Alex Toth's 'Herculoids' - The Galaxy's Coolest Alien Family Of Noble Protectors
You'll Want To Have This Family's Pets
Somewhere out in space live The Herculoids… Zok, the laser-ray dragon! Igoo, the giant rock ape! Tundro, the tremendous! Gloop and Gleep, the formless, fearless wonders! With Zandor, their leader, his wife, Tara, and son, Dorno, they team up to protect their planet from sinister invaders! All-strong! All-brave! All-heroes! They're The Herculoids!
Warning To All Intergalactic Invaders: Herculoids will mess up your devious day but good. Go ahead. We dare you to try. If you foolishly go to their planet to invade, prepare for a fight like no other you can ever imagine. Think you can go up against them and come out on top? Think again with these glorious guardians. They’ll promptly serve your shit stained ass up on a steaming poo poo poopy platter.
And that’s if they go easy on you.
Saturday Morning Mayhem
First airing on CBS in 1967, The Herculoids proved so powerfully popular, those wacky powers that be deemed it too violent, too corrupting on America’s fragile youth. So, it was cancelled at the height of its TV ratings popularity.
What’s it they say in Hollywood circles about decisions up on high? That’s network executive intelligence for ya.
To be fair, and perhaps owing to the era’s more innocent time, Herculoids may have seemed too much for Saturday Morning fare. Afterall, it’s a scantily clad family of alien barbarians commanding monstrously strong creatures for pets caving in the heads of aliens and other nasty creatures intent upon world or even galactic domination.
But, of course, that’s exactly why it’s so damn cool.
Who’s Who of The Herculoids
Herculoids are comprised of a human family and their wondrous creatures capable of fantastic feats of fighting fancy.
Zandor - The clan’s tightly muscled father and heroic leader of The Herculoids.
Tara - She’s tremendously athletic wife to Zandor and mother to Dorno.
Dorno - Son of Zandor and Tara. He’s following in his Dad’s footsteps.
Zok - A high flying dragon reminiscent of Earth’s ancient, classical legendary look. He fires powerful energy beams from his eyes and tail.
Igoo - He’s a rock ape. No, he’s not fond of rock music. He’s literally an ape made out of rock. He’s massively strong with near invulnerable skin to ward off nearly everything.
Tundro - A rhinoceros merged with a triceratops. He fires flaming rocks which pierce nearly any material.
Gloop and Gleep - Two great jiggling masses of incredible biological jelly. They can form to nearly any shape. They are father and son.
The Herculoids pursue a life of old fashioned simplicity. They farm and raise their family on the quaint little planet of Quasar. They pretty much mind their own business, yet are constantly attacked by real flaming assholes.
Here’s just a sample of said attacking aholes: The Faceless People, Destroyer Ants, Raider Apes, Mutoids, Arnoids, Zorbots, Mekkano mechanical men and Ogs, a strange form of vegetable life.
Yeah, Herculoids are just a little busy resisting a crazed horde of invaders on a daily basis.
Alex Toth From Comic Books To Animation Magic
Alex Toth may not be a household name, but among animators and animation fans, he’s highly revered.
Toth’s artistic talent was spotted early by a teacher which led him to enrolling in the School of Industrial Art. Although his dream was to become a household name by illustrating comic strips in newspapers, he felt the industry was dying out.
Toth found his early professional footing in comic books. DC hired him in 1947 and his first book was illustrating the jade, galactic powerhouse, Green Lantern. He’d follow up this illustrious debut by working on the Justice Society of America, including having Black Canary first meet and work with the famed super powered team. Toth would draw Golden Age versions of The Flash and Atom, and also work on westerns for DC. Quitting DC in 1952, Toth moved to California, and two years later was drafted into the army in 1954.
Toth brought such a unique look and feel to his Herculoids. The artist merged an ancient barbarian vibe with the most outlandish sci-fi future trappings. His alien and creature designs confer an otherworldly feel along with an eerie sense of authenticity. The Herculoids as a family are always under pressure from invading attacks, and thanks to Toth’s artistry we feel right there with our protective friends as they fend off the marauders for one more frenetic day.
The Herculoids champion justice and protect their world as a family much like The Fantastic Four or the X-Men. These are super powered groups, but first and foremost, they’re a strong family unit. This sense of belonging and tightly connected relations is just one of the reasons the show works so well. Throw in Toth’s mind blowing designs and the ramped up action and you have one of the most thrilling animated TV series of all time.
Gloop and Gleep were schmoos! And I loved Space Ghost!