THUNDER Agents -- AT LAST!!!

[JCVaughn]

NEWSARAMA
The speculation will finally come to an end in June when DC launches its all-new THUNDER Agents series. Written by Marc Andreyko, with art by Manuel Garcia and Jimmy Palmiotti, covers by J.G. Jones, and edits by Dan Didio, the series won't be a simple rehash of the original. Newsarama spoke with Di Dio for the inside juice.

http://www.newsarama.com/Thunder.htm




THE PULSE
The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves a.k.a. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agentsare back! DC Comics recently quashed rumors by announcing the return. Fans of the many incarnations of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agentshad been speculating on a return of a monthly series ever since DC Comics announced the Archives collection and Dynamo statue.

Although rumors had attached creators from all walks of comics life as being involved in the creation of a new series, DC has chosen Marc (Black Sun, Torso) Andreyko as writer, penciller Manuel(Daredevil Movie Special, Thunderbolts) Garcia and inker Jimmy (21 Down, Reload) Palmiotti to create the ongoing series. Each issue will also feature pained covers by J. G. (Y: The Last Man, Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia Jones.

http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=36&t=000755

DC PRESS RELEASE
THE T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS RETURN IN HARD-HITTING NEW MONTHLY

One of the best-loved super-teams of the Silver Age is reborn for a new era in T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1! The series hits the ground running this June in an all-new, monthly series that takes the classic Tower Comics characters and sets them against a dire threat to all of humanity!

The series is written by Marc Andreyko (BLACK SUN, Torso), with art by Manuel Garcia (Thunderbolts) and Jimmy Palmiotti (21 DOWN, RELOAD) and painted covers by J.G. Jones (Y: THE LAST MAN covers, WONDER WOMAN: THE HIKETEIA).

"This series will feature all the classic characters from the original series, but while the names Dynamo, Lightning and No-Man remain the same, everything around them has changed," says Dan DiDio, DC's VP - Editorial and editor of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS. "We're taking a more contemporary look at these heroes, their motivations, and the world around them."

Operating outside the jurisdiction or boundaries of any one nation, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents seek world peace, and the coming Age of the Alpha-Human is a threat to mankind that only they can fight! But can the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents save a world in constant turmoil? Expect non-stop action and adventure as the tales of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents unfold!

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS #1 will be solicited in the April issue of Previews (Volume XIII #4) and is scheduled to be in stores on June 4.

JCV'S SEMI-BITTER I-TOLD-YOU-SO
Hey, Billy -- remember when your friends talked you out of trying to get Mark Waid to do Fighting American, and all of sudden Boy Rob went and licensed it? Remind me to tell you about the faces that greeted me when I suggested Thunder Agents.

Hey, Weldon - remember how cool the Deluxe ones were?  :o


Dynamo


No-Man


Menthor


Lightning


Agent


Bald headed B&W Baby


Uncle SIKO

[Weldon]

I remember the Deluxe ones.
I remember ALL the incarnations.
In fact, I think it was 'Scoop' that had an article about this.  They listed the previous publishers, but I noticed they didn't mention the JC Carbonaro (sp?) version.
I think they were called 'JC Comics'.

But more than all that....I remember the ORIGINAL T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.
I remember Wally Wood.  
And I remember what is still to this day, the comic book cover that I think is the best in the whole world!
It was a cover for Dynamo by Wood.
It showed him arcing down through the sky with a crippled exploding jet in the background that you KNOW he just worked over.
He looks so graceful and powerful.  And the colors are so perfect for the piece.

And when you remember that Len can't actually FLY  :o and if falling towards a whole lotta hurtin'....well it just makes you love that stupid mug all the more!
Len Brown...not the smarted Superhero ever...but one of the coolest. 8)

[JCVaughn]

I did forget the JC Comics. 2 issues of reprint comics, a B&W magazine and maybe a couple original stories, too? I can't quite remember.

[JCVaughn]

Another DC press release, this one from a few days ago:




February 18, 2003 - DC Comics has announced the second T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS ARCHIVE, available in stores May 21, 2003.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS ARCHIVES Volume 2
HARDCOVER

The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents - the secret team of super-technology-powered policemen - return in a second Archive volume reprinting the hard-to-find T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #5-7 and Dynamo #1, with an introduction by film producer Michael Uslan and noted comics historian Robert Klein! T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS ARCHIVES Volume Two is a 224-page hardcover featuring stories and art by creator Wally Wood and some of his friends in the comics industry - and what friends they were: Steve Ditko, Reed Crandall, Mike Sekowsky, George Tuska, Steve Skeates, Bill Pearson, Dan Adkins, and others!

This volume features the continuing struggle of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. vs. the Warlords; Noman facing Demo's caveman-like minions; Dynamo battling an android double; the return of the Iron Maiden; Dr. Sparta and The Red Star; the intro of Lightning's archnemisis The Warp Wizard; Noman battling the mysterious Mr. Image; "Menace from the Moon," a space-age tour de force by Wally Wood at his sci-fi best; and...the shocking death of one of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents!

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS ARCHIVES Volume 2 is a 224-page hardcover arriving in comic-book stores May 21 with a cover price of $49.95 U.S.

Back by popular demand, DC is relisting the first T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS ARCHIVE as well!

[JCVaughn]

The edition was limited to something like 500, so this really should become a true collector's item.

[JCVaughn]

Hey, Weldon -- I take this is the one you were talking about, Dynamo #3?




Here's a selection of my favorite covers from the various runs...

                                   

[Weldon]

Yeah!  That's the ONE!
....dude doesn't fly....
Len was an early master of the "Seemed like a good idea at the time" method of strategy.


One of the things that makes the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents so cool, but is unfortunately COMPLETELY LOST on modern readers is the 'mood of the time' itself that they were published.
The Cold War was still going on.  The threat of Nuclear bombs dropping was hanging in the air everywhere.  One political 'misstep' and millions of people could die!
....hmmmm....given the state of the world today, maybe that will NOT be completely lost on a modern reader.

And it was cool that they combined two big things that were popular at the same time.  
Super Heroes and Secret Agents.
Imagine TV-Batman working for U.N.C.L.E....
The Avengers working for the Avengers...
Or The Inferior Five working for C.O.N.T.R.O.L.
It was very forward thinking for it's time....

[JCVaughn]

One of the things that makes the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents so cool, but is unfortunately COMPLETELY LOST on modern readers is the 'mood of the time' itself that they were published.
The Cold War was still going on.  The threat of Nuclear bombs dropping was hanging in the air everywhere.  One political 'misstep' and millions of people could die!

Yeah, I know what you mean. China (PRC) was the perenial home of evil (they weren't part of the UN). Of course now that they are, well, hey, I have my opinion.

[JCVaughn]

Now I, head of the rogue state of North Korea, can be the bad guy in THUNDER Agents!

[JCVaughn]

http://www.newsarama.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=000031

[JCVaughn]

From SCOOP
http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/scoop_article.asp?ai=2123&si=121

Since it was announced a short while ago, the return of the THUNDER Agents has begun to generate quite the buzz. Written by Marc Andreyko, the book will be illustrated by the team of Manuel Garcia and Jimmy Palmiotti, with J.G. Jones providing the covers. Scoop caught up with writer-artist-editor Palmiotti, who is wearing his "inker" hat for this series.

"I have always been a fan of the original series, and when Manuel got the gig to pencil the book, I got the call," superstar inker Jimmy Palmiotti told Scoop. "Manuel and I have worked before on a number of projects, and I guess they needed someone they would get a clean professional job from that was familiar with his style."

"That and the fact that everyone else they asked was already too busy," he laughed. "It was probably all about being in the right place at the right time."

Palmiotti said he's not only a fan of the original Tower Comics run, he's a big fan.

"I still have my original copies that at this point would be graded a 2.0 because they have been read a million times. I am happy to say that I can finally retire those books because of the DC comics hardcover collections that have been coming out. I am a huge fan of Wally Wood and even own some of his original art which is getting harder and harder to find."

Like many who are fond of the original series, Palmiotti appreciates what Wood and his contemporaries were trying to do at the time with the format and higher page counts.

"The books themselves were something unique at the time and the packaging was itself a totally new way to launch a comic. The thicker format comic was usually just for annuals back then, but THUNDER Agents was all-new material," he said.

He also said he thinks this new version of the team stems from a natural progression rather than change for the sake of change.

"If the book was kept in the time frame of the late '60s, I think the book wouldn't last four issues," he said, "But everyone involved is putting a fresh cool spin on the material and only time will tell if it can catch on in the market place. I feel really positive about the book and I know DC will do the right thing with promotion for the retailers when it is launched."



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