SIEGE OF AVION (mini-comic, 1983)

Siege of Avion is a 1983 Masters of the Universe mini-comic by Michael Halperin and Alfredo Alcala. Here, Skeletor raids Stratos’s home city, then summons a demon to destroy Castle Grayskull.

The story is interesting enough, and it’s neat to see an interracial (interspecies?) marriage. But truth rays? Do we really need to give He-Man and the Power Sword extra powers? It’s a slippery slope down to Superman IV masonry vision, Halperin.

This is a strong effort by Alcala. The heroes look good, the monsters are cool, and the atmosphere is great. Alcala’s renditions of the action figures and other toys are uncannily precise.

One more thing: I don’t know about you, but it’s always weird to see the Muppet-faced Snake Mountain playset in a story like this. It’s jarring. Give me the Filmation one with the actual mountain and actual snake and Kool-Aid waterfall any day.  

But back to business: the Halperin/Alcala collaborations are the unequivocal highlights of the mini-comics thus far, and this one’s no exception.

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Read it HERE

THE THIEF OF CASTLE GRAYSKULL by Roger McKenzie and Fred Carrillo

The Thief of Castle Grayskull is a 1983 Masters of the Universe children’s book written by Roger McKenzie and illustrated by Fred Carrillo. Here, Skeletor steals Grayskull, and the Heroic Warriors have to travel to the Land of Shadows to get it back.

Taking the entire castle, apparently with the Jawbridge down? That’s a good job by you, Skeletor. Alas, he can’t handle the pressure, and it all ends up back like it was. Meanwhile, He-Man gets by with a little help from his friends – he also does quite a bit of posing and speechifying.

Carrillo does a nice job with the scenery and atmosphere. His layouts are good, and his figures aren’t as stiff as in, say, The Sword of Skeletor.

The Thief of Castle Grayskull might not amount to much more than the usual early-MOTU beat-Skeletor/save-Grayskull plot, but it executes well enough.

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Read it HERE

SLAVE CITY! (mini-comic, 1983)

Slave City! is a 1983 Masters of the Universe mini-comic written by Tina Harris and penciled by Larry Houston. Here, He-Man gets amnesia and becomes a slave gladiator. This comic is heavily based on the cartoon episode “A Tale of Two Cities.”

Even when we were tiny kids, we knew well that the cure for amnesia was a second blow to the head administered at a pivotal moment in the story. Nevertheless, this is a nice little comic, in no small part because it’s a refreshing change of scenery from what we usually get.

I’d say this is the best art we’ve seen from Houston. There’s lots of action, and it’s well done. And Houston continues his noble quest to represent as many non-white races on Eternia as possible (these characters were black in the cartoon; they look Native American (Native Eternian?) here).

It’s nothing fancy, but it’s enjoyable.

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Read it HERE

THE POWER OF POINT DREAD!/DANGER AT CASTLE GRAYSKULL!

The Power of Point Dread!/Danger at Castle Grayskull! is a 1983 Masters of the Universe comic and audiobook. No author is credited; it was illustrated by Alfredo Alcala. In the first story, Skeletor tricks He-Man into leaving Castle Grayskull unprotected; in the second, Skeletor – say it with me – captures Teela and tricks his way into the castle.  

The audio presentation, which includes voice acting, music, and sound effects, is pretty solid. Be advised, though, that in this pre-Filmation production, none of the characters sound like their cartoon counterparts.

Alcala’s art is good, as always. He’s using a distinctly different style from his runs on the mini-comics; it’s perhaps more reminiscent of the first run, but it isn’t quite as impressive as either of them.

The Power of Point Dread! is a good story, and one that bears some similarities to the classic cartoon episode “The Problem with Power.” Zodac’s here – apparently for him, “balance” between good and evil involves good winning every single time. This book was originally packaged with the Point Dread and Talon Fighter toy; as such, this story makes sure to let us know that the Talon Fighter holds two people and that Point Dread fits on top of Castle Grayskull.

Danger at Castle Grayskull! isn’t quite on the same level, unless you’re looking for the usual recycled early He-Man plots. Teela’s here, which means she gets abducted by Skeletor. Man-E-Faces is here, which means he gets enchanted by Skeletor. Marketing-wise, this one plugs the Attak Trak and Zoar (the Talon Fighter only holds two people – be sure to buy the Attak Trak too, so your Teela figure can go along on the adventure and get kidnapped). Well, at least we get Zoar dropping bombs and Skeletor with his hood off.

Whether you’re following along with the audio or just reading the comic, this is entertaining stuff.

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Get the full presentation HERE and HERE