Wildstorm Thundercats Comics - Discussion

[Tony_Bacala]

OK, so I just read the Wildstorm comics mini-series, first 3. The Return, Reclaiming Thundera, and Dogs of War.

Seems like they did a solid extension of the show. I dug it, but, it really changes the path of the Thundercats story, original one anyway.

For those that are hardcore, do you guys accept this as official mythos, or does something else usurp it in importance?

[king kahn]

I had all of my issues of the Wildstorm run bound into 2 volumes. I even made some custom dust jackets.

The dust jackets shown were only the temp jackets to test size etc. The comics listed on the dust jackets are wrong but I have since fixed them. the order in the books are actually in correct chronological order.

[Joe Moore]

I'd love to see the finished dust jackets. I never read the Wildstorm comics. Comics have always been a very tricky thing for me. My patience for them comes and goes.

[king kahn]

I thought the overall series of comics was good. They had major character changes and growths.

[Tony_Bacala]

So where does Enemy's Pride and Hammerhands revenge fall in. I started those 2 and it was like the previous three didn't even happen. Were they prequels to the other three, or just some random stuff?

[Mako Crab]

1st mini- Really by-the-numbers. Cut and dry with little-to-nothing interesting going on. Every issue throws a new villain at the cats that they promptly beat. Blah.

2nd mini- Mumm-ra conquers everything. Tries too hard to create tension and drama by having the cats infighting and blaming each other for everything. That, and Kit is the new sex kitten on the block. Again, blah.

3rd mini- Dogs of War thing. Nice art. Not really all that bad. Fairly enjoyable.

4th mini- Uh. . . Hammerhand's Revenge? I think. Wasn't really into it. Had a few good bits.

5th mini- That one about Lion-O being secretly replaced by the evil woman he magically makes herself look like Lion-O. He/she goes all hardcore and starts up a Thunderian army to "protect" the people of 3rd Earth. Was actually pretty good. Probably my favorite of the lot.

Origins: The various stories range from good to blah. Cheetara's and Mumm-ra's origins were good, but the origin story for the race of TCats was pretty blah.

Wildstorm was pretty hit and miss. When they were on the ball, they did some good stuff. When they weren't, well. . .

[Ratar-O]

I found the WS series to be quite enjoyable for the most part and I agree with Mako Crab on everything that was pointed out.

[Grune the Destroyer]

Never a massive fan of the output. Especially with "The Return", this series looked like it was trying to be too edgy and "mature" for adult readers.

Was a massive fan of the UK-originated Marvel material back in the 1980s though!

[nitewing73]

Wow those hardbound editions look neat.

I think my favorite series was the 1st one with Ed McGuinness on art. The others were fine too but that mini had a classic feel to them.

[Joe Moore]

Actually reading through all of the trade paperbacks now. Just finished up volume 1, and so far I'm enjoying it.

[xander88]

I've never read any of these but I've been considering purchasing some of them even though they are expensive now. Would you guys recommend them? Are they worth the money?

[Joe Moore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xander88

I've never read any of these but I've been considering purchasing some of them even though they are expensive now. Would you guys recommend them? Are they worth the money?

So far, I think so. I'm half way through TPB 2. And I'm digging it so far.

[Eduardo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xander88

I've never read any of these but I've been considering purchasing some of them even though they are expensive now. Would you guys recommend them? Are they worth the money?

Depends:

Volume 1, Reclaiming Thundera (issues 0-5) by Ford Gilmore, is the closest one to the tone of the series. Set after the final episode, it shows Lion-O growing into his leader role, while featuring the return of Shadowmaster (issue 1), the Mutants & Hachiman (issue 2), Mandora & the Lunatacs (issue 3, with an art style that doesn't fit the franchise), Mumm-Ra (issue 4) & Grune (issue 5). The end of the miniseries sets up the next one.
Note: Issue 0 was a primer for the series, to reintroduce the characters, set during season 1.

Volume 2, The Return (issues 1-5) by Ford Gilmore, is where the comics take a dark turn. Everything that could go bad went bad, Thundera is enslaved, a Thundercat is dead, and Lion-O returns to pick up the pieces. Some fans like it, some fans really hate it.

Volume 3, Dogs of War (issues 1-5) by John Layman, concludes the post-finale trilogy. Set fifteen years later, it features the invasion of a race of space dogs that want to conquer Thundera. The series introduces three new Thundercats (including two offsprings), and it has some weird moments, like the Sword of Oprah joke and Who let the cats out. The ending is kind of weird.

Volume 4, Hammerhand's Revenge (issues 1-5) by Fiona Avery, goes back to the setting of season one on Third Earth. It features Hammerhand, obviously, capturing Hachiman and demanding a ransom from him, which prompts the tHundercats to try to rescue him while dealing with a new races of bird creatures and the mysterious guardian of the forest. Personally, this is the one I least liked.

Volume 5, Enemy's Pride by John Layman is set during Season 2/Season 4 (seems, the thing has quite a few continuity errors, like the Third Earth Cat's Lair instead of the New Thundera one, the mutants in Thundera, etc ). The story was interesting, with Lion-O going all power mad and creating a Thunderguard army. In the end, it is revealed that Lion-O is not Lion-O, etc.

Then you have the one-shots:

- Sourcebook: A collection of pin-ups with small bios for most of the cast.

- Origins - Heroes and Villains features 4 stories:

• Mumm-Ra (origin of Mumm-Ra set in Ancient Egypt) by Ford Gilmore
• The Race (origin of Cheetara) by Ken Siu-Chong
• Young Claudis (the origin of Claudus) by Ford Gilmore
• The Birth of Thundera (origin of Thunderians, Thundercats, the Cat's Lair, etc) by Ford Gilmore

- Origins - Villains and Heroes features 4 stories:

• Grune and Jaga (a little more background on their battle) by Ford Gilmore
• Puppets of Men (the origin of Ta-She) by Ken Siu-Chong
• Sword of Omens (how the sword was forged) by Ford Gilmore
• The Destruction of Thundera (the final days of Thundera) by Ford Gilmore

Finally, you have the three crossovers one shots:

- Superman/Thundercats by Judd Winnick, features the Thundercats being sent to Earth's past and facing against Superman to gain a sister gem to the Eye of Thundera. Pretty decent.

- Thundercats/Battle of the Planets by Kaare Andrews, & Battle of the Planets/Thundercats by Munier Sharrieff. These features the team-ups of both teams against a combination of the bad guys od their respective series, but they aren't in continuity with each other (in both they meet for the first time). Can't say I enjoyed them.

If I had to recommend which ones to get, I would say the post series trilogy, the two Origins issues, the Sourcebook for reference purposes, and maybe the final miniseries for the idea of the Thunderguard.

Hope it helps.

[xander88]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eduardo

Depends:

Volume 1, Reclaiming Thundera (issues 0-5) by Ford Gilmore, is the closest one to the tone of the series. Set after the final episode, it shows Lion-O growing into his leader role, while featuring the return of Shadowmaster (issue 1), the Mutants & Hachiman (issue 2), Mandora & the Lunatacs (issue 3, with an art style that doesn't fit the franchise), Mumm-Ra (issue 4) & Grune (issue 5). The end of the miniseries sets up the next one.
Note: Issue 0 was a primer for the series, to reintroduce the characters, set during season 1.

Volume 2, The Return (issues 1-5) by Ford Gilmore, is where the comics take a dark turn. Everything that could go bad went bad, Thundera is enslaved, a Thundercat is dead, and Lion-O returns to pick up the pieces. Some fans like it, some fans really hate it.

Volume 3, Dogs of War (issues 1-5) by John Layman, concludes the post-finale trilogy. Set fifteen years later, it features the invasion of a race of space dogs that want to conquer Thundera. The series introduces three new Thundercats (including two offsprings), and it has some weird moments, like the Sword of Oprah joke and Who let the cats out. The ending is kind of weird.

Volume 4, Hammerhand's Revenge (issues 1-5) by Fiona Avery, goes back to the setting of season one on Third Earth. It features Hammerhand, obviously, capturing Hachiman and demanding a ransom from him, which prompts the tHundercats to try to rescue him while dealing with a new races of bird creatures and the mysterious guardian of the forest. Personally, this is the one I least liked.

Volume 5, Enemy's Pride by John Layman is set during Season 2/Season 4 (seems, the thing has quite a few continuity errors, like the Third Earth Cat's Lair instead of the New Thundera one, the mutants in Thundera, etc ). The story was interesting, with Lion-O going all power mad and creating a Thunderguard army. In the end, it is revealed that Lion-O is not Lion-O, etc.

Then you have the one-shots:

- Sourcebook: A collection of pin-ups with small bios for most of the cast.

- Origins - Heroes and Villains features 4 stories:

• Mumm-Ra (origin of Mumm-Ra set in Ancient Egypt) by Ford Gilmore
• The Race (origin of Cheetara) by Ken Siu-Chong
• Young Claudis (the origin of Claudus) by Ford Gilmore
• The Birth of Thundera (origin of Thunderians, Thundercats, the Cat's Lair, etc) by Ford Gilmore

- Origins - Villains and Heroes features 4 stories:

• Grune and Jaga (a little more background on their battle) by Ford Gilmore
• Puppets of Men (the origin of Ta-She) by Ken Siu-Chong
• Sword of Omens (how the sword was forged) by Ford Gilmore
• The Destruction of Thundera (the final days of Thundera) by Ford Gilmore

Finally, you have the three crossovers one shots:

- Superman/Thundercats by Judd Winnick, features the Thundercats being sent to Earth's past and facing against Superman to gain a sister gem to the Eye of Thundera. Pretty decent.

- Thundercats/Battle of the Planets by Kaare Andrews, & Battle of the Planets/Thundercats by Munier Sharrieff. These features the team-ups of both teams against a combination of the bad guys od their respective series, but they aren't in continuity with each other (in both they meet for the first time). Can't say I enjoyed them.

If I had to recommend which ones to get, I would say the post series trilogy, the two Origins issues, the Sourcebook for reference purposes, and maybe the final miniseries for the idea of the Thunderguard.

Hope it helps.

Thanks. I am considering the sourcebook, origins, reclaiming thundera and the return but i'm not sure about dogs of war. It doesn't sound very good in reviews. I was thinking I might give that one a miss. What do you think? Is it essential to the trilogy or can it be missed out?

[Eduardo]

The thing is The Return ends in a bit of a cliffhanger concerning one character, and the plot thread is picked up in Dogs of War.

If The Return had a more definitive ending, I would say about skipping Dogs of War, but it doesn't. While The Return is the fall of Thundera, Dogs of War shows how it prospered since then, ready to fall again.

[xander88]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eduardo

The thing is The Return ends in a bit of a cliffhanger concerning one character, and the plot thread is picked up in Dogs of War.

If The Return had a more definitive ending, I would say about skipping Dogs of War, but it doesn't. While The Return is the fall of Thundera, Dogs of War shows how it prospered since then, ready to fall again.

Oh right. Well I've ordered Reclaiming Thundera, origins and sourcebook so I'll see what I think of them. I may get the return and dogs of war at a later stage.

[Lord of Cragsclaw]

I too never read any of these comics, really have never gotten into comics to be honest. But I would say that they are a part of canon to the extent that storylines to not contradict the series storylines.

But even though I have never been into comics before, I may check these out! lol.

[xander88]

I've managed to get hold of 'Reclaiming Thundera', 'The Return', 'Dogs Of War', 'Enemy's Pride', 'Origins' and the Sourcebook. So far I've read Enemy's Pride, Origins and the Sourcebook. I am enjoying them so far. Looking forward to getting on to the other three.