30 Years Later, The Return of an Underrated ’90s Animated Series Hits Major Milestone

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It feels like we’re living in a throwback era, with many popular franchises from the 1980s – like G.I. Joe, Thundercats, Transformers, My Little Pony, He-Man, and She-Ra – making comebacks and appealing to those who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s. Now, millennials are getting a chance to relive their childhoods too, as shows from the 1990s are being rebooted for a new generation. For example, SWAT Kats: Radical Squadron, which originally aired 30 years ago, is returning in comic book form.

Created by Christian and Yvon Tremblay and produced by Hanna-Barbera, the cartoon SWAT Kats aired on TBS from 1993 to 1995, taking viewers to the futuristic Megakat City. The show centered on Jake “Razor” Clawson and Chance “T-Bone” Adler, two ex-police officers who used high-tech jet fighters, like the Turbokat, to fight crime and battle their old boss, Commander Feral, and the villain Dark Kat. Recently, a nostalgia-fueled project, SWAT Kats: The First Ever Comic Book, launched on Kickstarter and quickly became a huge success, raising over $757,000 from nearly 7,000 supporters. This broke Kickstarter records, making it the platform’s most funded single-issue comic book. The project continued to thrive, ultimately reaching over $1,000,000 in funding through Backerkit.

The ‘SWAT Kats’ crowdfunding campaign has been incredibly successful, demonstrating the strong support of its fans. According to Backerkits co-founder Rosalind Chau, the campaign has already raised over $1,000,000 before any products have even been shipped. With add-ons and pre-orders still available throughout May, they anticipate even greater community support.

Swat Kats Is Back

This book is a team-up between Roditeli Productions and The Tremblay Brothers. Kevin Roditeli, known for comics like X-O: Manowar, Bad Omens: Concrete Jungle, and the popular Washed in the Blood, collaborated with writer Frank Barbiere, who’s worked with Marvel, DC, and Image on titles like Author Immortal. The art features Jorge Corona, currently illustrating DC’s Lobo, a major asset to the project, alongside colorist Sarah Stern, a frequent collaborator of his. Corona’s work is sure to attract fans and will vividly bring the story’s characters to life.

In 2026, Roditeli Productions has collaborated with many talented artists to create special variant covers for the book. They’ve included some of the most popular comic book artists working today, such as Mirka Andolfo, Juan Gedeson, Leo Chiola, Alessio Zonno, Daz Tribbles, Preston Asevedo, Corin Howell, Filya Kenobi, and Ryan G. Browne. A cover from the legendary Neal Adams, created in partnership with Continuity Studios and his estate, is also available. Fans can still purchase these covers through Backerkit at skcomics.com until the end of May.

Creators Christian and Yvon Tremblay are thrilled to announce a new comic book series, something they’ve wanted to do for years. This marks the first official new SWAT Kats story since 1993! They’re collaborating with Roditeli Productions to bring this new chapter to life in print, aiming to capture the same feel fans remember from the original TBS show. Crowdfunding has provided a great way to revive beloved properties, and the success of the SWAT Kats comic is a significant achievement for both crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Backerkit, and for dedicated fans of the classic series.

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2026-05-19 21:11