Doe-eyed Adora.

"Book Burning" from She-Ra's first season was not only notable for featuring one of the most striking plots of the series, but also because it featured some noteworthy pieces of animation. In this illustration, from a sequence in which the heroes sneak into a Horde vehicle, we can see Adora illustrated in a unique fashion. I always loved the visual moments in the series when the characters would look slightly off model, but in a good way! We rarely, if ever, got to see Adora's face from this angle, so I love the fact that we see her given a somewhat doe-eyed look.


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

GIANT Picture Book (Heroic Warriors) illustration #14

Golden Book published a great deal of Masters of the Universe material during the eighties. Two of the most notable and yet rarely seen books are the Giant Picture Books; oversized quality publications printed on thick quality paper featuring artwork by Fred Carrillo. One book focused on the Heroic Warriors, whilst the other focused on the Evil Warriors. Here I present, from the Heroic Warriors book, the first of the two black and white illustrations focusing on Stratos, resized for you to enjoy! Here we see an amazingly action-packed illustration with Stratos looping around a destructive blast from Evil-Lyn!


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

A brief review #039 - "Trouble in Arcadia"

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 "Trouble in Arcadia"...

In this character-heavy episode, not only do we get to see Prince Adam captured and made to work in a mine, but we are also treated to an interesting look at the dynamic between men and women. And as a clever running race against time sub plot, we see the Sword of Power's durability pushed to the limit. What this episode achieves most of all, through both its writing and direction, is craft the perfect relationship between Prince Adam and Teela. They clearly care a great deal for one another, as is evidenced with their embrace as they are reunited. Of the two Teela is written the strongest; David Wise giving her fantastic dialogue and scenes opposite Queen Sumana. 7/10

Now, may I ask; what is YOUR rating?

Double Trouble or Entrapta?

Issue four of the UK She-Ra comic presents us with an incredibly strange situation. Firstly, the story has She-Ra seek out the help of Entrapta, who appears to be an ally of sorts in this story. However, the most perplexing part of this story occurs visually when Entrapta appears. As you can see below Entrapta is illustrated as Double Trouble, but with an alternatively colored costume! Why the decision to play Double Trouble as Entrapta will never be known...


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

Trap Jaw's dizzy!

Here is yet another comical storyboard panel by Rich Chidlaw from the season one He-Man episode "The Region of Ice". As funny as the produced episode is, there is a lot more visual comedy found in the storyboards. Of course this was the case with many storyboards as the final look of the episode had to adhere to Filmation's style and stock system. In this panel we see an incredibly dizzy Trap Jaw, with quite possibly one of the most confident-looking Orkos ever illustrated!


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

GIANT Picture Book (Heroic Warriors) illustration #13

Golden Book published a great deal of Masters of the Universe material during the eighties. Two of the most notable and yet rarely seen books are the Giant Picture Books; oversized quality publications printed on thick quality paper featuring artwork by Fred Carrillo. One book focused on the Heroic Warriors, whilst the other focused on the Evil Warriors. Here I present, from the Heroic Warriors book, the two pages focusing on Stratos. If you look at the landscape beneath Stratos you will notice an incredible use of forced perspective. Sadly the text makes no reference to Stratos' race being known as the Avionians.


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

No greater honor...

Here is another example of Andie Tong's fantastic artwork on the Rise of the Snake Men miniseries published by MVCreations. In these three panels from issue two we see King Hsss reveal his true form as Evil-Lyn is informed that there is no greater honor than being consumed by him! I absolutely love the energy of the second and third panels after the calmness of King Hsss' stance in the first one...


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

Shakes off the snow.

In these three panels by Rich Chidlaw from the season one He-Man episode "The Region of Ice" we see King Randor buried under the snow, comically shake it off, and then look concerned for Queen Marlena. The over-the-top movement in the second panel is incredibly well-rendered as King Randor shakes his head from side to side in an effort to remove the snow. Once again Rich uses a marker to create shadows which sadly would never be acknowledged as production on the episode's animation began. Also, note Man-At-Arms' concerned expression; he looks close to tears!


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

Pink-clouded transformation.

This beautifully colored illustration of She-Ra was seen alongside the story "The Lost River", which was featured in the rarely-seen four story She-Ra Ladybird compilation book. What I love about this Glenn Steward illustration is that due to the way it has been colored it looks as if the transformation sequence is taking place in front of the famous Etherian moon background seen in the Filmation cartoon. I have to say that I love the simplicity of the way in which She-Ra is drawn!


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

GIANT Picture Book (Heroic Warriors) illustration #12

Golden Book published a great deal of Masters of the Universe material during the eighties. Two of the most notable and yet rarely seen books are the Giant Picture Books; oversized quality publications printed on thick quality paper featuring artwork by Fred Carrillo. One book focused on the Heroic Warriors, whilst the other focused on the Evil Warriors. Here I present, from the Heroic Warriors book, the second of the two black and white illustrations focusing on Orko, resized for you to enjoy! This is a fantastic companion piece to the previous illustration with Orko using his magic to bring life to what appeared to be a dead plant. Pay particular attention to the physical expressions of joy on both King Randor and Queen Marlena.


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