"The Reality Shaper" #1

Issue thirteen of the UK Masters of the Universe comic presented us with an incredibly unique tale! As the story opens up we learn that everything on Eternia has changed for the worse, with the Evil Horde now in complete control of both the Heroic Warriors and the Evil Warriors! Where this story becomes even more unique is how and why everything has changed. Here are the first three pages of this story...


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GIANT Picture Book (Heroic Warriors) illustration #27

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 Prince Adam and Cringer, resized for you to enjoy! I laugh at Cringer's expression as a small bird lands on his nose. This appears to be the illustration that leads into the color one previously featured showing Prince Adam relaxing as Cringer chases a bird around the palace grounds.


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Mattel's Dylamug!

In these two storyboard panels from the She-Ra season one episode "Duel at Devlan" by Warren Greenwood we see Dylamug looking strikingly different to his final animated design. Normally this would stem from the fact that the artist had no character models to work with at the time of the storyboard process. Whilst that is still the case with this illustration, there is something unique about Warren's illustration of Dylamug. Mattel were developing Dylamug for the toyline and subsequently handed an early conceptual design of their toy, illustrated by Ted Mayer, to Filmation. As a result Warren used Ted's design of Dylamug in his storyboards. However, by the time the episode had completed production, Filmation's model department had changed the character significantly. Instead of a humanoid-looking character, Dylamug was now purposely disproportioned!


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

A brief review #042 - "Double Edged Sword"

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 "Double Edged Sword"...

With this story Robby London manages to craft one of the series' most compelling episodes. Not only is it scripted beautifully, but the moral message it explicitly preaches is naturally woven into the episode through Chad and Elden, without any of it feeling forced. The character writing throughout the episode is rich in both humor and drama. The heroes and villains are all given great dialogue and interact with each other to perfection. Elden's tragic story of how he accidentally killed many of his fellow soldiers during the Orc War is one of the series' most touching pieces of character writing, and cements this as one of the most powerful pieces of storytelling in the series. 9/10

Now, may I ask; what is YOUR rating?

Old King Randor...

Believe it or not, the elderly-looking gentleman sitting upon a rather mediocre throne is actually King Randor! This illustration from the 1986 Masters of the Universe annual is typical of the artwork found in the book. At the time the artists working on the annuals were referring to artwork and character designs from the three issues of the DC Masters of the Universe comic. The 1987 annual would see a dramatic shift in style as the artists found themselves working with a great deal of Filmation reference material!


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

GIANT Picture Book (Heroic Warriors) illustration #26

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 Prince Adam and Cringer, resized for you to enjoy! In this fantastically humorous illustration we see a high-spirited Cringer up on his hind legs licking Prince Adam, who seems amused by the whole situation. This piece of artwork beautifully showcases the friendship and companionship between the pair.


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

"Double Trouble" #3

I teased a panel from this story many, many years ago! At long last I finally present "Double Trouble", a story that appeared in issue fourteen of the UK Masters of the Universe Adventure magazine. You can never have enough stories featuring a clone of He-Man. Okay, well, you can, but this one is unique in that Skeletor is the He-Man clone in question this time around! Here are the final three pages...


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

Catra and Clawdeen.

"One To Count On", aside from being the first episode of season two of She-Ra, is not only memorable for having a great premise, but also featuring some never-before-seen characters. Catra's ally, Clawdeen, makes her first and only appearance in the series in this particular episode. Here I present a model sheet designed for the episode's model sheet pack, which actually depicts Clawdeen with a saddle, and most notably of all, Catra riding her. Even though, as the toys dictated, Clawdeen was supposed to be Catra's steed, we never got to see this occur in the animated series...


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

"Double Trouble" #2

I teased a panel from this story many, many years ago! At long last I finally present "Double Trouble", a story that appeared in issue fourteen of the UK Masters of the Universe Adventure magazine. You can never have enough stories featuring a clone of He-Man. Okay, well, you can, but this one is unique in that Skeletor is the He-Man clone in question this time around! Here are pages five to eight...


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

GIANT Picture Book (Heroic Warriors) illustration #25

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 Prince Adam and Cringer. In this particular illustration we see an incredibly relaxed Prince Adam, with Cringer chasing a bird. Notice that the book next to Prince Adam is called "Ancient Weapons of Eternia", which I would suspect is hinting that even though he is not a warrior in this image, he is always educating himself. The text is wonderful in that, much like a tour guide it specifically states that both Prince Adam and Cringer "can often be seen strolling the grounds of the palace or just napping under a shady tree".


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