ThunderCats #2
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThunderCats #2 (2024) earns its key-issue status primarily through the debut of Calica, a wholly original Thunderian character — a first for the franchise in what Dynamite itself described as perhaps decades. Her introduction demonstrated that writer Declan Shalvey and artist Drew Moss were not content to simply retread 1980s cartoon continuity but were genuinely expanding the ThunderCats mythology, setting a storytelling precedent that the series carried through all ten issues of its run. The issue also marks the first time Mumm-Ra's pyramid is formally encountered by Slithe's Mu'Tant band in this continuity, deepening the villain's menace early in the series. As the second chapter of the inaugural title launched under the historic Dynamite/Warner Bros. Discovery licensing partnership, it helped confirm that the revival had the creative ambition to sustain long-term fan and retailer enthusiasm.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The series was announced at New York Comic Con in October 2023 as the lead title in a new partnership between Dynamite Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products, with ThunderCats serving as the first book published under that deal. The creative team — writer Declan Shalvey, artist Drew Moss, colorist Arancia Studio, letterer Jeff Eckleberry, and editor Nate Cosby — was announced alongside the partnership, with Shalvey and Moss described as self-professed ThunderCats fans who wanted to explore the characters' earliest days on Third Earth. Calica's debut in issue #2 was pre-announced by Dynamite in a press release ahead of the Final Order Cutoff, generating significant collector and press attention; the story title 'The Gift' was not printed in the original comic and only appeared when the issue was collected in ThunderCats Volume 1 Trade Paperback.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Calica: a brand-new Thunderian character — inspired by calico cats, with a tri-color fur pattern and a distinctive black patch over one eye — designed by Drew Moss and written by Declan Shalvey.
- Calica is found among the wreckage of a crashed Mu'Tant ship on Third Earth and is positioned as a potential love interest for Lion-O, while her true allegiance remains ambiguous.
- Her introduction was described by Dynamite as possibly the first new character added to the ThunderCats mythos in decades, making her comics-canon debut here significant within the franchise's history.
- The issue's story was untitled in the original printing; the title 'The Gift' was only added when the issue was collected in the ThunderCats Volume 1 Trade Paperback.
- Creative team: written by Declan Shalvey, art by Drew Moss, colors by Arancia Studio, letters by Jeff Eckleberry, edited by Nate Cosby. Cover A by David Nakayama.
- The issue shipped March 13, 2024 — the same week as the second printing of ThunderCats #1, reflecting the enormous retail demand the debut issue generated.
- This issue is part of the broader Dynamite/Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products licensing partnership, announced at NYCC 2023, under which ThunderCats was the flagship first title.
- The issue featured an unusually large variant cover lineup, including covers by David Nakayama, Lucio Parrillo, Jae Lee & June Chung, Ivan Tao, Declan Shalvey, Drew Moss (Calica design sheet), and Ken Haeser (homage cover).
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Reprinted in ThunderCats #1 (2024), ThunderCats #1 (2024)
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