If yesterday’s news of Factory Entertainment’s life-sized Power Sword replica wasn’t enough for Masters of the Universe fans to get excited about, Dark Horse has some good news. The publisher has announced a new series of Masters of the Universe: Revelation prequel comics that will arrive later this year and set up the events of the forthcoming Netflix animated series of the same name.
The four-issue miniseries will be written by Tim Sheridan, who also writes for the animated series, based on a story conceived by series heads Kevin Smith and Rob David. Artist Mindy Lee is named in the release as providing art and colors, though the cover for the first issue also names colorist Rico Renzi, so it’s unclear what his role will be. Deron Bennett will letter the series, the first issue of which will feature a main cover by Stjepan Sejic and a variant cover by Mike Mignola & Dave Stewart. Future issues of the series will sport main covers by Dave Wilkins, and variants by comics legends including Walt Simonson & Laura Martin and Bill Sienkiewicz.
Here’s how Dark Horse describes Masters of the Universe: Revelation:
In the comic book, following a vicious Orlax attack on his father King Randor, He-Man learns the creature is linked to the origin of the sword of power. To save Randor and put an end to the chaos, He-Man embarks on an epic journey that pits him against his longtime foes Skeletor and Evil-Lyn, and sees Teela take the reins of a powerful legacy.
Masters of the Universe has a long history in comics, with each of the original Mattel figures including a mini-comic telling their story, and multiple series over the years from publishers including DC Comics and Image Comics. Most recently the license has resided at DC, with the most recent series, He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse, wrapping last year. Revelation will not be Dark Horse’s first foray with the property, though, as they produced minicomics for several of Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Classics action figures back in 2010-2011. Dark Horse has also published a hardcover collection of all of the original Masters of the Universe mini-comics, which was released in 2015.
Mignola’s involvement, even in the form of just a single variant cover, isn’t entirely surprising. Quite a few of Mignola’s quarantine sketches (all of which have been collected in a charity hardcover edition) from last year featured Masters of the Universe characters, including this one from just under a year ago that bears a striking resemblance to the finished variant cover:
— Mike Mignola (@artofmmignola) May 3, 2020
Check out the full text of the announcement from Dark Horse below. The first issue of the four-issue Masters of the Universe: Revelation series arrives in stores in July.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., (April 22, 2021)—Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) and Dark Horse Comics announced today the upcoming release of the “Masters of the Universe: Revelation,” comic book series of four comics. Featuring four comics to be released starting in July 2021, the series will serve as a prequel to the upcoming “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” series from Netflix and Mattel Television premiering this year.
The story arc for the new comics was conceived by the show’s executive producers Kevin Smith (“Clerks,” “Dogma”) and Rob David (“He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”),who also served as the creative director and a writer of DC Comics’ Masters of the Universe releases from 2012 – 2020, as well as show writer Tim Sheridan (“Reign of the Supermen,” “Superman: Man of Tomorrow”). Mindy Lee (“Crimson Lotus,” “Bounty”) provided art and color while, Stjepan Sejic (“He-Man: The Eternity War”) provided cover art for issue #1 with Dave Wilkins providing cover art for issues #2-#4. Mattel and Dark Horse will also release an issue #1 variant by Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart. Additional variant artists for subsequent issues include Bill Sienkiewicz, Walt Simonson with Laura Martin, and more.
“When the Masters of the Universe franchise first launched nearly 40 years ago, each action figure came with a comic book to enable children to further explore the world of Eternia,” said David. “Now, in partnership with Dark Horse, we will go back to our roots to set-up the upcoming “Masters of the Universe: Revelation,” television series with a world-shattering comic book tale.”
In the comic book, following a vicious Orlax attack on his father King Randor, He-Man learns the creature is linked to the origin of the sword of power. To save Randor and put an end to the chaos, He-Man embarks on an epic journey that pits him against his longtime foes Skeletor and Evil-Lyn, and sees Teela take the reins of a powerful legacy.
The first installment of four for the “Masters of the Universe: Revelation” comic is currently available for pre-order and will be released July 7, 2021. Additional comic books will be released on August 11, September 9, and October 13, 2021.
That Mignola cover is absolutely awful.
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