The Way of the Editor:
He Has the Power!ComicBase Editor Shiaw-Ling Lai reflects on the history of the muscle-bound He-Man in light of his comic book tie-ins.
Whew! It's only the first week of 2006 and the indexing race is on! We've added a big chunk of new titles, issues, and even corrections (thanks to all the users who sent in data over the break!), bringing the total number of titles listed in ComicBase up to a scary 21,803, representing some 268,079 comic issues. But that's not where it ends, because the database is still growing every day…
As a point of pride, I get the joy iof announcing that our information on the He-Man, Masters of the Universe revival series is now quite very nearly complete (and accurate!) … Wait, is that actually a bragging point…??
Anyway, for those who may have survived the 80s with only passing contact with the massively-cheesy cartoons and associated marketing, let me fill you in: He-Man is the iconic action figure/cartoon hero of the 80s era who filled the niche in kids TV that the Tarzan/Conan titles gave to comics.
The ever-so-subtley-named He-Man was also the powerful alter ego of Prince Adam of Eternia, and He-Man's trademark characteristics included a big green cat (appropriately named Battlecat), on which he rode to fight the evil forces of his arch-enemy Skeletor, and shiny Sword of power . Visually, I think He-Man's also noteworthy for his badly-cropped blond hair, and a scantily-clad outfit that would have made Prince Adam's mother blush in shame — so I guess it's thankful that she never found out who he really was. (The more conscientious 2000 update of He-Man also features the over-muscled defender in much more tasteful garb.)
Of course, none of this is any excuse for why a bad haircut and furry shorts should get any character concept through the 90s without serious recrimination, but the fact is that the licensers at Mattel have been a grand o' 80s ‘toon revival party for the twenty-second century, and He-Man is no exception. Mike Young Productions produces the new Masters of the Universe animated TV series, which is the third TV incarnation following the original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, and the short-lived and highly unpopular The New Adventures of He-Man, which featured the big guy in space.
You can find a briefing of the Masters of the Universe cast and their roles at the "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" entry on imdb.com, or better yet, visit the mighty He-Man.org site for an in-depth fan-fix. Incidentally, the original He-Man also had a spin-off series starring his twin sister, She-Ra, Princess of Power, and She-Ra's probably most memorable now as the princess with a sword who rode on a pegasus. Some, however, would argue that she's the modern-day precursor to the 90s TV warrior princess Xena. (Check out this amusing comparison for more.)
Coinciding with the new release of the He-Man animation, Image comics released three comic book titles that followed the epic adventures of Prince Adam and his alter ego in print. The titles in sequence are: Masters of the Universe (Image), Masters of the Universe (Vol. 2), and Masters of the Universe (Vol. 3). There was some confusion in earlier editions of ComicBase about which issue belonged to which of the three very-nearly-identical series, but as of the latest update, we've got that all sorted out. Collectors of these Image titles are also advised to beware: there's a whole slew of Grahamcracker.com variants on top of the A and B variants of the series, so be sure to check the issue notes before you inventory your copy!
Masters of the Universe fans may also want to check out the CrossGen-published Icons of Evil one-shots (available in collected trade paperback format) which feature stories and stats on the various villains from the series. These villain tie-ins are also of interest as examples of Robert Kirkman's earlier work (Invincible, Walking Dead, Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Zombies fame).
Shiny!
Links
He-Man.org - The #1 fansite for Masters of the Universe news and history.
http://flyingmoose.org/heman/exile.htm - A fan's melodramatic version of the He-Man sequel…
Shiaw-Ling Lai is the Editor of ComicBase with roots in the 80s that she feels very ambivalent about. These days she spends her spare time catching up with cheesy Hong Kong flicks like Stephen Chow's Tricky Master and Wong Jing's Liquid Sword.
Feedback or corrections for ComicBase can be directed to her to slai@human-computing.com.