The information on this page has been paraphrased in some cases to save space. An awful lot of questions (and in some cases, answers) were quite long, and it doesn't make sense to just copy and paste things directly from the message boards, since you can view things in their entirety there. Because of that, if any of the questions and answers seem confusing, I suggest heading to the message boards that the information was taken from, which are listed at the bottom of this page. There may have been slight bits of editing here and there, but keep in mind, this is supposed to be a short guide which will help in keeping questions that have already been answered from being asked again. And, because this was put together by Zhie, expect that not everything is verbatim - I have embellished a bit here and there, and one would hope that said embellishments are blatantly obvious. If you're upset by something you read here, though, I would suggest addressing said concerns to me first. Chances are, you've come across a said embellishment. Those partaking in the chat with Ford Gilmore in September should especially read through this page! Thank you!
Questions are in white text.
Answers are taken from answers give by Ford Gilmore and are in yellow text.
Zhie has added comments or clarifications, and those are in red.
Could I have made this place any flippin' snarfier? Sadly, no.
Q: Seriously, gentlemen, are you only doing this for the money and your egos?
A: This isn't about ego and money for us; it's about our love for the characters and our desire to bring it back and hopefully even expose to people who aren't familiar with the cartoons. Ed was ready to announce a new creator-owned series that would have made him a lot more money, and he put it on the back-burner to be able to work on Thundercats, solely out of love for the characters. J. Scott had spent the past couple years working on movies and video games and other ideas of his own creation; this is the first story he's illustrated in a couple of years, and chose to do it simply out of his love for the cartoon. They are two of the best-selling artists of the last five years, and could have picked anything they wanted to do--and made a lot more money doing so. And while my star isn't as big as theirs, I've turned down a lot of work in comics because I'm too busy in my career; I bowed out of a television show to be able to work on Thundercats. Dan Norton, who's set to illustrate the next mini, has primarily been working on cartoons and videogames the past few years; again, he's doing this because of love. None of us are working on these projects to stroke our egos or line our wallets--if that's what we wanted, we could achieve both much better elsewhere.
Q: I heard that there are going to be two different covers for each comic. Is this true, and is one scarcer than the other?
A: I believe there's going to be a variant cover for every issue, yes. Always shipped in a 50/50 ratio with Ed's cover, so they're not incentives or chasers--just another choice. The signed editions are being done by Dynamic Forces (for those who don't regularly buy comics, they're a company that specializes in doing limited signed editions of a myriad of comics for people who can't get to conventions or signings and really want to get copies of their favorite comics autographed by the creators). I think they're only doing #0 and #1, and I know that they'll be limited runs with certificates of authenticity--but I don't know how big the run is.
Q: Is there any other comic art posted on-line besides the covers?
A: As far as more art goes, there's going to be a preview in the new issue of Wizard magazine...they're running 6 or 7 pages from the first issue inside with a nice article. I know there is going to be a mini-site going up at the Wildstorm.Com website soon, too.
Z: The issue of Wizard is number 131. The Wildstorm site is located at http://www.wildstorm.com/minisites/thunder/thunder.html. You can also see the covers on this site by going here.
Q: It seems as if some of the elements have been changed (eg., how characters look and what the insignia looks like). Is this true?
A: Just a point of clarification here--the insignia has not been changed. Just as Lion-O hasn't been changed, just as the Thunderkittens haven't been changed, just as the other things that people have said have been changed based on seeing the covers to the first and second issues haven't been changed. There's no story element about the characters changing the insignia, and we're not cutting any corners or taking any shortcuts to rush the comic to market. In fact, Ed McGuinness is drawing the insignia by hand in every single panel; it would have been much simpler and quicker to just digitize the logo and have Chris (the colorist) stat it into the artwork. All people are seeing is Ed's stylistic interpretation of characters, vehicles, locations, and so on. Every artist has a different style, and they're each going to render things a little differently. Everyone is working to make these comics look as good and read as well as possible, and everything we do goes through and approval process with Warner Bros. and (I believe) the Ted Wolf estate. I'm sorry if some people don't like Ed's style or how he's chosen to draw some elements, but this isn't matter of hack work or lack of care for the project--it's just his style.
Q: When will the second mini series be released?
A; I think we're going to start the second mini after the first one is over, but I don't believe the date's been set in stone. And for what it's worth, Dan Norton (the artist) and I are already working on it.
Q: How likely is it that the comics will become a monthly happening?
A: I would think that an ongoing series is a possibility, too, but I would assume that the first minis would have to be home runs to justify it.
Q: Help me - I don't know where to find this comic!
A: There's a website called The Master List...whose goal is to list all the comic books specialty stores in the world that carry US comic books.
Q: Will other Thundarians appear? Will they be survivors of Thundera, or a new generation of Thundarians?
A: The first series is going to focus on the Thundercats we've already seen in the cartoons. As the series progresses--and if we're lucky enough to do more mini series or an ongoing series--I'd like to be able to introduce new Thunderians and new mutants, too.
Q: Will we see any new ThunderCats in the new series?
A:There will definitely be new Thundercats in the next mini series. As far as new Thundercats or mutants or any other new characters in the first series... Well, to be honest, I really can't either confirm or deny. I'll just say there are a couple of surprises coming (although I wouldn't be surprised if they get blown by the solicitations).
Q: Which villains can we look forward to in the new comics?
A: Shadowmaster is our villain in the first issue; we will be seeing Mumm-Ra in the first series.
Q: Are there any plans in the works for new snarves - female ones, perhaps?
A: As far as a new Snarf appearing, I don't foresee it happening in the first mini, and wouldn't plan on in it the second. If these books continue on past their initial runs, however, I wouldn't rule it out.
Q: Are Pumyra and Cheetara going to end up as silicone enhanced Pam Anderson wannabes?
A: Don't worry about us making any of the female Thunderians into Pam Anderson wannabes. We're going to play them like they were in the cartoon, keeping them smart, strong, and not silicone-enhanced.
Q: Are there going to be any romantic relationships seen in the mini-series?
A: I don't plan on drawing out romantic relationships in the first mini series--at least not beyond what we saw in the cartoons.
Q: Are there going to be any costume re designs? And will Mumm-ra still kick butt?
A: We're not doing any major redesigns of the heroes' costumes in the first mini series, but there will be a lot of Mumm-Ra butt kicking...
Q: I'm afraid to ask, but can we expect any repeats of Circus Train?
A: I don't have any plans to use Capt. Bragg, nor do I foresee any corny humor in any of the series.
Q: Are there other ThunderCats related items being released?
A: I honestly don't know. I know DC is doing a promo poster for comic book retailers, but I haven't heard about any items they're making for retail sale.
Z: There are a number of t-shirts that have been released by Warner Brothers. They have also released car-related merchandise (floor mats, wheel covers) and other small items such as stickers and decals. I know this because I have purchased everything I've found so far. Check these sites for possibilities:
http://www.hottopic.com/
http://www.80stees.com/ThunderCatsPage.htm
http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/polanski/1085/
You can also try stores that sell 'retro' merchandise, such as Hot Topic and Gadzooks. I truly do not know who is selling legitimately and who isn't, but I can take a few guesses. You can also look for older merchandise on auction sites such as eBay and Yahoo!auctions. A section of the message board on Cheezey's web site is also dedicated to the buying and selling of ThunderCats merchandise.
Q: Any plans on a crossover between different cartoons?
A: There hasn't been any talk of any crossovers yet, and, to be honest, I'm guessing that all the licensing deals would make it hard to pull off.
Q: Can you tell us a little about yourself?
A: My background is actually in film and television, and I earn my living as a writer and producer in that field. I’ve produced a few series and sold feature films to studios, many of them based on comic books and video games. This has had me working with a number of comic book publishers, and I had written a few comic series before I got the Thundercats gig. I can’t draw to save my life. I live in the Los Angeles area.
Q: How did you get involved in this project and how long will you be involved?
A: I've personally been working on the comics for about 7 months now, and WildStorm was working on it before I came on board. I'll be working on the comics for the forseeable future; I'm the only writer on the various comics projects (including the zero issue which I've co-written with J. Scott).
Z: That comment was from June 24, 2002, for time reference.
Q: Since you're becoming famous and you know comic people, can you get me into the comic business?
A: All I'm doing is writing.
Q: Don't you want to look at my script for the wonderful musical version of Circus Train that I wrote during my lunch break?
A: All I'm doing is writing.
Q: Do you think you could talk Wildstorm into setting up a laboratory so that they could try to mutate lizards and cats to create snarves?
A: All I'm doing is writing.
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