He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection

Upon opening the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe mini-comic book collection, I was immediately impressed! This is like the best, most amazing book ever! As a book collector, I own many books, including some very lovely roleplaying game and comic books, so there are a few that I've seen that are comparable to this in terms of sheer awesome, but this one might just about take the cake, eat a piece, and push the rest of it on Skeletor's face while giving a sarcastic one-liner, followed by Skeletor yelling "Noooo!", which is then followed by comedic laughter by all the hero characters as the scene ends. It's just so incredibly, and even unexpectedly, beautiful! I love the illustrations and the vibrant colors and the smell of the ink and paper. I'm totally psyched! My favorite books of all time include titles that are rich with illustration and beautiful and creative conceptual imagery. This heavy tome is now instantly at the top of my list. It is 2 1/4 inches thick and has a bright red silk bookmark ribbon. The storyline text is sometimes a little inconclusive, raw, or simplistic, but that really just makes it read more like an old fairy tale or a children's book, which is how the stories of The Masters of the Universe tend to play out. In the introduction, Tim Kilpin states (something like; to paraphrase), that in the beginning, they were trying to sell toys, but that the process of developing storylines and character origins that were fun for children was something that they took seriously, that took on a life of its own, and it shows. I feel like I'm reading an ancient tome or some long lost forgotten fairy tale of biblical proportions. I'm sure that a little bit of this has to do with childhood nostalgia. But He-Man has at least a few things in common with many heroes and champions of the forces of good, from modern stories, 20th-century pulp fiction, as well as ancient myths. It's one of the few storylines that successfully combines genres of magic - sword and sorcery - with technology and science fiction themes, other dimensions, and extraplanetary travel. I can't think of many other brands or stories that do this in a way that's similar.... Warhammer 40K, Final Fantasy, or maybe Riddick or the Princess of Mars Chronicles? He-Man is pretty unique. These stories are fun, interesting, and beautifully portrayed. Contained within seems to be all the He-Man and She-Ra comics ever written, save for a few obscure issues that were printed in Brazil which were seemingly so rare that they could not be tracked down and rediscovered. This collection is epic and gorgeous. You can tell that love and attention was put into both the initial creation of these comics, back in the 1980s, as well as into this vibrant 2015 restored collection. I was seriously not expecting something of this level of quality and content for the price, which is why I decided to write this review. Considering the production value and obvious effort put into it, I might've expected this book to be 3 times what it actually cost on Amazon. Alfredo Alcala is automatically one of my new favorite artists; his use of color is tremendously striking and simultaneously both imaginary or ethereal as well as realistic. I'd compare his work maybe to Katsuya Terada's during the late 80s. Even if you're not a huge fan of The Masters of the Universe, but just a fan of comic books or of the (2nd) golden age of illustration, this book is something you really should consider owning.

A must for any MOTU fan!! Absolutely worth it. Be prepared to hold it and be in awe of it's magnificence. Thank you to the people who cared enough to make this beauty happen. It means so much!!

I must confess - I purchased this collection simply because I own quite a few of the earliest minicomics of the He-Man universe (although the toys have long since died, having been played to death, I took special care of the packed-in minicomics), and I really just wanted to see the other stories attached to it. I had no expectation of actually enjoying the comics - this was merely for completion purposes, to scratch an itch from childhood (obviously, no parent bought every toy for his/her child). However, having recently received this volume, I can heartily recommend it to anyone who loves comics for what they are - as fun, kid entertainment. This isn't for the bluebloods who won't read anything that isn't written by Moore, Morrison, Gaiman, or Miller - this is for people who grew up on comics and cartoons of the 70s and 80s. You know - the ones who watched Superfriends and read the old Spider-Man reprints (they were Collector's Item Classics, after all!). If you fit that category, you're in for a treat. First, the physicals of the volume. This is a large, heavy hardbound book of 1000+ pages. There is no dust jacket, but the cover is printed as shown. I actually prefer this - while I own plenty of hardbound comic volumes, it feels weird to see old Superman comics bound in faux leather. The stock of the paper is thick and glossy (and cheap, to be fair). For a thirty dollar cover, this is a good value, but for the discounts for which this can be found on Amazon, this is a no-brainer. The book begins with the earliest He-Man "comics", which are actually just illustrated books. They then move to actual comic form. It's fun seeing the evolution of characters (originally, Teela was a goddess, and there was no sorceress, but merely a "spirit of Grayskull"), but soon enough, the comics fall in line with the mythology set forth by the cartoon (i.e. He-Man is really Prince Adam, son of Randor, etc.). The art changes dramatically as the comic moves forward. There are a couple of big-name artists present here (most notably, Bruce Timm, who would become quite famous with the excellent Batman Animated Series and its DC follow-ups), but honestly, I enjoyed all of the art present here. In addition to He-Man, there are collected the She-ra, Princess of Power comics as well. I never had any interest in this as a kid (I always thought that was a toyline trying to break into the girl market), but it's nice to see the collected comics here. They are substantially more..."girly" than the He-Man comics. In addition to the minicomics, there are numerous interviews present, as well as interesting footnote tidbits of the comics and their place in the mythology. This is surprisingly thorough representation of a comic that has, quite frankly, been long-forgotten outside of its (rather small) fanbase, and I for one am thrilled at it. So again, if you're looking for fun comics of yesteryear, and aren't afraid to look past the kid nature present (I know - how dare comics be written for kids!), there is much to enjoy here. If you're a child of the 80s and grew up on this, of course, it's a no-brainer. Enjoy!

I was so blown away by how large this book was!! Excellent condition and great art work. Amazing collection of He-man comics. Highly recommended. 5+ stars in my opinion, worth every penny. Would make a great gift to any He-man fan

As a child, I had tons of He-Man action figures, most were inherited from my older cousin, but I definitely remember buying a few with my father as a young kid. I vaguely remember the mini comics, and being only 5 or 6 years old, the comics came second to the awesome action figures, and were promptly lost. The television shows came out a few years later and I never really read the comics, though I enjoy reading comics and graphic novels a lot now and kind of regret losing them. This compendium is GREAT! I'm only a few dozen pages in, but I have to say, the overall quality is weeellll worth the price tag. The book feels solid, the pages are smooth and high quality, the binding feels secure. This is not a cheaply produced book. The images are great, too. The illustrations and coloring are bright and crisp, and so far the story clips along at a good pace. If you enjoyed the action figures or the cartoon of the 80's (watch that, forget the new "re-imagining" that was released a few years ago) or you have someone who did, this would be an amazing gift for someone, or a great personal read. There is SO much here, it's just really entertaining and a good value for the quality!

Not quite what I thought it would be but still a cool collection

Excellent blast from the past. The comics are surprisingly entertaining and run throughout the history of the original toy run. I was also pleased with the size of the book as the others in the MOTU series are oversized.

I need a couple of extra stars to express my satisfaction with this book. Its made well, the paper is excellent and the colors are as vibrant as they could be, and true to the original mini-comics. The nostalgia I felt while first looking through this is hard to put into worlds. Some of these images I hadn't seen in 30 years. I was born in 79, so Masters of the Universe was my first love in the toy world. I had a huge collection, and so had seen many of these mini-comics before (but not all). The first four mini-comics in particular are works of high art in my opinion. These concepts of the early Masters, while muddled in some respects (Teela and The Goddess - different or one and the same?), is of more interest to me than what Filmation ended up doing with the animated series. I grew up with the cartoon, loved it and respect the decisions they had to make to give it wide appeal and make it child friendly, but they took a lot of the original bite out of the early Masters as reflected in these mini-comics. Eventually the mini-comics adapted the Prince Adam alter ego, and the Sorceress, even Orko (unfortunately) but its amusing that they just wouldn't give Man-At-Arms that moustache - which in my opinion he looks better with. I was surprised to see the comic for "The Power of Point Dread and Danger at Castle Greyskull" which came with a record (I still own the original). Also the rare "Power of the Evil Horde" story that originally came with a cassette in the Hordak/Grizzlor action figure two pack is great artwork (it reminds me of what I would call the Jehovah Witness "Watchtower" style - some probably know what I am talking about). The She-Ra comics are - well not quite my thing, but they had to be part of this. The later comics are also terrific. This is overall a Masterful production. I highly recommend it to anyone who is into He-Man, but as for me, give me my original He-man from the unnamed tribe who had two different power suits, over the Prince Adam He-man any day.

Awesome book

Aunque me gustaría que los tomos 2 y 3 estuvieran disponibles. Una se queda con ganas de leer el resto de las historias. Este tomo tiene 15 y unos datos y entrevistas. Me gustó mucho. El tamaño es perfecto y la pasta dura es ideal para mantener el material en mejor estado.

So after seeing other reviews on YouTube regarding this amazing collection, I had to get it, and thank god I did, today I just received mine, and I'm soooooooo damn happy with it , it's soooo awesome, as a he-man fan ( looking forward to new movie) I highly recommend getting this collection book. Thank you seller so much 100% perfect

Me ha sorprendido la calidad del tomo, son más de 1200 páginas con todos los minicómics de nuestra infancia. Se trata de los cómics que traían las figuras para presentar personajes y demás, así que son autoconclusivos y tienen un argumento muy simple. Dato curioso, los primeros cómics se hicieron antes de contar con una línea argumental clara, que luego seguirían tanto los cómics de Marvel como la serie de dibujos. Todos están incluídos en el tomo, con notas a pie de página para aclarar todo tipo de detalles, incluídas las incongruencias del argumento. Al estar publicado en un formato mayor que el original, tanto los dibujos como el texto aparecen aumentados, por lo que está muy bien si tienes problemas de vista o estás leyéndolo a alguien; pero ojo, que está en Inglés. La edición es muy chula, con una cinta para marcar las páginas y todo.

As a little kid I loved MOTU. Getting a new He-Man was a big thrill, and that was heightened by pulling out the little comic in the back and reading a story that was (usually) a backstory of your new figure. Now I'm 40 I've lost all my figures and the books are long gone. That said when reading these stories again I was impressed at my taste as a 6 year old - the art and even the stories hold up well. Some of the artists who they interview in this book are a bit sheepish about their work on the books - a little confused at how they got a cult status, but you can see why they did. Towards the end of the MOTU run they seemed to lose their way a bit, but still, the stories and the art are, at their best, inspired. The book is beautifully made and printed - the panels are bigger than the original art was printed, but they've done it well as it all still looks crisp and beautifully colored. The stories show their age in a really charming way - they are simple, boyish and have the wild creativity that comes with writing for a toy line (ie someone shows you a wild character and leaves it to you to pop out a little book with a simple story with few constraints). If you were a fan and are drawn to this book but aren't sure whether to get it - my advice is to do it. The art and the stories and the vibe of these little comics still shines, and will take you back to your childhood and make you smile.