjoy while reading the book. May I suggest Count Chocula?
One of the big continuity issues with The Herculoids show was that their home world was called “Amzot” in the original 1960s show then puzzlingly renamed “Quasar” in the 1980s revival. Tom Sniegoski brilliantly gets around that network faux pas by making the world so mythic and mysterious that beings whispering rumors about it across the galaxy refer to it by different names, much like some people refer to Bigfoot as Sasquatch. You say tom-ay-to, I say tom-ah-to.
Dynamite
Writer Sniegoski does a great job introducing the characters for those who know little about them while bringing all the Herculoids goodness for those of us who have been lifelong fans. They’re a pretty formidable group, with Igoo, a giant ape with skin of stone, Zok, a flying dragon who can shoot lasers from his eyes, and Tundro, a massive triceratops-like creature who can shoot missiles from his horn. There’s also Gleep and Gloop, amorphous blob creatures who can change their bodies into any shape.
The human family of Zandor, his wife Tara and son Dorno (who dress like they came straight out of a Tarzan novel) round out the group. What’s especially wonderful about the group is that they’re like a family, much like the Fantastic Four. They would each fight the whole universe by themselves to protect the rest of their team.
This issue kicks off a multi-part story where an interstellar thug and his fleet are hired to bring back some of the precious minerals from the Herculoids’ world. They make planetfall and attack, instantly rousing The Herculoids to action.
It’s a simple setup but it’s really all you need, as it gives each character time to shine and show off their skills while battling the massive army of would-be conquerors. It’s the age-old story of those who are greedy and powerful wanting to annihilate and plunder beings they think are inferior, but it makes the book exhilarating as you watch the team decimate the assault squads.
Artist Craig Rousseau’s style resembles that of Alex Toth, who was the storyboard artist for the original show. It makes reading the issue feel like watching a lost episode of the animated show and it’s delightful. Make sure to grab up this first issue of the series! It delivers a lot of great action and is the perfect companion to Dynamite’s Space Ghost series. If you get both books, it’ll be like experiencing an awesome Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon marathon. Don’t forget the Count Chocula!
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