Mini-comic via motuminicomics.com
My last post offered a MOTU Mini-Comics Checklist, so in this post I wanted to put together a MOTU Action Figure Checklist.
This information was pulled from a visual list of all of the Masters of the Universe figures, via this excellent webpage: http://pages.suddenlink.net/soundwavempl/motuvfigs/motuvfigs.html
MOTU Mini-comics
Every MOTU action figure originally came with a mini-comic in the package. The comics are mostly origin stories, and turned out to be one of the main features of their collectibility.
Plus, the books were (and still are) really fun to read.
Especially the first wave of books– penciled by DC and Marvel artists. Want to read them? They’re all online @ He-man.org: Comics
As I went through my own stack, I started to wonder how many comics actually existed. A quick search revealed this: a Masters of the Universe Mini-Comics Checklist by “synthalus” from the he-man.org forums. Excellent work, sir.
Between FailBlog and Keyboard Cat, YouTube has always provided my friends and I with hours of entertainment. I didn’t realize the true power of YouTube’s addictiveness until I found “HeMan’s Channel.”
You can watch the first 13 full cartoon episodes of “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” Season 1 on YouTube.
As I was doing some research on how to list my old MOTU toys, I had to search around for info about some confusing abbreviations I found. Two sites were helpful for me, so I want to list them here for reference.
Now that I’m getting ready to start putting my old MOTU guys from childhood up on eBay, I’ve run into a pretty common stumbling block: is it sellable, or is it scrap?
I asked that question on the He-man.org forums, and got a few responses about how & why people collect. http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/showthread.php?p=2473511
With Masters of the Universe action figures– and action figures in general– there are two rating scales widely used in the collector community.
So, what’s the difference?
Mattel Exec: “Hurricane Hordak is old news, boys. How do we make him better?“
Creative Director: “Glow-in-the-dark tested through the roof… Glow-dak?“
Mattel Exec: “Ugh, hell no. We did that with Scare Glow. I need something fresh, exciting… something to make Hordak an ultimate power in Eternia!“
Creative Director: “The power to summon hurricanes is pretty devastating, maybe we should just let marketing ramp that one up for a few weeks before we…“
Intern: [quietly] “How about a boomerang saw blade in his chest that he fires out?“
Mattel Exec: “Brilliant!“
Creative Director: *slaps forehead*
Even though it’s a blatant cash-rules revenue booster whenever a figure takes on strange new forms… as a kid, I loved it. Buzz-Saw Hordak hits my Top 5 All-time Favorite Toy list.
Welcome back, it’s been an exciting week in the basement. As the Dude would say, “New sh*t has come to light.”
First things first, I did a photo shoot with a dozen of the MOTU figures.
Remember HS senior pictures? Like that, but minus the decorative ficus and cheap ivy-league blue blazer. The only ambiance here was Castle Grayskull in the background.
Sy-Klone in a contemplative pose @ Castle Greyskull
Shockingly, all of the figures could stand on their own after 25 years in a box. MOTU are notorious for loose-joints.
And, all of the various accessories (swords, spears, time keys, etc.) were present & accounted for. Fan-tastic.
Here’s a few pictures of the first dozen Masters of the Universe out of the box.
“I have the power!…” and the time to clean the basement, so here we go. Finally dug in last week and went through one of the boxes marked “He-Man” to see exactly what was hanging out inside. I wasn’t surprised to find it filled to the top with guys, vehicles, castles, etc.
Me and He-Man, we go way back.
I’m embarking on my new project of downsizing & minimizing, with Step 1 being to go through the random clutter I’ve stuffed away in random dark corners over the past 30 years. Hmm, looks like there’s a lot. Bear with me. However, good news: in two boxes I found down in the basement, the clutter has turned out to be a trip down memory lane.
A pair of 24" x 36" cardboard treasure chests
Have you ever cleaned out a room, uncovering a long-forgotten box of toys & collectibles?
I found a couple of them, each bursting with various 80s & 90s toys from my childhood. And I’ve decided to start a little eBay adventure to try and empty out the corner.
But first, 3 things you should know:
And, friends, I’m all-in on this one. So at this point my decluttering has turned into a full-fledged design project; you can expect the logos, templates and images to follow soon hereafter.
Say “hello” to Nostalgia-In-A-Box.
Talk again soon. B
Nostalgia-in-a-Box Blog 