He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

I've never been a huge Masters of the Universe fan. I mean, not since I was seven or eight years old. I've never bought a figure as an adult; I don't even read the current comics, although I've considered it. But the toys, and the comics they came with, were really important to me as a child, and I'm certainly not above nostalgia. So I was happy to receive the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Minicomic Collection from Dark Horse for my recent birthday.

Everyone loves trivia about their favorite animated features and series, but with over 100 years of animation history behind us right now, there’s always some new obscure fact to learn. That’s why ComicsAlliance is going deep into the minutiae of your favorite names in cartoons in this continuing video series. You think you know cartoons? Well, here’s a few things you might not know! This week we're taking a look at the hero of Eternia, He-Man!

Welcome to Cast Party, the feature that imagines a world with even more live action comic book adaptations than we currently have, and comes up with arguably the best casting suggestions you’re ever going to find for the movies and shows we wish could exist. This week we're doing something pretty different. For one thing, though Masters of the Universe has been a comic, it's primarily a TV cartoon and a line of toys, and those are the sources I'm turning to in casting this movie. The other difference is that this movie is actually in development, with McG reportedly expected to direct.

This weekend will see the second annual MondoCon take place in Austin, TX, and with that comes the debut of amazing exclusive vinyl soundtracks, prints, screenings, posters and teases from Mondo about its plans for the coming year and beyond. While there will be a heavy leaning towards film at MondoCon, there will be a smattering of comic and cartoon-related goodness on display, too. Jock will have his own panel, the 1989 Batman will get a special showing, and for the first time, Mondo's upcoming 1/6 scale He-Man figures will be on full display. The He-Man figure announcement came at San Diego Comic-Con, but the showing of any assets was very hush-hush, meaning this weekend's event will be the first time the general public will have a chance to peek at the prototypes for He-Man and Skeletor in their new forms. In advance of their debut, Mondo teased the a bit of the preliminary design sketches to give fans an idea of what to expect from their particular take on the '80s cartoon characters.

Artist Stjepan Sejic is a busy man. From working on the likes of Sunstone, Death Vigil, IXth Generation, Rat Queens, Ravine, and covers for seemingly dozens of different books, he somehow also found time to design a new series of statues for Sideshow Collectibles. I can barely tie my own shoes every morning, but this dude found way to digitally draw and paint a half-dozen books a month, and had some spare time to guide the look and feel of a line of Masters of the Universe premium format figures. Wherever this dude is eating, I would like to go to there. We first got our look at the Sejic-designed pieces at San Diego Comic-Con, but now it appears Sideshow is ready to formally reveal the Masters of the Universe line with it's first piece, He-Man. This statue is just the first of two (the other being Skeletor) that were shown off at SDCC, but Sideshow intimates this could just be the beginning for the MotU series. If this He-Man is any indication, that's going to be a set of statues that even the most lapsed of fans can fawn over.

One of the greatest things about being into comics right now is that we're getting closer and closer to a time when there's nothing that isn't reprinted. I mean, really, as much as I love digging through back issue bins --- and as much as I doubt that particular pastime is going anywhere --- being able to snag a comic that might have otherwise been forgotten in a high-quality prestige format is pretty cool. That's why I'm so excited about Dark Horse's upcoming He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Mini-Comic Collection. Set for release next week in comic book stores, the 1200-page hardcover collects the original mini-comic stories that were packed in with the MOTU action figures --- comics that featured creators like Mark Texiera and Bruce Timm --- in a brand-new complete package.

Lou Scheimer, an animation producer whose work spanned four decades, has passed away, according to his biographer. One of the founders of the animation company Filmation, Scheimer worked on several memorable cartoons, from Mighty Mouse to Star Trek: The Animated Series, but is best known for his contributions in the creation of Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids, He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe

Video: The Cinema Sins crew identifies "everything wrong" with The Dark Knight. Covers: DC's exclusive He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #1 action figure variant can be yours for the price of a $24.99 12-issue subscription. Gaming: Draw Something 2 is apparently on the way...

Gerald Parel is probably best known for his luminous and complex Marvel covers, but when he puts pencil to paper, he often comes up with rather striking drawings of the likes of Hellcat, Wonder Woman and Zatanna. A little bit cheesecake and a lot of the girl next door, Parel's drawings emphasize how the costumes stretch and wrinkle over his subjects' carefully rendered anatomies, and their expres

Despite the action figure collector following inspired by Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics action figure line and DC's current comic series, it's been a number of years since He-Man and company have appeared in a video game. According to IGN, however, that's about to change as Mattel and Glitchsoft release He-Man: The Most Powerful Game in the Universe on iOS devices later this fall... Re