We present three of our most favourite reads from Dark Horse Comics that were released this month.
The best reads from Dark Horse Comics in February boils down to three titles! This publisher always has a bit of everything to love and technically I have four works which I enjoyed reading. As much as I tried to enjoy the new Star Wars as published by Marvel Comics, the imagination doesn’t hold a candle to one legacy release, Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures. This work deserves honourable mention, at least.
Dark Horse Books and Mattel have partnered up to present: The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe! This hefty volume clocks in at 208 pages of production notes, sketches and many more for fans of Netflix’s series to eat up. When it weighs in at 1.25 pounds, the power of Eternia better be behind those folks who are either delivering volumes to book stores. Individually, the weight is nothing.
This exciting tome brings an in-depth look at the newest incarnation of Masters of the Universe (review can be read here). It’s a dazzling, future-forward update to the classic world of magic and tech. Featuring a behind the scenes look at all of He-Man’s allies, the evil minions of Skeletor, and the strange, alien landscapes, creatures, and technology of Eternia! This volume also showcases the creation process behind all aspects of the show with never-before-seen material.
The Art of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe hardcover will be available for pre-order on Amazon USA, at your local comic or bookstore. This book has a MSRP of $39.99 USD.
These teens are Eternia’s answer to Power Rangers…
By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
Spoiler Alert
Hasbro & Netflix’s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe may not appeal to all longtime fans. It’s been redesigned, and the new power of Grayskull is a trans-dimensional force of nature to perhaps contain and explain why these retellings over the years exist. Thankfully, this latest version stays true to the first series where it tries to teach young viewers the value of friendship, trust and teamwork.
Rob David, the showrunner, is drawing from a cleaned up series bible. Hasbro and Funimation never made one during their development of the 1983 show. After so many retellings on different fronts, namely three televised series and the comic books–this latest takes the best of and explains the complex relationships that exists in this world. The motives are much clearer. It’s also completely different from what Kevin Smith is doing in his continuation, MotU: Revelation.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe have been retconned many times over the decades as new animated series debut on television. One character I’ve always wanted to know the backstory to is Skeletor. In comic book land, I remember the tale offered by DC comics was quite the Shakespearean style take which sees him as a brother to King Randor–a concept taken from the comics released after the Filmation series.
With the release of #2 of MotU: Revelation, the recon changes the backstory back to its original incarnation.
The fact this comic skips a beat by having no introductions is welcoming. Anyone familiar with the backstory can jump in.
By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
Dark Horse Comics
Available Now
Spoiler Alert
The history of creating He-Man to what it is now had its difficulties when Mattel, the toy manufacturer, didn’t take the deal of a lifetime. The CEO of the time, Ron Wagner declined to make toys for the upcoming Star Wars movie. Thankfully, that didn’t spell the destruction of this business. Recovering from that was hard. They looked to fashion a similarly competing product.
I still want the Emperor and Skeletor to fight each other but we won’t see that in any official media. If there’s a chance for an apprentice to defeat the master narrative in Kevin Smith and Rob David’s prequel comic, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, then I’ll be thrilled.
The best reads from Dark Horse Comics in February boils down to three titles! This publisher always has a bit of everything to love and technically I have four works which I enjoyed reading. As much as I tried to enjoy the new Star Wars as published by Marvel Comics, the imagination doesn’t hold a candle to one legacy release, Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures. This work deserves honourable mention, at least.
By Ed Sum
By Ed Sum 