Writer: Declan Shalvey
Artist: Drew Moss
Colorists: Chiara Di Francia & Martina Pignedoli
Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry
Cover Artists: David Nakayama; Lucio Parrillo; Declan Shalvey; Jae Lee & June Chung; Ivan Tao; Drew Moss
Publisher: Dynamite
Price: $4.99
Release Date: March 13, 2024
The Mu’Tants craved the Eye Of Thundera. They destroyed the ThunderCats' homeworld to get the jewel. Mu’Tant leader Lord Slithe tracked the lone escaping ThunderCat vessel to Third Earth. Yet while battling Lion-O, Lord Slithe's mighty axe shattered the Sword Of Omens adorned with the precious gem. What reason have the Mu’Tants and the ThunderCats to continue fighting? Let's leap into ThunderCats #2 and find out!
Story
Lion-O looks up to Jaga. After Jaga’s death, Lion-O seeks his mentor in his dreams. He awakens to mourn Jaga. Of all the ThunderCats, Lion-O feels the most alone. He lost his childhood and camaraderie with WilyKat and WilyKit to a faulty stasis pod. Years and responsibilities separate them. In ThunderCats #2, Lion-O quickly assures WilyKat and WilyKit of their safety. Then Lion-O bids the children leave his presence so he can use Sight Beyond Sight to spy on the other adults.
After the destruction of their ship, the Mu’Tants seek a new stronghold. A pyramid guarded by four obelisks seems too good to be true. While Lord Slythe's soldiers journey through the desert, their leader enters the forest. Lord Slythe lost his ship to children, suffered defeat despite his larger army, and shattered what he most desired. Slythe seeks renewal of mind, body, and purpose, yet the forest may not offer the tranquility it promises.
Declan Shalvey builds his story upon cracked pillars. Perhaps the most stressed is Panthro. He is a general. Yet his forces number a handful. Half of them are children, and Lion-O rejects his leadership. In their first conflict, Lion-O shattered the Sword Of Omens while WilyKat and WilyKit's exuberance deprived Panthro of a valuable asset. Like Lion-O and Lord Slythe, Panthro’s failure has led his people to ruin.
Interlopers intrude upon all their lives in ThunderCats #2. One meets the Mu’Tants in the desert. The ThunderCats welcome another into their crashed spaceship. A third deprives Lord Slythe of his solitude. How many more dangers inhabit the Third World?
Art
Drew Moss brings us into the characters' concerns with closeups. Backgrounds fade as characters argue over plans or share their fears. WilyKit and WilyKat sit on a ledge on the hull of the pitted and scarred Thunderan flagship. As they converse, moons rise above distant hills on their new homeworld.
Lion-O's hair is in constant motion in ThunderCats #2. Bald, elfin-eared Panthro wears a perpetual frown. Like lightning, direction lines flash through panels when Cheetara bursts into motion. Rocks bounce along the ground, and dust rises as she speeds through the desert.
A green horde disturbs the blue-gray sands. The Mu’Tants march beneath an angry red sky, evoking Sauron’s Orc armies in The Lord Of The Rings. A gray mist obscures the lower portions of the black pyramid and obelisks they find. As red sinks beneath the hills, Chiara Di Francia & Martina Pignedoli color the night sky ultramarine. Lord Slythe walks between green trees near a blue lake. Yet moonlight pierces the forest, illuminating the Mu’Tant leader as he treads upon clumps of green grass and passes brown tree trunks.
Lowercase black letters in colored narrative boxes relate character thoughts and off-camera dialogue. Black uppercase words in white dialogue balloons grow bold for inflection and swell for shouts but rarely shrink. Peering into the Eye Of Thundera can make any day a Red Letter Day. Jeff Eckleberry adorns memories of the Sword Of Omens shattering, the commencement of Sight Beyond Sight, and a battle in the darkness with colorful, enlivening sound effects. Yet a cloaked figure speaks with cloud-like dialogue balloons, promising more dangers in ThunderCats #2.
Thanks to Dynamite Comics for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Danger threatens a retreating army, a despondent leader seeks renewal, and a mysterious figure deploys nefarious plans as a power struggle brews in ThunderCats #2.
Rating 9.4/10
For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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