Newsarama interviews Philip Tan about the DC He-man Comic

[Grimbot]

They're sketches. We're looking at SKETCHES. Settle down!

This is why I learned in the creative industry, long ago, that you should never show anything other than a finished product to customers or clients.

This pretty much indicates that they're final designs:
http://i.newsarama.com/images/he-man_cv2_02.jpg

[krosfyah]

I got the 200X-busts of these three. Hordak is indeed taller than the other two, but He-Man and Skeletor are about the same height. If I remember correctly, it was the same as in the MYP cartoon.

The horsemen intended Skeletor to be taller than he-man but Mattel scaled him down. I think the 2-up sculpt is a head taller than he-man.

[PIMPS ADAM]

All this dislike, stop foolin yourselves you'll buy the comics I will, gladly.

[MARKTRON]

It's fine to update characters, I'm fan of 200x style.
This is a more movie-realisitc style and it looks like he loves the aquaman t-**** style

Why not continue with the MYP val 200x comics?.

LET THE POWER RETURN... and update... not downdate...

[Barnster]

The horsemen intended Skeletor to be taller than he-man but Mattel scaled him down. I think the 2-up sculpt is a head taller than he-man.

Thanks for clarifying. I'm usually pretty happy with what the 4H are doing but in this case, I'm glad Mattel scaled Skeletor down. IMO the bad guy doesn't always have to be significant bigger than the hero.

[Krueger]

This may get me in a bit of hot water here, but I think MOTU is a brand that needs more reenvisioning. While other 80's properties have evolved while still maintaining the core of their essence, MOTU has evolved very little. I liked the MYP series and the MVC comics, but even they were very stifled by Mattel in what they were able to do versus what they wanted to do often.

Hasbro - in the last few years - has decided to take a more hands-off (while not allowing just anything) approach to their lines and look what it has done for them popularity-wise. (Not saying quality when including Michael Bay in the equation...) Mattel has been very very hands on with their properties. Whether I like the redesigns or not (So far for me, the good outweighs the bad), it seems like a good thing that Mattel is allowing a little more freedom with the characters.

Then again, I've never been one to be blinded by nostalgia. Yes, I love these lines at least partially because I loved them when I was a kid, but if you consistently add nothing new to the universe, I quickly lose interest...

I agree very much with this post. I’m not saying that He-Man needs to put on a pair of jeans and Battle-Cat should be ditched for a motorbike, but I think a bit of “modernising” is in order.

[He-Boy]

This may get me in a bit of hot water here, but I think MOTU is a brand that needs more reenvisioning. While other 80's properties have evolved while still maintaining the core of their essence, MOTU has evolved very little. I liked the MYP series and the MVC comics, but even they were very stifled by Mattel in what they were able to do versus what they wanted to do often.

Hasbro - in the last few years - has decided to take a more hands-off (while not allowing just anything) approach to their lines and look what it has done for them popularity-wise. (Not saying quality when including Michael Bay in the equation...) Mattel has been very very hands on with their properties. Whether I like the redesigns or not (So far for me, the good outweighs the bad), it seems like a good thing that Mattel is allowing a little more freedom with the characters.

Then again, I've never been one to be blinded by nostalgia. Yes, I love these lines at least partially because I loved them when I was a kid, but if you consistently add nothing new to the universe, I quickly lose interest...

I disagree with this post. I like the fact that Mattel doesn't let everyone run wild with their own ideas. The director of the 87 movie admitted that he disliked a lot about MOTU at the time and intentionally threw so much of it out the window. I find it disrespectful.

Look at the MYP cartoon. They turned Zodac - a neutral, calm character into a rage-aholic. They either totally misunderstood the character or thought that they could do better. Tsk tsk.

Regarding character design, everyone went crazy when Mattel changed He-Man's symbol from the cross to the asterix in 200X and now it's ok that the Sorceress looks like a call girl from a sci-fi movie?

Great characters and stories don't need to be reinvented. MOTU has so much untapped potetnial stories as is - why change it? Poeple talk about needing to add new elements to MOTU but we have barely scraped the surface of the stories surrounding the existing characters. Shouldn't we develop them first?

It's the same with this comic - is it too hard just to give us a comic where He-Man looks like He-Man? If there were multiple comics going then I would be happy for one of them to go a bit left of centre; but when there's only one comic going, IMO it should stay true to the established designs.

The MVC comic was so awesome; great illustration and great stories. I'm certainly open to other poeple doing a comic but it should be at least as good as the MVC one IMO.

[MegaGearMax]

Look at the MYP cartoon. They turned Zodac - a neutral, calm character into a rage-aholic. They either totally misunderstood the character or thought that they could do better. Tsk tsk.

Disagree about Zodak. They made him into a character with clear motivations and some history.

Mattel themselves didn't know what to do with Zodac or how to market him.

[phantom1592]

I disagree with this post. I like the fact that Mattel doesn't let everyone run wild with their own ideas. The director of the 87 movie admitted that he disliked a lot about MOTU at the time and intentionally threw so much of it out the window. I find it disrespectful.

Look at the MYP cartoon. They turned Zodac - a neutral, calm character into a rage-aholic. They either totally misunderstood the character or thought that they could do better. Tsk tsk.

Regarding character design, everyone went crazy when Mattel changed He-Man's symbol from the cross to the asterix in 200X and now it's ok that the Sorceress looks like a call girl from a sci-fi movie?

Great characters and stories don't need to be reinvented. MOTU has so much untapped potetnial stories as is - why change it? Poeple talk about needing to add new elements to MOTU but we have barely scraped the surface of the stories surrounding the existing characters. Shouldn't we develop them first?

It's the same with this comic - is it too hard just to give us a comic where He-Man looks like He-Man? If there were multiple comics going then I would be happy for one of them to go a bit left of centre; but when there's only one comic going, IMO it should stay true to the established designs.

The MVC comic was so awesome; great illustration and great stories. I'm certainly open to other poeple doing a comic but it should be at least as good as the MVC one IMO.

Disagree with both MGM and He-boy about Zodac.

I don't think he HAD a personality or character!!

Never in the minis.... Did NOTHING in Filmation.... Calm and neutral is a joke... Heck, not only did he rarely help the good guys, it takes an amageedon to get him to stand up out of his chair

The coolest thing about the toy was his sweet ray gun with the bullets carved on his belt.... not EXACTLY Ghandi there... I always prefered him from the 8-back bad guys

I dislike the Rage-aholic just as much as the neutral guy...



The REST of you post, I agree 100% though!

First of all... I love nostalgia. I HATE 'modernizations'...

That said... I can UNDERSTAND wanting to update GIJoe into a more modern army storyline.... I can UNDERSTAND Transformers turning into 2012 models of trucks and cars as opposed to the 80's versions... (though to be honest, a shiny NEW car stands out more than a mid 90-'s one.. JUST saying )

However... MOTU is FANTASY.

He-man running around bare-chested makes JUST as much sense today... as it did in the 80's... or barbarians of the 70's, 60's etc.... etc...

Honestly, that's why I always HATED Battle Armor He-man. They make it look like he needs more protection for his chest.... but his arms and legs are still bare.... Inserting realistic concerns... but keeping magic/fantasy just made it fail miserably to me.

He-man didnt' need armor in the beginning... because he was HE-MAN. Saying that NOW he does... but kinda doesn't... but should be protected here... but not really there... just doesn't work.

I'm USUALLY in favor of bad guys being bigger and more imposing.... but NOT when the main character is the #1 strongest guy EVER. Skeletor should be buff... as all eternians are. But he should not dwarf He-man. He's a demon... but he's about magic and power... not physical strength. He-man should NOT be concerned about a 'beat down'.


I'm REALLY.... REALLY hoping that this is all 'elseworlds' type story... where unpowered adam is trying to regain the power of he-man (which it sounds like...) Using whatever he can get his hands on.... He-man doesn't need chain mail.... Adam just MIGHT...

As for Sorceress... I don't noticed THAT much difference here. Of course... I always thought Sorceress was HOT.... between the smooth blue arms... and the miniskirt, she was always a hottie...

I was a LOT more upset with the 200x redesign of her, then I am with this one....

[TheFallen]

All this dislike, stop foolin yourselves you'll buy the comics I will, gladly.

I will read them but that doesn't mean I will buy them

[MegaGearMax]

The REST of you post, I agree 100% though!

First of all... I love nostalgia. I HATE 'modernizations'...

That said... I can UNDERSTAND wanting to update GIJoe into a more modern army storyline.... I can UNDERSTAND Transformers turning into 2012 models of trucks and cars as opposed to the 80's versions... (though to be honest, a shiny NEW car stands out more than a mid 90-'s one.. JUST saying )

However... MOTU is FANTASY.

He-man running around bare-chested makes JUST as much sense today... as it did in the 80's... or barbarians of the 70's, 60's etc.... etc...

I don't think so.

Trends change, even the way we LOOK at fantasy. In the 80's, near naked barbarian bodybulders wielding huge swords with hot babes at their legs was the thing to emulate. Now, we have dirty, bearded, middle-aged guys half that size decked out in full armor with their muted tones thanks to Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings.

Hell, even Conan got smaller and he was alot closer to Robert E. Howard's character than Ahnuld was.

Honestly, that's why I always HATED Battle Armor He-man. They make it look like he needs more protection for his chest.... but his arms and legs are still bare.... Inserting realistic concerns... but keeping magic/fantasy just made it fail miserably to me.

He-man didnt' need armor in the beginning... because he was HE-MAN. Saying that NOW he does... but kinda doesn't... but should be protected here... but not really there... just doesn't work.

I would think that sometimes the threat level would ramp up, making He-Man occasionally don some armor. The most powerful man in the universe should have some pretty powerful enemies.

I'm USUALLY in favor of bad guys being bigger and more imposing.... but NOT when the main character is the #1 strongest guy EVER. Skeletor should be buff... as all eternians are. But he should not dwarf He-man. He's a demon... but he's about magic and power... not physical strength. He-man should NOT be concerned about a 'beat down'.

I'm REALLY.... REALLY hoping that this is all 'elseworlds' type story... where unpowered adam is trying to regain the power of he-man (which it sounds like...) Using whatever he can get his hands on.... He-man doesn't need chain mail.... Adam just MIGHT...

One thing to consider is if Adam thinks he's a woddsman and if these are his dream versions of the characters, then that might be what we are seeing. Skeletor is bigger than He-Man, like it's a dream...

This is conjecture of course...

[Mr. Shokoti]

I HATE 'modernizations'...

That said... I can UNDERSTAND wanting to update GIJoe into a more modern army storyline.... I can UNDERSTAND Transformers turning into 2012 models of trucks and cars as opposed to the 80's versions... (though to be honest, a shiny NEW car stands out more than a mid 90-'s one.. JUST saying )

However... MOTU is FANTASY.

He-man running around bare-chested makes JUST as much sense today... as it did in the 80's... or barbarians of the 70's, 60's etc.... etc...

I'm USUALLY in favor of bad guys being bigger and more imposing.... but NOT when the main character is the #1 strongest guy EVER. Skeletor should be buff... as all eternians are. But he should not dwarf He-man. He's a demon... but he's about magic and power... not physical strength. He-man should NOT be concerned about a 'beat down'.

I was a LOT more upset with the 200x redesign of her, then I am with this one....

I agree with this 100%!!!

[Whiplash7]

Some people act like this franchise is the greatest thing in history in the eyes of the public, so it should all stay the same. Well, this franchise is a joke in the eyes of the public, and it doesn't even exist. If you want it to be successful again, there has to be a bit of reinventing. What we've seen in this artwork is hardly drastic. Yet people get up in arms, despite the fact that there are vintage variants that looked less like He-Man's normal look than the new artwork does.
It's not 'disrespectful' to change things up a bit. It would be more disrespectful to keep everything the same, stale and stagnant, and let the franchise stay dead.

[TheFallen]

Some people act like this franchise is the greatest thing in history in the eyes of the public, so it should all stay the same. Well, this franchise is a joke in the eyes of the public, and it doesn't even exist. If you want it to be successful again, there has to be a bit of reinventing. What we've seen in this artwork is hardly drastic. Yet people get up in arms, despite the fact that there are vintage variants that looked less like He-Man's normal look than the new artwork does.
It's not 'disrespectful' to change things up a bit. It would be more disrespectful to keep everything the same, stale and stagnant, and let the franchise stay dead.

I understand what you are saying but this comic is not directed at the public. It is a comic book and the most people who are going to get it are MOTU fans. Comics don't sell to the general public otherwise Avengers comics would be pulling in early 90's sale numbers

[Mr. Shokoti]

I understand what you are saying but this comic is not directed at the public. It is a comic book and the most people who are going to get it are MOTU fans. Comics don't sell to the general public otherwise Avengers comics would be pulling in early 90's sale numbers

Exactly. Toys & comics are never going to be as huge as they've been in the past. Unless it's a movie or video game, being popular with a vocal minority is about as good as it's going to get for MOTU, Marvel & DC Comics, G.I. Joe, or any similar franchise. Avengers is a popular movie right now, but most of the people who have seen not only have no intention of ever buying a comic, they'll continue to look down on those who do.

[grenadaspice]

I don't mind the Skeletor and Sorceress designs (I'm actually quite fond of them), but He-Man is WAY too puny. He's the most powerful man in the universe, so he should LOOK like the most powerful man in the universe! The armor he's wearing looks too big for him, and what's with those skinny little legs? He doesn't look intimidating at all!
I was really looking forward to this comic, but unless He-Man starts looking more like a MAN instead of a teenage barbarian wanna-be playing dressup, I may have to pass. For me, He-Man's look makes or break MOTU incarnations. Get He-Man wrong and the whole story falls apart.

Somebody isn't a fan of New Adventures. Lol. But, all jokes aside, I think the look is great. I think it's different enough that if Mattel wanted to bring a new MOTU toy line to retail that's separate from MOTUC, this would a good direction to go. Or, what are the possibilities of of a line of figures based on this style being released by DC Direct?

[MegaGearMax]

Exactly. Toys & comics are never going to be as huge as they've been in the past. Unless it's a movie or video game, being popular with a vocal minority is about as good as it's going to get for MOTU, Marvel & DC Comics, G.I. Joe, or any similar franchise. Avengers is a popular movie right now, but most of the people who have seen not only have no intention of ever buying a comic, they'll continue to look down on those who do.

Oh yeah? Well, at least I know who the people at the end of all those movies were! Take that!

[Whiplash7]

I understand what you are saying but this comic is not directed at the public. It is a comic book and the most people who are going to get it are MOTU fans. Comics don't sell to the general public otherwise Avengers comics would be pulling in early 90's sale numbers

Well, you have to start somewhere, right? If only motu fans are going to buy the book, then it's doomed, I think we're all in this thread
I would hope it would branch out to other comic readers who will check it out, that might have been fans of motu 30 years ago. Or new fans. I haven't read a comic book in 25 years, but I'll probably seek this out b/c I like the sound of the story, and it might be fun. Maybe someone who hasn't had anything to do with He-Man in 25 years might do the same.

[MegaGearMax]

Well, you have to start somewhere, right? If only motu fans are going to buy the book, then it's doomed, I think we're all in this thread
I would hope it would branch out to other comic readers who will check it out, that might have been fans of motu 30 years ago. Or new fans. I haven't read a comic book in 25 years, but I'll probably seek this out b/c I like the sound of the story, and it might be fun. Maybe someone who hasn't had anything to do with He-Man in 25 years might do the same.

I remember Transformers. Reading that comic slowly introduced me to other comics out there. G.I. Joe was next, then X-Men and Classic X-Men, then anything McFarlane did...

[TheFallen]

I remember Transformers. Reading that comic slowly introduced me to other comics out there. G.I. Joe was next, then X-Men and Classic X-Men, then anything McFarlane did...

I started the exact same way except it was GI Joe first and then Transformers.

[Telkan2]

Interesting to see that twist for the modern audience translates into the Sorceress revealing more skin for drooling fanboys. Geez...

Exactly! I love that the Sorceress has more-or-less (with emphasis on the latter) her traditional frock, but does it really need to be cut down to her navel? Seriously? Assuming she's still the keeper of Castle Grayskull in this series, isn't her outfit a bit lacking for a drafty old castle?

Nonetheless, I'm uber-excited for the new comics! I hope they at least acknowledge the entirety of the mythos, including the POP and NA characters.

[SKELEPIMP]

Talk about doing the exact opposite of what's WORKING! They could of gone epic classic with larger than life Ed Mcguiness or Eric Powell vintage style but instead are gona try and be "creative" and "realistic".

The Classics line has breathed new life into a line that was pretty much dead and burried.
But returning to the core elements and getting back to the source material. This is overwhelmingly BORING!

[Akai]

Giving how monstrous Skeletor looks, there's no way for me to hear Alan Oppenheimer's voice when I read his lines since it won't suit him. He would definitely have to sound menacing.

[Rubicon]

I do not care for these drawings.

[bskcase]

I'm not that thrilled with them. It's hard to say now. I got to wait until I see the actual comic book before I can form a full opinion. He-man needs to look a little more bulked up.