INTO THE DEVIL’S LAIR! Following the discovery of Mumm-Ra’s Black Pyramid, Lion-O makes the fateful decision to confront the Devil-Priest of Third Earth one-on-one in his place of power. If the ThunderCats’ brash young leader can defeat his nemesis in single combat, the last survivors of Thundera’s claim to their new home will be secured. But in the aftermath of their epic clash, both Lion-O and the ThunderCats find themselves fighting for their lives in two separate battles – on two different worlds!

It’s been awhile since I read the new Thundercats by Dynamite Comics so I quickly refreshed myself with the previous volume, and jumped right in. We were left with Calica’s betrayal, Lion-O feeling undermined and lost goes on a long walk while his companions pick up the pieces.

And this volume feels like filler. There is some battle, giving Moss’ vibrant and expressive combat scenes plenty of time to shine. Same with issue #13 that gives the splotlight to Snarf who only speaks one word, so we are gifted with a colorful, somehwat adorable and disturbing world through Snarf’s eyes.

Character-wise, there wasn’t much happening. Tygra and Cheetara were in their love bubbles, the Kits were pushed to the side, and Lion-O gets captured before he really does anything.

The only one who gets real depth is Calica as we learn the reasons for her betrayal, but even that is given just a few pages. Her return to the Thundercats with new allies is glossed over in a montage. Too bad Lion-O wasn’t there because it could have infused actual drama and maybe some time waiting to see if they can trust her again. Even the discovery of a new element for the Thundarians to use is explored off-the-page. Anything interesting was off-the-page and it was so frustrating. Issue #15 ended with a potentially interesting time-wimey Terminator idea, but we’ll see how it pans out.

Perhaps Shelvey was trying to give us the calm before the storm, but it left a dud of a volume.

2 stars.