Greg Rucka Tries To Straighten Out All The Lies In Wonder Woman, Vol. 1!

The Good: Coloring, Themes surrounding Diana and Barbara Ann
The Bad: Simplistic plot, Messy character conflict, Inconsistent artwork
The Basics: Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: The Lies tries to start reconciling all of the various incarnations of Wonder Woman for a mess of a story to start her part of the Rebirth version of the character.


Every few years, in recent memory, the DC Comics universe gets a reboot. After decades of the same characters progressing and developing, the executives at DC Comics decided to reboot the universe. There was a pretty close succession of reboots, though, between The New 52 and Rebirth and in recent years, Wonder Woman suffered more than most of the other DC Comics characters. Before The New 52, Wonder Woman had a year where her reality was altered and where the world's memory of her was eliminated by the resurrected Max Lord. So, it has been a while since readers have had a version of Wonder Woman who has lasted for more than a few years. The latest version of Wonder Woman for the Rebirth incarnation of the character begins in Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: The Lies.

Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: The Lies is a bit of a mess as Wonder Woman, now in a new outfit and not relying upon a sword, shield or her Lasso, finds herself with a slew of conflicting memories about her past. Diana recalls multiple versions of her backstory and, feeling so lost, she goes on a mission to attempt to discover the truth. Sadly, the seven-chapter volume goes nowhere.

Diana has a series of conflicting memories for her origin and other major events in her life. She has a vagie recollection of recent events, like getting the mantle of God Of War and taking the place of Ares. Wrestling with the conflict, Diana travels to Themyscira, but finds herself surrounded by automatons and unable to actually enter her old home. So, Diana seeks out the one person she believes might be able to find Themyscira: Barbara Ann Minerva.

As a result, Diana travels to Bwunda to find Barbara Ann. Diana encounters Cheetah and does all she can to pacify her. While Barbara and Diana journey through Bwunda, Steve Trevor and a small covert team head for the local warlord Cadulo. Cadulo has taken many girls prisoner from several tribes in Bwunda and Trevor's team, guided by Etta Candy stateside, attempts to liberate the girls. In the process, Wonder Woman makes a deal with Cheetah; Barbara Ann will help her find Themyscira, but in exchange, Diana must kill the god Urzkartaga to free Minerva from his control once and for all. When Cadulo and Urzkartaga capture and turn on Trevor, Wonder Woman finds herself drawn to him again.

Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: The Lies is a bit of a mess and it comes without any real sense of resolution to it at all. Beyond that, it is a frustrating tome on its own; Wonder Woman has no firm memories and is told that she has been lied to, but there are no truths to be found in Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: The Lies. Instead, Diana and Trevor are knocked from lie to lie without any sense of closure and without a strong adversary to confront. Even seeding Dr. Veronica Cale into the mix does not play out in an especially compelling way.

Thematically, Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: The Lies is generally good, but inconsistent. Diana once again stands up for the helpless, downtrodden women who are going to be exploited, which fits her character perfectly. There is even a whole Women Power aspect to the resolution of the Urzkartaga plotline in Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: The Lies. But, Diana and Steve Trevor have a heart to heart, in which she mentions being in a relationship with Superman and acknowledging Trevor's wife and daughter . . . but then kisses him! So, there are inconsistencies in the book's fundamental relationships.

The artwork in Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: The Lies is as inconsistent as the storyline and character conflict. Steve Trevor carries around a picture of Wonder Woman in which Diana looks like a 12 year-old girl and, new outfit aside, she never looks even remotely like that in the rest of the book. The coloring is good, but the sense of movement and even angles are inconsistent throughout the book.

Ultimately, Wonder Woman, Vol. 1: The Lies is a lackluster reboot to the iconic character that is hardly worth reading.

For other books with Wonder Woman, please visit my reviews of:
A Twist Of Fate
Odyssey, Vol. 1
Gods And Mortals

3.5/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Before Atomic Blonde, I Venture Into The Coldest City.

The Good: Good use of jargon, Well-constructed plot, A fast read
The Bad: Terrible artwork, Plot is telegraphed completely, No empathetic characters, Inability to connect with characters, Jargon and plot-heavy
The Basics: The Coldest City is a graphic novel worth, perhaps, one read-through . . . and it severely lowered our expectations for the forthcoming film Atomic Blonde.


It takes quite a bit these days for a movie preview to have an effect upon me. I am not saying that I only watch the things I am interested in already - far from it! - but rather that film previews have such a habit of giving away all of a film's best moments, telegraphing the plot entirely, or completely failing to intrigue me, that it is rare that watching a film preview actually generates interest from me. So, when I saw Alien Covenant (reviewed here!) and I ended up more enthusiastic about the preview trailer for the film Atomic Blonde that played before the film, that's actually saying something. With a month and a half to go before Atomic Blonde hits theaters, I took the intrigue I had from the preview trailer and tracked down the source material, the graphic novel The Coldest City, to get my fix.

No matter how good or bad Atomic Blonde ends up being, arguably the biggest shock of the film will be that it was made at all from the graphic novel The Coldest City.

Yes, despite the on-cover endorsement by Greg Rucka, whose works I have generally enjoyed, The Coldest City is that bad. The Coldest City is a spy book and it is assembled in such a way that the first read-through of the book is the only one that holds water; within eight pages in to the second read, readers who know how the book ends will sit up and say, "How was I so stupid that I didn't notice that the first time around?!" Despite the problematic narrative set-up, all other things being equal, The Coldest City is neither complicated-enough, nor long-enough to make is seem like credible source material for a feature-length film.

Opening on November 11, 1989, Lorraine Broughton returns to an MI-6 office for debriefing. There, her superiors ask her to recount for them her latest mission, as the last remaining asset the intelligence agency had in the area, Perceval, has been killed. Flashing back to October 28, 1989, Lorraine recounts getting her mission. She is being sent to Berlin because MI-6 asset BER-2 has been killed. BER-2 appeared to have been killed by the Soviet spy Yuri Bakhtin, who supposedly came into possession of a list of all intelligence assets - on all sides - working in Berlin, but Bakhtin was killed before he could return to Moscow without the list on him. Broughton is being tasked with recovering the list and BER-2's body, because the leaders of MI-6 no longer trust BER-1, David Perceval.

Undercover as a lawyer sent to recover BER-2's body, Broughton arrives in Berlin, where she meets with the sexist Perceval and begins to trace the clues that might lead her to the mysterious Spyglass, the agent who allegedly created the list of spies. Perveval is not very helpful to Broughton and her short mission soon drags on. As Broughton encounters intelligence agents from the CIA, France, Germany, and the Soviet Union, she hunts for the list and tries to determine the truth surrounding BER-2's death.

One of the difficult aspects of The Coldest City is that it is heavy in realistic spy jargon. People are constantly referred to by code names, "asset," etc. and the mental acrobatics of keeping the various code names and ethnic names straight is not rewarded by any form of payoff in the volume's climax. In fact, the unrelenting pace at which new names are dropped becomes problematic as the book nears its end. "Stachel" is referenced for the first time fairly late in The Coldest City, so the emotional reaction of the reveal of Stachel's identity is more an eye roll than a gasp of revelation. The Coldest City fails to make the reader actually care about any of the characters sufficiently to get the reader to invest in the fates of any of them.

The setting for The Coldest City might be the most intriguing aspect of the book, as Berlin - West and East - in the days before the Berlin Wall fell provides a great backdrop for the book. For a book where everybody is a spy, The Coldest City makes it credible that everyone would be a spy!

Unfortunately, there is little to talk-up about The Coldest City and the fundamental problem with the graphic novel is the artwork. Like The Walking Dead (Volume 1 is reviewed here!), The Coldest City is a black and white graphic novel and the artwork works in detriment to the story. The simplistic artwork does not make it easy to tell who the characters are or what is happening in each panel. The settings are very basically rendered, so few locations resonate, and action is far more implied than illustrated. As a result, the dialogue-heavy The Coldest City does not utilize the graphic novel medium particularly well.

Ultimately, that is the death knell of The Coldest City; the artwork obscures, the nonlinear narrative is designed to throw the reader off, but ultimately, after the reveal from the first reading, there is nothing to go back to The Coldest City for again. We can only hope, the basic ideas from The Coldest City are fleshed out in such a way to make Atomic Blonde not saddled by the same issues.

For other graphic novels, please visit my reviews of:
Lost Girls By Alan Moore & Melissa Gilbert
Uncle Sam By Steve Darnall And Alex Ross
Fathom: The Definitive Edition By Michael Turner

2/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Flash, Volume 9: Full Stop Blurs The Lines When Central City's Villains Become . . . Heroes?!

The Good: Decent artwork, Good plotting
The Bad: No character development, Very predictable plot arc
The Basics: The Flash, Volume 9: Full Stop brings closure to the pre-Rebirth New 52 incarnation of The Flash with a crossover from Gotham City that (generally) works!


As with many fans of the television show The Flash, I was fairly disillusioned by the third season of the show. In fact, the third season was so unsatisfying that I have had a lot of trouble getting up the enthusiasm to rewatch and review the entire season. So, knowing that is on my list, I figured I would get in the mood for it by returning to the source material. That takes the form today of me picking up and reading The Flash, Volume 9: Full Stop.

The Flash, Volume 9: Full Stop is not the next volume in The Flash from where I left off, but I decided it might be a good book to pick up because I could fairly review it on how it stands on its own (as opposed to within any of the larger arcs going on at the time the story begins). And, the truth is, I have been out of a lot of the recent DC Comics arcs, so whatever post-New 52 reboot is going on in the larger DC Comics universe, I have not gotten into it. So, this is a pure review of The Flash, Volume 9: Full Stop, which is an anthology of issues 48 - 52 of The Flash.

Barry Allen accompanies Captain Frye to the temporary police station in Central City where Allen learns that the Mayor has set up a task force to capture The Flash. The task force is led by Captain Cold and Snart has brought on his team of Rogues to accomplish the goal. The CCPD blankets Central City in drones to monitor for Speed Force Energy, so Barry knows he cannot use his abilities without falling into the CCPD/Rogues trap. But, when a chemical explosion is set off by a villain using a methodology to track and capture The Flash, Barry Allen is forced to spring into action. While the Rogues initially catch The Flash, Captain Frye tasks the team with actually preventing further chemical explosions, which gives Barry an opportunity to escape and stop the team hunting him.

Unfortunately, while Barry Allen works to cover up a blood sample that might give the task force an edge, Wally West's speedster powers begin to manifest. The drones detect Wally and lead the task force to Marshall Flecher Middle School and to protect the civilians there, The Flash intervenes. In the process, Trickster is able to deploy his new weapon, a restraining arm, against The Flash. But before Frye can properly arrest The Flash, the man pulling Trickster's strings shows himself and The Riddler reveals his ultimate plan to take control of Central City by eliminating The Flash once and for all!

The Flash, Volume 9: Full Stop is a remarkably formulaic The Flash book, even if it has the traditional adversaries in the role of law enforcement. The basic set-up for the book makes a decent amount of sense; the Rogues are the most-equipped group capable of capturing The Flash for legitimate law enforcement purposes. Hiring them makes a certain amount of sense, especially given that Leonard Snart has been on a redemptive arc and had abandoned the Rogues for a turn in the Justice League. Returning to the Rogues, he tries to reorganize the criminals to work toward their common goal and Snart does his best to keep the various elements of his group in line.

Predictably, the Trickster is the leak link and the book begins with him happily under the thumb of the Riddler, who has long wanted to match wits with The Flash. The Riddler is an interesting adversary to use against The Flash as he is smart-enough to concoct a plan that would actually challenge Barry Allen. In fact, the Riddler's final mistake in The Flash, Volume 9: Full Stop is uncommonly sloppy. He has stacked the deck in a remarkably sensible way through his drones; his poorly-executed endgame seems like more of a matter of plot-convenience than organic character work.

As it may be clear from the paragraphs about how the antagonists act and react in The Flash, Volume 9: Full Stop, Barry Allen is something of a second fiddle in his own story in this book. Allen does not grow or develop; he is concerned with protecting his identity and he is willing to sacrifice in order to save lives in Central City. None of these ideas are particularly audacious or different for the character. In fact, the only real character difference in this volume is that Barry Allen has his father to rely upon as an emotional support and sounding board for his ideas. As a result, The Flash, Volume 9: Full Stop feels underwhelming on the character front.

That said, the artwork in The Flash, Volume 9: Full Stop is generally good. The colors are vibrant and sharp, the characters are all rendered in ways that make them recognizable and clear. Most of the panels have a decent sense of movement within them or between panels. The Flash, Volume 9: Full Stop looks good.

In the end, The Flash, Volume 9: Full Stop is an absolutely typical volume of The Flash; Barry Allen works as both a forensics detective and as The Flash, a new villain comes to town, the stakes are raised, good triumphs, the end. The Flash, Volume 9: Full Stop might dress the conflict up nicely, but it does not truly rewrite the formula; it embodies the formula.

For other Flash graphic novels, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
The Flash Archives, Volume 1
The Flash Vs. The Rogues
The Trial Of The Flash
Born To Run
The Return Of Barry Allen
Terminal Velocity
Dead Heat
Race Against Time
Emergency Stop
The Human Race
Wonderland
Blood Will Run
Rogues
Crossfire
Blitz
Ignition
The Secret Of Barry Allen
Rogue War
Full Throttle
Lightning In A Bottle
Flash: Rebirth
The Dastardly Death Of The Rogues
The Road To Flashpoint
Move Along
The Life Story Of The Flash

5.5/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Tease The Continuity: Supergirl: Many Happy Returns Disappoints!

The Good: A few clever lines, Fun artwork, Moments of plot
The Bad: Resolution, Plot meanders in the middle, Missing a lot of crossover material
The Basics: Peter David's tenure writing Supergirl ends on a downbeat when Linda Danvers encounters Kara Zor-El in an ultimately jumbled work.


As a result of the generally high-quality of the CW television incarnation of Supergirl, I have become more and more familiar with Supergirl and associated characters over the past two years. The truth is, when Supergirl started to actually get good, I felt compelled to look into the source material more. There have been a lot of incarnations of Supergirl in the different eras of DC Comics, but the first one I was familiar with was Kara Zor-El and only truly knew of her because of the heroic sacrifice she made in Crisis On Infinite Earths (reviewed here!). I knew that after Crisis On Infinite Earths, Supergirl was replaced with a shape-shifting alien who assumed the identity of Supergirl. I also knew that at some point, Peter David was writing Supergirl comics and I figured it was well past time for me to track down some of those works given that I grew up enjoying the writing of Peter David.

Ironically, my latest foray into Supergirl comics comes at the end of two eras: Supergirl: Many Happy Returns marked the end of Linda Danvers as Supergirl and Peter David's tenure writing the character. Supergirl: Many Happy Returns compiles issues 75 - 80 of Supergirl and failed to satisfactorily close the book on Linda Danvers, leaving a pretty huge loose end given the volume's ultimate transition for Linda Danvers.

Supergirl is attacked by a squad of assassins, but is able to repel their attack by utilizing her telekinetic powers preceding her physical attack. She learns the attackers were hired by someone named Johnny. Having just returned to Leesburg, Linda heads back home where she discovers her mother is pregnant. While talking with her family, Kara Zor-El arrives from Krypton. After a brief encounter in which Kara Zor-El disposes of Johnny Reb (who came to kill Supergirl for taking out his men), Kara flies off to try to find Superman. Reaching Metropolis just ahead of Supergirl and Superboy, Kara falls prey to Mr. Mxyzpltz, who is disrupting a parade with an attack by actual dinosaurs. When Superman arrives to save the day, he rejects Kara, believing her to be a fan. Supergirl and Superboy return Kara to S.T.A.R. Labs, where Kara begins to talk about her life on Argo City; the life she misses.

Taking Kara home with her, Linda Danvers takes a job teaching at Leesburg High in order to be near Kara. While Johnny Reb is augmented by Fatalist, a creature working for the Supergirl-slayer Lord Xenon, Kara and Linda try to settle in to life incognito in Leesburg. Fatalist has Rebel attack Leesburg High and Kara leaps to action to attempt to save the school. The Spectre visits during the attacks and Kara learns that Fatalist redirected her from her universe-saving fate, while Xenon seeks to slay every Supergirl. To attempt to right time and space and save the universe yet again, Linda takes Kara's pod to take her place. While Linda tries to make the grand sacrifice, The Spectre reveals that Kara remains in danger from Xenon and Linda must try a different way to save Kara and the universe!

Supergirl: Many Happy Returns has a lot going on with the introduction of three adversaries who are each, at one time or another in the narrative, the primary antagonist. Xenon, Rebel, and Fatalist each attack Supergirl and their relationships are unclear for much of the volume. Fatalist appears to be working both for and against Xenon's wishes and within the book, Fatalist seems to have virtually the same stature as The Spectre which is saying a lot for a character I had never heard of before picking up Supergirl: Many Happy Returns. Xenon, similarly, is characterized as both nearly invincible and trapped by Supergirl. How Lord Xenon went from being trapped at the beginning of time by Supergirl in a tower with the House Of El symbol on it to being able to cull Supergirls from all time and space to try wiping them out is not made at all clear within Supergirl: Many Happy Returns.

Linda Danvers has an interesting arc in Supergirl: Many Happy Returns, though. Guided by Kara Zor-El's naive curiosity about what makes a hero, Linda steps up to make the ultimate sacrifice by replacing Kara Zor-El. By attempting to take Kara's place, Linda prepares to live a life that is not her own knowing full well that she will be called upon to die in Kara's place to save the universe. Intriguingly, Peter David manages not to create an untenable (for the die-hard fans) retcon by having Linda replace Kara (with Kara's very different costume). Despite the way a significant chapter of Supergirl: Many Happy Returns becomes undone, the journey Linda goes on is fairly satisfying. Linda makes a good-faith effort to make the heroic sacrifice, even though in the process she develops a very distinct life and relationship, but the attempt to alter reality simply does not "take."

Following that, Danvers continues to develop and Supergirl: Many Happy Returns ends at a surprisingly dark place. Depending on one's perspective of the heroic ethos, Linda Danvers either makes a transition from idealist to pragmatist or a transition from hero to villain at the climax of Supergirl: Many Happy Returns. Either way, the volume concludes the story of Linda Danvers without a truly satisfying resolution.

Supergirl: Many Happy Returns lacks much of the wit and wittiness of Peter David. David writes a very tame script for the book, though it does illustrate his penchant for exploring how things fit together - David built his mainstream genre career on taking bottle episodes of Star Trek and making them fit into a more serialized sensibility for the Star Trek Universe - by having Danvers and Kara Zor-El meet. Danvers's attempt to save Kara and the universe is compelling and interesting, but most of the book lacks clever lines that David is known for.

The artwork in Supergirl: Many Happy Returns is fun, but intellectually disturbing. Drawn like softcore with a minor and a young adult who is impersonating a minor, the skimpy outfits in Supergirl: Many Happy Returns are presented in a strangely provocative way. That said, the artwork has a good sense of movement within and between panels and all of the characters are recognizable throughout. The colors are consistently vibrant and the characters all look good.

Ultimately, Supergirl: Many Happy Returns is an intriguing set-up that leads to a resolution that is both painfully predictable (for the Kara Zor-El plotline) and a tremendous letdown (Linda's plotline promises a huge new arc for the character that never materialized). Between that and the lack of genuine originality in the tone or narrative, Supergirl: Many Happy Returns is an unremarkable end to David's Super-creation!

For other graphic novels featuring Supergirl, check out my reviews of:
Superman/Batman, Volume 2: Supergirl
Supergirl: Death And The Family
The Brave And The Bold, Volume 1: The Lords Of Luck
The Last Daughter Of Krypton
Girl In The World
Sanctuary
Out Of The Past
Red Daughter Of Krypton
Crucible

4/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Adora Takes The Lead For He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull!

The Good: Good character story for Adora, Wonderful artwork, Interesting emotional moments
The Bad: A few mediocre panels, Simplistic resolution
The Basics: He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull illustrates well how Adora makes the journey from outcast to She-Ra while helping Adam fight Hordak's forces!


One of my more pleasant surprises of late has been the rediscovery of Masters Of The Universe. The Masters Of The Universe franchise evolved from a toy line into a television show when I was a child and I enjoyed both. I have recently discovered, happily, that the franchise continued to evolve and it grew with its original audience. Now, as a graphic novel series, He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe is a heavily-serialized sword and sorcery fantasy series that is alternately witty, grim, and explores adult themes like death, loss, and the struggle to liberate an enslaved people. As I sat down to readHe-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull, the adult level of commitment (if not, sadly, diction) in reading the series was nailed home immediately to me. Anyone who has not read He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 4: What Lies Within (reviewed here!) prior to He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull will be completely lost. This is a story well underway.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull is an anthology of seven comic books (issues 13 - 19 of the 2015 DC Comic book line) and it tells a story that is complete within the larger context of narrative; it is an episode in a longer and more complicated story. Indeed, those who simply pick up He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull are likely to be surprised that the conflict that rules the book is between the Masters Of The Universe and Hordak; Skeletor is long-since defeated by this point! A further surprise for those who were strictly fans of He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe; He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull prominently features She-Ra, He-Man's sister!

Fortunately, He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull manages to not simply give readers what they expect in terms of the universe and characters; the book develops some new characters, locations, and races to get the heroes out of their dire predicament. He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull moves the focus off the continuing war to explore Adora, Adam's twin sister and the story is surprisingly engaging.

Opening with the story of how Grayskull defeated Hordak and his horde a millennia ago, the Gar - a race of brilliant craftsmen and philosophers from the island of Anwat-Gar are introduced. The Gar aided Grayskull in defeating Hordak, but a prophecy from the Sorceress and manipulations from the disguised King Hsss lead Grayskull's Gar handmaiden to slay the King! A thousand years later, Adora dreams of Saryn (the Gar assassin) and prepares to continue her quest to find Anwat-Gar when she is visited by He-Man and Battle Cat. Adam comes bearing a message from Teela and the sad news that their father is dead and he asks Adora to join her quest for Anwat-Gar. Together, the pair makes the journey to Althra Port, a Horde-occupied harbor. There, they discover that Althra Port is now part of Hordak's Fright Zone and Adora informs Adam just how Hordak consumes the lands he conquers.

Learning that the citizens of the port will be consumed to feed Hordak, Adam uses the Sword Of Power to bring the fight to the Horde. Liberating the citizens, Adora and Adam face the land itself attempting to kill them. Rescued by a Pegasus and guided by Teela, the twins make it to the forbidden island. There, they encounter the Gar and are separated. While Adora follows Swiftwind (the Pegasus) into the forbidden woods, Adam grants amnesty to the Gar. But the Gar are not done betraying the line of Grayskull as they turn He-Man over to Tri-Klops, the bounty hunter! Adora, under the influence of the cursed blade that Teela had Adam give her, returns and slays Adam! Fleeing in terror at what she has done, Adora receives a magical communication from Teela, who informs her that there is a second power sword - The Sword Of Protection - and if Adora can find Saryn and wrest the Sword from her, she will have the power to save Adam and help defeat Hordak!

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull ends with a one-chapter flashback story that serves only to truly remind readers who the primary characters of Masters Of The Universe are. The incongruent chapter, supposedly, leads into The Eternia War, but within this volume it is a pointless non-sequitor.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull is largely successful in that it acts as a character study for Adora. Back in the day, She-Ra was essentially "He-Man for girls" without much depth - it was a half-hearted way to get girls to play with toys similar to He-Man, much the way that Freud phoned in his analysis of women and theories of female psychology. But in He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull, Adora gets the focus and she is anything but a token character.

In fact, when Adora enters the narrative of He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull, the book does something quite uncommon for a comic book; it devotes almost an entire issue to Adora and Adam simply talking. In trade paperback anthology form, it is actually somewhat disappointing that the chapter devotes any time to moving Adam and Adora away from Adora's camp. In addition to the transition to an action point coming very abruptly, the chapter was doing an excellent job of offering Adam and Adora a chance to organically connect and differ from one another. One wishes there were just a little bit more of that.

That said, in He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull, Adora and Adam play off one another well. Adora has knowledge Adam lacks, while Adam is guided by a sense of compassion that is alien to Adora. Together, they make an interesting pair of traveling companions in the book and when Adam falls out of the narrative to let Adora spread her wings, the book works incredibly well. Adora has a great internal character struggle that Adam lacks, so she becomes a much more conflicted and interesting character.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull continues to hint at the bond between Teela and Adora and it is enough to entice readers to see where the authors go with that relationship.

The artwork for the six primary chapters of He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull is quite good. The characters are all recognizable and look decent, the flow between panels is good and the movement between panels is smooth. The coloring is vibrant and the pages look decent, making good use of the medium.

Despite being part of a larger story, He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 5: The Blood Of Grayskull is the first volume in the series that I have read that feels essential, like it has a great character story to tell. This is the volume that sells the readers on the adult merit of Masters Of The Universe and makes us want to keep returning to this universe as adults!

For other Masters Of The Universe books, please check out my reviews of:
He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Volume 3
He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1
DC Universe Vs. Masters Of The Universe

8/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Best Of The Pynchon Clones? Ship Of Theseus May Well Be It!

The Good: Poetics, Concept, Decent story
The Bad: Protagonist is virtually impossible to empathize with
The Basics: The basis for the concept novel S., Ship Of Theseus manages to stand up in an intriguing way on its own.


A few years back, as I was finishing another run-through of Fringe (reviewed here!), my wife learned of the existence of S.. S. is a concept novel, much like some musical artists make a concept album; more than a simple book, it was intended to be a layered artistic experience. Before she picked it up for me, my wife described it as an activity book for literate adults. The concept was a clever one; S. came within a slipcase that, once opened, included an artfully-made volume of a novel entitled Ship Of Theseus. This particular copy of Ship Of Theseus is filled with notes, additional pages and other goodies that are meant to be a story outside (and inside) the content of the novel itself.

Being on the road now, I finally had a chance to give the art project its rightful amount of attention. As I sat down to read, though, I found myself a bit torn as to how to approach the work. Ultimately, I settled up doing multiple readings (and dual reviews). In order for S. to work as a concept piece, there had to be some merit to the "source material," the book Ship Of Theseus. So, for my first reading through the project, I decided to read and evaluate Ship Of Theseus as its own literary work. Ignoring all of the commentaries and added materials, this, then, is a review purely of Ship Of Theseus, by novelist V.M. Straka, as translated by F.X. Caldeira.

Ship Of Theseus has merit as a literary work. Evocative of the works of Thomas Pynchon, Ship Of Theseus is a sprawling, often surreal tale that winds and wends with little clear purpose, less resolution and even less explanation of how the things that happen actually occur. Like works of Thomas Pynchon, the lines are poetic and the journey itself is often the real magic of the novel.

An amnesiac becomes conscious while loping through the Old Quarter of a harbor city in a nebulous time period before World War I. The man knows nothing, is soaking wet, and has pain throughout his body. He ends up at a bar, where he sees a mysterious woman and, while conversing with her after watching her for a long time, he is abducted. The man wakes up on a mysterious sailing ship and he is told by the lone crewman who speaks that his name is S. S. is shanghaied out to sea and is horrified that the crew of the ship appears sickly, each has their mouth sewn shut, and is preoccupied with a mysterious job belowdecks that they rotate into. When the ship nears land, S. is given the opportunity to escape when a waterspout appears to destroy the ship and he desperately swims to land.

S. finds himself in a factory city where the locals are picketing Vevoda Armament Works. Apparently, three of the workers have gone missing and the workers have organized to demand answers. S. is taken in by one of the leaders of the movement and is too slow to warn the leaders when he sees one of Vevoda's henchmen plant a bomb in the crowd. Framed by Vevoda's newspaper-printing lackeys, S. and his compatriots take to the hills and attempt to make it to a safer city. But Vevoda's men chase the group and S. escapes the slaughter . . . only to find himself back aboard the mysterious and mysteriously-reconstructed ship! While S.'s heart aches for the mysterious woman he met only once, he finds himself on a convoluted journey that takes him to a mysterious island where he is given a choice and a purpose; to seek his past or avenge the deaths of the workers!

S. is good in a weird way. The protagonist ages in irregular intervals, pines for a woman he does not truly know and has no real interest in his life before the book. But he observes the world and thinks about the plight of those he encounters and he has a curious nature as he tries to discover just what it is the sailors do on the orlop deck.

Ship Of Theseus is not a book for those who love complete answers and stark rationality. S. develops a clarvoiyant power, for example. How? Why (other than plot convenience)? That is not answered in Ship Of Theseus. But the use of his abilities and the way the narrative winds is surprisingly engaging. In fact, one of the few concrete sections in Ship Of Theseus is a very fractured portion late in the book that describes the movements and activities of one of the world's most competent assassins. Even the chase through the hills that S. endures with the workers is more florid and surreal than the assassination passages.

Ship Of Theseus is, however, plagued by a somewhat nebulous and unlikable protagonist. S. does not actually stand for much of anything; he has no clear or consistent convictions and his lack of curiosity about his past before the Old Quarter becomes frustrating late in the book. For the bulk of Ship Of Theseus, S. is buffetted around by people and events that he is only tangential to. He spends most of the book not even influencing the events he finds himself at; he just is in the wrong place at the wrong time and he is running from people who aren't even interested in him, specifically.

That said, Ship Of Theseus moves right along on the plot front and the story does crystallize in its final three chapters. Once S. gets a direction, he goes in it full-steam ahead and the book becomes a very fast read as it moves toward its climax.

Ship Of Theseus has beautiful and poet lines as S. contemplates his surroundings and mentally-debates philosophy. Straka places S. in an adventure where the nature of his reality - much like the boat he is on - continues to change, which is where the book gets its title. The exploration of identity and setting, philosophy and reality is poetically laid out consistently along S.'s journey.

Ultimately, Ship Of Theseus is a somewhat pulpy, but clever story of a man shanghaied by pirates on a potentially magic boat who continues to find himself getting into trouble whenever he escapes or returns to the ship!

For other book reviews, please check out:
V. - Thomas Pynchon
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Bad Twin - Gary Troupe

7.5/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Abyss To Abyss: He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 4: What Lies Within Darkens Eternia's Heroes Well!

The Good: Good beginning, Decent last third
The Bad: Erratic pacing, Unsatisfying and unclear artwork
The Basics: Despite unimpressive artwork and a long stretch of lackluster writing, He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 4: What Lies Within actually manages to be a worthwhile trade paperback anthology.


Despite having somewhat mixed feelings about the direction of the recent Masters Of The Universe works - both on television and in the continuing book form - I find myself continuing to pick up the trade paperback anthologies of He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe comic books. This might have something to do with the fact that my wife and I have been going through the animated series from the early 1980s (and realizing together just how formative it was for me!) and wanting to balance that with something a bit more mature. He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 4: What Lies Within definitely falls into the more mature category, not so much for graphic violence (the artwork is not that explicit), but rather for the existential crises that the book depicts.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 4: What Lies Within is an anthology of six comic books (issues 7 - 12 of the 2014 DC Comic book line) and it tells a very complete story, though it very clearly comes on the heels of Volume 3 (reviewed here!). He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 4: What Lies Within picks up the story very much in progress, but does not feel like something that is incomplete; it is a desperate war story of a people under siege. And it mixes the potentially banal quest story with one of the graphic novel series's most effective reversals!

The human forces of Eternia have fallen to Hordak's horde and the few surviving heroes continue to fight to liberate Eternia. King Randor recognizes that the Horde's prioritization of excavating Sarnscepter means that there is something important there that must be denied to the enemy. So, Randor and his forces take on Grizzlor and his army at Sarnscepter. The fight goes poorly until they are joined by He-Man, Teela, and others (who have just returned from the DC Comics Universe). Hordak, unwilling to risk his hold over Eternia, orders an orbital bombardment, which obliterates Randor's forces. He-Man sees a vision of Zodak, who tells him an important change is coming. Awakening from that vision, He-Man discovers that, from the battle, only Randor, Teela, Stratos, Moss Man and Battlecat appear to have survived. In his desperation, King Randor makes a bold plan: the survivors will head into Subternia and traverse the six circles of the underworld to get to the heart of the universe to resurrect the Sorceress!

Randor's desperate plan quickly proves difficult to execute, as the Circle Of Dreams is filled with murderous nightmares. Recognizing that the underworld is mirroring the world above, by twisting what was once good and alive into something horrible and deadly, Randor insists on fighting through. But when Teela, Stratos and Moss Man appear to be devoured by a dream beast, even He-Man begins to lose hope. But the other three find themselves in the Circle Of Earth, where Moss Man comes to understand that the corruption of the Underworld runs deep when he begins to die fast and the trio is beset by Rock Men. On the verge of defeat, Stratos manages to find a way to save everyone by taking to the air. But what appears to be a shortcut to the Star Seed at the heart of Subternia is an opportunity for a surprise usurper to appear and menace everyone and everything on Eternia . . . using He-Man to achieve his own, nefarious, goals!

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 4: What Lies Within is a slow-burn of a story. It gets off to a decent-enough start and it finishes very well, but it gets lost in the middle. The early journey through Subternia is a repetitive, obvious, drawn-out battle that is not particularly engaging or well-rendered. Instead, like the desperate battle at Sarnscepter, the initial descent into Subternia is yet another blase battle sequence. Between the oppressive tone of Randor's desperation and the lack of anything significant happening on the character front, He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 4: What Lies Within gets off to a very rocky start.

But when Randor takes the helm of the sky ship Stratos finds in the underworld of air, the book abruptly turns in a very different and impressive direction. He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 4: What Lies Within is distinct ultimately for moving two important characters forward - we see He-Man cry, perhaps for the first time ever?! - and there is something refreshing in the fact that it is not Adam who brings the conflict to its conclusion. Instead, Teela is given a moral dilemma and a huge character moment and the turn is an impressive one.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 4: What Lies Within ultimately marks the return to the Masters Of The Universe books of the Snake Men. And until they pop back up, the artwork is, frankly, abysmal. The nebulous, poorly rendered artwork both requires characters to speak a running commentary and denies what they say. So, for example, the only way one might tell from what appears in the panel that Teela, Stratos and Moss Man have been devoured by a nightmare creature is that He-Man makes an exclamation that they have been consumed! Fortunately, he also tells the reader that he has just sliced open the nightmare worm when the artwork that follows that event is equally inscrutable. Later on, He-Man makes a comment about a red mist, which is nowhere visible on the page.

So, after several frustrating chapters of trying to figure out what is going on visually, paired with dialogue that reads like directions to the artist (and does not sound at all like things characters would say or would need to say in their circumstances), He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 4: What Lies Within finally gets good. It gets good enough to want to read and want to read Volume 5, but there is no mistaking this anthology for anything other than very average pulp.

For other Masters Of The Universe products, please check out my reviews of:
He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe - Season 2
He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1
DC Universe Vs. Masters Of The Universe

5.5/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Flash Forward, Flash Back: The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time

The Good: Good artwork, Engaging plot
The Bad: Predictable a-plot mystery, Dialogue that does not include any real wit to it
The Basics: The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time is an interesting story, even if it fundamentally alters Barry Allen's character!


Every now and then when I read and review a graphic novel, I find myself considering what I would have done differently if I were the one writing the story. Usually, these days, I find myself thinking that I would give the books better artwork and I am pretty content to start with that. But when there is a book like The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time, where the artwork is fine, I have to go deeper and it is a rare thing where I have so few critiques of a graphic novel that I cannot imagine changing much from what I read. In the case of The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time, I probably would have made the dialogue zestier - the book is somewhat hampered by dialogue that is so straightforward it is sometimes boring - and an adversary in the a-plot that is not quite so obvious.

That said, The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time is one of the New 52 books that actually popped for me.

The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time picks up after the events of The Flash, Volume 5: History Lessons (reviewed here!) and Forever Evil (reviewed here!). Those who have not read Forever Evil will miss a lot of the magnitude of consequence that is hanging over Central City in The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time. This is very much a book that relies upon readers having read and comprehended the world-shattering events in the prior volume and the ancillary work to understand what is going on with Barry Allen. The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time is also the book that places Wally West in the role of The Flash for the first time in The New 52!

Opening five years in the future with Iris West and a teenager apparently dead at the scene of an accident that The Flash could have prevented, the narrative returns to the present, where the Central City Police Department has been ransacked in the wake of the Crime Syndicate's reign. Barry Allen has to visit the department shrink, Dr. Janus, to discuss the effects of the Crime Syndicate destroying Central City. During his session, he runs out and helps Forrest get through his trauma and brick up a hole in Iron Heights. Twenty years in the future, Barry Allen (in a very different Flash suit!) has an epiphany on how to change everything that went wrong in his life and Central City; saving Wally West's life from the car accident.

Barry Allen meets Wally West, Iris's nephew, when Wally is out graffitiing anti-Flash markings on a building. In the future, Barry reveals himself as The Flash to the wheelchair-bound Iris West and promises her he will save Wally. His first stop it to Gorilla City, where he executes the speedster Grodd! In the present, the Central City Police Department is overwhelmed with cases from the Crime Syndicate's reign and Barry Allen disappoints Singh by taking what appeared to be an easy-to-close case and proving that the prime suspect could not have committed the crime! When the Central City Art Gallery is attacked, The Flash runs into the robbery only to discover the thieves are armed with technology specifically-designed to take him down. Shortly thereafter, an attack is made in Central City using gear from the obscure criminal Black Mold; a crime Black Mold could not have done as he was in traction at the time! While Barry hunts down clues that make it appear that one criminal managed to get all of the super-weapons out of the crime lab storage during the Crime Syndicate's reign of terror, the future version of The Flash continues his trek back through time to thwart his enemies.

The Future Flash and The Flash ultimately collide in a battle that makes sense, even if it is not emotionally satisfying (though it is the least-predictable option for its resolution, which was nice!).

Fans of The Flash are likely to be split on the interpersonal melodrama contained within The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time. When The New 52 began and rebooted Barry Allen's story, the Barry Allen and Patty Spivot relationship was one that gave traditional fans of The Flash real issues. In reinventing the franchise, the writers actually worked to give Spivot and Allen a fair shake and for those who invested in it, it was reassuring to see that the writers did not simply mortgage that to reestablish the familiar dichotomy with Allen and West. In The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time, there is far more interaction between Iris West and Barry Allen than there is between Allen and Spivot and the lengths Barry goes to to help Iris with Wally is somewhat unrealistic given the quality and character of his relationship with Patty and with Iris in the other books in the series.

That said, the Future Flash is an interesting one and his views on his younger self is pretty cool. The Future Flash bursts into the narrative not only with the weight of years of experience and guilt weighing upon him, but with training from some of the most dangerous fighters in the DC Universe, which makes him a formidable foe for all of the adversaries he encounters. There is a strong sense of irony throughout The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time in that Barry Allen evolves into, essentially, The Reverse-Flash.

As for the mystery of the weapons taken from the police evidence lockers, that is very insular to The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time and it suffers from a similar problem to most television mystery shows. On television, there is a habit - which was beautifully lampooned on Family Guy - of putting the most famous guest star in the role of the Murderer Of The Week. In The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time, there is a similar phenomenon where after several incidents that Barry Allen investigates, a new, named person pops into the narrative in a painfully obvious way and attentive readers will instantly recognize his purpose there.

The artwork in The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time is generally decent, which makes things like Grodd eating Eobard Thawne's brains particularly unsettling. The Future Flash looks awesome and for the brief time at the end of the volume that Wally West spends as The Flash, his costume looks pretty incredible, too!

While the dialogue in The Flash, Volume 6: Out Of Time might not pop in any interesting ways and there is the sudden obvious villain to resolve the mystery plot, the book is entertaining and has some deeper character themes that make it well worth reading!

For other The Flash volumes from The New 52, please visit my reviews of:
Move Along
Rogues Revolution
Gorilla Warfare
Reverse

6.5/10

For other Graphic Novel reviews, please check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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An Appropriate Crisis Begins He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 3!

The Good: Generally good banter, Interesting characters, Most of the artwork, Fairly good plot
The Bad: Simple plot, Packs a lot of reversals and revelations into the short volume, A few moments where the acerbic dialogue feels forced.
The Basics: He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 3 renews a more mature Masters Of The Universe storyline when Hordak uses a mysterious new lieutenant to lay waste to Eternia.


I'm not exactly sure why, but lately, I have been seeking out more Masters Of The Universe material. I had a pretty profound love of Masters Of The Universe growing up. I was a big fan of the toy line and the television series and I recently recalled that I had some of the early books from the franchise in my childhood library! I had heard that Masters Of The Universe was being revitalized as both a more mature comic book line and a more sophisticated toy (and statue) line for adults who were seeking a retro fix. As one who has definitely matured since I first watched and played with Masters Of The Universe, I liked that concept. So, it was that in mind that I picked up He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 3.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 3 is an anthology of six comic books (issues 1 - 6 of the 2013 DC Comic book line) and it tells a very complete story, though some of the players and circumstances are set up as reactions to events unseen and very obliquely referenced. And it is all right, even if some of the character dynamics are not quite what fans of the classic Masters Of The Universe might remember.

Opening the day of the Sorceress's funeral, with Teela dying her hair red and Prince Adam and Man-At-Arms contemplating the loss of Teela's mother, Despara leads an invasion force in attacking Eternia. Despara, daughter of Hordak, leads her forces on an attack on Eternos, the capital of Eternia. But, when He-Man and Teela confront Despara, she reveals herself to be Adora - Teela's imaginary friend from childhood! The fight for Eternos goes poorly, forcing King Randor to order a retreat back to Castle Grayskull. While King Randor contemplates the all-out loss of Eternia, a projection of Adora materializes to offer her terms for surrender.

After Teela tells her comrades the story of her childhood encounters with Adora, right before Despara breaks her word and attacks Grayskull to abduct Teela. Reeling from the loss, King Randor orders He-Man to defend Castle Grayskull, but when the Sorceress appears to Adam, he disobeys his father to rescue his friend. In Despara's camp, Teela and her old playmate face off while Adam forges a new power sword in the heart of Grayskull. But when Despara stabs Teela and lays seige to Castle Grayskull, the Sorceress appears to Despara and leads her to a deeper truth. Despara is told her true identity by Shadow Weaver, who is killed by Hordak to keep her in line. But while He-Man and Teela try to save Hordak's warrior from herself, Hordak achieves an unthinkable victory on Eternia!

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 3 is a surprisingly compelling starting point for a new, mature Masters Of The Universe story as it does what all beginnings ought to; it creates an impossible situation for the heroes and makes the reader want to read more. Hordak is given adequate characterization in He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 3 to make him an ancient evil that is set to lay waste to Eternia and Castle Grayskull. Hordak is characterized as an ancient evil who was an enemy of Grayskull . . . the man. He is a vampire who is not supposed to be able to return to Eternia and who has made Etheria into a wasteland while developing technology that could entirely enslave Eternia.

Hordak's methodology is both villainous and long-term. Hordak is not characterized as a childlike villain. He is cruel, has a goal of domination and is willing to pit people against each other all to meet his needs. Hordak is powerful and enters the fray for Eternia with a plan that has built-in fallbacks, which make him smarter and more resourceful than most villains. When he slays Shadow Weaver because she has outlived her usefulness, he illustrates that no one is safe from his wrath. In fact, outside of simple vengeance for ancient wrongs, the only real question from Hordak's character is why he actually wants Eternia under his dominion!

On the protagonist front, He-Man is characterized fairly simply in He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 3. Teela is much more integral to this first volume. She is the character who is given most of the best lines (though Mechanek's evaluation of the quality of He-Man's plan is the book's biggest laugh-getter) and who has the most personality. Unfortunately, Teela also falls out of balance sometimes in her back-and-forth with Adam. The source of the friction between Teela and He-Man is unclear and so some of their barbs make Teela seem more mean than witty.

But Despara and Teela's relationship and past history serves as the turning point for He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 3 and it is compelling enough to make readers invest and appreciate the journey. The artwork in He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 3 is good and the writing is solid enough that when a character appears without much of their armor, another character almost instantly ways their name in order to make clear who they are.

While the artwork tends to have a decent sense of movement in He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 3, there are a number of panels where the flow and dialogue is awkwardly arranged. Despite that, surprise of surprise, He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, Volume 3 actually tells a fairly adult story for an adult audience who might still crave something from the Masters Of The Universe!

For other Masters Of The Universe products, please check out my reviews of:
2016 He-Man Hallmark ornament
He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1
DC Universe Vs. Masters Of The Universe

6/10

For other graphic novel reviews, please check out my Graphic Novel Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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More Nostalgia Than Inherent Quality: He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1 Is Fun!

The Good: Good interviews, Some fun stories, Moments of artwork
The Bad: Massive continuity issues, Simplistic dialogue, Erratic artwork
The Basics: Fans of the Masters Of The Universe toy line are likely to get a real kick out of the anthology He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1 . . . even if it is not the greatest work of literature ever!


Growing up, the toy line I most consistently responded to favorably was Masters Of The Universe. I loved the Masters Of The Universe toy line and I also quickly became a fan of the television show He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe (Season 1 is reviewed here!). Memories of both remain with me well into my adulthood and lately, I've been seeking out Masters Of The Universe merchandise and books. As a fan of He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, I was instantly intrigued when I learned of the existence of He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1 is a collection of more than thirty of the mini comic books that came in various Masters Of The Universe action figures during its initial production run from 1982 onward. The original minicomics were included with each toy and the collection is intended to appeal to the fans who grew up on the Masters Of The Universe toyline and might be looking for a way to channel their desire for nostalgia from their beloved toys. For me, the Masters Of The Universe minicomics were memorable in that I recall even to this day that it was in one of the issues - where Ram-Man was introduced - that I first learned the word "eh?" I was so confused as a child - "are they misspelling 'he?!' . . . that doesn't fit . . ."

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1 is a collection that is so high on nostalgia for the fans that it is hard to believe there are many truly unbiased reviews of it out there. The anthology is cool as a historical document, but it reveals very clearly that the concept behind the minicomics was untested and one that Mattel - the manufacturers of the Masters Of The Universe toyline - were unsure how to effectively execute.

The minicomics collected in He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1 show a clear evolution as the stories and narrative become more coherent and develop a sense of continuity. At the beginning, though, the stories of He-Man and the other Masters Of The Universe have glaring problems in how they attempt to define the world of Eternia. So, while the story of He-Man is relayed fairly clearly - he is a barbarian who goes off to protect Castle Greyskull and is given advanced tools to fight evil by the Sorceress - much of the rest of the early story is unfortunately jumbled. So, for example, in one early story, He-Man instantly knows Skeletor and Skeletor has Beast Man as a henchman, but in a later story, Skeletor recruits Beast Man. In the early issues, the artwork is based on prototype figures, but the characters are also a bit mixed up. The prime example of this is that in the early issues, Teela is a blonde and the Sorceress looks identical to the Teela action figure! As the issues progress, Teela comes to look like Teela and the stories begin to take on a more coherent narrative.

Ironically, in the early issues, He-Man has a very different story from the television show He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe. It is several issues in before He-Man ever adopts the persona of Prince Adam, for example! Obviously, the unstated purpose of the minicomics for the Masters Of The Universe action figures was to sell other toys in the line - vehicles and characters pop up to make consumers want them to join the character they already bought - but as their own entities, the books collected in He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1 start to develop as their own, legitimate, entities.

The artwork in He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1 gets better as the book goes on and the minicomics develop from attempting to be little picture books (like Little Golden Books) and transition into being much more traditional comic books. The dialogue in the comic books enhances the stories beyond the expositional stories that begin the book. Most of the stories in He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1 follow a similar format - He-Man meets someone, Skeletor (and later, Hordak and his Evil Horde) attacks and He-Man makes a new friend or enemy. The world of Eternia blends effectively sword and sorcery and science fiction!

The benefit of He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1 - outside nostalgia and having almost the full collection of minicomics - is that the book is curated by people who care about the franchise and are experts in it. The minicomics are footnoted with very cool details - like an annotation pointing out that the page shown is the only time He-Man is depicted using a gun or explaining that color schemes for characters in the minicomics were based upon promotional artwork for specific toys or notes on the planned toyline (Stratos, for example, was originally conceived as a villain!). The footnotes are enhanced by interviews scattered throughout the book. The subjects of the interviews include writers, artists and product developers for the Masters Of The Universe toy line and they all clearly recall with enthusiasm their work on the minicomics project!

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1 is an interesting-enough anthology, but it is average-at-best for its content and it gets off to a very rocky start! He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe Minicomic Collection Volume 1 is a tribute to the fans of the Masters Of The Universe toyline; reading this book is not likely to make new readers into fans.

For other Masters Of The Universe reviews, please check out my reviews of:
DC Universe Vs. Masters Of The Universe
Masters Of The Universe Season 2
Masters Of The Universe

5/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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