Threatening the village of Cooleron.

Robert Lamb came up with numerous story ideas during his time working on She-Ra. One of many which unfortunately never saw the light of day was an untitled story that would've seen She-Ra and Frosta team-up to prevent a devasating lava flow from destroying the village of Colleron. Read for yourself!


(click on the image to see it at full-size)

Detailed panel.

Often when illustrating a run cycle with a pan background cycle the artist would only be required to illustrate the characters once. However, in this panel by Rich Chidlaw from the "The Region of Ice" storyboards he decided to illustrate the three characters of He-Man, Orko, and Snowflake numerous times to show their progression through the pan. Very odd, but the result is a very detailed and good-looking storyboard panel!


(click on the image to see it at full-size)

She-Ra versus Hordak #5

The fight sequence that appeared in the season one She-Ra episode "A Loss for Words" and the season two episode "The Caregiver", was actually reused in-between those two episodes. In the season two episode "Brigis" the moment when Hordak attacks She-Ra in his tank form, prompting her to leap over him, and throw him into the air was reshot on new backgrounds!




(click on the images to see them at full-size)

A brief review #031 - "A Tale of Two Cities"

As many of you will know, in 2010 I published The unofficial cartoon guide to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. At 300+ pages the book features 700+ pieces of trivia, 460+ deleted scenes, 360+ examples of animation reuse, 380+ quotes, 50+ abandoned episodes, and a LOT more! It is the book that NO fan of the Filmation series can live without! BUY IT NOW!

As an incentive, here is my brief review and rating (as they appear in the book) for "A Tale of Two Cities"...

It is not often that an episode can create a truly unique atmosphere within the first minute, but this episode succeeds like no other. You would think that He-Man suffering from amnesia would be the plot that connects us to the episode, but it is the fact that we feel just as alone as He-Man. Much like our hero, we recognize none of the locations or characters. One of the most interesting aspects of this episode is that all the characters believe He-Man to be nothing more than a legend. This only helps to create the sense that we are far away from what we have come to know of this series; and also it makes He-Man just that little bit more extraordinary. 7/10

Now, may I ask; what is YOUR rating?

Skra-Kaboom!

Andie Tong was the artist on the Rise of the Snake Men miniseries published by MVCreations. Within the space of three issues he made quite an impact! This page featuring the first appearance of He-Man's Snake Armor is nothing short of spectacular! The line art is superb, the colors leap from the page, and the lightning compliments the artwork beautifully by not being overly detailed; almost reminiscent of the way in which the lightning was illustrated in the Filmation cartoon. A truly fantastic illustration!


(click on the image to see it at full-size)

She-Ra versus Hordak #4

Here are some more examples of the memorable fight scene between She-Ra and Hordak from the season one She-Ra episode "A Loss for Words" being reused in the season two episode "The Caregiver". The images on the left are from "A Loss for Words", while the images on the right are from "The Caregiver". At least the conclusion is slightly different, with Shakra appearing next to She-Ra...





(click on the images to see them at full-size)

Earth-based public service announcement...

As I have covered in a previous post, the memorable episode "Planet of Junk" from The New Adventures of He-Man series is famous for its cameo of Man-At-Arms. However, what many may not be too familiar with is the odd public service announcement at the end of the episode. We see Sagitar and Prince Adam conversing about bike security in a location that looks a great deal like Earth! Holodeck excuses aside, draw your own conclusions...


(click on the images to see them at full-size)

"Fisto's Forest" art.

Here is a cute little illustration by Robert Lamb that preceded his storyboard of the season two He-Man episode "Fisto's Forest". I like the fact that the image beautifully sums up the plot of the episode with Fisto's grip of evil over the previously beautiful forest...


(click on the image to see it at full-size)

She-Ra versus Hordak #3

Here are some more examples of the memorable fight scene between She-Ra and Hordak from the season one She-Ra episode "A Loss for Words" being reused in the season two episode "The Caregiver". The images on the left are from "A Loss for Words", while the images on the right are from "The Caregiver". Oddly in this sequence they reshot She-Ra's acrobatic flip through the air with a new background!





(click on the images to see them at full-size)

Prince Adam accepts the power.

These two panels as featured in The Secret Files of Scrollos from issue thirty-five of the UK Masters of the Universe comic show Prince Adam shortly after accepting the power of Castle Grayskull. I love the way these two panels are illustrated; the first being rather dramatic as Prince Adam announces his mission as He-Man, with the second panel a reaffirmation of the friendship between Prince Adam and Man-At-Arms. Out of all the origin stories ever presented, this is by far my favorite. At some point in the future I will feature the entire story for your reading pleasure!


(click on the image to see it at full-size)

Dylamug versus a pie!

Warren Greenwood had a very unique style of illustrating his boards, most noticeable on the faces of the human characters. However, his boards were always incredibly well illustrated and staged. These three panels from the season one She-Ra episode "Duel at Devlan" show a scene from the fight towards the end of the episode. Here we see Dylamug receiving a pie to the face! I love the two panels showing Dylamug perform a take of surprise as he realizes the pie is on its way, and the expression, particularly on the face on his chest, as the pie strikes his top head!


(click on the image to see it at full-size)

She-Ra versus Hordak #2

Here are some more examples of the memorable fight scene between She-Ra and Hordak from the season one She-Ra episode "A Loss for Words" being reused in the season two episode "The Caregiver". The images on the left are from "A Loss for Words", while the images on the right are from "The Caregiver". One has to wonder why they even bothered to reshoot with new backgrounds on certain scenes...







(click on the images to see them at full-size)

Nepthu transformed: final design.

Following on from yesterday's post which focused on the villain Nepthu from the He-Man episode "Temple of The Sun", I thought it would be interesting to show this model sheet of the character. Although slightly simplified for animation, you can see that the character model designers took much of what Michael Swanigan had illustrated in his turnaround for the character.


(click on the image to see it at full-size)

Nepthu transformed: original design.

This roughly illustrated turnaround of the villain Nepthu by Michael Swanigan accompanied his storyboards for the season one He-Man episode "Temple of The Sun". In the episode Nepthu gains the powers of the Sun Scarab and transforms into a powerful Egyptian-like figure. Originally, the artists at Filmation had designed Nepthu to retain his bearded look, but instead of wearing ragged clothing, he would be sporting a long flowing wizard's robe. At some point during production Michael Swanigan illustrated this design for Nepthu and subsequently used the design throughout his storyboards. The design was accepted and used in the actual episode, albeit with a few changes...


(click on the image to see it at full-size)

She-Ra versus Hordak #1

One of the most memorable confrontations between She-Ra and Hordak in the She-Ra series occurred in the season one episode "A Loss for Words", directed beautifully by Tom Sito. The fight scene was particularly notable for showcasing Hordak's ability to change his form, as well as She-Ra's physical prowess. The fight scene would later be reused in the season two episode "The Caregiver", and while the initial shot of Hordak transforming into flying-fisted spinning top was reanimated, the rest of the footage from the fight was simply taken from the previous episode and reshot. The images on the left are from "A Loss for Words", while the images on the right are from "The Caregiver".





(click on the images to see them at full-size)