"Starburst" #1

"Starburst" from the UK Princess of Power special tells the interesting story of how She-Ra came to gain her Starburst powers. This story was of course created to tie in with the action figure of Starburst She-Ra. Often these stories in which a character would gain a new power would feel a little rushed. However, even though this is short story, it is paced incredibly well, and the origin of She-Ra's Starburst powers is entertaining. Here are the first three pages of this story...


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"Cave World of Zambor"

As He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was developed into a series, the staff writers at Filmation came up with a wealth of proposed story premises. Numerous episodes were never developed beyond the early stages. Showcased below is one of those abandoned episodes, alongside a title card that I have created to show what might have been. Please note that in some of these synopses Orko is still referred to as Gorpo, Evil-Lyn as Desira, and the Evil Warriors as the Masters of the Universe. The Sorceress does not appear to have been fully developed at this point either; with many references instead to the Spirit of Grayskull. Also, Stratos is a villain; much like he was in the early Mattel material. All of the original spellings (Tee-La, Beastman, etc.) are also retained for authenticity.

The unofficial cartoon guide to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe features many more abandoned episodes!

"Cave World of Zambor"
While on a routine mission in Eternia's swamplands, He-Man, Man-At-Arms and Gorpo are caught in quicksand and sucked into the underground world of the evil tyrant Zambor. His warlocks force the peace-loving Cave Dwellers to mine the deadly Power Rock for the Masters of the Universe. It is up to He-Man to put a stop to it.


* Legally I should say that Larry DiTillio did NOT write this episode. This is merely an example of how the episode title card might have looked.

Revealing costume!

Even as a kid I remember thinking that Princess Rana, fron the Masters of the Universe minicomic "Slave City!" had a costume that showed off a great deal of flesh. Every time I see this panel I convince myself that it was just a mistake by artist Larry Houston. And then I look at all the other panels throughout the minicomic and am reminded that she does indeed sport this revealing costume in each and every panel!


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Slipping away...

The rarely-seen four story She-Ra Ladybird compilation book was interesting in that aside from including two new stories, it included two previously published stories in "Catra's Ice Palace" and "She-Ra and the Golden Goose", renamed "The Golden Goose" for this publication. The most striking thing about "Catra's Ice Palace" is that due to the size of this compilation book being a different format, the illustrations that accompanied the story were completely redrawn. Previously the story had been illustrated by Geoff Senior, but this time Glenn Steward illustrated it, to tie into the fact that the other three stories in the compilation were illustrated by him! I really like the composition of this piece, as is shows a "before" and "after" situation. In the "before" illustration we see Adora looking towards the Fright Zone and noticing something that prompts her to slip away from the crowds. In the "after" illustration we see her transforming into She-Ra. The somewhat low-angled view of She-Ra with the Sword of Protection held proudly aloft is an incredibly good piece of artwork.


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"Doomspell!" #4

As featured in issue thirteen of the UK Masters of the Universe Adventure magazine, "Doomspell" is an incredibly unique story. It almost appears as if the writer was tripping on acid at the time, as He-Man finds himself in incredibly strange situations brought about by the Doomspell! Although this story does at times feel like an advert for the Blasterhawk, it is still a thoroughly entertaining read! Here are the final four pages...


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A proud boast...

In this page of panels from the Masters of the Universe minicomic "The Tale of Teela!" we see Teela captured by Beast Man, Mer-Man, Trap Jaw, and Tri-Klops! As always, artist Mark Texeira provides a great deal of both detail and energy in each and every panel. The dialogue from the villains is especially noteworthy, with Tri-Klops showing a degree of respect towards Teela in his thoughts, and Trap Jaw remarking to Tri-Klops that the master, Skeletor, will reward him! The more I examine each and every page and panel of this minicomic, the more I find it becoming my favorite Masters of the Universe minicomic.


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"Doomspell!" #3

As featured in issue thirteen of the UK Masters of the Universe Adventure magazine, "Doomspell" is an incredibly unique story. It almost appears as if the writer was tripping on acid at the time, as He-Man finds himself in incredibly strange situations brought about by the Doomspell! Although this story does at times feel like an advert for the Blasterhawk, it is still a thoroughly entertaining read! Here are pages nine to twelve...


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A brief review #050 - "Temple of The Sun"

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 "Temple of The Sun"...

The plot of this is episode is relatively simple. However, the fantastic character interaction between the heroes, and exciting and well-directed action scenes throughout the story, help make it an instant hit. The episode effortlessly mixes mystery with drama and action with comedy. Patrick Duncan somehow manages to turn average scenes with a familiar cast of characters into some of the most memorable scenes in the series. An episode in which Cringer can justifiably stop his transformation into Battle Cat with a logical and amusing argument has to be good. This episode is not one of the series' best, but it does have moments of high drama and laugh out loud comedy. 7/10

Now, may I ask; what is YOUR rating?

FILMATION ART: Whispering Woods at night (again).

For the last sixteen years I have collected He-Man and She-Ra animation artwork. As a result I have amassed a pretty large collection! Here I present a piece of original background artwork from the She-Ra episode "He Ain't Heavy". A while back I showcased a nighttime background of the Whispering Woods. Why would I show another one? Well, I want to demonstrate just how versatile Filmation artists were in their use of colors during production of She-Ra. When comparing this background to the previous one you will notice a different style employed throughout. This background utilizes green to great effect, whereas the previous background relied on blue. Once again I love the detail that the artist puts into this piece. One has to admire the amount of texture created by the paint strokes, as the light source to the right of the screen creates wonderful colors across the tree in the foreground. The odd thing about this background is that the scene takes place during the day, and yet this is clearly the night palette.


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And here is how the background was used in the episode...

Trapped Entrapta!

Here is an interesting illustration from the story "The Lost River", which was featured in the rarely-seen four story She-Ra Ladybird compilation book. In this piece we see Entrapta trapped in a way that seems so obvious, but that has never been employed in any other canon. I love Bow's heroic, almost He-Man-like expression; as he laughs at the problems faced by Entrapta! I like the way in which Glenn Steward does not illustrate the line art on the area of Bow where Kowl's speed lines cross him.


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"Doomspell!" #2

As featured in issue thirteen of the UK Masters of the Universe Adventure magazine, "Doomspell" is an incredibly unique story. It almost appears as if the writer was tripping on acid at the time, as He-Man finds himself in incredibly strange situations brought about by the Doomspell! Although this story does at times feel like an advert for the Blasterhawk, it is still a thoroughly entertaining read! Here are pages five to eight...


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

Mira and a bird.

As I have shown before on this Blog, Filmation storyboard artist Warren Greenwood has a unique way of illustrating the male characters, often giving them triangular shadows for eyes. However, his female character illustrations always looked good! This close up of Mira from the season one He-Man episode "Ordeal in the Darklands" is beautifully illustrated. I particularly like the way in which Greenwood has illustrated the bird's wings flapping, as well the way in which Mira is smiling in delight.


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