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Review: He-Man Eternity War #9

Posted on August 27, 2015 by

There was a telling moment earlier on in this series when Skeletor described his futility to She-Ra. In every incarnation of his existence he had tried to vanquish his foes, gain control of Eternia and gain power of the mystical forces that permeate the planet. He realized that the problem of his approach was that it was too ordinary, that everything always proceeded as expected because he never tried an alternate approach to his schemes or tried to do something out of character. While he used this to enlist the help of She-Ra, it is a telling moment not only for Skeletor but also for the franchise itself. Based on simpler concepts from the animated series which required fairly basic plots that followed a similar pattern from episode to episode, He-Man has never really escaped the same pattern of story telling. There have been some better attempts in recent years in comics, but never has anyone ever really tried to break through the pattern to get to something different.

Such has evidently been the case here, with a style of storytelling which is far more epic than He-Man ever imagined to be before. With Hordak already having seized the control of the two crystals, he is now in absolute control of the Universe, and it would seem as though none could stop him. It would even seem that his nearly infinite power is to the point of making his rule unending and unquestionable except for a small hitch in his plan. Both Skeletor and He–Man, although working separately, are still trying to rid the world of his presence. What unfolds here is a bit surprising, but once again, not at all in the way that one would assume.

If this series is attempting to push the boundaries of what it means to be the heroes and villains inside this particular world, then it is succeeding. The creative team is playing out an epic story that would really be epic under any circumstances, only that this one is acted out by He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. What will be perhaps most interesting is the buildup to the conclusion of this series, because of all the big characters that have been re-examined, it is the titular hero who has been mostly ignored thus far in the incorporation into this epic story. Of course the resolution of that will likely mean the end of this series, but the creative team has not yet failed to impress or to surprise, and the setting for the finale is being well established with issues such as this one.

Story: Rob David and Dan Abnett Art: Pop Mhan
Story: 8.8 Art: 8.8 Overall: 8.8 Recommendation: Buy

Review: He-Man Eternity War #8

Posted on July 29, 2015 by

Eternity War, the latest He-Man story arc, has had some ups and downs during its series. This is to be somewhat expected, as for every big moment, there is some time required to set it up and to build the characters into pertinent actors for the script. The previous issue of Eternity War could be said to be one which had some big moments, although these were more like big character developments which focused around She-Ra’s and Skeletor’s past. With these big developments right behind it, it probably left many wondering what was immediately ahead for the series.

The story is related in parts to the previous issue, but also throws in a bit of extra unexpected developments. Adam has chosen to become depowered, and is keen on returning Eternos to his control. Such is done by a costly victory over the forces of Hordak, the villain who clearly has bigger plans to follow as opposed to immediately stopping Adam. This leads to the strongest dramatic point for the issue, although it is mirrored in the travels of Skeletor and She-Ra. Skeletor has led her to the dark dimension, but he has plans of his own, not exactly in line with what he had told her in the previous issue.

While the series is still running at its best, it still feels like this issue is a bit of an intermission. With so many new developments it is necessary to reposition the players so that they can be put into places where their true heroism can shine through. That is what is happening here, and it feels a bit more sedate than other issues in this series, mostly because it cannot rely on any of these big moments, but instead has to get by on some other plot developments which while fun, are also a bit ordinary. The same format has been used before in this series to set up its big moments, as for instance the mostly action second issue showed that there was still a lot of other great moments to follow. Such would most likely be the moment here, as there are no big moments, but there promises to be in issues to come.

Story: Rob David and Dan Abnett Art: Pop Mhan
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Review: He-Man Eternity War #7

Posted on July 1, 2015 by

The story line for He-Man comes at an interesting time in DC Comics. Although it is a DC Comic by publishing, and not by shared universe, it nonetheless is part of a similar structure of a lot of superheroics, a superhero with a secret identity and an archetypical arch-nemesis. While DC is trying to deconstruct two of its other main heroes, Superman and Batman, it is also doing the same with He-Man, except that with He-Man it is doing so in a way which is less of a stunt and more of an epic restructuring of the character.

Eternity War started off as much less than what it has become, in fact the first few issues, while fun, looked like a Lords of the Rings redux set on Eternia. As the series has progressed though, it has looked at numerous different aspects of the characters and helped to define what exactly made them the way that they are. This issue takes that to the next level, as it not only examines what exactly She-Ra was doing missing all those years, but also casts a better light on just why it is that Skeletor has always been evil. As opposed to the stunt-like storytelling elsewhere at DC, this builds the character’s backgrounds in meaningful ways, which while restructuring them, also pays homage to what made the characters so popular to begin with. The story here is simple enough, as Skeletor and his allies plus She-Ra decide to journey to Despondos in order to find a way to stop Hordak. Before stepping foot into the dimension, Skeletor reveals what happened to him before he left, and it drastically alters the situation.

This series has thus far had its successes and its relative lows, but this issue contains the best example of story telling thus far. At a time when it seems to be popular to re-invent superheroes, this series proves that it is the one to do it right. There are bound to be those who will still think that this is “just a He-Man story” but those that do so are missing one of the best comic series on the market in the past half year. DC has proved with a few other series that it is not afraid to take chances, and while outside of its main universe, this series belongs with those few others. After all, He-Man maybe be sci-fi/fantasy, but both genres are defined by their epic stories, and this is shaping up to be one.

Story: Rob David and Dan Abnett Art: Edgar Salazar
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.5 Recommendation: Buy

Review: He-Man Eternity War #6

Posted on May 27, 2015 by

For those that might look at Eternity War as a He-Man related comic event, they would only be partially correct. The powers that be at Mattel have been working hand in hand with the comic creators to tell a story that is above and beyond what has come before, and in so doing has looked some of the archetypes of hero and villain. So far it has been examined why exactly Skeletor feels the need to switch sides to being aligned with the heroes, but this issue takes on a different theme, that of the superhero and the secret identity. The Prince Adam secret identity of He-Man has been one which has been with the hero since the onset, and helped to appeal the story to some from a storytelling standpoint. The idea of nobility having a double life as a hero is nothing new, it comes from sources such as Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel, and even from Batman, but the need for the secret identity has never been examined as it has here.

The majority of this issue acts as a flash forward for the characters. An older He-Man rules absolutely over Eternia, but as they say absolute power corrupts absolutely, and a short vignette of the actions of this are explained here. In so doing it looks not only at the character but also at the superhero medium as a whole. In a world where so many superheroes are super powered operatives whose identities are known, this issue helps to make the case why secret identities are still a valuable part of hero’s lives.

This may not be the most hard hitting of the issues thus far in the series, but there is much to be said for the approach of the creative team. While earlier issues focused almost wholly on epic battles, the focus has changed drastically to being something much different. Now the characters are examining not only who they are, but also almost breaking the fourth wall to examine some issues beyond. Thus while this issue lacks a true hook in terms of plot development it fits neatly in the sequence of this series.

Story: Rob David and Dan Abnett Art: Pop Mhan
Story: 8.8 Art: 8.8 Overall: 8.8 Recommendation: Buy

We Talk He-Man The Eternity War with Dan Abnett

Posted on May 15, 2015 by

Dan Abnett’s most prolific works comes from the the series 2000AD in his native UK, but he has made his mark on American comics after working on the likes of Heroes for Hire, Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy. He was recently given the helm for the Eternity War series for He-Man. We got a chance to talk with about the new series.

Graphic Policy: The Masters of the Universe carries with it so much pre-existing stories but also cliches of the characters as being for kids. How do you approach this series to break through that?

Dan Abnett: I was basically briefed by Mattel and DC to write the series ‘seriously’ and play up the epic sword and sorcery angle. I think they came to me because of my experience working on major fantasy properties like Warhammer. The idea was to make it heroic and dramatic, but without losing the sense of fun and escape. That meant taking even the ‘silliest’ and most unlikely characters and saying ‘no, this isn’t a joke. It’s a part of this world and we treat it with respect’… but still have fun when appropriate.

GP: Were you a fan of the characters as a child?

DA: it was a little late for me, actually, though I was aware of it, of course. Early in my career as a writer and editor, I worked on many licences (at Marvel UK etc), and over that time wrote for Transformers, Thundercats, Galaxy Rangers, GI Joe… just about every classic property of the era. Except He-Man, so it was very nice to ‘complete the set’ and get a chance to write Masters of the Universe too. And it’s nice to do it in such a high profile way, with a great, glossy monthly DC book, with fantastic art (Pop Mhan is amazing), wonderful color and the support of Mattel and DC. And, of course, being allowed to do massive things, like bringing back She-Ra, is a real treat…

GP: All-out war has never really taken place for He-Man, rather he is usually depicted foiling some plan from one of his enemies and then moving on. Has it been hard to change the focus?

DA: I think the scope is absolutely there, given the size of the potential cast and the scale of things. It suits an epic handling. If you tipped out your toybox, you’d have so many warriors ready to assemble into armies and factions…

GP: In terms of writing a battle focused story, how do you balance the story so that the battles do not overwhelm the plot?

DA: I’m not sure that there’s a specific technique. I just try to maintain an over all sense of the scale and confusion… lost of things going on, then zoom in onto specific characters to personalize the mayhem.

GP: Eternity War has featured new takes on some classic characters such as Teela, Skeletor and She-Ra. Are you worried at all that fans might not accept them?

DA: I hope they do, and they seem to have. Mattel has been brilliantly ‘hands on’ with this, guiding me every step of the way, and suggesting characters to use… and how to use them in cool ways that fit into their lore. They’ve been really great, and I’ve been reassured that I’m not damaging things by doing anything too radical. If the Masters’ ‘masters’ are happy with it, I’m pretty sure the fans will like it too…

GP: The series has been a balance of of sci-fi and fantasy, true to the characters roots. How do you approach this as a writer to balance these two genres which are similar but also somewhat different?

DA: I think the mix is really entertaining. The blend of blades and tech reminds me (in a really good way) of classic “Planet Stories” like Robert E Howard’s Almuric and Edgar Rice Burroughs’s “Mars” and “Venus” sagas, so it’s a very honorable tradition. This is a world of warriors and magic, but it’s also a world of ancient and power civilisations, with sophisticated technology and crafts, so the blend is very comfortable.

GP: This series focuses less on the difference between Prince Adam and He-Man. Is that less important for the character than it has been in the past?

DA: I’d say not, actually, as the difference or ‘split’ between those two sides is becoming increasingly important as the Eternity War unfolds.

GP: Can you give us an idea of what is ahead for He-Man?

DA: Things are really going to get epic. This is the biggest He-Man story ever, a saga on a “Lord of the Rings’ type scale, with the fate of worlds in the balance. If you’ve enjoyed it so far, you’re going to love how massive it becomes as all the opposing parties begin to clash.

Dark Horse to Publish the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Brett

Following the critically acclaimed release of The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Dark Horse and Mattel have teamed up once again to deliver another must-have book in 2015: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection.

The toy juggernaut Masters of the Universe and its subsequent action figure lines featured memorable pack-in minicomics that aided in playtime for children across the world. Clocking in at 1,232 pages, this impressive oversized hardcover collection features sixty-eight US releases, including all minicomics from the ’80s Masters of the Universe line, the ’80s Princess of Power line, and the ’80s and ’90s He-Man line, plus an introduction to the minicomics in the current Masters of the Universe Classics toy line—all in production order. Relive the illustrated adventures that fueled your imagination!

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomics Collection is on sale October 21 in comic shops and November 3 in bookstores.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection HC
Tim Seeley (W), Steven Grant (W), Phil White (W), Gary Cohn (W), Michael Halperin (W), Scott Neitlich (W), Bruce Timm (A), Mark Texeira (A), Larry Houston (A), Jim Mitchell (A), and Charles Simpson (C)
FC, 1232 pages
HC, 6” x 9”
$29.99, 978-1616558772

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Review: He-Man Eternity War #5

Posted on April 29, 2015 by

The latest run of He-Man in his own title has perhaps been the best representation of the character thus far in his experience in popular culture. This run focused a more mature approach to the character which aims to highlight both the strengths of the sci-fi/fantasy mix while also presenting characters that are far more approachable for those who are not fans of the character. That is to say that He-Man has achieved a degree of quality which does not depend on the character himself for the stories, but rather the characters and his allies and enemies simply populate the stories which would be equally strong in other cases. This story first approach is one which benefits most series and characters, and it has been especially highlighted with the Eternity War miniseries.

The most recent issue of Eternity War was one of contrasts. While it was overall pretty well put together, it nonetheless had a few of the common problems often associated with comics as a medium. In this case it was specifically the near death of She-Ra, a little bit of a reduction of a powerful female character to a damsel-in-distress like sidekick. Although the series seemed to be veering down a well trodden road, it takes this same development and turns it around in this issue in an unforeseen and entirely inventive turn. It reintroduces the old DC comics concept known as hypertime (even mentioning it by name) and in the process features what must be the first in continuity appearance of an action figure in the medium. The rest of the issue pushes the plot forward, as well as given the He-Man fans something to be excited about, in a “will they or won’t they?” context, in the last few pages.

The creative teram continues to reimagine the characters of the Masters of the Universe in this interesting issue. While the plot itself is maybe a bit more commonplace, the tricks that they pull out of their bag are not, even breaking what fans might consider the regular boundaries of the fourth wall. The end result is an issue which once again proves that this new take on the character is for real and deserves attention.

Story: Rob David and Dan Abnett Art: Pop Mhan
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Strange Comic Trends: Superheroines Get Impaled, Walk It Off

Posted on March 26, 2015 by

Warning, Spoilers Below for Realm War #7 and He-Man Eternity War #4

This is not a trend over one specific week exactly, but instead covers two months, though the end result of both comics occurred in this week (if the digital release of Realm War is considered to be this week.) It should be noted as well that there are spoilers here, particularly for He-Man. The interesting trend this time is a duo of unrelated female heroes that are locked in battle and are run through with a blade. Not run through as in a significant cut somewhere on their body, more like a stabbing movement with a blade that pierces both sides of the body, through the visceral mass. Presumably such a kill shot would hit many major organs as well and would likely result in a quick and painful death. This occurred to She-Ra in He-Man Eternity War #4 this week and in Realm War #7 in February to Britney although the resolution of her injury was shown this week. What is more interesting is that neither of these acts resulted in the death of the character, and instead was presumably shown more for the shock value.

It would be hard to remove either one of these characters from their active continuities. Although Grimm Fairy Tales has a fair assortment of female characters, Britney Waters is evidently one of the most popular. To remove She-Ra from He-Man would be even more notable as she is essentially one of only two main female characters in the entire series. In the case of Britney it was obviously even more for shock value as it was her werewolf metabolism which saved her, but although the blow to She-Ra looked just as bad, she was equally able to get away under her own power with the assistance of an old foe and presumably some magic, as her injury did indeed look to be quite fatal. What is even more interesting is that it happened to two female characters. While there is a move towards the modernization of female in media as able protagonists, their place as damsels in distress is still prevalent enough in culture. That this was done, at least in the case of She-Ra, is an easy way to prove the true evil of the villain. Regardless of the true motivation, the characters probably deserve better than to be treated as recipients of shock value attacks, especially after the degree of characterizations that has been built into them through some solid writing.

Review: He-Man Eternity War #4

Posted on March 25, 2015 by

The exploits of He-Man and his allies have been given somewhat of a Renaissance since the relaunching of the character by DC Comics. Long considered a character associated with children’s toys, the new series melds the previous stories of the character with a new mix of science fiction and fantasy. Part of the problem with the previous incarnations of the character is that he was tied to the children’s cartoon from the 1980s, and as such faced a similar problem that the comics of the golden age faced. Each episode was serialized and thus was self contained and thus it made it more difficult to build back stories for the character that would carry over from one episode to another.

If there was ever an attempt at world building by He-Man then this series is it. It throws off the remnants of its supposedly childish past and gives the characters new meaning by expanding their back stories. As was seen in issue #3, She-Ra led an assault against enemy forces only to be confronted by a more powerful Hordak. The use of Hordak here is well done. He is already established as an enemy of He-Man, She-Ra and also Skeletor, but the use of different villains here helps to solidify his true evil. Equally as much of this issue focuses on She-Ra it is an effective way to highlight the character that has for too long been more of a punchline in He-Man as opposed to a serious player.

Eternity War is evidently the story that will unify all disparate parts of the He-Man stories and combine them together into an adult setting. There will be those that still will be hung up on the association with toys, but as is being proven elsewhere as well, it does not matter really what the inspiration is as long as solid characters drive solid stories, and this series succeeds at both. The end result of this combination is that this is a standout series, one which is one of the stronger entries in sci-fi fantasy in today’s market, and more would recognize this if they let go of their preconceptions.

Story: Rob David and Dan Abnett Art: Pop Mhan
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Review: He-Man Eternity War #2

Posted on January 28, 2015 by

At their base, there is nothing inherently special about the characters of He-Man when compared to others in the science-fiction/fantasy genre. There are larger than life heroes, dastardly villains, strange alien species and exotic worlds. The only real difference that exists between the Masters of the Universe and those heroes in other settings (for instance Star Wars) are the specifics in relation to the design of the characters, either in their appearance or their backgrounds. This means that fans of those particular franchises are going to be happy with the output, but that the stories are unlikely to gain a wider appeal. What has been impressive with the recent outings of He-Man at DC is that it does supercede these limitations. In a medium where other companies are trying to revive (Dynamite’s Flash Gordon and John Carter) or reboot (Marvel’s Star Wars) similar outings in the genre, He-Man has actually stood apart for its storytelling, making the stories more approachable by all fans of the medium and the genre.

That is why this issue is such a let down. It is not that it is a bad issue, because it is not, but the issue focuses mostly on battle scenes and doesn’t incorporate a lot of anything else. The action focuses on He-Man and his army’s attack on the Horde, and while it is eye-catching, it is only that. More so the action can be seen to be almost a template of other battle scenes (it comes off a bit like Lord of the Rings). Where the standout writing on the series has ruled up until this point it seems as though they took a break for a slugfest. Even gone are the well developed female characters of Teela and She-Ra that have been respectable additions to the stories.

What saving grace is left is that this story is far from over. This is only the second issue of the Eternity War, and it thus leaves open the question of what other surprises are in store when the series front loads it epic battle sequence. There is still a lot of story left to tell, and if the creative team feels the needs for a bit violent fluff at this stage, then they deserve the benefit of the doubt. Certainly they have been able to entertain thus far with their fresh takes on the characters, and hopefully they will get back to it in the coming issues.

Story: Rob David and Dan Abnett Art: Pop Mhan
Story: 8.2 Art: 8.2 Overall: 8.2 Recommendation: Read

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