Review: THUNDER Agents, 50th Anniversary Special

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS, 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was first published by Patreon.]

WRITERS:  Larry Ivie; Len Brown; Dan Adkins
PENCILS: Wally Wood; Steve Ditko; Dan Adkins; Garry Leach
INKS: Wally Wood; Dan Adkins; Tony Coleman; Garry Leach
COLORS: Jason Millet
LETTERS: Victor Gorelick
MISC. ART: George Perez with Ronda Pattison; George Tuska with Ronda Pattison; Jerry Ordway with Ronda Pattison; Dave Cockrum with Ronda Pattison; Dave Cockrum; Steve Ditko and Greg Theakston with Ronda Pattison; George Perez and Dave Cockrum with Ronda Pattison; Dave Cockrum and Murphy Anderson with Ronda Pattison; Steve Ditko and Will Blyberg; Bob Layton; Phil Hester and Eric Gapstur with David Baron; Dave Sim with David Baron
EDITORS: Greg Goldstein and Michael Benedetto
COVER: Dan Adkins with Jason Millet (based on Wally Wood and Dan Adkins' cover for T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #3)
SUBSCRIPTION COVER: Andrew Pepoy with Jason Millet (based on Wally Wood's cover for Incredible Science Fiction #33)
64pp, Color, $7.99 U.S. (July 2015)

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents created by Wally Wood and Len Brown

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents was a team of superheroes that appeared in comic books originally published by Tower Comics from 1965 to 1969.  The original T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents were an arm of the United Nations.  The name, T.H.U.N.D.E.R., is an acronym for “The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves.”

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents the comic book series ran for 20 issues.  Tower Comics gave the two of the most popular T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, Dynamo and NoMan, each his own short lived comic book series.  After the demise of Tower Comics, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents characters did not appear in new comic book stories until the early 1980s, which was the beginning of a series of sporadic efforts to create T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents comics over the next three decades.  Beginning in 2010, DC Comics published a short-lived ongoing T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents series and a miniseries.  In 2013, IDW Publishing published another short lived T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents comic book series.

In spite of decades of short-lived iterations, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents still have fans and admirers, and I am one of them.  In fact, 2015 is the 50th anniversary of their first appearance in T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 (Tower Comics; cover dated: November 1965).  So I was excited to discover that IDW had published a one-shot comic book, entitled T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, 50th Anniversary Special.

Despite their checkered comic book publishing history, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents comics have featured the work of a number of talented writers and artists.  T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, 50th Anniversary Special celebrates the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, some of their classic stories, and a selection of work from acclaimed and popular T.H.U.N.D.E.R. creators.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, 50th Anniversary Special reprints four Tower Comics-era stories.  “First Encounters,” from T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 (November 1965), introduces the devices that give super-powered T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents their powers.  Dynamo shines in two stories:  “D-Day for Dynamo!” from T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2 (cover dated: January 1966) and “Master of Evolution” from T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #4 (cover dated: April 1966).

One of the best known T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents stories is also reprinted here.  That is “A Matter of Life and Death,” from T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #7 (cover dated: August 1966).  Some comic book historians and fans believe that this story features the first meaningful and long-lasting depiction of the death of a major character, in this case, Menthor, in a comic book.  T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, 50th Anniversary Special also reprints the art Garry Leach drew for a story that deals with the aftermath of Menthor's death on Dynamo.  I am assuming that this story, written by the late George Caragonne, was originally produced for Deluxe Comics' short-lived T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents revival, a comic book series entitled Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.

I don't want to describe the four Tower Comics stories as “quaint and charming,” which is how I sometimes describe comics from the Silver Age and earlier.  I think that these stories are actually quite good, and they reveal that Dynamo is a dynamic character, one whose potential has never and will likely never be reached, unless someone dedicated to comic books saves the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, 50th Anniversary Special also offers just under 20 pages of illustrations, pin-ups, cover art, and preliminary art by classic comic book artists, like George Perez and two now deceased artists, Dave Cockrum and George Tuska, among others.  This comic book is like a short love letter to fans of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.  It does seem a bit inadequate, but fans can get more T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents in T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Companion (from TwoMorrows Publishing).  In the meantime, we can enjoy the comic book-sized T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, 50th Anniversary Special for what it is.  It is a special comic book commemorating a group of comic book characters whose 50 years of existence is probably the shortest half-century in American comic book history.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for November 4, 2015

IDW PUBLISHING

SEP150459     ANGRY BIRDS SUPER ANGRY BIRDS #3     $3.99
SEP150416     ATOMIC ROBO & THE RING OF FIRE #3     $3.99
SEP150441     DONALD DUCK #7     $3.99
SEP150407     INSUFFERABLE #7     $3.99
SEP150444     MICKEY MOUSE #6     $3.99
APR150415     MIRACLEMAN ARTIFACT ED HC     PI
SEP150357     MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDS FOREVER #22     $3.99
SEP150424     OCTOBER FACTION #10     $3.99
SEP150414     SHERLOCK HOLMES 7 PER-CENT SOLUTION #4     $3.99
SEP150415     SHERLOCK HOLMES 7 PER-CENT SOLUTION #4 SUBSCRIPTION     $3.99
SEP150386     STAR TREK NEW ADVENTURES TP VOL 02     $29.99
SEP150391     STAR TREK NEW VISIONS HOLLOW MAN     $7.99
SEP152625     THE GAME CARD GAME     $19.99
SEP150432     TMNT COLOR CLASSICS SERIES 3 #11     $3.99
AUG150362     TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS EYE #46     $3.99
AUG150363     TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS EYE #46 ARTIST ED BLANK SKETCH     $3.99

I Reads You Review: Marvel's MIRACLEMAN #1

MIRACLEMAN #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

STORY: The Original Writer (Alan Moore)
ART: Garry Leach
COLOR: Steve Oliff
LETTERS: Chris Eliopoulos
COVER: Joe Quesada with Richard Isanove
64pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (March 2014)

Miracleman Book One: A Dream of Flying

Prologue by Mick Anglo (plot) and Don Lawrence (art)

Essay “Kimota! The Secret Origin of Mick Anglo’s Marvelman” by Mike Conroy

Marvelman is a British superhero character created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for British publisher, L. Miller & Son.  The character was originally created as a substitute for the American character, Captain Marvel (Fawcett Comics), in the U.K.  Marvelman comic books were published until 1963, but the character was revived in 1982 by writer Alan Moore, who offered a darker, post-modern take on the character.  Author Neil Gaiman (The Sandman) wrote the series after Moore.

In March 1982, Warrior, a British monthly, black-and-white anthology comics magazine, was launched by editor and publisher Dez Skinn, who decided to revive Marvelman.  Warrior published the new and darker version of Marvelman, written by Alan Moore and initially illustrated by Garry Leach and later by Alan Davis.  In August 1985, Eclipse Comics began reprinting the Marvelman stories from Warrior (in color) in a comic book entitled, “Miracleman” (to avoid legal problems with Marvel Comics).

Miracleman issues #1-6 reprinted all the Warrior content, and then, Eclipse began publishing new Miracleman stories written by Alan Moore and drawn initially by artist Chuck Beckum and later by Rick Veitch and then John Totleben.  Moore wrote the series until issue #16; Neil Gaiman took over with issue #17.  Gaiman continued to write the series, but Miracleman ceased publication with issue #24 when Eclipse closed due to financial difficulties.

Now, Marvel Comics is bringing Eclipse Comics’ Miracleman series back into print, but in a special edition with extras.  This reprint also means that Neil Gaiman will get to finally finish his Miracleman story arc, more than two decades after it began.

Miracleman #1 begins with a reprint of an old Mick Anglo story, entitled for this story as “Prologue: 1956 – The Invaders from the Future.”  The main body of the story, “…A Dream of Flying.” opens in Great Britain in 1982.  It introduces Michael Moran, a 41-year-old freelance journalist, who has been having a bad time lately.  The strange dreams that have plagued him for years are worse, and he suffers from migraine headaches.  If only he could remember “the damn word” that is at the edge of his dreams/nightmares.

Moran travels to Larksmere for the opening of a nuclear power plant, and that’s where it all changes.  Later, Mike Moran will have a great story to tell his wife of 16 years, Liz Sullivan, but will she believe it?  Can Mike believe it?

It has been so many years (so so so many) since I first read the Miracleman #1 published by Eclipse Comics that I don’t remember exactly what I thought about it.  I know that I really liked it, but my memory is telling me (or lying to me) that I liked this series even more as it progressed.  Reading this #1 issue again, now, I enjoyed it, but I’m not overly impressed with Alan Moore’s story, although I do like it.  I get the feeling that once upon a time, I was more in awe of Miracleman #1.  After all, it was like nothing I had read up to that point.  Like I said, I think I liked Miracleman more in the later issues.

What impresses me now is the fantastic art by Garry Leach.  A delicate line is meshed into intricate line work.  Supple forms and advanced draftsmanship yield impressive compositions.  Did Leach know that he was just drawing a comic book?  I gotta find more Garry Leach.

Extras in this new Miracleman include an essay and an interview.  Mike Conroy’s two-page essay, “Kimota! The Secret Origin of Mick Anglo’s Marvelman,” is a quickie piece on Marvelman’s origins.  “Mick on Mick,” Joe Quesada’s interview of Marvelman creator, Mick Anglo, is short, but gives a nice look at Anglo as a bit of a rascal.

There are also reprints of three black and white stories taken from Marvelman #25 (February 3, 1954) and #32 (March 24, 1954).  The best of the extras is a six-page section that offers examples of Garry Leach’s original art, sketches, and developmental art for Marvelman, including his logo for Miracleman.  Once again, Leach makes Miracleman #1 worth having.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.