The advance purchase data for Declan Shalvey and Drew Moss' ThunderCats #1 have been disclosed, indicating that Dynamite Entertainment has a hit on its hands.
Advance orders have already surpassed 100,000 copies and are continuing to grow ahead of the advance order cutoff on Monday.
Per Bleeding Cool, the final tally for advance orders could surpass 150,000 copies before Monday's cutoff.
Dynamite is licensing the IP from Warner Bros.
The comic, based on the iconic Rankin/Bass animated series from the 1980s, is seeking to attract a new audience, something a well-executed but underappreciated animated revival in 2012 failed to do.
A Teen Titans Go!-inspired third reboot, 2020's ThunderCats Roar, also failed to gain traction with audiences.
In an interview describing the upcoming series, Shalvey teased, "I think the tone could be described as a slightly darker, more grounded take on the characters. Nothing grimdark or anything, but I’m looking for the reader to see the world more through the ThunderCats’ eyes, just after the huge trauma they’ve just suffered."
"When I revisited the cartoon to prepare for the series, it had some darker stuff in there that I didn’t remember, so I wanted to lean into that a little."
"This is still ThunderCats though, so you can expect a lot of kicking and punching to come along with it."
THUNDERCATS #1
Release Date: February 7, 2024
$4.99
32 Pages Cardstock Covers
Writer: Declan Shalvey
Artist: Drew Moss
Covers: David Nakayama, Lucio Parrillo, Declan Shalvey, Jae Lee, Ivan Tao, Action Figure, Logo, Drew Moss Design – More to be revealed!
Synopsis: Fleeing through space to escape their dying home world, the ThunderCats were attacked en route by their mortal enemies, the Mutants of Plun-Darr. After diverting their damaged flagship to a planet called Third Earth, the surviving ThunderCats now strive to rebuild their society in harmony with the new world's natives.
But the Mutants, determined to possess the ThunderCats' mystical gem, the Eye of Thundera, have tracked them down – and they've also forged an alliance with Mumm-Ra, the devil-priest of Third Earth!
Now the ThunderCats, led by an inexperienced Lion-O, must band together as never before to protect their legacy from this combined enemy. But will they be able to withstand the onslaught of Mumm-Ra the Ever-Living, once he sets his eyes upon them? The triple-threat talents (writers, artists, and ThunderCats superfans) of DECLAN SHALVEY and DREW MOSS join forces to bring this exciting new entry in the ThunderCats canon to life!
This premier issue features 24 story pages as well as a host of the finest cover artists the galaxy has ever seen, including SHALVEY, DAVID NAKAYAMA, LUCIO PARRILLO, JAE LEE & JUNE CHUNG, and IVAN TAO!