Thundercats #1

History

ThunderCats was conceived by writer Tobin 'Ted' Wolf, who pitched his humanoid-cat-people concept in early 1984 to Stan Weston of Leisure Concepts Inc., which in turn brought it to Rankin/Bass Productions; Leonard Starr was then hired as head writer to develop the series bible, create the characters, and script the pilot episode 'Exodus.' Marvel's Star Comics imprint — launched in December 1985 specifically to serve younger readers with licensed-property comics — selected ThunderCats as one of its debut titles, assigning scripter David Micheline to adapt Starr's 'Exodus' teleplay under editor Mike Carlin (with Tom DeFalco as executive editor and Jim Shooter as editor-in-chief). Penciler Jim Mooney and inker Brett Breeding produced both the interior art and the cover, with Petra Scotese handling colors; Breeding would later go on from this early career work to co-create Doomsday at DC in the 1990s. The copyright notice in the issue credits Leisure Concepts, Inc., Telepictures Corporation, and Ted Wolf — reflecting the complex multi-party licensing arrangement that governed the franchise from its inception.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First comic-book appearance of the full ThunderCats team: Lion-O, Cheetara, Panthro, Tygra, WilyKit, WilyKat, Snarf, and Jaga, as well as villains Mumm-Ra, S-S-Slithe, Jackalman, and Monkian.
• Published December 1985 by Marvel's Star Comics imprint — one of that imprint's inaugural titles — and ran for 24 issues through June 1988, beginning on a bimonthly schedule for the first 8 issues before switching to monthly.
• The lead story, 'Survival Run!' (36 pages), is a comics adaptation by David Micheline of Leonard Starr's teleplay for the animated pilot episode 'Exodus,' which originally aired January 23, 1985.
• Art by penciler Jim Mooney and inker Brett Breeding; edited by Mike Carlin; Brett Breeding would later co-create Doomsday for DC Comics' Superman titles in the 1990s.
• The first printing exists in both a direct-edition (Star 'M' logo) and a newsstand (barcode) variant; additional known printings (2nd and 3rd) of this issue also carry a December 1985 date, indicating strong initial demand.
• A Canadian newsstand price variant (75¢ cover price with barcode) is also documented, though debate persists among collectors about whether certain 75¢ logo copies represent true Canadian variants or multi-pack/later printings.
• Marvel UK launched its own ThunderCats weekly series in March 1987, running 129 issues and reprinting Star Comics material alongside original UK strips by writers including Simon Furman and Dan Abnett.
• Dynamite Entertainment produced a facsimile reprint edition of this issue in connection with their 40th Anniversary ThunderCats Classic Years Omnibus campaign (2025), marking the first time the original Star Comics material was collected in decades.

Cast · 12 characters

Full credits

Variants (3)