10 Comic Books With Awesome Animated TV Shows You Forgot Existed

Long before the likes of The Avengers or Marvel’s Defenders strutted their stuff on the big (and small) screen, a very different kind of superhero collective was the talk of the playground.

1986 was a glorious time for cartoon/toy/comic book crossovers, with everything from GI Joe to Transformers and The Real Ghostbusters making their bow.

Defenders of the Earth definitely warrants a mention in that conversation, even if it has been lost in the sands of time in the decades since. The show brought together three iconic characters from the golden age of comics: Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom.

Supported by their four children, the team faced off against Ming the Merciless and his vast army of ice robots on a weekly basis. Things get even more interesting when Kurt Walker, the older brother of The Phantom and all-round bad egg, arrives on the scene.

Only one series of Defenders of the Earth was ever made but, at sixty-five episodes-long, there are more than enough to keep viewers entertained.

A forgotten gem of Saturday morning television schedules, the series is also notable for its brilliant opening credits and title music, which features lyrics written by a certain comic book legend by the name of Stan Lee.

While both Flash Gordon and The Phantom would return for further animated adventures in the years that followed, this remains Mandrake’s only cartoon outing. Make the most of it.