T.H.U.N.D.E.R. had good artwork by Wood, Gil Kane, and (IIRC) Reed Crandall, but the series and its spinoffs were relatively short-lived. I believe Tower Comics went out of business in 1968 or '69. And later attempts at revivals by other publishers never really caught on.
There was obviously a lot of influence from the spy-fi fad (Bond, Flint, Man From U.N.C.L.E., etc.), which peaked the mid-1960s. Maybe when the fad passed, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. sort of passed with it.
I remember buying this issue brand-new off the spinner rack at Tompkins' Drugstore. Great stuff, other than the Mike Sekowsky artwork on one of the stories. (I can tolerate Sekowsky on the JLA because those stories are iconic in other ways, but I'm not a fan of his work.) All the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS stories have been reprinted, but my memories of the series aren't quite fond enough to make me spring for what those volumes cost.
I had all the original T.H.U.N.D.E.R. agents at one time, but lost them somehow. I absolutely loved them all. Cap'n Bob, I once won a bid on what I thought was 100 issues of Conan and when I got the box, I found out I had won 100 issues of Conan #100. I still have them at hand. I'm not crazy about Sekowsky. but I do like him and very much in his Adam Strange episodes
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. had good artwork by Wood, Gil Kane, and (IIRC) Reed Crandall, but the series and its spinoffs were relatively short-lived. I believe Tower Comics went out of business in 1968 or '69. And later attempts at revivals by other publishers never really caught on.
ReplyDeleteThere was obviously a lot of influence from the spy-fi fad (Bond, Flint, Man From U.N.C.L.E., etc.), which peaked the mid-1960s. Maybe when the fad passed, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. sort of passed with it.
I remember buying this issue brand-new off the spinner rack at Tompkins' Drugstore. Great stuff, other than the Mike Sekowsky artwork on one of the stories. (I can tolerate Sekowsky on the JLA because those stories are iconic in other ways, but I'm not a fan of his work.) All the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS stories have been reprinted, but my memories of the series aren't quite fond enough to make me spring for what those volumes cost.
ReplyDeleteYou can read 'em at comicbookplus.com, James.
ReplyDeleteAt a comic con auction I bid on T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents 1-20 and won. Then I found out I'd bought 20 copies of #1. I think I still have them somewhere.
ReplyDeleteYes, Cap'n, I will accept one if you insist. So will James.
ReplyDeleteI had all the original T.H.U.N.D.E.R. agents at one time, but lost them somehow. I absolutely loved them all. Cap'n Bob, I once won a bid on what I thought was 100 issues of Conan and when I got the box, I found out I had won 100 issues of Conan #100. I still have them at hand. I'm not crazy about Sekowsky. but I do like him and very much in his Adam Strange episodes
ReplyDelete