Review – Masters of the Universe: Genesis #1 (Dark Horse Comics)

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Rich Douek
Artist: Gavin Smith
Colorist: Fabi Marques
Letterer: AndWorld Design
Release Date: 5th August 2026

It’s safe to say that Dark Horse are going all-out with their Masters of the Universe content in recent months. For those keeping score at home, here’s what’s currently on the slate: firstly, we have the four-part “Masters of the Universe: Wings of Fate” mini, which is set in the world of Travis Knight’s movie and takes a look at what Orko did during the events of the big-screen story; next, we have the “Sword of Flaws” a four-part miniseries which has now been expanded to an ongoing series, simply entitled “Masters of the Universe”, which continues with issue #6 next week. However, “Masters of the Universe: Genesis” – on sale this week – is something different entirely – a twelve-issue series diving into the history of Eternia “through the eyes of its most heroic and most evil warriors.”

The series is broken down into four three‑issue arcs, and the first kicks off here with a Skeletor‑centric story that sees him building his power base and recruiting henchmen ahead of his first assault on Grayskull. Rich Douek handles writing duties and does a solid job in this opening chapter, giving us the first meeting between Skeletor, the Mer‑People, and the Beast Men, and setting the “Evil Lord of Destruction” up with two of his most iconic allies.

Artist Gavin Smith, colourist Fabi Marques, and letterer AndWorld Design more than hold up their end of the bargain on the visual side. Smith delivers a slightly grittier – and dare I say, more realistic – version of Eternia than some of the more cartoony offerings in recent years. I love the variety of designs among the Mer‑People and Beast Men, each with distinct aesthetics that avoid the pitfall of simply producing a collection of Mer‑Man and Beast Man clones. Marques is clearly having an absolute blast with the colours, letting Skeletor’s Havoc Staff blasts light up the pages with striking pinks and whites, and giving the extended campfire scene – where Skeletor explains his history – a dark, foreboding feel.

That backstory sequence is, for me, the highlight of the issue. Basically anything involving Hordak and the Horde is guaranteed to bring a smile to my face, and both Douek and Smith do a fantastic job of bringing the villains to the page with real menace. Hordak himself looks the business, and we’re treated to a disappointingly brief skirmish between master and student, featuring a jaw‑dropping double‑page spread from Smith. Great stuff.

While it’s difficult to see what new ground is being broken here – or what the hundredth retelling of Skeletor’s origin story (or at least the most popular version of it) is hoping to achieve – it has to be said that the entire creative team absolutely knocks it out of the park, delivering a visually striking and narratively fresh interpretation of this somewhat well‑worn tale. For me, though, the real meat of this first arc is going to come in the next two issues, as Skeletor’s march to Castle Grayskull takes him through the city of Opreon and – inevitably – leads to him picking up more Evil Warriors along the way. Well worth a look if you’re a MOTU fan, although don’t expect any wheels to be reinvented here.

Rating: 4/5.

[PREVIEW ARTWORK – CLICK TO ENLARGE]