The DC mini-comics packaged with vintage Mattel action figures from 1982 to 1987 constitute the largest and most consequential body of MOTU comics ever produced. 49 issues across six waves, distributed at zero retail cost (you bought the figure, the comic was included), with print runs that match the toy line’s distribution and a creative bench that ranged from Filipino master Alfredo Alcala on the early waves to a young Bruce Timm on the middle waves to William George on the later wave. This episode walks through all six waves.
Series One (1982, four issues): He-Man and the Power Sword, King of Castle Grayskull, Battle in the Clouds, The Vengeance of Skeletor. Alfredo Alcala painted every cover and every interior, in a prose-with-illustrations format borrowed from children’s storybooks rather than traditional comic-book layout. Donald F. Glut wrote the prose. The four issues collectively introduced Castle Grayskull, the Power Sword, Skeletor, Beast Man, and the basic conflict of the property.
Series Two (1983, seven issues): He-Man Meets Ram-Man, The Ordeal of Man-E-Faces, The Terror of Tri-Klops, The Menace of Trap Jaw, The Tale of Teela, The Magic Stealer, The Power of Point Dread. The shift to traditional comic-book layout. Larry Houston and the Filmation animation pool handled most covers. The Bruce Timm contribution is the unattributed but later-confirmed inking on a handful of interiors.
Series Three (1984, ten issues): Dragon’s Gift, Masks of Power, The Secret Liquid of Life, He-Man and the Insect People, Double-Edged Sword, Temple of Darkness, Slave City, Siege of Avion, The Clash of Arms, The Obelisk. Alcala returns for several covers. The aesthetic stabilises into the cleaner mid-period style.
Series Four (1985, nine issues): Skeletor’s Dragon, The Battle of Roboto, Hordak: The Ruthless Leader’s Revenge, Spikor Strikes, The Stench of Evil, Mantenna and the Menace of the Evil Horde, Grizzlor: The Legend Comes Alive, The Treachery of Modulok, Leech: The Master of Power Suction Unleashed. The Horde subline is introduced.
Series Five (1986, thirteen issues): The Flying Fists of Power, The Terror Claws Strike, Rock People to the Rescue, King of the Snake Men, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, The Warrior Machine, The Fastest Draw in the Universe, Eye of the Storm, The Menace of Multi-Bot, The Hordes of Hordak, Escape from the Slime Pit, The Ultimate Battleground, Snake Attack.
Series Six (1987, six issues): The Search for Keldor, Revenge of the Snake Men, Enter Buzz-Saw Hordak, The Powers of Grayskull: The Legend Begins, Energy Zoids, The Cosmic Key. The line winds down.
The 2014 Dark Horse hardcover collected all 49 at respectable scale.
Length: approximately 85 minutes.
