''Thunder'' was a weekly

British comics A British comic is a periodical published in the United Kingdom that contains comic strips. It is generally referred to as a comic or a comic magazine, and historically as a comic paper. British comics are usually Comics anthology, comics antho ...

periodical published by

Fleetway Publications Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies that merg ...

from 17 October 1970 to 13 March 1971. A boys' adventure comic, the title only lasted for 22 editions before being merged with another Fleetway title, the long-established ''

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

''.

Publishing history

On 1 January 1969

International Publishing Corporation TI Media (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of its tit ...

(IPC) merged

and Odhams Press into a single division, IPC Magazines. This left them in charge of a large number of weekly comics aimed at younger readers, including seasoned titles such as ''Eagle'', ''Lion'' and ''Valiant''. The new company swiftly launched a spate of new titles - girls' comic ''Sally'' in June 1969; humour title ''

Whizzer and Chips ''Whizzer and Chips'' was a British comics magazine that ran from 18 October 1969 to 27 October 1990, when it merged with the comic '' Buster''. As with most comics of the time, ''Whizzer and Chips'' was dated one week ahead of the day it actua ...

'' in October 1969; and the sports-themed ''Scorcher'' in January 1970. ''Thunder'' was IPC Magazines' first attempt at a new boys' adventure weekly, and the experienced Jack Le Grand was assigned to assemble the new title. The title cost 8 d, twice the cost of competitor DC Thomson's '' The Beano'' at the time. In common with most new British comics of the time, initial issues featured a cover-mounted free gift - the first featured an 'Amazing Jumping Kangaroo' that tied into strip "Fury's Family", which British comics expert John Freeman would later regard as "the daftest free gift we’ve ever seen to be used to launch a boys’ adventure comic", while the second - featuring art by

Mike Western Mike Western (b. Southampton, 4 February 1925; d. 13 May 2008)Ian WheelerMike Western remembered, Down The Tubes, 21 May 2008 was a British comics artist. He worked as a clean-up artist for GB Animation after military service in the Second World ...

- promised readers ' Black Max's bat' (actually a cardboard bat). Freeman would later recall being unimpressed with the early covers of ''Thunder'', which soon switched to fore-fronting the educational "Famous Firsts". The 20 February edition announced a trio of new strips - "Dr. Mesmer's Revenge", "The Mighty Ones" and "The Jigsaw Journey" - would be arriving in ''Thunder'' soon. However, three issues later the comic abruptly informed readers it would be merged into ''Lion'' after 22 issues. While merging titles was common practice at Fleetway, the combining of ''Lion'' and ''Thunder'' was unusual. Firstly, normally the subsumed title's name would quietly disappear from the pages of the comic after a few weeks; however, ''Lion'' would retain the title of ''Lion and Thunder'' until it itself was merged into ''Valiant'' in 1974. Secondly, inside the first merged ''Lion and Thunder'' on 20 March 1971 six of the 11 features were continued from ''Thunder'' rather than ''Lion'', and many would stay until the title folded, while the trio of announced strips would also appear in ''Lion and Thunder''. Despite the demise of the weekly comic, IPC issued ''Thunder Annual''s for 1972, 1973 and 1974. ''Thunder'' was one of several 1970s Fleetway/IPC titles cancelled after 22 issues (as were ''

Jet Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

'', ''

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

'' and '' Starlord''); long-serving editor

Barrie Tomlinson Barrie Tomlinson is a former editor and writer of British comics in the 1970s and '80s. Tomlinson began his career at IPC Magazines in 1961, initially as a writer and then later as sub-editor on the comics ''Lion'' and then ''Tiger'', becoming ed ...

stated that with the technology of the time it took 22 weeks for meaningful sales trends to emerge and for crude market research on the title to be analysed. The method was known within the company as "hatch, match and dispatch", and was instigated by managing editor John Sanders. New titles with fresh strips would be "hatched", features would be "matched" with the audience and then the comic would be cancelled and its popular features would be "dispatched" to another of the company's weeklies. The popularity of features was largely based on readers' letters; across the company's titles children were encouraged to write in with their top three favourite features of each anthology; those that scored well from new titles would be retained and those that did not were dropped. Strips that scored well from new titles continued after the incorporation with another comic, replacing that publication's underperformers. The subsequent merged publication would typically then receive a considerable boost in sales. Sanders has defended this model, citing the cost of around £30,000 to launch a new title as proof they were not designed to fail, pointing to the commercial success of the process and noting staff were never sacked or penalised for a failed title but simply moved to other comics in the company. In 2016 ''Thunder'' was among the titles purchased from

Egmont Group The Egmont Group (formerly The Gutenberghus Group) is a Danish media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The business area of Egmont has traditionally been magazine publishing but has over the years evolved to comprise mass me ...

Rebellion Developments Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford, England. Founded by Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for its ''Sniper Elite'' series and multiple games in the ''Alien vs. Pre ...

, who have since reprinted some material from the title in their Treasury of British Comics collected editions.

Stories

Due to its short length, ''Thunder'' had a consistent run of strips. Only one started after the first issue.

Adam Eterno

:Writer: Tom Tully :Artists:

Tom Kerr Tom Kerr was a British comic strip artist whose work has appeared in comics such as ''Look-in'', the ''Eagle'', '' Valiant'', and '' TV21''. He has also drawn for many annuals of the 1960s and 1970s, including the ''Monkees'' annuals, ''Look-i ...

, Francisco Solano López After quaffing the Elixir of Life, Adam Eterno is doomed to immortality and drifts through time trying to find a solid gold weapon that can kill him. *Created by Jack Le Grand and Chris Lowder. It was continued in ''Lion'' and then ''Valiant'' until 1976.

Black Max

:Writer: Ken Mennell,

Frank S. Pepper Frank Stuart Pepper (8 February 1910 – 11 December 1988) was a British writer of comics and story papers for Amalgamated Press, best known as the creator of ''Roy of the Rovers'' and '' Captain Condor''. Biography Born in Ilford, North East ...

:Artists:

Eric Bradbury Eric Bradbury (4 January 1921 – May 2001) was a British comic artist who primarily worked for Amalgamated Press/ IPC from the late 1940s to the 1990s. He studied at Beckenham Art School from 1936, and served in the RAF as a rear gunner o ...

Alfonso Font Alfonso Font (born 28 August 1946) is a Spanish comic book artist. Biography Alfonso Font was born in Barcelona, Spain. He began his comics career in the 1960s as apprentice in the local Editorial Bruguera studio, working mostly at western, war, ...

Baron Maximilien Von Klorr is Germany's most fearsome ace pilot of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

- partly due to being helped by a gigantic bats. With his

Fokker Dr.I The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

painted black, he soon earns the nickname Black Max. His opposition comes from the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

, particularly plucky Lieutenant Tim Wilson. *The character was created by Ken Mennell,

and

later took over from Bradbury on art duties.

Cliff Hanger

Adventurer Cliff Hanger and his Gurkha

batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

Kukri battle fiends in South America. *The strip featured an interactive element, similar to ''Lions " Spot the Clue with Zip Nolan" - each end-of-instalment cliffhanger featured an element to get Cliff and Kukri out of danger, which readers were encouraged to try and work out in the week between issues. The strip was not continued after the merger with ''Lion'', where Zip Nolan continued.

Dusty Binns

:Artist: Geoff Campion,

Son of a

rag-and-bone man A rag-and-bone man or ragpicker (UK English) or ragman, old-clothesman, junkman, or junk dealer (US English), also called a bone-grubber, bone-picker, chiffonnier, rag-gatherer, bag board, or totter, collects unwanted household items and sells t ...

, Plantagenet "Dusty" Binns must balance helping his father with his business and his calling as a talented footballer. *The story was not continued in ''Lion'', which retained the football strip ''Carson's Cubs''.

Famous Firsts

*A one-page historical colour strip on the front cover, relating tales of pioneering developments and other notable events. It was due to be replaced with "The Mighty Ones", a similar factual item, which was instead ran in ''Lion''.

Fury's Family

Young boy Fury works at a circus and discovers he can talk to animals. As a result, he is able to lead an escape from tyrannical new circus owner Archer Spang, with the likes of

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna. The tiger is estimated to have been present in ...

Khan,

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

Chang,

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...

s Petto and Tikka and

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

Ozzie joining him on the run. *The story was continued in ''Lion'' until 1972.

Gauntlet of Fate

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

gauntlet is still haunted by the fearsome Judge Flint gives whoever wears it superhuman strength and invulnerability, and is discovered by ne'er-do-well Tom Stokes. *The strip was due to be replaced by "Dr. Mesmer's Revenge" before the merger, and was not continued in ''Lion''.

The Jet Skaters

The Gang - Andy Jackson, Gordon Stone and brothers Jimmy and Peter Clarke - are gifted rocket boots by Andy's American uncle, use the amazing technology to help around town. *The story continued in ''Lion'' until later in 1971.

Phil the Fluter

:Artist:

Phil Taylor finds a tin flute in the ruins of his local abbey, and discovers he can freeze time when he plays it. *A colour strip; when Phil stopped time everyone bar him would switch to black-and-white. Continued in ''Lion'' until 1972.

Sam

Cunning troublemaker Sam one-ups passing unfortunates with a mixture of quick thinking and violence. *A one-page colour humour strip on the back page, "Sam" was actually modified version of "Biff" from '' Wham'', and featured work from

Leo Baxendale Joseph Leo Baxendale (27 October 1930 – 23 April 2017) was an English cartoonist and publisher. Baxendale wrote and drew several titles. Among his best-known creations are the ''The Beano, Beano'' comic strip, strips ''Little Plum'', ''Minnie ...

and Graham Allen. Sam acted as a mascot for ''Thunder'', and continued in this role for ''Lion and Thunder''.

The Spooks of St. Luke's

:Artist: Joseph Lee Amiable ghosts at a school work with the pupils to terrorise the school's teachers. *A one-page comedy strip, with some episodes drawn by which was continued in ''Lion''.

Steel Commando

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Professor Brayne devises the Mark 1 Indestructible Robot for the British Army. Unfortunately a programming error means the fearsome war machine will only respond to the voice of Lance corporal Ernest "Excused Boots" Bates, a Cockney layabout. Nevertheless, the pair are sent into combat in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

with successful results - at least whenever Bates feels like ordering 'Ironsides' into battle. *Created by

and Alex Henderson, the story also continued in ''Lion'' and then ''Valiant'', where the Steel Commando teamed up with

Captain Hurricane ''Captain Hurricane'' is a 1935 American drama film about the life of fishermen in Cape Cod.Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story''. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p. 81. Plot Cast * James Barton (actor), James Barton ...

The Terrible Trail to Tolmec

Tom Taylor's father is missing, presumed dead in the jungles of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, when the boy discovers a coded map among his effects. With the help of explorer Dr. Wolfgang Stranger he sets out to find him. *A sequel serial, " The Jigsaw Journey", was printed in ''Lion''.

References

External links

* {{Buster Fleetway and IPC Comics titles Defunct comics British comics titles Adventure comics