Tag Archives: Eternity War

Review: He-Man Eternity War #7

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EW07The 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

 

 

We Talk He-Man The Eternity War with Dan Abnett

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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.
eternity001Graphic 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…
eternity002GP:  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.
eternity005GP:  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.

Review: He-Man Eternity War #4

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eternityThe 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

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ew02covAt 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

 

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

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BitchPlanet02_CoverWednesdays are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in!

We’re bringing back something we haven’t done for a while, what the team thinks. Our contributors are choosing up to five books each week and why they’re choosing the books.

Find out what folks think below, and what comics you should be looking out for this Wednesday.

Brett

Top Pick: Bitch Planet #2 (Image Comics) – The first issue was the best debut of 2014, mixing action, entertainment, and political/societal commentary wrapped up in a women’s prison exploitation story. The second issue has been one of my most anticipated reads since.

The Dying and The Dead #1 (Image Comics) – A new series from writer Jonathan Hickman is a western meets revenge story. The look fits his previous work, especially East of West. The first issue is more than enough to make me want to return for the second issue, especially knowing Hickman is a master at long storytelling.

Find #1 (Comixtribe) – This one shot is absolutely magical, evoking the wonderment I felt as a child. Just a perfect all-ages title and the best debut of 2015 so far.

Munchkin #1 (BOOM! Box/BOOM! Studios) – If you’ve ever played the game this comic is based off of, you’ll know why it’s on the list. It also doesn’t hurt there’s an exclusive card for the game available in each issue’s first printing.

Quantum and Woody Must Die #1 (Valiant) – Valiant consistently knocks it out of the park, and this first issue is the insanity I expected. Just pure action and humor as only Quantum and Woody can deliver.

Edward

Top Pick: Grimm Fairy Tales Presents: The Jungle Book: Fall of the Wild #2 (Zenescope) –  The first miniseries in this trilogy was a standout, the second less so.  The first issue of this third series looks like it might recapture some of what made the first series so good.

Gotham Academy #4 (DC Comics) – This series was one of the biggest surprises of 2014 and although ostensibly aimed at teens, is an all-ages read, and should be on a lot more pull lists.

He-Man Eternity War #2 (DC Comics) – This series has been below most people’s radar, but this isn’t your childhood He-Man.  The writers continue to use the traditional characters as a base for a new and exciting take on fantasy and sci-fi.

Inhuman #11 (Marvel) – Marvel’s focus on Inhumans in comics and on the big screen continues here. This series has been unexpectedly gripping with its diaspora theme and well written characters

Thor #4 (Marvel) – There are surely those that are still holding out for the return of male Thor (who has never really been gone yet), but the new direction in this series has been fun so far.

Matt

Top Pick: Batman #38 (DC Comics) – The “Endgame” arc in Batman has been stupendously creepy and expertly done thus far, and there is absolutely no reason to believe this next issue won’t be more of that. Snyder and Capullo understand the comics craft more than a lot of creative teams doing work today.

Bitch Planet #2 (Image Comics) – The first issue of Bitch Planet received loads of critical praise focused mainly on its elegant yet ridiculous take on feminism within the context of female prison exploitation fiction. A second issue to flesh out the characters and larger conflict comes highly anticipated.

Harley Quinn #14 (DC Comics) – The three issue arc focusing upon a team-up with Powergirl that just concluded in Harley Quinn dragged on for way too long despite all of the fun it brought to the table. A fresh storyline sounds great, which is what this issue promises: one about a new love interest for Harley, to boot.

Multiversity Guidebook #1 (DC Comics) – Despite what our esteemed editor in chief would have you believe, Multiversity kicks ass thanks to Grant Morrison’s expert knowledge of both DC Universe continuity and superhero worship. An expansive guide to the vast multiverse of DC from him, along with some bonus narrative, should be a real treat.

Sex Criminals #10 (Image Comics) – The delays for Sex Criminals have been absolutely brutal, but the end result of the effort put into each issue has been consistently fantastic. This issue marks the end of the second arc, leading into a third that will hopefully release on a reasonable schedule.

Nevada

Top Pick: Betty Page: Queen of Curves (Rizzoli) – This fabulous collection of Bunny Yeager’s photographs of the iconic Betty Page is a coffee table book for the ages. I love coffee, books, and Betty’s classic look on the cover–along with a leopard, no less, so this will have a place of honor in my living room.

Cisco Kid  TP  Vol.  I 1951-1953 (Classic Comics Press) – I’m a fan of this golden era of Westerns and used to watch the Cisco Kid TV show featuring the excellent actor Leo Carillo as Pancho (Mr. Carillo had also worked as a cartoonist). Love the classic look of the drawings here and looking forward to more!

Film Fax #139 (Film Fax) – Any volume that contains news of Bela Lugosi and Bobby Rydell between the same two covers has me at first glance. Add to that the 1950’s robot history included here and Miss NASA 1960’s and I’m in retro pop-culture heaven!

New York Burlesque: Photos by Roy Kemp (Schiffer Publishing) – With today’s renaissance of burlesque as an art form from New Orleans to New York City, where this timely volume is set, Mr. Kemp’s photographs will provide a historical context that’s as informative as it is sexy and fun.

Sleepy Hollow #4 (Boom! Studios) – I’ve watched the show since the very beginning and am new to the comics, so I have bit of catching up to do here.  As someone who loves an archaic turn of phrase and obscure expressions, Ichabod’s mid-eighteenth century lamentations on modern society make me swoon.

We Talk He-Man with Mark Roberts

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Mark Roberts is fairly new in the comic book industry but has already worked as a colorist on numerous titles at both Dynamite and Zenescope.  He has recently taken over coloring duties on He-Man with DC Comics, just as the series is launching into Eternity War.  We got  chance to talk with him about 80s cartoons, green skin and alien blood.

Graphic Policy: Were you a fan of the Masters of the Universe when you were younger?

ew003Mark Roberts: Absolutely!  I was a child of the 80’s, that Golden Age of toys and Saturday morning cartoons, and even with so much to choose from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was my favorite.  I had a pretty sizable collection of action figures, the mini-comics, I can even remember having some of the books that came with a record that had voice-over and sound effects on it.  Sadly, all that stuff got tossed in the garbage at some point, but I’ve been slowly rebuilding a collection.

GP: Do you have a favorite character?  And do you have a favorite to color?

MR: As a kid I was all about He-Man.  Now, I still dig He-Man, but I think She-Ra is just as cool.  If I had to pick a favorite I think I’d have to say Sea Hawk.  I just think he’s an interesting character who has a ton of potential for entertaining stories.   I’d love to see him make an appearance in the DC title with an upgraded look.  As for a favorite to color…  it’s gotta be the transformation scenes.  Whether it’s He-Man or She-Ra, I just love trying to capture that same effect and the excitement it made me feel watching it as a kid.

ew004GP: The characters in this series were originally designed as toys and their color schemes are different than what you might necessarily expect in comics.  Is it challenging to incorporate different coloring techniques for the same characters across different mediums?

MR: No, I don’t think so.  The comic is quite different in tone from the cartoons and the toys and while Eternia and the characters who inhabit it can be quite colorful, it’s not really a challenge to make it work in a more serious context.  I actually quite enjoy it.

GP: The colors in the first issue of Eternity War really popped off the page.  How did you achieve this look?

MR: Thanks!  Well, for this new arc of He-Man I really wanted to make things more alive and vivid.  The previous arc, Blood of Grayskull, was a much more somber tale.  We didn’t get to see a lot of characters, we spent a lot of time in barren terrain or dark forests and caves.  Now we have this huge cast of colorful characters fighting massive, epic battles and I’m just trying to do it justice.  Pop is going all out on his pages, the detail he’s putting in is mind blowing, and I want to make sure nothing gets lost in the colors.

ew001GP: Some of the coloring is this issue also achieved a lot by omission, notably in the first pages with Hordak and the mostly pale blue background mixed with the red from the blood.  How do you choose when not to add a lot of color, thus setting a different picture?

MR: It’s all about serving the story, creating mood or putting emphasis on a certain character or action.  That’s really a big part of your job as a colorist, making those decisions.  Sometimes the script might contain some color notes or the artist might request something, but for the most part it’s up to you to interpret the script and the line art and make color choices that complement everything and bring it all together.

GP: Teela is shown here with green skin, which is a fairly common skin color to show something being different or alien.  Why do you think that this is so common in pop culture to show aliens in this color?

MR: Oh, jeez, I don’t know…  The color green can have different meanings.  It can represent nature, life and growth but it can also be associated with things like envy or sickness so I guess that makes it fairly versatile.  In this particular case, though, I think the green serves as the opposite to the red of the Horde.  Luke’s green lightsaber versus Vader’s red, if you will.

ew005GP: About half way through this issue there is a beautiful splash page depicting some of the background of the characters.  Does incorporating so many elements into one large panel pose different problems for adding the color?

MR: No, not really.  Those pages were fun to do and not really that complicated.  With all the images coming from a magical conjuring it was fairly simple to unify them through color and then separating the flashbacks from the here and now with color holds on the lines.

GP: What is your favorite part about working on He-Man?

MR:  There’s nothing about it I don’t like.  Just working on He-Man and getting to relive my childhood would be enough, but getting to work with Dan and Pop is awesome.  I’m a big fan of both of these guys.  I get excited every time I get a new script in and can’t wait to see what Pop does with it.  Everyone at DC and Mattel have been amazing to work with and I gotta say, the fan support has been fantastic.  This whole experience has been the highlight of my career so far and I look forward to each new issue!

 

Review: He-Man The Eternity War #1

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He-Man - The Eternity War 001 covThe stories of He-Man at DC Comics have been surprisingly some of the best in the genre of sci-fi/fantasy in the past few years.  Although it is expected that gems in this genre come from the independents, it is probably not expected that novel and inventive stories come out of either one of the main two publishers or from a franchise like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.  While the stories have been somewhat innovative, with the introduction of the story in Eternity War, the story takes an unexpected and fascinating turn into something completely different.  Instead of the universe as we know it, the story is thrown a few years into the future, with a story line that is somewhat different from the universe that we know.

Where this story excels in the telling of this story is in the reimagining of certain characters.  They are not so far off of what we know, but still somewhat different.  So while for instance Teela is here, she is also quite different from the Teela that we are accustomed to.  The same goes for a number of characters, both heroes and villains alike, and it is in this familiarity where the story finds its gravity.

In terms of He-Man, this is not something that has really been seen before, almost being like a post-apocalyptic version of the He-Man universe.  The mechanics behind the story are novel and the characters are used almost to their full potential.  Those that consider He-Man to be not refined enough for their tastes will instead find a fusion of fantasy and sci-fi here that is as innovative as anything that exists on the market.  This is just the first issue of a series focusing on this alternate reality for the characters, but all signs point to something fun and worthwhile in the end.

Story: Rob David and Dan Abnett Art: Pop Mhan
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.8 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy