Tease and pout.

Not twist and shout. Bob Forward's storyboards for "Into the Abyss" features numerous amusing illustrations, especially when it comes to the close-ups of the characters. Whilst Teela has a beauty about her in the first panel, Prince Adam's comical expression with simple circular shapes for eyes is hilarious; as is his pouting expression!


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TWENTY-NINE YEARS AGO...

It's hard to believe, but at 4.20pm today on the 5th September 1983, some TWENTY-NINE years ago, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe had its WORLD premiere in the UK! Oddly the series wouldn't premiere in the USA until September 26th. The first episode aired was naturally the pilot episode "Diamond Ray of Disappearance". In celebration of that day I thought I would record a commentary track for the episode. Throughout this track I wax lyrical about the original script, deleted scenes, animation reuse, and much more etc. ENJOY!

For your listening pleasure, "Diamond Ray of Disappearance" 29th ANNIVERSARY COMMENTARY TRACK!


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Zenia's original design.

Here is an interesting piece of development artwork from the season one He-Man episode "The Curse of the Spellstone". Here we see that one of the Filmation artists originally intended for Evil-Lyn's disguise to be much closer to her typical look, but merely have her clothing altered, rather than her entire physicality. I like how even as Zenia, Evil-Lyn retains the same pose she sports for her normal character model sheet. Old Zak's design is also vastly different to how the character appeared in the actual episode. It would have been interesting to see Evil-Lyn with a simple disguise, but I for one am happy that they completely altered her character for this particular episode.


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Coloring book #24 - Evil controls the Talon Fighter!

During the eighties there were many Masters of the Universe coloring books, all of which featured a variety of artwork, with varying degrees of quality. Some artists put in a great level of detail, other artists simply copied model sheets, and some artists were just plain questionable. There were a batch of illustrations by one particular unnamed artist that I have a great affection for, mainly because the style is close to the cartoon, but bold enough to be identifiable as the artist's own! These images also showcased some pretty impressive scenes that I personally wish could have been seen in the Filmation series. In this, the final showcased illustration from this particular coloring book, we see He-Man once again attacked in front of Castle Grayskull from high up; this time from Skeletor piloting the Talon Fighter. This is of course based upon the cover of the minicomic "The Power Of... Point Dread!" Is it me, or does it appear that Skeletor is wearing a Prince Adam-like jacket?!


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FILMATION ART: Skeletor's axe.

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 He-Man episode "Diamond Ray of Disappearance". As soon as I saw this background I just had to own it. For those that do not know, this image showcases the crystal ball atop Skeletor's axe, a weapon he employs in only this one episode. I love the way light is reflected across the axe, as well as the little nicks and dents that indicate the weapon has some age. The Eternian sky is rendered as beautifully as ever. The white part of this background is actually clear, so that the animation of Trap Jaw on his War Sled could be shot underneath.


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

A brief review #030 - "The Taking of Grayskull"

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 "The Taking of Grayskull"...

This episode has one of the greatest script premises of the series, but due to average writing and poor animation, it fails to deliver. The script spends far too long focusing on the parts of the story that we would rather not care about; all we want to see is He-Man in the other dimension confronting Skeletor. And that is where the episode fails again; instead of fighting Skeletor to win back Castle Grayskull, the heroes spend what seems like an eternity in the beautifully illustrated other dimension overcoming obstacles. He-Man's feat of lifting Castle Grayskull does make this episode memorable, but even with that fantastic scene, this episode is still a huge disappointment. 5/10

Now, may I ask; what is YOUR rating?

A unique angle.

"Leech - The Master of Power Suction Unleashed!" is one of the worst Masters of the Universe minicomics ever produced. The artwork, while unique, seems to change style from panel to panel, as does the look of characters. The story is also incredibly questionable with events making little to no sense. The only panels I can actually tolerate in this minicomic are the ones I present below which showcase the moment Prince Adam transforms into He-Man. I think the angle of the illustration is fantastic, showing Prince Adam from above with the Sword of Power raised. I also like the way in which the sword is illustrated in the stand-alone panel. Unfortunately, this is the only real piece of quality in this minicomic...


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Coloring book #23 - Trap door Tri-Klops!

During the eighties there were many Masters of the Universe coloring books, all of which featured a variety of artwork, with varying degrees of quality. Some artists put in a great level of detail, other artists simply copied model sheets, and some artists were just plain questionable. There were a batch of illustrations by one particular unnamed artist that I have a great affection for, mainly because the style is close to the cartoon, but bold enough to be identifiable as the artist's own! These images also showcased some pretty impressive scenes that I personally wish could have been seen in the Filmation series. In this illustration we see Beast Man and Mer-Man attempting to figure out the malfunctioning controls of something, as Tri-Klops falls down a trap door! I love the expressions on the faces of both Beast Man and Mer-Man, and I especially love the awkward contorted pose of Tri-Klops as gravity claims him as a victim!


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Glimmer's big head #3

Here is an illustration by Fred Carrillo from the Princess of Power Golden Book "The Crooked Crown". In this story Queen Angella leaves Bright Moon in the hands of Glimmer, resulting in a sequence of ill-timed events. Tricked into donning the Crooked Crown by Catra Glimmer's head begins to grow. Here is the third of three comical illustrations in which this happens. I always laugh at this illustration at the way in which Glimmer is trying to raise her hands to her gigantic head!


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Adam and Cringer return...

Here is a nice calm illustration by Robin Davies from the Masters of the Universe Ladybird book "Wings of Doom". In this piece Prince Adam and Cringer have just transformed back from their other selves and are returning to the Royal Palace. I like the small attention to detail, such as Cringer's white eyebrows; something that is unique to this piece. I must say though, Cringer appears to have put on a little extra weight!


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