ThunderCats #6
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThunderCats #6 (July 2024) marks the in-continuity debut of the ThunderTank within Dynamite's acclaimed 2024 relaunch — the first time the franchise's most recognizable vehicle has appeared in this series — making it a structural milestone at the opening of the title's second story arc. The issue simultaneously delivers the comics debut of this series' interpretation of Vultureman, who is reimagined not as the scheming lone scientist of the 1985 cartoon but as the formidable commander of an entire Vulture mutant army, reshaping the character's role and expanding the franchise's antagonist roster in meaningful ways. Narratively, the issue drops a significant piece of worldbuilding lore: the revelation that Third Earth once functioned as a colonial prison to which Thunderan mutant war criminals were exiled, a retcon that reframes the core conflict between the ThunderCats and the Mutants of Plun-Darr and provides a deeper in-universe reason for the antagonism that has driven the property since 1985. As the opening chapter of what was collected as 'ThunderCats Vol. 2: Roar,' this issue anchored a second arc that proved the series was not a flash-in-the-pan, cementing Shalvey and Moss as long-form stewards of the franchise.
ComicBooks.com Value
Find on ebay
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Dynamite Entertainment announced the series at New York Comic Con 2023, under a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery, with the creative team of writer Declan Shalvey and artist Drew Moss — both self-described fans of the original cartoon — alongside colorist Martina Pignedoli and letterer Jeff Eckleberry, with editor Nate Cosby playing an active creative role. Shalvey has described the editorial environment on the book as unusually open for a licensed property, with both Dynamite and the licensor granting the team wide creative latitude. Issue #6 represented the formal return of the core Shalvey/Moss pairing after the single-issue interlude of issue #5, which had been handled by guest writer-artist Stephen Mooney; the same day #6 went on sale (July 17, 2024), Dynamite also released the Direct Market-exclusive first trade paperback collecting issues #1–5, a deliberate coordinated retail event. The series went on to run at least twenty-five issues under Shalvey and Moss before they concluded their tenure, with their run later also spawning the spin-off series ThunderCats: Cheetara and contributing to a broader 'ThunderVerse' that eventually included a SilverHawks comic.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published July 17, 2024 by Dynamite Entertainment; written by Declan Shalvey, art by Drew Moss, colors by Martina Pignedoli, letters by Jeff Eckleberry; 32 pages, rated Teen.
- First appearance of the ThunderTank within the 2024 Dynamite continuity — Panthro deploys it on a solo mission to locate the energy mineral Thundrillium on Third Earth.
- First appearance (in this series) of Vultureman, reinvented as the helmeted warlord commanding a full army of Vulture mutants rather than the solitary scientist of the animated series; he is positioned as the central villain of the second story arc.
- Key lore reveal: Vultureman discloses to Panthro that Third Earth was originally a Thunderan colony used as a prison for mutant war criminals, retroactively explaining why so many mutants on Third Earth bear deep hatred for the ThunderCats.
- Issue opens Arc 2 of the series (collected in 'ThunderCats Vol. 2: Roar,' reprinting issues #6–10, published in both a Direct Market exclusive edition and standard trade paperback/hardcover via Simon & Schuster).
- Eight cover variants at launch (Covers A–H), including a Cover A by David Nakayama, a Cover D by Jae Lee & June Chung, and retailer-incentive foil and virgin editions by Lucio Parrillo; a 1:7 incentive cover by Rahzzah was also offered.
- Issue #6 went on sale the same day as the first ThunderCats trade paperback (collecting #1–5), a coordinated Direct Market exclusive release that Dynamite noted would be limited to a single printing.
- Shalvey had cited Panthro as his favorite character in pre-series interviews; this issue is a Panthro-centric spotlight told largely through the character's internal monologue, reflecting that creative investment.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in ThunderCats #2 (2024), ThunderCats #2 (2025)
Variants (37)
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.