The Legacy of Arak Son Of Thunder

One of my all time fave comics is DC's [I]Arak Son Of Thunder[/I]. There really had never been anything else like it in the 80's. There's never been anything like it before or since then.

Whether or not this was the best work of The Thomases, Lofficiers, and DeZunigas is up for debate. But there's no doubt it was one of the most ambitious comics ever created and an awesome example of how the experimental/story driven comics of the 80's could do a'lot more than just cultivate sophisticated personalities and relationships.

[I]Arak[/I] tried it's best to be a global myth. Its complex origins aren't easy to summarize, but they're all worth a closer look. The following three-part overview on [I]Arak Son Of Thunder[/I] just appeared on the website Splice Today. Please give it a look if you're a fan of the title or any experimental DC comics.

Links to all three pieces (in order of appearance) can be found here:

[url]https://mikeaapichell.wordpress.com/2021/07/05/the-global-myth-of-arak/[/url]

[QUOTE=Mike Apichella;5622305]One of my all time fave comics is DC's [I]Arak Son Of Thunder[/I]. There really had never been anything else like it in the 80's. There's never been anything like it before or since then.

Whether or not this was the best work of The Thomases, Lofficiers, and DeZunigas is up for debate. But there's no doubt it was one of the most ambitious comics ever created and an awesome example of how the experimental/story driven comics of the 80's could do a'lot more than just cultivate sophisticated personalities and relationships.

[I]Arak[/I] tried it's best to be a global myth. Its complex origins aren't easy to summarize, but they're all worth a closer look. The following three-part overview on [I]Arak Son Of Thunder[/I] just appeared on the website Splice Today. Please give it a look if you're a fan of the title or any experimental DC comics.

Links to all three pieces (in order of appearance) can be found here:

[url]https://mikeaapichell.wordpress.com/2021/07/05/the-global-myth-of-arak/[/url][/QUOTE]

I just got into Roy Thomas after discovering Infinity Inc and Young All Stars. I'd love to check out this, his Marvel work, and All Star Squadron.

[QUOTE=Timothy Hunter;5631369]I just got into Roy Thomas after discovering Infinity Inc and Young All Stars. I'd love to check out this, his Marvel work, and All Star Squadron.[/QUOTE]

Infinity Inc. was a little dissapointing to me, BUT one of Arak's descendants is a villain in that series (i havent read any of the issues with that character). Also, i've mainly just read the McFarlane issues of Infinity Inc., i've yet to check out the Ordway stuff which i would imagine is pretty similar to All Star Squadron

imho, All Star Squadron was basically Thomas' variation on themes established in the 70's in comics like Marvel's Invaders and DC titles like Freedom Fighters and All Star Comics. It was Thomas having creative fun with the historical iconography of the WWII era and the Golden age.

Bits and pieces of All Star Squadron seem to take on an epic/mythic tone a 'la Arak - i.e., All Star Squadron 62 retells the origin of Shining Knight in a really interesting updated 80's style; Tony DeZuniga's art on that ish is just stunning from start to finish. Really, imho, the art and the spectacle of All Star Squadron is the most interesting part of it.

Even though its stories are usually predictable, if you're a fan of Thomas and historical fiction imho you'll really enjoy All Star Squadron

DC included an Arak story in their recent DC through the 80s series and I was intrigued. I love the idea of a fantasy world and character based on , I believe a Native American culture. I would be interested in reading more and I see issues lying around at used book stores,

I recently was able to collect all the issues of the series and I hope to sit down and read it straight through ASAP.

I remember reading Arak, SOT as a kid back in the day & being extremely impressed by the series. Incredible art by DeZuniga, with great stories. It had elements of Conan & other sword & sorcery comics, but was still original & compelling. I never collected all of the issues, but just got some here & there. From doing some research, the title ran for 50 issues & one Annual, which is a lot longer than I remembered it lasted.

I have wanted to see a Collected Edition (CE) of this series for years, but DC has never reprinted this - other than the issue in the recent '80's compilation book.

Here's the cover gallery:

[url]https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Arak:_Son_of_Thunder/Covers[/url]