He-Man and the Masters of the Universe are returning to television with a new animated series and Dark Horse Comics has teamed up with Mattel to create a prequel comic book series.
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.