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Thread: original art from unpublished he-man origin comic!

  1. October 26, 2009, 10:58pm #1
    LORD FALLEN ELDOR
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    original art from unpublished he-man origin comic!

    Prepare to have your mind blown! Search on E-bay to find a collection of original art from an unpublished MOTU comic book! The pages where penciled by Adrian Gonzales and are for sale by lewis wayne gallery. So far 32 pages are known to exist with only 3 of the first 10 accompanying the others. Page 16 is the last one that got as far as the inking stage, with the rest being in a loose penciled stage. All the pages have been lettered, and edited, though it seams not completely. Unfortunately the story does not end at the 32nd page and we are left to ponder what else might have happened in this lost tale! The story is a retelling of He-Man's origin and was created in 1984 according to the seller. The most interesting thing is that this is not Filmation's Adam/He-Man, and it isn't even Mattel's original barbarian tales. This is all together something different! We are introduced to the the scawny son of a sheperd who along with his love Shalda are attacked by Skeletor's demon army (rather generic looking bunch, no Beastman or Me-Man even...) The shepherd's son life is saved by Man-At-Arms and some unnamed Healer who use ancient technology transforming the young boy into the mighty "He-Man". The story continues, but don't let me spoil all of it for you. Nothing about the inker, editor or publisher is given in the items description, but I'm about to email the current owner to try and find out more about this.

    http://kotaku.com/why-fanboys-act-like-jerks-1563379006

    'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:36-40).
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  2. October 27, 2009, 07:02am #2
    Tallstar
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    Very cool stuff. I'll have to save and organize these pages to read through later.

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  3. October 27, 2009, 07:27am #3
    He-Fan
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    Chris here...

    Those look absolutely incredible! But, I have to ask the question - does the auction description state which publishing house this comic was being prouduced for? Because it's possible, particularly given the radically different origin being presented, that these were either a really, really beautifully-done fanfic (like "Homecoming"), or part of a failed pitch to revive the series...

    If you can post up any more details you find out that would be awesome - thanks for letting us all know about this!

    Take care...
    Part of the "Kidult" craze long before it was a thing! : )
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  4. October 27, 2009, 07:38am #4
    Tallstar
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    It doesn't say, Chris. Here's what the description says:

    ADRIAN GONZALES (1937 - 1998) drew for such 1960s Philippine comics publications as Hiwaga Komiks and Tagalog Klasiks. Like many of his countrymen, he went to work for the US market during the 1970s, where he drew for Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction, World's Finest, and others.

    This is the original art for page 3 of an unpublished Masters of the Universe origin story, retelling He-Man's origin, circa 1984. The art is in very good condition with light overall wear and aging. The image area measures 14" x 17".
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  5. October 27, 2009, 07:52am #5
    hhhelmsley
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    WOW!! That looks awesome.
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  6. October 27, 2009, 09:21am #6
    Tallstar
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    Interesting that they explain the name He-Man as well.
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  7. October 27, 2009, 10:29am #7
    Sallah
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    Well, there goes my spending cash for the month...just bought 3 pages!

    Sallah
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  8. October 27, 2009, 10:46am #8
    DisneyBoy
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    It took me an embarassingly long time to figure out how to see the pictures in large format. I'm really liking the artwork, and even the liberties taken in the story. The old wizard is a curious guy, but likeable enough. The dialogue flows rather well and is believable. Man-At-Arms looks really cool, even if his suit now looks somewhat like Darth Vader's unmasked innards.

    Don't know why a machine gives He-Man his powers, but I liked the rhyme about the swords and the Castle...a lot! Hmmm...having trouble viewing the pages in the twenties onwards. At least they worked in Battle Cat there...

    REALLY liked him calling Teela his girlfriend's name. Honestly, if they'd been more original with the source material when making the MOTU movie, this could have been an acceptable enough reinvention for fans, I think.

    Really cool script...wish we'd see more from Skeletor, but I guess they're building up to us seeing more of him later on, which is always a good technique. Sad there isn't more of this! I'd have happily kept on reading!

    EDIT: Sallah you stinker! You totally bought the drawings with the rhyme on them, didn't you? Good purchase - just be sure to share those scans with the rest of the folks here, I think they'd like them.

    Best reaction shot? "OR IS IT!!?!" LOL - Crazy old man....
    Last edited by DisneyBoy; October 27, 2009 at 10:51am.
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  9. October 27, 2009, 10:49am #9
    Sallah
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    Yeah, I'm having trouble with pages 23, 24, 25, and 26... everything else worked fine...

    And by the way... Gonzales was the penciller on the "Masters Of the Universe: The Sunbird Legacy" book... so that definitely lends validity to this being a real unproduced origin and not some fan created material...

    Sallah
    Last edited by Sallah; October 27, 2009 at 10:57am.
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  10. October 27, 2009, 11:00am #10
    Tallstar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DisneyBoy View Post
    The old wizard is a curious guy, but likeable enough.
    Did I read correctly that his name is MOON SPINNER?... to Shadow Weaver's LIGHT SPINNER.
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  11. October 27, 2009, 11:03am #11
    DisneyBoy
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    Old men I guess are more moon types...moon...loon...
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  12. October 27, 2009, 11:19am #12
    Sallah
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    Oh, and if you change the numbers on the links for the larger images, you can find the missing early pages:

    Page 6-
    http://www.lewiswaynegallery.com/images/12498_6.jpg

    Page 7-
    http://www.lewiswaynegallery.com/images/12498_7.jpg

    Page 9-
    http://www.lewiswaynegallery.com/images/12498_9.jpg

    Page 10 (BATTLE RAM!!!!)-
    http://www.lewiswaynegallery.com/images/12498_10.jpg

    Sallah
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  13. October 27, 2009, 11:29am #13
    geooco
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    Very nice find.
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  14. October 27, 2009, 11:45am #14
    Sallah
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    Got a reply:

    "These pages came from the Random House archives and were rendered on paper used by Whitman comics. Whitman had the production rights to the characters in 1984 and probably 1985 (DC had them in 1982 and 1983, and Marvel had them from 1986 to 1988). "

    Something tells me this predates the DC run though...the lack of armor on Battle Cat, and the small selection of characters makes this feel REALLY early...

    Edit: I just remembered...wasn't Whitman the company that handled the mini-comics? Donald Glut interview segment:

    "I'd been writing comic-book and filler text stories for Western Publishing Company (a.k.a. Whitman, Gold Key Comics and Golden Press). Western then had an account with the Mattel toy company. One day my editor at Western, Del Connell, told me that Mattel was coming out with a new line of toys called Masters of the Universe and needed someone to write four booklets that would be included with the toys. "

    I am thinking that this was Whitman's attempt a doing a comic tie-in for the original line before the DC series...

    Sallah
    Last edited by Sallah; October 27, 2009 at 11:50am.
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  15. October 27, 2009, 11:59am #15
    Tallstar
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    It almost seems like a bit of a precursor to what eventually became New Adventures. haha

    Also, it's funny how so many of the females have the "Sh" names. Shalda, Sharella, She-Ra...
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  16. October 27, 2009, 12:01pm #16
    Sallah
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    Just shot an e-mail to Donald Glut to see if he recognizes it...

    Sallah
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  17. October 27, 2009, 12:12pm #17
    Mystical Musician
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    Amazing find!
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  18. October 27, 2009, 12:19pm #18
    DisneyBoy
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    It's cool uncovering stuff like this...or those interior designs for Castle Greyskull.
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  19. October 27, 2009, 12:34pm #19
    Wilson622
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    Sweet! Can't wait to read these. Someone please correct me if I am wrong but these are the only ones that I am able to view/find:
    3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22

    Missing pages:
    1, 2, 5, 8 and 23 on up?

    Does that sound right?
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  20. October 27, 2009, 12:41pm #20
    Sallah
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wilson622 View Post
    Sweet! Can't wait to read these. Someone please correct me if I am wrong but these are the only ones that I am able to view/find:
    3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22

    Missing pages:
    1, 2, 5, 8 and 23 on up?

    Does that sound right?
    1 and 2 are missing, but the rest are there. 5 is part of the splash page with 4.

    Here's 8 (that's one of the ones I bought)-

    http://www.lewiswaynegallery.com/images/12498_8.jpg

    23, 24, 25, and 26 are up on auction, but for some reason the larger size pics won't load. Everything past that is up and does work though.

    EDIT: E-mailed the guy...he has now fixed the links for pages 23-26!

    If you can't find any, just cut and paste this link:

    lewiswaynegallery.com/images/12498_8.jpg

    Change that red 8 into whatever page you want to view...but again, there's no 1 or 2, 5 is part of 4, and 23-26 aren't working.

    Sallah
    Last edited by Sallah; October 27, 2009 at 04:21pm.
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  21. October 27, 2009, 01:04pm #21
    victoryleo19
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    holy crap these are awesome! id have loved to see more dragons and demons in motu as a kid!
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  22. October 27, 2009, 01:12pm #22
    King Kahn
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    someone needs to archive these on the Org STAT!!!!!!
    cogito ergo doleo
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  23. October 27, 2009, 01:16pm #23
    Tallstar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DisneyBoy View Post
    It's cool uncovering stuff like this...or those interior designs for Castle Greyskull.
    Definitely. It's awesome stuff like this is still surfacing so many years later. Soooo tempted to buy the Shalda pages, but I'll leave 'em to other fans.

    In a way, it's kinda cool some of the pages are missing. hehe
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  24. October 27, 2009, 01:34pm #24
    Sallah
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    Yeah, I'm very curious what those missing first 2 pages were...since page 3 begins "prologue". Maybe page 1 was the actual cover, and page 2 was the introductory splash page?

    It's great that the rest is all together though! Maybe everybody that purchases a page should get together, have the inks completed, get it colored, and publish it

    Got a reply from Donald Glut...unfortunately he's never seen them. I'm still thinking that these are pre-DC pages for an unproduced Whitman mini though...

    EDIT: I put all pages in order on my blog if you don't want to try and track them all down on ebay:

    http://mastersoftheuniverseclassics.blogspot.com/2009/10/holy-cow-never-before-seen-unpublished.html

    Oh yeah...and I want a Moonspinner Classics figure now

    Sallah
    Last edited by Sallah; October 27, 2009 at 05:09pm. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
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  25. October 27, 2009, 05:17pm #25
    LORD FALLEN ELDOR
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    I'd rather not speculate at this point without knowing all the facts. We can be certain that this is not fan fiction. If anyone would like to help, please email/PM me so we can coordinate our research efforts.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sallah View Post
    And by the way... Gonzales was the penciller on the "Masters Of the Universe: The Sunbird Legacy" book... so that definitely lends validity to this being a real unproduced origin and not some fan created material...

    Sallah
    Yes. Good call. It took me awhile to recall that Carrillo did not work alone alone on Golden Book's The Sunbird Legacy...

    Quote Originally Posted by Sallah View Post
    I'm still thinking that these are pre-DC pages for an unproduced Whitman mini though...

    Sallah
    Right tree, wrong branch I think. When I have more I'll let everyone know.
    Last edited by LORD FALLEN ELDOR; October 27, 2009 at 05:21pm.
    http://kotaku.com/why-fanboys-act-like-jerks-1563379006

    'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:36-40).
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