Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Tim Seeley
Artwork: Eddie Nunez
Colours: Brad Simpson
Lettering: AndWorld Design
Release Date: 4th October 2023

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The first issue of this series saw King Randor’s diplomatic mission to Anwat Gar hit a major stumbling block, with Evil-Lyn impersonating Adam and convincing Dash-Shel, the son of the Gar leader Hera Caine, to steal a valuable artifact before leaving him hospitalised with her dark magic. And as Tim Seeley and Eddie Nunez’s series unfolds this month, it’s clear that the Gar are treating this as nothing less than an act of war by the people of Eternos.  

One of the things I’m particularly enjoying about this series, now that we’ve got the necessary exposition out of the way, is just how accessible it is, with Seeley delivering high-rate storytelling that anyone can understand alongside the deep cut Easter eggs for the He-Man die-hards.  Sure, there are a lot of references and moments that will likely resonate a little more for those with prior MOTU knowledge, but the basic premise, with its political machinations and interpersonal drama, should be pretty darned universal.

As you can see from the preview below, it doesn’t take long for the Gar to reciprocate against Randor’s caravan, and the ensuing battle gives us some of the familiar action that has become a hallmark of the Masters of the Universe over the years.  The technologically-advanced Gar make for a formidable adversary, and give He-Man ample opportunity to showcase his “Most Powerful Man in the Universe” credentials on the page.  Elsewhere, we get some of the usual tension between Skeletor and Evil-Lyn about the best course of action, prompting the latter to take some fairly drastic steps in order to cover her tracks.

As expected, Nunez puts in another stellar shift with the artwork, delivering some chunky, dynamic and expressive characters who feel like they’ve been ripped straight out of the Netflix Revelation series (which, regardless of your personal opinion of it, I think we can all agree looked the business.) The action flows smoothly throughout, and colourist Brad Simpson continues to fill things out beautifully with his cartoon-accurate colour work.

The final pages, which feature Evil-Lyn’s aforementioned “drastic steps”, see us circling back around to the critically injured Dash-Shel, who it seems is going to have a drastically different origin story than any we’ve seen in the various Masters of the Universe media over the decades. I’m all for it though, and seeing Seeley continue to stamp his distinctive mark on established He-Man lore is a real thrill.

For my money, this is shaping up to be Dark Horse’s best MOTU comic book offering to date.  Which, given their stellar track record to this point, is quite a statement. Packed with thrills, action, drama and plenty of clever nods to previous source material, this is a series you owe it to yourself to check out.

Rating: 4/5.

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[PREVIEW ARTWORK – CLICK TO ENLARGE]

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The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson-Adams (aka Ceej)
Article Archive: Ceej Says
You can follow Ceej on Twitter

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