I'm still mourning the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents being purchased and soon mangled by DC Comics, so I thought a memorial gallery was in order. The only way I see new T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents stories working is with old school artists, preferably in a period setting. The first time I see, say, Ashley Wood or Scottie Young drawing these characters, I'll know their spirits have left this plane. Those final images are from the DC's last abortive pass at the characters, and looking at those designs, "abortion" really is the descriptive here.
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents by George Tuska
Dynamo by Wally Wood
NoMan by Ralph Reese
Dynamo Pin-up by Dan Adkins in the style of Wally Wood
Lightning by Alex Saviuk
2000 Dynamo by Dan Adkins
Menthor and Dynamo by Dan Adkins
2006 Dynamo by Dan Adkins
Raven by Don Perlin and Bob Almond
Dynamo by Steve Sadowski
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents by Andrew Sheppard
Iron Maiden and Dynamo by Bob Layton
Lightning and Kitten Kane by George Tuska
Dynamo and Nick Fury by Darryl Banks
NoMan and Menthor by George Tuska
Dynamo and Iron Man vs. Black Maiden by Bob Layton
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Amazing Heroes #8 cover by Dennis Fujitake
Dynamo vs. Iron Maiden by Geof Isherwood
NoMan by Paul Ryan
Iron Maiden Defeats Dynamo by Buzz
Kitten Kane and the Black Panther by James E. Lyle
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents vs. Iron Maiden by Jerry Ordway
Dynamo (Bruce Timm Style) by Doctor Cyclops
NoMan (Bruce Timm Style) by Doctor Cyclops
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents by Fred Hembeck
NoMan by Ernie Stiner
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents vs. The Mad Thinker by John Byrne
Lightning by Tom Grindberg
The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents by Lou Manna
A Lady Menthor by Tom Tenney & Sam De La Rosa
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents & War Machine vs. Magneto
Lightning and Raven by Ron Adrian
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents vs. Deathstroke the Terminator by Cliff Richards
The New T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1 cover by J.G. Jones
Dynamo by Max & Seba Fiumara
NoMan by Max & Seba Fiumara
Lightning by Max & Seba Fiumara
Menthor by Max & Seba Fiumara
The New T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #2 cover by J.G. Jones
10 comments:
I feel exactly the same way about the THUNDER Agents. DC will ruin these characters, just as they have ruined Captain Marvel, the Charlton heroes, and (surely) the Archie characters. John Carbonaro's heirs should be ashamed. Carbonaro, showing true character a few years back, decided to take back his beloved heroes from the destructive clutches of Dan DiDio rather than allow them to be mangled beyond recognition. Ah, well, there will always be reprints to enjoy...
It's been so long since anyone got the Archie/MLJ heroes right, I've never read 'em as they supposedly should be. From Red Circle to !mpact, it's all been pretty bad.
Up until a few years ago, I'd have defended DC's handling of the Charlton heroes. Then Blue Beetle ate a bullet, Peacemaker became a nutso Nazi's son, Sarge Steel became corrupt, Captain Atom turned evil, Tiger turned evil, Nightshade turned-- something, the Question became a pale imitation of himself before being replaced by a further dilution of the concept, and everyone else just plum fell off. At least no one's bothered Pete Morisi's heirs yet (even though "Thunderbolt" would be a way better replacement name than "the Death Defying 'Devil.")
I actually wondered how long it would be before DC got their hands on the THUNDER Agents. Considering that the heroes of Fawcett, Quality, Charlton, and lately Milestone and Red Circle, I figured it was only a matter of time. I'm still half-expecting the Atlas/Seaboard heroes of the 1970s to wind up there.
Considering how DC has treated the aforementioned characters, they'll have to convince me they can do the THUNDER Agents right. The best I can say at this point is that at least they're in a better place now than when they almost wound up in Rob Liefeld's hands. He actually solicited an issue which never came out.
Thanks for including some of my THUNDER art in your list.
Oh, one more thing -- its possible that those drawings you have credited to Manuel Garcia is incorrect. I think they may be by an artist named Max Fiumara:
http://maxfiumara.blogspot.com/2006/09/thunder-agents.html
Thanks for the tip, Damon. I just went with the credits on the original posts I linked to. I vaguely remembered Fiumara's involvement, but never followed his or Garcia's work enough to tell them apart.
I need to dig around in a cheapie bin or search online for that Awesome Comics solicitation ad. As I recall, Liefeld gave Dynamo chesticles so grand they put Heroes Reborn Captain America's to shame.
I'm still confused about the nature of DC's recent "acquisitions." They always had a stake in Milestone, and I'm pretty confident the Red Circle characters are only being licensed from Archie. Does DC capital "O" OWN any of them?
I don't think DC actually owns any of them. Dwayne McDuffie retains ownership of the Milestone characters and the THUNDER Agents, like Milestone, are only being published by DC.
I could see Carbonaro's heirs selling the Agents, though.
I thought Milestone was a corporate entity involving McDuffie, but not to the exclusion of other interests. I'll have to check the indicias, but I thought DC or Warner Brothers had a stake in the Milestone characters from go, which allowed for "Worlds Collide" back in the day.
Any luck tracking down that Liefeld THUNDER Agents ad? I haven't seen it in over a decade, but it sure had a "train-wreck-can't-look-away" quality to it.
I recall it being quite the rubbernecker, but the only Maximum Press comic I recall owning didn't have that ad in it. Sorry!
Hey folks!
I own the original piece that was used by Maximum Press for the Thunder Agents advert. Yep, the anatomy is all sorts of distorted, but a nice piece of comic history nonetheless.
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