T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Vol. 1

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents by Nick Spencer #1

by Nick Spencer, Cafu (Illustrator), Dan Panosian (Illustrator)

Would you rather burn out or fade away? That's the question at the heart of this bold title starring a group of people who, for one reason or another, are at their wits' end until they're offered a chance to become super heroes. The catch? Their powers will kill them. Writer Nick Spencer (Morning Glories) and artist CAFU (WAR OF THE SUPERMEN) present a fresh take on the classic comics property, starring a new batch of recruits brought in to take over the original agents' mantles and make some difficult choices of their own - all while dealing with global threats the rest of the DCU doesn't even know exist!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Espionage

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Nick Spencer is a comic book writer known for his creator-owned titles at Image Comics (Existence 2.0/3.0, Forgetless, Shuddertown, Morning Glories), his work at DC Comics (Action Comics, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents), and for his current work at Marvel Comics (Iron Man 2.0, Ultimate Comics: X-Men).

Reviews

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book series promised so much, and it delivered so very little that to say I'm disappointed to be a disappointment.

[ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[ISMOTU · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting series looking at the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents in the 21st century. Nick Spencer explores the ramifications of the superpowers-with-a-cost and Cafu provides gorgeous art in this update that flows from the original in fun and surprising ways.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a soft spot for this title because I remember enjoying the original Wally Wood stories as a kid. A couple of companies have tried to restart the franchise over the years, and most of these were either pretty mediocre or never launched.

While I am not a huge fan of Nick Spencer's writing he teams well here with artist Cafu and a series of guest artists (including the very good Mike Grell). Spencer doesn't drag out story points as long as as he does in his creator owned Morning Glories. A big plus is how to explain a 30 year gap from when the first set of agents were retiring and the new batch that are recruited in this volume.

Cashing in on the 1960s super hero craze Wood and his partners took James Bond and added super heroics. They were a little different for their time a true anti-hero (Menthor) and when a character died they stayed dead (again Menthor). The catch is that using the devices that gave them super powers kills them over time, and that feature is played up well in the first portion of this trade.

While well paced the stories are woefully short on characterization. The new agents are pretty much cyphers, except for Dunn aka Noman. Years of hopping his mind from one android body to another is taking a toll. Unfortunately even Dunn's loss of humanity is just hinted at.

[Alger · Rating 5 out of 5]

The concept of the original "T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents" series was a perfect combination of popular genres of the day. It featured an element of espionage involving a multinational organization with a cool acronym like the then popular TV series "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", as well as a superheroes like those in other mainstream comics, and sci-fi creatures and technology that were reminiscent of the movies of the 50's and 60's. This new series by Nick Spencer feeds directly off the old material and presents a continuation of that series' legacy into the new millennium with great care and fidelity. This truly is an awesome collect and a good jumping on point for anyone that wants to start a long love affair with the world of T.H.U.N.D.E.R.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a fair comeback series for the Thunder Agents. A team created to take on world crisis so bad that other superheroes can't. Unfortunately, a world level crisis never materializes in the 250 some pages. It's a slow starter. For all the pages in the book; it seems like more should have happened. If this story arc had been written 40 years ago; it would have taken maybe 2 or 3 issues.

There's some great here, notably by Nick Dragotta, in small quantities. Generally the artwork is rather pedestrian.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I randomly selected this book from the library without knowing anything about the characters or the storyline.. it's a little hard to follow but I enjoyed the stories of the new recruits.. I would have given this 3 stars but the ending was incredible cheesy, so it lost a whole star for that. I wont be reading it again and I don't really reccomend it unless you are very familiar with these characters.

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, as I'm a big THUNDER Agents fan and try to support anyone that wants to bring them back, but despite some good ideas, this series just left me feeling blah and uninterested.

So, tired of every story featuring a government agency ending up with the agency being untrustworthy and part of the problem.
Also, changing the gadgets the Agents use from 'having flaws' to 'these things will most likely kill you' kind of sucked a lot of the fun out of this series.

[Jared Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no clue who the Thunder Agents were when I picked this up. The writer really did a great job of explaining everything and giving a lot of back story to make everything clear. Overall great read and great art.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another one of those resurrected 1960's superhero teams, only this one lacks the Alan Moore/Grant Morrison magic I've grown accustomed to. It's not bad really, just kind of meh. None of these characters are even remotely interesting.

[Emilio Ladetto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primera ves que leo algo de Spencer y la verdad que fue una agradable sorpresa, en este primer volumen se centran mas en sus personajes que en el grupo en si, espero que el segundo volumen tengamos un poco mas de ello.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is solid and feels like a Nick Spencer book if you've ever read Morning Glory. For whatever reason, it reminds me of Challengers of the Unknown or Doom Patrol. Cafu's art is great. Even though this was published by DC, it is NOT part of the DCU.

[Tone · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first issue was a bit tough to get over, with all the jumping around in time and double crosses of characters we don't know. But it really comes together over the rest of the arc.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing writing + dreamy artwork = love for this first volume of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. always awesome seeing Mike Grell. get this!! worth it for the page quality alone.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though at times confusing & requiring careful reading, this is a great new take on superheroing. It’s entirely up to the quality of Spencer’s best work.

[Grg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated every character in this book but not in a good way. They were all either annoying & boring or extremely underdeveloped.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it okay, but probably won't read another volume. None of it resonated with me.