lovin THUNDARR

[RobertScorpio]

By son and I have been watching THUNDAR THE BARBARIAN on Boomerange. I have never seen it before, and my son and I think its pretty good, for a Hanna/Barbara show. But I wonder if the opening is a bit too graphic for kids..I mean,Earth is practically destroyed in the opening credits, and it sure looks as if hardly anyone lived..plus the moon is hanging there in space, in two pieces!!

But. oh well..still cool toon

Rob
Scorpio

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The intro always gave me the creeps when I was a kid. So did Gemini, that creepy guy who always switched from 'nice' to 'nasty' faces.

I remember one episode that pissed me off, at first, but now I understand it:

Spoiler: Thundarr

Thundarr and his friends travel back in time to the present (pre-disaster). Thundarr even forms a friendship with a local girl. At first, I couldn't understand why they didn't warn people, try to prevent the disaster which would destroy the world in just a few months' time. Of course now I know...there's no way they could have deflected the runaway 'planet', and any warnings they might have given would have just caused panic and mass civil disorder. Still, it really hurt to know that this girl who had become friends with Thundarr would almost certainly be dead soon.

 

[nevermore]

The opening was creepy. Kids like creepy. It's why I watched the show.

This is one of those cartoons I would really like to have on DVD, actually.

 

[Kryton]

Heh...I added the intro to my YouTube page about 16 months ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO-YDLWSd2I

Fun to see it back on BOOMERANG.

 

[Super Grover]

Man, I forgot this show was out there. Good stuff. I remember one about a race of super monkeys was in the ruins of a Hollywood studio digging up a giant animatronic Gorilla.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

LORDS OF LIGHT! OOKLA, ARIEL! RIIIIIDE! DEMON DOGS! I always loved the "super-science" in the intro.

I loved Thundarr, wish I got Boomerang. Occasionally, guys would meet their fate with no apparent parachutes or seen crawling out of the wreckage, very rare for a show of its vintage.

 

[zenophite]

I loved Thundarr. Growing up during the cold war you actually thought that was going to be how it was by now.

 

[broberfett]

I read that Jack Kirby designed the characters.

 

[Kirkman1987]

I loved Thundarr, wish I got Boomerang. Occasionally, guys would meet their fate with no apparent parachutes or seen crawling out of the wreckage, very rare for a show of its vintage.

Let us not forget the infamous violence and rampant PC nightmare that was Jonny Quest.

 

[Super Grover]

I read that Jack Kirby designed the characters.

Was he the guy who did Heavy Metal?

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Thundarr was how 80's He-Man should've been (except not on Earth, of course).

Princess Ariel...hawt.

I like how Ookla's horse was a monster, too.

 

[Dayton3]

I too though "Gemini" was great.

IIRC, he was the only one of the "wizards" who managed to take on Thundarr once and come back for more (and still wasn't killed).

 

[Kryton]

I like how Ookla's horse was a monster, too.

"Monster" perhaps isn't the right word, but yeah...a sort of mutant being as Ookla's mount was cool.

Also, some time back I wondered whether the name "Ookla" was a tribute to U.C.L.A. and, as I recall, a Wikipedia reference to it being the school for one of the show's creators confirmed it.

 

[Mistral]

I read that Jack Kirby designed the characters.

Was he the guy who did Heavy Metal?

Dear God, protect us from the heathens! Heavy Metal was a collaboration of artists who were regular contributors to the magazine of the same name.

Jack Kirby was one of the "grand old men" of comics, having sat right there with Stan Lee helping to create characters you know and love today. After a slight(life-long) difference of opinion with Stan the Man, Kirby went to DC, where he created his famous "Fourth World" titles as an alternative to accepted DC canon. Although dead for many years now, his ideas lived on, including OMAC and the New Gods, Darkseid and his minions, Big Barda, New Genesis, etc. Try Wikipedia for more detailed info-the guy really was a founding force in comic books.

And, yes, I believe Kirby did create Thundarr. Among other things.

 

[RobertScorpio]

I read that Jack Kirby designed the characters.

Was he the guy who did Heavy Metal?

Dear God, protect us from the heathens! Heavy Metal was a collaboration of artists who were regular contributors to the magazine of the same name.

Jack Kirby was one of the "grand old men" of comics, having sat right there with Stan Lee helping to create characters you know and love today. After a slight(life-long) difference of opinion with Stan the Man, Kirby went to DC, where he created his famous "Fourth World" titles as an alternative to accepted DC canon. Although dead for many years now, his ideas lived on, including OMAC and the New Gods, Darkseid and his minions, Big Barda, New Genesis, etc. Try Wikipedia for more detailed info-the guy really was a founding force in comic books.

And, yes, I believe Kirby did create Thundarr. Among other things.

Darksied pretty much was the best think in DC for YEARS!!!....Thanos vs Darkseid? What do you think?

Rob

 

[Kryton]

Joe Ruby is the actual creator of the show (of Ruby/Spears fame).

From Wikipedia:

Comic book writer-artist Jack Kirby worked on the production design for the show. While many people believe that Kirby was the primary designer of the show (mainly due to his similarly themed Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth), the main characters were in fact designed by fellow comic book writer-artist Alex Toth, who also designed the popular character Space Ghost for Saturday morning television. Toth, however, was unavailable to continue working on the show, so most of the wizards and other villains and secondary characters that appear on the show were designed by Kirby. He was brought onto the show at the recommendation of comic writer Steve Gerber and comics and animation veteran Mark Evanier, who realized that the same imagination that produced Kamandi could contribute significantly to the series. Indeed, the evil wizard Gemini, the only repeating villain on the show, resembles Darkseid, an infamous Kirby villain.

 

[Mistral]

I own every original edition of Kamandi, the New Gods and Mr. Miracle, as well as the Forever People. FYI. The resemblance between them and Thundarr is...eerie.

 

[Kryton]

How about the Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen Kirby issues? Or Sandman 2?

 

[Mistral]

How about the Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen Kirby issues? Or Sandman 2?

I have a few Jimmy Olsens. One Sandman 2.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I loved Thundarr, wish I got Boomerang. Occasionally, guys would meet their fate with no apparent parachutes or seen crawling out of the wreckage, very rare for a show of its vintage.

Let us not forget the infamous violence and rampant PC nightmare that was Jonny Quest.

But Jonny Quest aired in prime time in 1964, Thundarr's contemporaries were the Superfriends.