(click on the images to see them at full-size)
06 December 2010
"Ghost of He-Man" #1
A few years back I showcased a dramatic panel from issue nineteen of the UK Masters of the Universe comic. The panel was from the very memorable story "Ghost of He-Man", which I now present for you in the first of two posts. This is one of my favorite stories from the UK comic, because not only is the idea an original one, but the story is written in such a way that it is not all that predictable. Here are the first three pages of the story. I would love to have seen this story animated by Filmation...
(click on the images to see them at full-size)
(click on the images to see them at full-size)
03 December 2010
Warlock in He-Man?
Storyboard artist Michael Swanigan was a huge fan of the series that he worked on, and a fan of Filmation. As a result he would often pay homage to previous series that the company had worked on. In the season one He-Man episode "The Remedy" Michael decided that a winged creature in the script, a Takdryl, should sport the same character model as Warlock from Filmation's previous series, Blackstar! I always enjoyed this episode's nod to the Blackstar series...
(click on the images to see them at full-size)
(click on the images to see them at full-size)
02 December 2010
Rainbow ending.
There is something oddly magical about this shot from the end of "The Curse of the Spellstone" from He-Man's season one. Often the episodes in which a rainbow appears at the end are somewhat cringe-worthy; as if the director is trying to create an emotion rather than let the writing do its job. On this occasion though it is just included for fun. I like Teela's expressive pose; as if she is captivated and enthralled by Orko's magical spells, whereas Prince Adam just looks heroic with his hands on his hips.
(click on the image to see it at full-size)
(click on the image to see it at full-size)
01 December 2010
1000 POSTS! :)
It is true! This entry is the ONE THOUSANDTH post on The He-Man and She-Ra Blog!
Normally I would say, "Let us look back at the previous nine-hundred and ninety-nine posts", but that would be madness (and an incredibly long post)! Instead I will direct your eyes to the right hand side of the screen. I have removed the Blog archives by month, because, to be quite honest, they were not functioning correctly. Now there is a link to an archive listing EVERY SINGLE BLOG post! It will act as an easy-to-access archive for this Blog, and I will do my best to update it with the most recent posts every few weeks.
Now, who thinks I can write another one thousand?! :)
And here, for your entertainment, is a never-before-seen developmental illustration of Castle Grayskull!
(click on the image to see it at full-size)
Normally I would say, "Let us look back at the previous nine-hundred and ninety-nine posts", but that would be madness (and an incredibly long post)! Instead I will direct your eyes to the right hand side of the screen. I have removed the Blog archives by month, because, to be quite honest, they were not functioning correctly. Now there is a link to an archive listing EVERY SINGLE BLOG post! It will act as an easy-to-access archive for this Blog, and I will do my best to update it with the most recent posts every few weeks.
Now, who thinks I can write another one thousand?! :)
And here, for your entertainment, is a never-before-seen developmental illustration of Castle Grayskull!
(click on the image to see it at full-size)
28 November 2010
Memories #30 - The saga of Trap Jaw and Tri-Klops!
In an effort to make a note of all my He-Man and She-Ra childhood memories I've decided that every once in a while I will make reference to them here! There is no particular order to these; just amusing little anecdotes from years gone by.
If you were to mention to my father the names of Trap Jaw and Tri-Klops no doubt the first thing he will recall is how impossible those two action figures were to obtain! Strangely, even though our local toy store Jennings had pretty much every single Masters of the Universe figure, Trap Jaw and Tri-Klops were rarely ever stocked; or simply sold out incredibly fast! Eventually we had to travel an hour or so away to a toy store in Potters Bar, just outside of London. When we arrived at the toy store I remember being overjoyed upon seeing both Trap Jaw and Tri-Klops in stock. This may be why the two of them became my favorite villains in the Filmation cartoon...
If you were to mention to my father the names of Trap Jaw and Tri-Klops no doubt the first thing he will recall is how impossible those two action figures were to obtain! Strangely, even though our local toy store Jennings had pretty much every single Masters of the Universe figure, Trap Jaw and Tri-Klops were rarely ever stocked; or simply sold out incredibly fast! Eventually we had to travel an hour or so away to a toy store in Potters Bar, just outside of London. When we arrived at the toy store I remember being overjoyed upon seeing both Trap Jaw and Tri-Klops in stock. This may be why the two of them became my favorite villains in the Filmation cartoon...
27 November 2010
Memories #29 - That's what I call timing...
In an effort to make a note of all my He-Man and She-Ra childhood memories I've decided that every once in a while I will make reference to them here! There is no particular order to these; just amusing little anecdotes from years gone by.
My parents would take me on holiday once a year, but I was always concerned whether or not I would miss an episode of He-Man. One time in particular I remember being worried that we would not make it home in time to see the latest episode. My brother Shaun had already started recording the episode when we arrived home, but the episode was already more than halfway through. Amazingly when I switched on the television I was greeted by the image of Prince Adam stood in front of Eternia's two moons preparing to raise the Sword of Power. Yes, I somehow timed my arrival to coincide with one of the greatest moments in the history of the cartoon!
(click on the image to see it at full-size)
My parents would take me on holiday once a year, but I was always concerned whether or not I would miss an episode of He-Man. One time in particular I remember being worried that we would not make it home in time to see the latest episode. My brother Shaun had already started recording the episode when we arrived home, but the episode was already more than halfway through. Amazingly when I switched on the television I was greeted by the image of Prince Adam stood in front of Eternia's two moons preparing to raise the Sword of Power. Yes, I somehow timed my arrival to coincide with one of the greatest moments in the history of the cartoon!
(click on the image to see it at full-size)
25 November 2010
Memories #28 - Thief!
In an effort to make a note of all my He-Man and She-Ra childhood memories I've decided that every once in a while I will make reference to them here! There is no particular order to these; just amusing little anecdotes from years gone by.
Our local toy store Jennings not only sold all those wonderful Masters of the Universe action figures, but also the books published by Ladybird. I remember going into Jennings one day and seeing that Ladybird were now publishing She-Ra books! I was so excited when I picked up "She-Ra and the Dark Pool" and saw that it featured He-Man! In excitement I raced out of the shop with the book still in hand and ran up to my father, who was in another shop, and asked him if I could buy it! I was of course blissfully unaware that I had just committed a theft! My father looked at me with an expression of shock and horror and raced me back to the shop with the book. Luckily the shop owners knew that I was not a thief and my father promptly paid for the book. Oops...
(click on the image to see it at full-size)
Our local toy store Jennings not only sold all those wonderful Masters of the Universe action figures, but also the books published by Ladybird. I remember going into Jennings one day and seeing that Ladybird were now publishing She-Ra books! I was so excited when I picked up "She-Ra and the Dark Pool" and saw that it featured He-Man! In excitement I raced out of the shop with the book still in hand and ran up to my father, who was in another shop, and asked him if I could buy it! I was of course blissfully unaware that I had just committed a theft! My father looked at me with an expression of shock and horror and raced me back to the shop with the book. Luckily the shop owners knew that I was not a thief and my father promptly paid for the book. Oops...
(click on the image to see it at full-size)
19 November 2010
Memories #27 - Jennings...
In an effort to make a note of all my He-Man and She-Ra childhood memories I've decided that every once in a while I will make reference to them here! There is no particular order to these; just amusing little anecdotes from years gone by.
When I was a kid our local toy store Jennings was by far my most favorite place to visit. It was a very small, very traditional shop, but it was absolutely packed out with all the latest toys! Their Masters of the Universe display was not a display as such, but a rack that awkwardly divided the tiny shop. This rack in particular was loaded with Masters of the Universe figures to the point that if you were to try and grab one, you would have to quite literally wade through the dense forestry of the other carded figures! It was always a nice surprise to venture into the shop only to see a new wave of figures I knew nothing about. Remember folks, this was before the days of the Internet. I remember walking in one day and suddenly there was Dragon Blaster Skeletor, Moss Man, Spikor, Sy-Klone, Thunderpunch He-Man, Two Bad, etc. The first thing I would always do is look at the back of the cards to see the other new figures that were available. In late 1996 I actually went back to Jennings for the first time in years and purchased numerous carded Masters of the Universe figures. I wish I had a photo of the Jennings toy store in the eighties. It was like a magical grotto!
(click on the image to see it at full-size)
When I was a kid our local toy store Jennings was by far my most favorite place to visit. It was a very small, very traditional shop, but it was absolutely packed out with all the latest toys! Their Masters of the Universe display was not a display as such, but a rack that awkwardly divided the tiny shop. This rack in particular was loaded with Masters of the Universe figures to the point that if you were to try and grab one, you would have to quite literally wade through the dense forestry of the other carded figures! It was always a nice surprise to venture into the shop only to see a new wave of figures I knew nothing about. Remember folks, this was before the days of the Internet. I remember walking in one day and suddenly there was Dragon Blaster Skeletor, Moss Man, Spikor, Sy-Klone, Thunderpunch He-Man, Two Bad, etc. The first thing I would always do is look at the back of the cards to see the other new figures that were available. In late 1996 I actually went back to Jennings for the first time in years and purchased numerous carded Masters of the Universe figures. I wish I had a photo of the Jennings toy store in the eighties. It was like a magical grotto!
(click on the image to see it at full-size)
18 November 2010
"My Friend No More" #5
Here are the final three pages from the memorable story "My Friend No More", as seen in issue thirty-one of the UK Masters of the Universe comic. Check out the incredibly creative layout on page sixteen!
(click on the images to see them at full-size)
(click on the images to see them at full-size)
17 November 2010
Memories #26 - First He-Man figure!
In an effort to make a note of all my He-Man and She-Ra childhood memories I've decided that every once in a while I will make reference to them here! There is no particular order to these; just amusing little anecdotes from years gone by.
Amazingly I have photographic evidence of my first Masters of the Universe action figure. I always tend to forget that I actually started buying the toys prior to the animated series airing in September of 1983. For some reason I took my first action figure, He-Man, on holiday in early 1983 when my family and I went to a wedding. Here is a photo that is a part of the family photo album; I kid you not!
(click on the image to see it at full-size)
Amazingly I have photographic evidence of my first Masters of the Universe action figure. I always tend to forget that I actually started buying the toys prior to the animated series airing in September of 1983. For some reason I took my first action figure, He-Man, on holiday in early 1983 when my family and I went to a wedding. Here is a photo that is a part of the family photo album; I kid you not!
(click on the image to see it at full-size)
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