The Herculoids was one of the most successful of Hanna-Barbera‘s action-oriented cartoons. It proved popular in reruns, with only 18 episodes in its original series. They were also part of a 1981 revival (along with Space Ghost) in the Space Stars anthology cartoon. Now, the space barbarians and their alien allies are finding new life in a monthly comic from Dynamite Entertainment.
Written by Tom Sniegoski with art by Craig Rousseau, The Herculoids #1 establishes the premise of the classic cartoon. Zandor, Tara, and Dorno are a human family who live on the primitive planet of Amzot. They protect their home from those who would despoil it with the aid of several exotic alien animals they have befriended.
The first six pages of The Herculoids #1 may be viewed below.
The history of the Herculoids
Created and designed by the legendary Alex Toth, The Herculoids were never given a proper origin story. It was never explained why Zandor, Tara, and Dorno were the only humans on Amzot. Similarly, it was also never explained just why so many villains were obsessed with conquering such a primitive world.
These questions were further confounded by 1967’s “The Molten Monsters of Moltar.” This Space Ghost episode teamed the Phantom of the Spaceways with The Herculoids, before the Space Stars series. It subsequently confirmed that Tara and Zandor were familiar with advanced technology, but did not explain how.
The team was finally given an origin of sorts in the 2016 comic miniseries Future Quest. The third issue revealed that Tara and Zandor were scientists from the planet Quasar, who fled their world after an uprising of artificial intelligence. This led them to settle on Azmot, abandoning any technology that robots might control. However, it remains to be seen if the new Herculoids comic will make use of this background.
The Herculoids #1 arrives in comic shops everywhere on February 19, 2025.
