ThuncerCats #14 // Review
Lion-O is missing. The group is without a leader on a strange planet where everythign seems hostile towards them in some way. Things aren’t looking good, but they’re maintaining. WilyKit and WilyKat are training when a powerful foe arrives for a one-man assault in ThuncerCats #14. Writer Declan Shalvey continues an exploration of the old space fantasy franchise with the art team of Drew Moss and Joe Mulvey. Color comes to the page courtesy of the coloring team of Martina Pignedoli and Giovanna La Pietra. It’s a strikingly concise issue-long conflict that charts a very lean path from the front cover to the back.
It’s Mumm-Ra. He has arrived to let them know that he has slain Lion-O. He’s come for them now. WilyKit and WilyKat aren’t going to have to face him alone for long, though. Panthro is right behind. He’s a formidable warrior who cnan hold his own against a powerful, mesomorphic undead priest of dark forces. Panthro is going to have his hands full until he is joined by Tygra and Cheetara. Everyone is going to have to work together if they’re going to survive, but they’re GOING to need more help if victory is to be assured.
Shalvy has a very solid sense of action plot construction. One panel is placed after the other in a very solid sequence that seems almost perfectly formatted for the 22 pages allotted for the issue. An issue-long fight equence can be a bit of a slog if its not handled right. Shalvey keeps everything moving with a very sharp appreciation for all of the beats that the conflict needs to hit in order to make maximum impact. Mumm-Ra seems more than formidable enough to take on six heroes at once and Shalvey does a good job of alternating the action so that everyone gets a piece of the center of the page.
Moss and Mulvey handle the action with a great sense of style. The old cel animated series found clean lines and simple. rendering. A modern comic book has a bit more room for detail than the traditional production crunch of a 1980s animated series would have allowed for. Moss and Mulvey find a heart in the detail that lends more visual depth to the action without betraying the overall visual simplicity of animated TV action from the ’80s. THe coloring team gives set and setting a powerful sense of atmosphere.
The series has been an interesting journey thus far. Shaley and company have come quite a distance in just 14 issues. It’s interesting to compare the progression of the plot in something like 3-4 hours’ worth of reading time with the comic book versus the same amount of viewung time in the first season of the original animated series. Many of the same plot points are being explored, but in an entirely different way that feels that much more tied to overarching plot and conflict. It’s been a fun journey..
