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This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n The meteoric lifespan and output of Tower Comics is one of the key creative moments in US comic book history. Bombastic, brilliant but brief, the era of T<\/em><\/strong>he H<\/strong>igher U<\/strong>nited N<\/strong>ations D<\/strong>efense E<\/strong>nforcement R<\/strong>eserves<\/em> was a benchmark of quality and sheer unadulterated fun for fans of both the then-still-reawakening superhero genre and the global spy-chic obsession of those distant times. Throughout the early 1960s, the Bond <\/strong>movie franchise was going from strength to strength, with blazing action and heady glamour totally transforming the formerly low-key, seedy and darkly patriotic espionage genre. The buzz was infectious: soon a Man Like Flint<\/strong> and Matt Helm<\/strong> were carving out their own piece of the action as TV shanghaied the entire bandwagon with the irresistible Man from U.N.C.L.E.<\/strong> (premiering September 1964), bringing the whole shtick into living rooms around the world.<\/p>\n Thus veteran Archie Comics editor Harry Shorten was commissioned to create a line of characters for a new distribution-chain funded publishing outfit: Tower Comics. He brought in creative maverick Wallace (he hated the contraction \u201cWally\u201d) Wood, who called on many of the biggest names in the industry to craft material for the broad cross-section of genres the new company demanded; as well as T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents<\/strong> and spin-offs Undersea Agent<\/strong>, Dynamo <\/strong>and NoMan<\/strong>, there was a magnificent anthology war-comic Fight the Enemy<\/strong> and wholesome youth-comedy Tippy Teen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Samm Schwartz & Dan DeCarlo handled the funny stuff – which outlasted everything else – whilst Wood, Larry Ivie, Len Brown, Bill Pearson, Steve Skeates, Dan Adkins, Russ Jones, Gil Kane, Ditko & Ralph Reese contributed scripts for themselves and the industry\u2019s other top talents to illustrate on the adventure line. With a ravenous appetite for superspies and costumed heroes growing in comic book popularity and amongst the general public, the idea of blending the two concepts seemed inescapable\u2026<\/p>\n T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents <\/strong>#1 appeared with no fanfare or pre-publicity on newsstands in August 1965. Beguilingly, all Tower titles were in the beloved-but-rarely-seen 80-Page Giant format, offering a huge amount of material in every issue. All that being said, these tales would not be so revered if they hadn\u2019t also been so superbly crafted. As well as Wood, the art accompanying compelling, subtly more mature stories was by some of the greatest talents in comics: Reed Crandall, Gil Kane, George Tuska, Mike Sekowsky, Dick Ayers, Joe Orlando, Frank Giacoia, John Giunta, Ogden Whitney, Steve Ditko and more, as well as budding stars including Ralph Reese, Steve Skeates and Dan Adkins\u2026<\/p>\n For those who came in late<\/strong>: When philanthropic benevolent super-genius Professor Emil Jennings <\/em>perished in an assault by forces of the mysterious Warlord<\/em>, late-arriving UN troops salvaged some of his greatest inventions. These included a belt that increased the density of the wearer\u2019s body until it became as hard as steel; a cloak of invisibility and a brain-amplifier helmet. These uncopiable prototypes were divided between several agents: the basis of a unit of super-operatives to counter the increasingly bold attacks of multiple global terror threats such as the aforementioned Warlord. First chosen was affable, honest, but far from brilliant file clerk Len Brown<\/em>. To the astonishment of everyone who knew him, he was assigned the belt and codename Dynamo<\/strong>.<\/p>\n T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent NoMan<\/strong> was previously decrepit Dr. Anthony Dunn <\/em>who chose to have his mind transferred into an unaging android body and then gifted with the invisibility cape. If his artificial body was destroyed, Dunn\u2019s consciousness could transfer to another android body. As long as he had a spare ready, he could never die. The helmet went to John Janus<\/em>: a seemingly perfect UN employee and mental and physical marvel. He easily passed all tests necessary to wear the Jennings helmet. Sadly, he was also a double agent, the Warlord\u2019s mole poised to betray T.H.U.N.D.E.R. at the earliest opportunity. All diabolical plans went awry once he donned the helmet and became Menthor<\/strong> since the device awakened his brain\u2019s full potential, granting him telepathy, telekinesis and mindreading powers, but it also drove all evil from his mind. Such was the redemptive effect that Janus actually gave his life to save his comrades: an event which astounded readers at the time. In the wake of that tragedy, the Helmet vanished, passing through many hands but always escaping T.H.U.N.D.E.R.\u2019s attempts to retrieve it.<\/p>\n Guy Gilbert <\/em>was leader of crack Mission: Impossible<\/strong>-styled special forces commando unit T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad<\/strong> until asked to beta-test an experimental super-speed suit. As gung-ho, duty-obsessed Lightning<\/strong>, he proudly did so, even if every use of the hyper-acceleration gimmick shortened his life-span. As the concept and the niche universe expanded, other augmented agents appeared – like human jet Raven<\/strong> or subsea spin-off U.N.D.E.R.S.E.A. Agent<\/strong> (AKA Davy Jones<\/em> of the U<\/em><\/strong>nited N<\/strong>ations D<\/strong>epartment<\/em> of E<\/em><\/strong>xperiment<\/em> and R<\/em><\/strong>esearch<\/em> S<\/em><\/strong>ystems<\/em> E<\/em><\/strong>stablished<\/em> at A<\/em><\/strong>tlantis<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n This concluding compilation of classic costumed-spycraft re-presents the compelling contents of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents<\/strong>#15-20 (cover-dates July 1967 to November 1969) – with the incomparably cool concept and characters going from strength to strength as a spirit of eccentric experimentation and raucous low comedy increasingly manifested in the wake of the defeat of the Warlord (actually exposed as only one of a subterranean race intent on world conquest) and rise of independent, lone wolf supervillains, sinister crime cabals such as SPIDER or international\/political foes like China\u2019s Red Star<\/em>… When the dust and rubble settles, Andor is gone again, but is now again a slave of Uru<\/em>, the last surviving subterranean warlord…<\/p>\n Steve Skeates & Chic Stone then detail the next step in Lightning\u2019s life. Dying because of the speed suit he volunteered to wear, Agent Gilbert is placed into cryostasis, but \u2018While Our Hero Sleeps…!\u2019<\/em> archfoe Warp Wizard<\/em> wickedly swipes the body. He, however, utterly underestimates the skills and determination of Guy\u2019s former T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Squad<\/em> colleagues Dynamite<\/em> AKA Daniel John Adkins<\/em>, Katheryn \u201cKitten\u201d Kane<\/em> & William \u201cWeed\u201d Wylie<\/em> to save him, before Bill Pearson & Ogden Whitney despatch NoMan\u2019s scattershot free-floating consciousness on a \u2018Starflight to the Assassin Planet!\u2019 <\/em>Here the invisible agent faces uncanny extraterrestrial terrors and saves earth from impending invasion…<\/p>\n Dynamo\u2019s best efforts are not enough in \u2018Hail to the Chief!\u2019 <\/em>(by an unknown author, Giunta, Wood & Adkins) wherein his commanding officer Sam Short<\/em> mistakenly believes he\u2019s being pensioned off. Obsessed with proving himself, \u201cthe Old Man\u201d is captured by SPIDER and almost kills both of them before this day is saved. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent Weed<\/em> (a character Wood regarded as his \u201cspirit animal\u201d) closes the show with a delicious comedy thriller by author unknown and George Tuska.<\/p>\n When a big dumb thug is bitten by a radioactive mole and gains regulation theme-based excavation powers, his small, cunning pal decides \u2018Dig We Must\u2019<\/em> and has them become costumed crooks robbing from below ground. Their exploits utterly outfox the super-augmented T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents but wily Weed has the perfect plan to trap The Mole<\/em> and Dapper Dan<\/em>… Emboldened by recapturing the Warlord\u2019s living weapon, Uru modifies and heals Andor before unleashing him against humanity, but has again underestimated his tool\u2019s strength of will, affinity for his own kind and all too human feeling for Agent Kitten…<\/p>\n Fast paced and furiously violent, this is a classic example of astounding Ditko\u2019s gift for combat staging as well as his signature graphic psychedelia in action. The era was intensely fruitful for artists as seen in a follow-up by Gil Kane & Jack Abel who limn another uncredited yarn as NoMan learns \u2018One of Our Androids is Missing!\u2019 <\/em>Plunged into a frantic and convoluted global chase whilst again succumbing to psychological traumas triggered by being an undying ancient in a mobile plastic coffin, he soon recovers his emotionless equilibrium after fellow agent Linda Rogers<\/em> uncovers a plot by the Red Chinese to steal one of his artificial carcases. They intend on turning it into a bomb with the sole purpose of tricking the Soviet Union into leaving the United Nations and blaming T.H.U.N.D.E.R. for the crime. It doesn\u2019t work… The entire Agents roster assembles for anonymously scripted Tuska tale \u2018The End of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents?\u2019<\/em> after SPIDER finds a way to negate all their advanced technology and entombs them all… until Weed, Kitten & Dynamite prove that a great plan and deathwish determination is all that\u2019s really needed to send evil packing…<\/p>\n Dynamo closes the issue with a psychologically harrowing tale revealing how constant missions have burned him out. Enduring random descents into mindless fugue states, he is a hero lost to reality. Mature, disturbing, chilling and decades ahead of its time, \u2018A Slight Case of Combat Fatigue\u2019 <\/em>comes courtesy of old soldier Wood and reset the tone as superheroes and spies began to pall in the public\u2019s attention…<\/p>\n T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents <\/strong>#17 (December 1967) began with Dynamo in lighter mode as \u2018Return of the Hyena!\u2019 <\/em>(by that mystery scribe, Wood & Reese) saw the husky but not highbrow hero repeatedly made a jackass by a cunning costumed criminal who indulged himself in a battle of wits with an enemy he deemed completely unarmed. Happily. Brawn and determination… and sneaky rogue Agent Weed… balanced the scales of justice enough to cage the beastly bandit, after which Whitney renders an uncredited modern monster mash wherein NoMan learns \u2018The Locusts are Coming!!\u2019<\/em> before saving embattled missile bases from marauding robotic raiders led by ambitious but unruly King Locust<\/em>.<\/p>\n With readers tastes changing, Tuska took the weakest but wily-est Agent deep into genre territory for \u2018Weed Out West!\u2019<\/em> Scouting out SPIDER sightings in Antelope Haunch, Oklahoma, he finds shady doings at the local cowboy film shoot and soon embroils butch back-up Dynamo in uranium smuggling rings, murder plots and wedding plans before the entire T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents cadre unites the arch enemy foe in show-stopping closer \u2018Put Them All Together, They Spell S.P.I.D.E.R.!\u2019<\/em> (by anonymous & Stone). Here Dynamo leads the charge after an ordinary undercover mission exposes the cabal\u2019s secret leaders (\u201cThe Council<\/em>\u201d) as a coalition comprising old enemies Demo<\/em>, Dr. Sparta<\/em>, Mastermind<\/em>, Mayven<\/em> and The Tarantula<\/em>, led by the utterly unknown Spider Secretary General<\/em>, just as the group turn on each other.<\/p>\n That debacle began when SPIDER recovered the all-powerful Menthor Helmet but could not peacefully decide on who should wear it and ended when the good guys explosively arrived to mop up the remains of the heated debate…<\/p>\n Nearly a year passed before #18 was published (cover-dated September 1968), but the contents were worth the wait. It began with another Ditko classic as \u2018Dynamo and the Amazing Mr. Mek!\u2019 <\/em>saw the super-agent clash with a little nebbish suddenly granted uncanny power over machines and mechanisms. Sadly, he had no problem robbing banks but baulked when SPIDER abducted him to inflict massive global terror and death. Those unshakeable, ironclad scruples cost Mek his life and baffled his foes, but not as much as \u2018The Sinister Schemes of Professor Reverse!\u2019 <\/em>(illustrated by Whitney) baffled and bamboozled NoMan when the bonkers boffin began regressing animals, humans and top military personnel into ancient ancestor iterations such as cavemen and tyrannosaurs… The big spy bubble had burst by this point and the spin-off titles had all folded by the time T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents <\/strong>#19 (November 1968) was released. All art with no ads, it felt like a rapid using up and closing down exercise which began with the Wood pencilled, Ralph Reese written & inked \u2018Half an Hour of Power!\u2019 <\/em>as SPIDER scientist Dr. Orgo<\/em> unleashes an army of super androids – including perfect duplicates of all T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents and personnel – and poor Len goes on a rampage uncertain who to hit and who to save…<\/p>\n Feeling suspiciously like Dynamo inventory material, it\u2019s followed by another rowdy riot as \u2018Dynamo vs. The Ghost!\u2019 <\/em>(art by Paul Reinman) sees a traitor abscond with T.H.U.N.D.E.R.\u2019s latest breakthrough: a belt enabling the wearer to phase molecules and pass through walls. So can Dynamo – in his own way – but it\u2019s equipment misuse that ends the blockbusting chase that follows in horrific tragedy…<\/p>\n Reese scripts Dynamo\u2019s clash with the \u2018All-Girl Gang!\u2019 <\/em>for Tuska to illustrate, as sinister spymaster Satana<\/em> operates a squad of female agents no ordinary man can handle. Of course, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent Kitten Kane is an expert in disguise, infiltration and close combat too…<\/p>\n NoMan then confronts \u2018A Matter of Transmitters\u2019 <\/em>(anonymous & Reinman) as SPIDER\u2019s captive scientist Dr. Einzwei<\/em> subverts T.H.U.N.D.E.R.\u2019s teleport systems and captures all the super-agents as they innocently travel to work. Of course, NoMan has more than one body to report in with and the web soon untangles… With covers by Wood, Kane, Ditko, Reese, Crandall & Stone, these stories all favour fast pace, wry wit, sparse dialogue, explosive action and breathtaking visuals. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents <\/strong>was decades ahead of its time and informed everything in Fights \u2018n\u2019 Tights comics that came after it. These are truly timeless superhero comic classics which improve with every reading, so do yourself a favour and add these landmark super-sagas to your collection. Today in 1927 master craftsman and inveterate storyteller Wallace Wood<\/strong> (EC Comics, Mad Magazine<\/strong>, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents<\/strong>, Daredevil<\/strong>, Power Girl<\/strong>, Cannon<\/strong>, Sally Forth<\/strong>, The Wizard King<\/strong>, Witzend<\/strong>, Mars Attacks<\/strong>) was born, sharing the natal anniversary with Hi and Lois<\/strong> artist Chance Browne<\/strong> in 1948, scripter\/artist Hilary Barta<\/strong> (Starslayer<\/strong>, Plastic Man<\/strong>) in 1957, artist Pat Olliffe <\/strong>(Untold Tales of Spider-Man<\/strong>, Spider-Girl<\/strong>, Captain Britain and MI:13<\/strong>) in 1965 and Italian illustrator Mirka Andolfo<\/strong> (Hex Wives<\/em>, Wonder Woman<\/strong>, The Amazing World of Gumball<\/em>, Ms. Marvel<\/strong>) in 1989.<\/p>\n This date in 1919 Billy DeBeck<\/strong>\u2019s Barney Google and Snuffy Smith<\/strong> strip premiered, as did Sgt. George Baker<\/strong>\u2019s Sad Sack<\/strong> in 1942 in the first issue of service magazine Yank – the Army Weekly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Wallace Wood, Steve Ditko, Steve Skeates, Gil Kane, Ralph Reese, Dan Adkins, George Tuska, Reed Crandall, John Giunta, Ogden Whitney, Chic Stone, Paul Reinman, Jack Abel & various (IDW) ISBN: 978-1-63140-182-4 (HB) eISBN: 978-1-62302-879-4 This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. The meteoric lifespan and output of Tower Comics is one … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/THUNDER-AGENTS-Classic-vol-6-bk.preferred.jpg\")
\nBy Wallace Wood<\/strong>, Steve Ditko<\/strong>, Steve Skeates<\/strong>, Gil Kane<\/strong>, Ralph Reese<\/strong>, Dan Adkins<\/strong>, George Tuska<\/strong>, Reed Crandall<\/strong>, John Giunta<\/strong>, Ogden Whitney<\/strong>, Chic Stone<\/strong>, Paul Reinman<\/strong>, Jack Abel<\/strong> & various (IDW)
\nISBN: 978-1-63140-182-4 (HB) eISBN: 978-1-62302-879-4<\/p>\n
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\nAs always the action opens with a Dynamo solo tale. \u2018Collision Course!\u2019<\/em> – by an unknown author and depicted by Wood – sees superhuman Andor<\/em> resurface. A misunderstood modern Prometheus, he was abducted by the Warlords as a baby and spent decades being turned into a biological superman devoid of sentiment or compassion. However, they lost control of their living weapon once he met fellow mortals. Since their shattering defeat, the pitiful outsider\u2019s attempts to rejoin mankind had been constantly thwarted and derailed. Here, following a clash with Dynamo and SPIDER, Andor is a blind (but still immensely powerful) Samson living as a hobo with a cunning grifter. Sadly. he\u2019s again exploited by the underworld – in the form of ruthless criminal freelancer Iron Maiden<\/em> – and precipitates another shattering duel with the super strong G-man as well as SPIDER\u2019s own hyper-strong, enhanced operative Brutus Kanassus<\/em>.<\/p>\n
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\nCover-dated October 1967, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents <\/strong>#16 opens with a Dynamo mini-epic illustrated and possibly written by Steve Ditko at the peak of his creative powers and political paranoia. Here the mighty hero and missing frenemy Andor are both beset with a \u2018Dream of Doom!\u2019 <\/em>sent by the last subterranean.<\/p>\n
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\nWith Lightning notionally cured and declared fit for duty, Skeates & Stone amp up the superpower arms race as old enemy Professor Forkliff<\/em> uses SPIDER resources to dope the speedster with super hallucinogens before unleashing his own enhanced speed freak – \u2018The Whirligig!\u2019<\/em> – to crush T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Sadly for them, Gilbert does everything – even recover from a bad trip – at top speed…<\/p>\n
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\nNext, thanks to an unknown writer and the astounding Reed Crandall, classical fantasy rendered in the classical manner finds Dynamo trapped in an Italian volcanic eruption to somehow awaken in ancient Rome. Experiencing firsthand the grandeur, glory and petty injustices, only a miracle saves him from \u2018The Arena!\u2019<\/em> and sees him returned to his proper place and station in time to solve \u2018The Secret of the Abominable Snowman!\u2019 <\/em>Crafted by unknown & Stone, here hapless Len Bown must uncover how satellite and space-race launches are being sabotaged from Tibet. Close investigation beside saucy British spy Carnaby Mod<\/em> soon uncovers a plot by \u201ccommie\u201d robotics genius The Red Lama<\/em>, but there are still mysteries of the upper slopes to unravel even when all the shooting and thumping stops…<\/p>\n
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\nOne year later, a final issue appeared. Cover-dated November 1969, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents <\/strong>#20 pretty much signalled the end of spy fever and a dialling back of superheroic shenanigans. The issue was filled with reprint masterpieces but did offer an editorial in \u2018Dear T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Fan\u2019<\/em> by Wood & Adkins and new 4-page recap of the way it all began in \u2018The Origin of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent Dynamo\u2019<\/em>, drawn by Chic Stone, both of which are included here to sign off the first era of spies in spandex.<\/p>\n
\nT.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Classics volume 6 \u00a9 2015 Radiant Assets, LLC. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n