The Magic Mirrors is a 1985 Masters of the
Universe children’s book written by Jack C. Harris and illustrated by Fred
Carrillo (credited here as Fred “Carillo”). Here, the Heroic Warriors and the
Evil Warriors do battle while Skeletor seeks magical artifacts.
There’s a nice little reveal at the end here for kids who’ve
been paying attention throughout, and it’s handled in a reasonably clever way,
even if Skeletor’s actions don’t make a great deal of sense or accomplish much
(in fact, the whole story seems to exist for the sake of that gimmick). But it’s
an entertaining read, even if it breaks down under only causal scrutiny.
Carrillo’s art style is slightly different here from his
work on earlier He-Man Golden Books (Thief of Castle Grayskull and Sword
of Skeletor), and, I think, better. His characters are fluid, their poses
are natural, he does a nice job representing the action figures, and his
backgrounds are always good, even if here, they’re 90% rocks. Another highlight
is, as always, the Earl Norem cover, although for the record it’s the Battle
Armor versions of He-Man and Skeletor in the book.
On the whole, The Magic Mirrors does a fair amount
more good than bad.
RECOMMENDED
Read it HERE
