Thundarr Review

The original Thundarr the Barbarian cartoon debuted in 1980, part of ABC's Saturday morning lineup that fall. In retrospect, it's timing was very strange. It largely pre-dates two of the pop culture trends of the '80s: post-apocalypses and sword and sorcery fantasies. Mad Max: The Road Warrior came out in 1981 and the first Conan movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger debuted in 1982. Obviously both genres did exist prior to that, but that a network cartoon was preceeding a cultural zeitgeist of sorts instead of following well behind one was decidedly unusual.

Needless to say, it was one of the most unique shows on television at the time, certainly the most unique cartoon. The opening narration starts by explaining how civilization was totally destroyed, and new creatures evolved to live in the ruins. Yes, the basic story structure tended to be fairly straight-forward good-versus-evil fights, but it was always over the backdrop of the still-recognizable detritus of then-modern civilization. And except for a few very learned individuals (notably the female protagonist, Ariel) everyone was completely clueless as to the origins or even purposes of these now-ancient relics. A simple pocket watch might be seen as mystical talisman, or a shrine might be built up around a data processing center. (These types of ideas got more wide-spread/popular attention in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome a few years later.)

It would only be years later that I learned about the show's creators. It was conceived of and headed by Steve Gerber, with the original character designs by Alex Toth. Jack Kirby provided most of the villains' designs, and scripts were written by the likes of Marty Pasko, Roy Thomas, Mark Evanier, and Buzz Dixon to name a few. Boatloads of talent at the helm and, despite working for what was ostensibly a kids show, they never talked down to their audience.

Now, does any of that background matter when it comes to the new Thundarr the Barbarian comic book by Jason Aaron and Kewber Baal? No. The first issue lays out the basic background (I haven't checked directly, but it's nearly if not completely identical to the opening narration from the show) before dropping readers into the story. And like the show, there's sufficient exposition to give readers the gist of what's going on immediately, while filling in details as Thundarr comes into the picture and requires additional context. We start off with humans being subjucated and auctioned off as slaves to the various clans of lizard- and ape- and rat-peoples. The story then leads the heroes to fight the Council of Wizards to stop their larger plans.

Aaron does a good job of throwing readers right into the story, but catching them up with any necessary history/context as it moves along. There's a good mix of action and exposition to keep things moving. And Baal does a good job communicating how exactly the action moves along. I'll also make note in particular that he draws a pretty good Ookla, which is one of those characters that seems like he ought to be easy enough because of his visual simplicity but, in fact, is really hard to get just right.

What struck me, as a fan of the show as a kid and having studied it more conscientiously as an adult, is how much of the show's lore is packed into the comic. There's the opening narration, as I noted earlier, but the majority of the cast are characters that appeared in show at some point. Including Sabian and a winged monster he conjured -- who only appeared in the show's opening credits and not anywhere in any episode. They also go to offering a more detailed backstory for the protagonists -- which is only hinted at in the show itself -- and manage to logically weave in the various elements of the story that had been known. Clearly, both creators are fans of the show and have done more than their fair share of homework to honor what other fans liked four decades ago.

There is some element of nostalgia being peddled here, without a doubt. However, the story thus far is done well enough that it can stand on its own for any readers who've never heard of Thundarr before. The TV show was well-received in its day but only lasted two seasons, and never won any awards. It was fun but offered viewers more to think about than just simple high-adventure excitement. I think the comic very much continues in that same vein. It's solidly entertaining in its own right, but offers more than a simple run at nostalgia. Worth a read if you have any interest in a post-apocalyptic sword and sorcery adventure, and DEFINITELY worth a read if you were a fan of the show back in the day!

The first four issues are out now from Dynamite Entertainment, and #5 is scheduled to be released on June 17.

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