Author: Adam

History

Masters of the Universe Timeline (1971-1987)

Posted on by Adam

In my continuing quest to understand the history of the vintage Masters of the Universe toyline, I’ve put together the following timeline. It’s generally focused on toy design, drawing dates from concept artwork, internal Mattel documents, patent filings, trademark filings, and even the Masters of the Universe Bible. My goal here is to give readers a sense of how the He-Man toyline developed and evolved. I’ve also included a few dates gleaned from the CPI (Conan Properties International) vs Mattel court cases. I believe this will help put to bed the idea that He-Man started out as a Conan figure. While He-Man was certainly influenced by Conan as depicted by Frank Frazetta, the He-Man project predates Mattel’s work on the Conan property by some time.

I drew on a number of different sources in compiling this information. Those sources include:

This is by no means an exhaustive timeline. I included only those pieces of information that were dated in some way. That includes information from court cases that was assigned an approximate date, like an early 1981 date for Tony Guerrero’s He-Man prototype. That also means that undated material like Mark Taylor’s Demo Man concept or Roger Sweet’s Mekaneck concept are not included in the timeline. I could of course infer dates for this kind of material, but I wanted to avoid guessing and stick to known facts.

I also have stayed away from dates tied to media not directly related to toy production. There are many specific dates available for individual episodes of the Filmation He-Man cartoon, for instance, but that is really outside of the parameters of this particular project.

I have only included a few images of concept designs here – some of them appear in earlier posts in this blog, and almost all of them appear in the sources I drew from. Unfortunately it would not be practical to try to include all of them in this post.

Finally, I’ve included some names that were listed in the Masters of the Universe Bible. The Bible itself is dated December 1, 1982, which gives us an early (if not exact) date for at least the conceptual existence of characters like Orko (or Gorpo, as he was first named) and Jitsu (or Chopper).

Update: on December 28, 2022, I updated this post with additional dates from previous research. That includes “first use in commerce” dates from the US Trademark office, which they say means:

“A date of first use in commerce is the date when (1) the goods were first sold or transported, or the services were first rendered, under the mark in a type of commerce that may be lawfully regulated by the U.S. Congress (such as interstate commerce or commerce between the United States and a foreign country), and (2) such use was bona fide and in the ordinary course of trade.”

Update 2: On January 1, 2023 I added first newspaper ad appearance dates from this article.

Update 3 (May 26, 2023): I recently noticed in a 2015 Slashfilm article about the MOTU toyline and movie, one of the people they interviewed was Joe Morrison, an EVP of Marketing at Mattel. Joe is quoted as saying:

When we got the go-ahead from management to do the original toy line, we put in an estimate of, like, $12 million in sales. Well, we didn’t even release the toy until May of that year and we wound up doing $32 million. These were significant numbers in 1982.

This supports the data that I’ve been finding that all points to a May 1982 release date for the Masters of the Universe toyline.

1971

“King of Styx” – illustration for a short story by Mark Taylor. Some elements later reused for Skeletor. Image courtesy of Rebecca Salari Taylor

1971: “The King of Styx” concept, by Mark Taylor

1979

Torak, by Mark Taylor – 1979. Image source: The Power and the Honor Foundation

1979: First Castle Grayskull sketch, by Mark Taylor
1979: Torak (very early He-Man) sketch, by Mark Taylor
08/15/1979: Category Management Teams memo

1980

December 1980: Roger Sweet’s “He-Man” trio; the barbarian figure was based on designs by Mark Taylor

05/22/1980: Fantasy Make Believe idea disclosure form
06/11/1980: Male Action Figure attributes list
09/08/1980: Figure Attributes list
09/21/1980: Space/Monster/Fantasy Figures budgeted hours form
11/03/1980: Megaton Man project request form
11/??/1980: Work started on “He-Man trio”, Roger Sweet; Barbarian He-Man based on illustration by Mark Taylor (late November)
12/??/1980: He-Man trio presented at Mattel Product Conference (mid-December)
12/30/1980: He-Man Characters & Accessories idea disclosure form

1981

Tony Guerrero’s early 1981 He-Man prototype. Image source: Tomart’s Action Figure Digest.

1981: Bird Man (Stratos) concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Mer-Man concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Castle Grayskull concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Battle Cat concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Sensor (Zodac) concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Battle Tester/Combat Trainer concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Heroic Figure (He-Man) concept, by Mark Taylor
1981: Heroic Figure (He-Man) battles plant monster concept, by Mark Taylor
01/06/1981: He-Man Vehicles and Accessories idea disclosure form (modular vehicles)
01/23/1981: Drawing by Colin Bailey depicting Mark Taylor working on He-Man project
03/30/1981: De-Man (Skeletor) concept, by Mark Taylor
04/01/1981: Man-At-Arms concept, by Mark Taylor
04/02/1981: Tree Man (Beast Man) concept, by Mark Taylor
04/06/1981: He-Man (tan boots) concept, by Mark Taylor
04/07/1981: Battle Ram (tank treads version) concept, by Ted Mayer
04/24/1981: Memorandum urging negotiation for Conan license
04/27/1981: Revised Battle Ram concept art drawings, by Ted Mayer
05/03/1981: He-Man (red/yellow boots) concept, by Mark Taylor
05/05/1981: CPI draft licensing agreement sent
05/20/1981: Skull Castle (Castle Grayskull) Weapons Rack & Weapons by Mark Taylor
05/28/1981: Female Warrior (Teela) concept, by Mark Taylor
05/28/1981: Battle Ram control drawing, by Ted Mayer
06/03/1981: Sorceress concept, by Mark Taylor
06/05/1981: Battle Chariot concept, by Ted Mayer
07/??/1981: He-Man designed by this month, per CPI vs Mattel lawsuit
07/09/1981: Draft Skeletor toy head design document
07/14/1981: Memorandum discussing Mattel’s presentation of He-Man to Toys ‘R’ Us
07/23/1981: Tony Guerrero worked on Conan toys from this date until Sept 11, 1981
07/31/1981: CPI and Mattel entered license agreement to manufacture toys based on Conan movie
08/10/1981: Attak Trak mechanism patent filed (non-Mattel)
09/16/1981: Mer-Man sword design concept, by Mark Taylor
09/30/1981: “Proprietary Line Concepts” document (Megaton Man, Kid Gallant, Robin & The Space Hoods, Monster Fantasy/He-Man)
11/28/1981: King of Castle Grayskull published per copyright records
11/28/1981: He-Man and the Power Sword published per copyright records
11/28/1981: The Vengeance of Skeletor published per copyright records
12/08/1981: He-Man first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Battle Cat first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Battle Ram first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Beast Man first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Man-At-Arms first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Teela first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Mer-Man first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Stratos first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Wind Raider first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Zodac first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Masters of the Universe first use in commerce
12/08/1981: Filmation animated commercial retakes shot
12/14/1981: He-Man trademarked
12/14/1981: Teela trademarked
12/14/1981: Man-At-Arms trademarked
12/14/1981: Stratos trademarked
12/14/1981: Wind Raider trademarked
12/14/1981: Battle Ram trademarked
12/14/1981: Beast Man trademarked
12/14/1981: Mer-Man trademarked
12/14/1981: Zodac trademarked
12/14/1981: Masters of the Universe trademarked
12/21/1981: Battle Cat trademarked
12/21/1981: Castle Grayskull Trap Door patent filed
12/28/1981: Skeletor first use in commerce
12/28/1981: Castle Grayskull first use in commerce

1982

Attak Trak concept drawing, by Ted Mayer – Mark 23, 1982. Image courtesy of Ted Mayer

1982: Gargo/Gargoyle dragon concept, by Mark Taylor
1982: Ram Man concept, by Mark Taylor
1982: Man-E-Faces concept, by Mark Taylor
01/??/1982: Mattel requests termination of Conan license agreement
01/15/1982: Castle Grayskull trademarked
01/15/1982: Skeletor trademarked
02/17/1982: Mattel introduces new “Masters of the Universe” toy line at Toy Fair
03/01/1982: Rebate offer date in first mini comic (earliest purchase date)
03/04/1982: Attak Trak control drawing, by Ted Mayer
03/23/1982: Attak Trak concept, by Ted Mayer
04/08/1982: DC Comics: From Eternia With Death! street date. Cover date: July 1982
05/??/1982: Masters of the Universe toyline released this month, per Mattel EVP Joe Morrison
05/13/1982: Earliest known newspaper ad for MOTU
05/13/1982: First Skeletor newspaper ad
05/13/1982: First Man-At-Arms newspaper ad
05/13/1982: First He-Man newspaper ad
05/13/1982: First Beast Man newspaper ad
05/21/1982: Trap Jaw concept, by Colin Bailey
06/03/1982: First Battle Ram newspaper ad
06/03/1982: First Battle Cat newspaper ad
06/03/1982: First Castle Grayskull newspaper ad (“Castle Grey Skull”)
06/03/1982: First Stratos newspaper ad (pictured, not named)
06/03/1982: First Zodac newspaper ad (pictured, not named)
06/09/1982: First Teela newspaper ad
06/18/1982: First Stratos newspaper ad (mentioned by name)
07/05/2022: CPI and Mattel entered into a termination agreement
07/??/1982: Wasp Man (Buzz-Off) concept, by Colin Bailey
07/??/1982: Lizard Man (Whiplash) concept, by Colin Bailey
07/22/1982: First Wind Raider newspaper ad
08/08/1982: First Mer-Man newspaper ad (mentioned by name)
08/08/1982: First Zodac newspaper ad (mentioned by name)
08/26/1982: DC Comics Fate Is The Killer street date. Cover date: November 1982
09/21/1982: Zoar first use in commerce
09/21/1982: Ram Man first use in commerce
09/21/1982: Man-E-Faces first use in commerce
09/21/1982: Trap Jaw first use in commerce
09/21/1982: Attak Trak first use in commerce
09/21/1982: Point Dread & Talon Fighter first use in commerce
09/27/1982: Attak Trak trademarked
09/27/1982: Man-E-Faces trademarked
09/27/1982: Point Dread & The Talon Fighter trademarked
09/27/1982: Ram Man trademarked
09/27/1982: Trap Jaw trademarked
09/27/1982: Zoar trademarked
10/05/1982: Sultra (Evil-Lyn) concept, by Colin Bailey
10/14/1982: DC Comics The Key To Castle Grayskull street date. Cover date: January 1983
10/25/1982: Castle Grayskull copyright registered
10/26/1982: Teela copyright registered
11/04/1982: Battle Ram copyright registered
11/04/1982: Beast Man copyright registered
11/04/1982: He-Man copyright registered
11/04/1982: Man-At-Arms copyright registered
11/04/1982: Mer-Man copyright registered
11/04/1982: Skeletor copyright registered
11/04/1982: Stratos copyright registered
11/04/1982: Wind Raider copyright registered
11/04/1982: Zodac copyright registered
11/11/1982: DC Comics Within These Walls… Armageddon! street date. Cover date: February 1983
11/22/1982: Tri-Klops first use in commerce
12/01/1982: Masters of the Universe Bible created. First ever character/place mentions include: Marlena, Tri-Klops, Snake Mountain, Panthor, Gorpo, Delora, Ram Man, Spy Man, Bugoff (Buzz-Off), Tri-Trak, Roton, Faker, Black Widow (Webstor) Fang Man, Chopper (Jitsu) Tornado Traveler, War Sled (evil Battle Ram), Grinder vehicle
12/07/1982: King of Castle Grayskull copyright registered
12/08/1982: He-Man and the Power Sword copyright registered
12/10/1982: Tri-Klops trademarked
12/28/1982: The Vengeance of Skeletor copyright registered

1983

Dragon Walker concept by Ed Watts, 1983. Image source: The Power and the Honor Foundation.

01/11/1983: Evil-Lyn first use in commerce
01/21/1983: Evil-Lyn trademarked
01/21/1983: Heroic Warriors trademarked
01/21/1983: Evil Warriors trademarked
02/09/1983: Panthor first use in commerce
02/09/1983: Screeech first use in commerce
02/16/1983: Panthor trademarked
02/16/1983: Screeech trademarked
02/20/1983: First Man-E-Faces newspaper ad
02/22/1983: Battle Cat copyright registered
02/25/1983: Ram Man copyright registered
02/25/1983: Man-E-Faces copyright registered
03/15/1983: Faker first use in commerce
04/04/1983: Attak Trak copyright registered
04/04/1983: Faker copyright registered
04/14/1983: First “Buy 3 Get 1 Free” offer ad (Wun-Dar aka Savage He-Man aka Wonder Bread He-Man)
04/17/1983: First Faker newspaper ad
05/11/1983: First Ram Man newspaper ad
05/13/1983: Prince Adam first use in commerce
05/23/1983: Prince Adam trademarked
05/25/1983: Faker trademarked
05/25/1983: Point Dread trademarked
05/25/1983: Talon Fighter trademarked
06/21/1983: Evil-Lyn copyright registered
06/30/1983: First Evil-Lyn newspaper ad
06/30/1983: First Tri-Klops newspaper ad
07/15/1983: First Attak Trak newspaper ad
08/04/1983: First Talon Fighter newspaper ad
08/05/1983: Mekaneck first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Fisto first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Jitsu first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Whiplash first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Clawful first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Buzz-Off first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Roton first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Road Ripper first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Stridor first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Snake Mountain first use in commerce
08/05/1983: Battle For Eternia first use in commerce
08/15/1983: Snake Mountain trademarked
08/18/1983: Webstor first use in commerce
08/22/1983: Battle For Eternia trademarked
08/22/1983: Buzz-Off trademarked
08/22/1983: Clawful trademarked
08/22/1983: Fisto trademarked
08/22/1983: Jitsu trademarked
08/22/1983: Mekaneck trademarked
08/22/1983: Road Ripper trademarked
08/22/1983: Roton trademarked
08/22/1983: Stridor trademarked
08/22/1983: Whiplash trademarked
08/28/1983: First Trap Jaw newspaper ad
09/05/1983: Filmation He-Man cartoon debuts (UK)
09/17/1983: Gyro (early Roton) concept, by Ed Watts
09/19/1983: Spider Attack Vehicle (early Spydor) concept, by Ed Watts
09/19/1983: Ball Buster (early Bashasaurus) concept, by Ed Watts
09/21/1983: First Screeech newspaper ad (spelled “Screech”)
09/22/1983: Zap ‘N’ Go vehicle concept, by Ted Mayer
09/22/1983: First Panthor newspaper ad
09/23/1983: First Zoar newspaper ad
09/26/1983: Dungeon concept, by Ted Mayer
09/26/1983: Filmation He-Man cartoon debuts (USA)
09/29/1983: Vehicle Launcher (very early Road Ripper) concept, by Ted Mayer
11/18/1983: Masters Playset (two towers) concept, by Ted Mayer
12/05/1983: Early Fright Zone concept, by Ed Watts
12/05/1983: Webstor trademarked
12/08/1983: Dragon concept, by Ed Watts
12/08/1983: Dragon concept (without helmet), by Ed Watts
12/08/1983: Flying Fists He-Man/Battle Armor He-Man concept, by Ted Mayer
12/14/1983: First Mekaneck newspaper ad
12/28/1983: Trap Jaw copyright registered
12/29/1983: Mekaneck patent filed
12/29/1983: Battle Armor He-Man patent filed
1983: Dragon Walker concept, by Ed Watts
1983: Snake Mountain packaging sketch, by William George
1983: Dragon Walker with Land Shark packaging sketch, by William George

1984

Torton, by Ed Watts – February 9, 1984. Image source: The Power and the Honor Foundation

01/06/1984: Kobra Khan first use in commerce
01/06/1984: Battle Armor first use in commerce
01/10/1984: Dragon Walker patent filed
01/13/1984: Tri-Klops copyright registered
01/25/1984: First Road Ripper newspaper ad
01/27/1984: Battle Armor trademarked
01/27/1984: Kobra Khan trademarked
01/27/1984: The Fright Zone trademarked
02/09/1984: Torton concept, by Ed Watts
02/16/1984: Road Ripper copyright registered
03/11/1984: First Battle Armor He-Man newspaper ad
03/11/1984: First Battle Armor Skeletor newspaper ad
03/11/1984: First Roton newspaper ad
03/22/1984: First Prince Adam newspaper ad
03/22/1984: First Orko appearance in stores (costumed actor- unclear if that means toy was available)
03/29/1984: Hordak concept, by Ted Mayer
04/20/1984: Point Dread & Talon Fighter copyright registered
04/20/1984: Roton copyright registered
04/28/1984: First Buzz-Off newspaper ad
04/28/1984: First Whiplash newspaper ad
04/30/1984: Mekaneck copyright registered
04/30/1984: Stridor copyright registered
05/07/1984: Buzz-Off copyright registered
05/07/1984: Whiplash copyright registered
05/11/1984: First Dragon Walker newspaper ad
05/15/1984: Battle Armor He-Man copyright registered
06/01/1984: Horned helmet warrior woman concept, by Ted Mayer
06/03/1984: TM action figure concept, by Ted Mayer
06/03/1984: First Snake Mountain newspaper ad
06/03/1984: First Stridor newspaper ad
06/06/1984: Modular Man (Multi-Bot) concept, by Ted Mayer
06/07/1984: Horde Octopus Woman (Octavia) concept, by Ted Mayer
06/15/1984: Snout Spout concept, by Ted Mayer
06/15/1984: Dragon Walker copyright registered
06/18/1984: Walking skull vehicle concept, by Jim Keifer
06/19/1984: Early Megator concept, by Ted Mayer
07/06/1984: Chest cannon He-Man concept, by Ted Mayer
07/06/1984: Multi-Bot concept, by Ted Mayer
07/07/1984: Chest monster Skeletor concept, by Ted Mayer
07/07/1984: Transparent Man (Roboto) concept, by Ted Mayer
07/07/1984: Jester figure (Acrobad) concept, by Ted Mayer
07/08/1984: Vulture figure concept, by Ted Mayer
07/08/1984: Rotary Man (early Hurricane Hordak) concept, by Ted Mayer
07/08/1984: Horde Mummy concept, by Ted Mayer
07/08/1984: Stilt Stalkers concept, by Ted Mayer
07/08/1984: Helicopter accessory and Claw Climbing accessory concepts,, by Ted Mayer
07/08/1984: Jet Sled (close to final) concept, by Ted Mayer
07/09/1984: Handsome and Basher concepts, by Ted Mayer
07/10/1984: Megalaser concept, by Ted Mayer
07/10/1984: Octavia (colored) concept, by Ted Mayer
07/12/1984: Tung Lashor concept, by Ted Mayer
07/13/1984: Snout Spout concept, by Ted Mayer
07/13/1984: Masters Gigor concept, by Ed Watts
07/13/1984: Fright Fighter Concept, by Ed Watts
07/13/1984: Mantor (Mantisaur) concept, by Ed Watts
07/13/1984: Battle For Eternia game concept, by Ed Watts
07/13/1984: Attack Pose Panthor concept, by Ed Watts
07/13/1984: Dart (Laser Bolt) concept, by Ed Watts
07/13/1984: Ted Mayer unproduced concepts: Big Foot, Snowman, Green Witch, Archer Woman
07/13/1984: Ed Watts unproduced concepts: Cyclo Marauder, War Wing, Monster Walker, Dungeon, Tyroar, Disc Blaster
07/15/1984: Turbosaurus (early Gigantosaur) concept, by Ed Watts
07/16/1984: Weapons Factory concept, by Jim Keifer
07/22/1984: Land Shark & Battle Armor Skeletor packaging sketch, by William George
08/03/1984: First Fisto newspaper ad
08/30/1984: Land Shark first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Stinkor first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Hordak first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Leech first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Mantenna first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Grizzlor first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Spikor first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Two Bad first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Spydor first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Fright Zone first use in commerce
08/30/1984: Thunder Punch He-Man first use in commerce
09/09/1984: First Webstor newspaper ad
09/10/1984: Grizzlor trademarked
09/10/1984: Hordak trademarked
09/10/1984: The Horde trademarked
09/10/1984: Land Shark trademarked
09/10/1984: Leech trademarked
09/10/1984: Mantenna trademarked
09/10/1984: Spikor trademarked
09/10/1984: Spydor trademarked
09/10/1984: Stinkor trademarked
09/10/1984: Thunder Punch trademarked
09/10/1984: Two Bad trademarked
09/15/1984: Canyon Hopper concept, by Ed Watts
09/18/1984: Motorized walking monster armor concept, by Ed Watts
09/24/1984: Dragon Fly (Fright Fighter) concept, by Ed Watts
09/27/1984: First Weapons Pak newspaper ad
09/29/1984: Transforming figure concept, by Ed Watts
10/03/1984: Firepower Man (Rio Blast) concept, by Ed Watts
10/12/1984: Clawful and Buzz-Off mentioned as popular toys in newspaper story
10/24/1984: First Kobra Khan newspaper ad
10/25/1984: First Clawful newspaper ad
10/25/1984: First Orko newspaper ad (actual toy)
11/08/1984: Dragon Blaster Skeletor first use in commerce
11/08/1984: Modulok first use in commerce
11/08/1984: Battle Bones first use in commerce
11/08/1984: Night Stalker first use in commerce
11/08/1984: The Evil Horde first use in commerce
11/08/1984: Bashasaurus first use in commerce
11/13/1984: Land Shark patent filed
11/18/1984: First Jitsu newspaper ad
11/23/1984: Bashasaurus trademarked
11/23/1984: Night Stalker trademarked
11/23/1984: The Evil Horde trademarked
11/29/1984: Battle Armor Skeletor copyright registered
12/01/1984: Engine Man (Dragstor) concept, by Ed Watts
12/07/1984: Moss Man first use in commerce
12/11/1984: Conan Properties, Inc. v. Mattel Inc. lawsuit
12/14/1984: Battle Bones patent filed
12/14/1984: Sy-Klone patent filed
12/17/1984: Mantenna patent filed
12/19/1984: Dragon Blaster trademarked
12/19/1984: Modulok trademarked
12/19/1984: Moss Man trademarked
12/24/1984: Two Bad patent filed
12/24/1984: Jitsu copyright registered
12/24/1984: Kobra Khan copyright registered
12/24/1984: Clawful copyright registered
12/24/1984: Webstor copyright registered
12/28/1984: Battle Bones trademarked
1984: Mantisaur concept variations/for “New Ventures”
1984: Battle Armor Skeletor & Panthor packaging sketch, by William George
1984: Dragon Blaster Skeletor packaging sketch, by William George
1984: Jaws I, Jaws III, various unproduced concept vehicles for “New Ventures”

1985

Eternia sketch, by Ted Mayer

01/03/1985: Roboto patent filed
01/03/1985: Thunder Punch He-Man patent filed
01/04/1985: Bashasaurus patent filed
01/13/1985: First Land Shark newspaper ad
01/24/1985: First Moss Man newspaper ad
01/24/1985: First Stinkor newspaper ad
01/31/1985: Snake Mountain copyright registered
02/05/1985: Wolf head Eternia concept, by Ted Mayer
02/25/1985: Battle Bones copyright registered
02/26/1985: Early Blast Attak concept, by Mark Jones
02/28/1985: First Roboto newspaper ad
02/28/1985: First Two Bad newspaper ad
02/28/1985: “Tongue Lasher” (Tung Lashor) concept art by Martin Arriola and Pat Dunn
03/04/1985: Pre-Production Early Rio Blast Guns Rough Pencil Concept by John Hollis
03/14/1985: “Tongue Lasher” (Tung Lashor) illustration by John Hollis
03/18/1985: “Tongue Lasher” (Tung Lashor)”Dragonfly Compound Bow” concept art by John Hollis
03/29/1985: Seaman (Scubattack) concept, by Alan Tyler
03/31/1985: First Bashasaurus newspaper ad
03/31/1985: First Battle Bones newspaper ad
04/05/1985: Fright Zone puppet tooling method patent filed
04/18/1985: Heroic Giant (Tytus) concept, by Alan Tyler
04/22/1985: Fisto copyright registered
05/03/1985: Tung Lashor “Dragonfly Compound Bow” concept art by John Hollis
05/22/1985: Land Shark copyright registered
05/22/1985: Bashasaurus copyright registered
05/22/1985: Roboto copyright registered
05/22/1985: Two Bad copyright registered
05/30/1985: First Spikor newspaper ad
05/30/1985: Sy-Klone first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Flying Fists He-Man first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Terror Claws Skeletor first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Rokkon first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Stonedar first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Rattlor first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Tung Lashor first use in commerce
05/30/1985: Laser Bolt first use in commerce
06/01/1985: First Spydor newspaper ad
06/14/1985: First Night Stalker newspaper ad
06/14/1985: Laser Bolt trademarked
06/14/1985: Terror Claws trademarked
06/15/1985: Gyrattacker concept, by Ted Mayer
06/17/1985: Flying Fists trademarked
06/17/1985: Rattlor trademarked
06/17/1985: Rokkon trademarked
06/17/1985: Stonedar trademarked
06/17/1985: Sy-Klone trademarked
06/17/1985: Tung Lashor trademarked
06/19/1985: Eternia blueprint by John Hollis
06/24/1985: Slime Pit trademarked
07/08/1985: Spydor patent filed
07/25/1985: Slasher/Punjab concept, by Roger Sweet
08/08/1985: First Dragon Blaster Skeletor newspaper ad (implied)
08/08/1985: First Hordak Newspaper ad (costumed actor appearance)
08/08/1985: First Thunder Punch He-Man newspaper ad
08/20/1985: First Grizzlor newspaper ad
08/20/1985: First Hordak newspaper ad (actual toy)
08/20/1985: First Leech newspaper ad
08/20/1985: First Mantenna newspaper ad
08/25/1985: First Dragon Blaster Skeletor newspaper ad (explicitly shown)
08/30/1985: First Sy-Klone newspaper ad
09/04/1985: Triceratops (very early Bionatops) concept, by Mark Jones
09/04/1985: Turbodactyl concept, by Mark Jones
09/09/1985: Horde Slurb concept, by Mark Jones
09/13/1985: Unproduced Alan Tyler concepts: Dragon Lord, Sorcerer, Steel Kill
09/13/1985: Laser Bolt patent filed
09/14/1985: First Fright Zone newspaper ad
09/16/1985: Secrets of Grayskull “New Notes” document (Grayskull Tower/King Hiss/etc.)
09/22/1985: Early Jet Sled concept, by Ted Mayer
09/25/1985: Horde Trooper patent filed
09/27/1985: King Hiss patent filed
09/27/1985: Megalaser patent filed
09/28/1985: First Modulok newspaper ad
10/04/1985: Fright Zone patent filed
10/10/1985: Grizzlor copyright registered
10/10/1985: Mantenna copyright registered
10/10/1985: Moss Man copyright registered
10/10/1985: Spikor copyright registered
10/10/1985: Spydor copyright registered
10/10/1985: Sy-Klone copyright registered
10/10/1985: Thunder Punch He-Man copyright registered
10/11/1985: Hurricane Hordak patent filed
10/16/1985: Modulok copyright registered
10/17/1985: Secrets of Grayskull Preliminary Story Background (Eternia/King Hiss/etc.)
11/04/1985: Medusa-Man (Snake Face) concept, by David Wolfram
11/06/1985: Snake Men first use in commerce
11/06/1985: Snout Spout first use in commerce
11/06/1985: Multi-Bot first use in commerce
11/06/1985: Horde Trooper first use in commerce
11/06/1985: Mantisaur first use in commerce
11/12/1985: Horde Trooper trademarked
11/12/1985: Mantisaur trademarked
11/12/1985: Multi-Bot trademarked
11/12/1985: Snake Men trademarked
11/12/1985: Snout Spout trademarked
11/12/1985: Leech copyright registered
11/21/1985: Tyrantisaurus concept, by David Wolfram
11/22/1985: Blasterhawk first use in commerce
11/25/1985: Laser Bolt copyright registered
11/25/1985: Hordak copyright registered
11/25/1985: Fright Zone copyright registered
11/26/1985: Crack-Pot (Blast Attak) concept, by Richard Lepik
12/06/1985: Streak concept, by Alan Tyler
12/09/1985: Rio Blast first use in commerce
12/09/1985: Extendar first use in commerce
12/12/1985: Blasterhawk trademarked
12/16/1985: Evil Giant (Megator) concept, by Alan Tyler
1985: “The Slime Pit” finished painting, by William George
1985: Hurricane Hordak pencils, by William George
1985: Flying Fists He-Man pencils, by William George

1986

Rokkon/Stonedar patent illustration – filed January 14, 1986

01/09/1986: Extendar trademarked
01/09/1986: Rio Blast trademarked
01/11/1986: First Laser Bolt Newspaper ad
01/11/1986: First Slime Pit Newspaper ad
01/14/1986: Rokkon/Stonedar patent filed
01/15/1985: Triceratops (Bionotops) concept, by David Wolfram
01/17/1986: John Hollis “Terror-Dactyl” (Turbodactyl) concept
02/02/1986: First Rokkon newspaper ad
02/02/1986: First Stonedar newspaper ad
02/11/1986: Rokkon copyright registered
02/11/1986: Stonedar copyright registered
02/12/1986: First Flying Fists He-Man newspaper ad
02/12/1986: First Terror Claws Skeletor newspaper ad
02/21/1986: First King Hiss newspaper ad (figure coming in April)
02/21/1986: First Rattlor newspaper ad (figure coming in April)
02/21/1986: First Tung Lashor newspaper ad (figure coming in April)
03/07/1986: Fright Fighter first use in commerce
03/07/1986: Stilt Stalkers first use in commerce
03/15/1986: Comet Warriors trademarked
03/21/1986: Battle For Eternia (game) trademarked
03/21/1986: Fright Fighter trademarked
03/21/1985: John Hollis Rio Blast Fold Out Arm Blaster drawing
03/21/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Early Rio Blast Arm Blaster
03/24/1986: Stilt Stalker trademarked
04/07/1986: Eternia first use in commerce
04/07/1986: Jet Sled first use in commerce
04/16/1985: John Hollis Rio Blast Pre-Production Chest Gun Sketch
04/18/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Rio Blast Backpack Gun and Concept Sketches
04/18/1985: John Hollis Rio Blast Backpack Gun control drawing
04/23/1986: First Dragstor newspaper ad
05/01/1986: First King Hiss newspaper ad (figure listed as available)
05/03/1985: Mike McKittrick Pre-Production Eternia Playset Blueprint of Parts Layout
05/10/1986: First Rattlor newspaper ad (figure listed as available)
05/10/1986: First Tung Lashor newspaper ad (figure listed as available)
05/11/1986: First Mantisaur newspaper ad
05/12/1986: Flying Fists He-Man copyright registered
05/12/1986: Rattlor copyright registered
05/12/1986: Tung Lashor copyright registered
05/12/1986: Mantisaur copyright registered
05/13/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Rio Blast Leg Control Drawing
05/14/1986: The Multiples (heroic) concept, by James McElroy
05/16/1986: Monstroid first use in commerce
05/19/1986: Terror Claws Skeletor copyright registered
05/28/1986: Snout Spout copyright registered
05/28/1986: Dragstor copyright registered
06/03/1986: First Blasterhawk newspaper ad
06/05/1986: Sorceress first use in commerce
06/05/1986: Mosquitor first use in commerce
06/05/1986: Buzz-Saw Hordak first use in commerce
06/09/1986: Tower Tools/Cliff Climber/Scubattack mechanism patent filed
06/12/1985: John Hollis “Snake Tower” Eternia sketch
06/14/1986: Sticky Minions concept, by James McElroy
06/14/1986: Spider People Centiped concept, by James McElroy
06/15/1986: The Multiples (evil) concept, by James McElroy
06/16/1986: Recording Sound Playset concept, by James McElroy
06/18/1986: Spider People Tarantula concept, by James McElroy
06/19/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eternia Playset Near-Final Copy with Color Marker
06/20/1986: The Lockers concept, by James McElroy
06/20/1986: Skeletor Dragon Disguise concept, by James McElroy
06/20/1986: The Slime Monster concept, by James McElroy
06/20/1986: Gwildor concept, by Alan Tyler (based on movie designs)
06/23/1986: Rotar/Twistoid patent filed
06/23/1986: Eternia trademarked
06/23/1986: Grayskull (He-Ro early name) trademarked (canceled)
06/23/1986: Jet Sled trademarked
06/23/1986: Monstroid trademarked
06/23/1986: Buzz-Saw trademarked
06/23/1986: Mosquitor trademarked
06/23/1986: Sorceress trademarked
06/23/1986: Meteorbs trademarked
06/23/1986: Cometroid trademarked
06/23/1986: Ty-Grrr trademarked
06/23/1986: Astro Lion trademarked
06/23/1986: Comet Cat trademarked
06/23/1986: Tuskor trademarked
06/23/1986: Dinosorb trademarked
06/23/1986: Crocobite trademarked
06/23/1986: Rhinorb trademarked
06/23/1986: Orbear trademarked
06/23/1986: Gore-Illa trademarked
06/29/1986: The Optimagic concept, by James McElroy
06/30/1986: The Voice concept, by James McElroy
07/09/1986: Giant Foot Print Trap concept, by James McElroy
07/09/1986: Net Trap concept, by James McElroy
07/13/1986: Gyrattacker patent filed
07/15/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eterna Playset Center Tower Gun Control Drawing
07/18/1986: First Jet Sled newspaper ad
07/18/1986: First Megalaser newspaper ad
07/18/1986: First Stilt Stalkers newspaper ad
07/24/1984: Ed Watts Pre-Production Fright Fighter “Dragonfly” (Fright Fighter) Concept Photo
07/29/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eternia Playset Snake Tower Strut Concept Details
08/02/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eternia Playset Center Tower Strut Drawing
08/04/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eternia Playset Elevator Crank Control Drawing
08/05/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eternia Playset Elevator Lift Platform Blueprint
08/01/1986: King Hiss copyright registered
08/07/1986: Horde Trooper copyright registered
08/15/1985: John Hollis Pre-Production Eternia Playset Grappling Hook Control Drawing
08/18/1986: Slime Pit copyright registered
08/18/1986: Extendar copyright registered
08/22/1986: Rio Blast copyright registered
08/24/1986: First Snout Spout newspaper ad
09/10/1986: First Hurricane Hordak newspaper ad
09/16/1986: Blast Attak patent filed
09/17/1986: Tyrantisaurus Rex first use in commerce
09/17/1986: Bionatops first use in commerce
09/17/1986: Gigantisaur first use in commerce
09/22/1986: Bionotops trademarked
09/22/1986: Gigantisaur trademarked
09/22/1986: Powers of Grayskull trademarked
09/22/1986: Tyrantisaurus Rex trademarked
09/28/1986: First Fright Fighter newspaper ad
09/30/1986: Turbodactyl first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Blast-Attak first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Gwildor first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Rotar first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Twistoid first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Cliff Climber first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Scubattack first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Tytus first use in commerce
09/30/1986: Eldor first use in commerce
10/xx/1986: He-Man military pitch, by Stephen Lee
10/06/1986: Eldor trademarked
10/06/1986: Rotar trademarked
10/06/1986: Turbodactyl trademarked
10/06/1986: Twistoid trademarked
10/06/1986: Tytus trademarked
10/07/1986: Blast-Attak trademarked
10/07/1986: Gwildor trademarked
10/11/1986: First Meteorbs newspaper ad
10/11/1986: First Multi-Bot newspaper ad
10/14/1986: Cliff Climber trademarked
10/14/1986: Scubattack trademarked
10/23/1986: First Monstroid newspaper ad
10/28/1986: Mosquitor copyright registered
10/28/1986: Ninjor copyright registered
10/28/1986: Scare Glow copyright registered
10/28/1986: Sorceress copyright registered
10/28/1986: Sssqueeze copyright registered
11/05/1986: First Extendar newspaper ad
11/05/1986: First Rio Blast newspaper ad
11/08/1986: First Horde Trooper newspaper ad
11/10/1986: Blast-Attak copyright registered
11/17/1986: H.E./M.A.N. concept, by James McElroy
11/23/1986: First Eternia Playset newspaper ad
11/27/1986: First Beam Blaster & Artilleray newspaper ad
11/27/1986: First Mosquitor newspaper ad
11/27/1986: First Ninjor newspaper ad
11/27/1986: First Scare Glow newspaper ad
11/27/1986: First Snake Face newspaper ad
12/09/1986: First Clamp Champ newspaper ad
12/09/1986: First King Randor newspaper ad

1987

Megator concept, by Mark Jones, based on Mark Taylor’s Demo-Man concept – 1987. Image source: The Art of He-Man/The Power and the Honor Foundation

01/21/1987: The Evil Horde Slime copyright registered
01/28/1987: Snake Face copyright registered
02/02/1987: Artilleray copyright registered
02/02/1987: Beam Blaster copyright registered
02/02/1987: Blasterhawk copyright registered
03/14/1987: First Tyrantisaurus Rex newspaper ad
03/21/1987: First Blast Attak newspaper ad
03/21/1987: First Sorceress newspaper ad
03/21/1987: First Sssqueeze newspaper ad
04/04/1987: First Bionatops newspaper ad
04/04/1987: First Turbodactyl newspaper ad
04/15/1987: Saurod first use in commerce
04/15/1987: Megator first use in commerce
04/27/1987: Saurod trademarked
04/27/1987: Megator trademarked
04/28/1987: Bionatops copyright registered
04/28/1987: Turbodactyl copyright registered
05/18/1987: Laser Power He-Man concept art, by David Wolfram, based on design by Martin Arriola
06/22/1987: Regular Bio-Mechazoid Skeletor (early Laser Light) concept, by David Wolfram
08/08/1987: First Blade newspaper ad
08/08/1987: First Gwildor newspaper ad
08/08/1987: First Saurod newspaper ad
08/18/1987: Bio-Mechazoid Skeletor (revised Laser Light) concept, by David Wolfram
11/11/1987: First Buzz-Saw Hordak newspaper ad
11/11/1987: First Rotar newspaper ad
11/11/1987: First Twistoid newspaper ad
1987: Megator concept/based on Mark Taylor’s Demo-Man, colored by Mark Jones

Thanks to Shawn for pointing me towards the CPI vs Mattel material.

“Death of Mark Taylor From Night Visitation.” Artwork by Colin Bailey, January 23, 1981. Given to Mark when he was working on his “dark project” (He-Man). Image courtesy of Rebecca Salari Taylor.

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21
Artwork

Invented characters in Rudy Obero’s packaging artwork

Posted on by Adam

Freelance illustrator Rudy Obrero left an indelible mark on the Masters of the Universe landscape. He was originally selected by Mattel designer Mark Taylor for his ability to produce artwork in the style of Frank Frazetta, a major early influence on the He-Man toyline. Rudy’s moody atmospheres have made him a fan favorite in a toyline that was blessed with many talented artists and designers.

Today I’d like to take a look at something we often don’t notice in this artwork – the background characters and vehicles that never existed as actual toys.

The artwork referenced in this post includes:

Battle Cat

The original Battle Cat artwork (the first piece painted by Rudy for the He-Man toyline) is pretty sparse. You have He-Man on Battle Cat, some rocks and Castle Grayskull in the background, and not much else.

However, if you look more closely at the Castle, you’ll notice a barbarian warrior manning the laser canon on the castle turret:

battle-cat-largest-original-copy
Notice that the laser canon on the castle is the prototype design rather than the final version.

In the background, to the left of Battle Cat’s helmet, you can also see a couple of shadowy figures:

In the original charcoal drawing (a piece owned Eamon O’Donoghue, who graciously shared a picture of it), you can also see there were going to be a few more background characters in the illustration, but they were dropped in the final oil painting. Like many of Rudy’s background characters, they look like barbarian warriors straight from a Frank Frazetta painting.

Image source: Vaults of Grayskull
There are two warriors on the turret in this version.

Castle Grayskull

Rudy’s Castle Grayskull artwork has nearly a complete line-up of all the 1982 action figures, with the exception of Mer-Man. But there are also two shadowy figures in the background, behind Beast Man.

Rudy also includes a small fleet of flying Sky Sled-like vehicles. They are v-shaped and each appears to have a single pilot.

Battle Ram

Rudy’s Battle Ram illustration features a barbarian warrior with a Viking helmet, and the suggestion of at least a couple of figures on the turrets of Castle Grayskull.

It also features six of the V-shaped Sky Sled-like vehicles that appeared in the Castle Grayskull painting, each with its own pilot. Some of them are shown in side profile here. The basic design seems to be the front half of the Battle Ram without the griffin figure head, and extended, swept-back wings.

Wind Raider

Rudy Obrero’s Wind Raider illustration features about a dozen warriors at ground level, most in silhouette. One of them, however, is a blue-skinned warrior with red armor and helmet. Update: this may in fact be Stratos. Thanks to Øyvind M. for pointing this out!

The artwork also features three Wind Raiders, each with an unknown pilot, mounting an attack on He-Man, who mounted his own attack against Castle Grayskull.

He-Man and Wind Raider

The illustration for the He-Man/Wind Raider gift set shows the clearest example of an invented character. I used to think this was an off-model version of Zodac, but Rudy has said he hadn’t seen Zodac when he did the painting (indicating this was done before Castle Grayskull). Dubbed the “Warrior in Red” by fans, he is just that. His costume looks a bit like He-Man’s, but recolored. He seems to have some kind of red and gray helmet on, but it’s hard to make out any details.

Behind Skeletor, Beast Man, and the Warrior in Red is a small army of shadowy figures. Presumably they’re aligned with Skeletor.

Special thanks to Shawn, who gave me the idea for this post.

10
Stickers

Rice Krispies He-Man Puffy Stickers Promotion (1984)

Posted on by Adam

The only non-toy He-Man related items I tried to collect as a kid were the puffy stickers offered inside specially marked boxes of Kellogg’s Rice Krispies cereal in 1984. As any blind box toy collector can tell you, collecting stickers like this was as exciting as it was frustrating. You will inevitably get multiples of anything you’re trying collect (I got several copies of Evil-Lyn, as I recall, but alas, no Skeletor). And of course, I could only cajole my mother into buying so many boxes of Rice Krispies.

The stickers came in waxy envelopes, with a coupon for 20 cents off of a variety of “Kellogg’s talking Krispies” cereals. Incidentally, the coupons are still good, as there is no expiration date. But 20 cents was a better deal in 1984 dollars.

kelloggs-collection
ba-he-man
ba-skeletor-best
teela
evil-lyn
orko-best
coupon

I think was really sold me on these as a kid (aside from the He-Man characters) was the facts that the stickers were plastic and puffy. That gave them a sense of permanence that typical paper stickers lacked.

The artwork comes from a couple of different sources. The Teela sticker is directly based on Teela’s cross sell art, albeit with more vivid colors:

Evil-Lyn’s sticker is also based on her cross sell artwork, although they’ve modified the position of her left arm, and given her a blue version of Teela’s shield. Her coloring also seems influenced by Filmation’s version of the character:

Battle Armor He-Man, Battle Armor Skeletor, and Orko do not seem to be based at all off the cross sell artwork. Stylistically they somewhat recall Errol McCarthy’s extensive body of Masters of the Universe illustrations. I have not found any examples of his artwork that are compositionally identical to either He-Man or Skeletor as they appear here. However, Errol did a version of Orko that may have influenced the design of the puffy sticker:

Note that Orko’s hat is off model on the sticker – it’s colored yellow rather than orange. I suspect the reason for that was to save on the number of colors being printed per sticker. The same shade of yellow is used in Orko’s bursts of magic.

3
Reviews

Mark Taylor – The Original B-Sheets Collection

Posted on by Adam

One of the most exciting things to come out for Masters of the Universe in recent years is the Mark Taylor Original B-Sheets Collection, first offered for sale at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con.

The focus of this blog has always been the vintage 1980s MOTU toyline. I’m not breaking with that focus, but because this collection gets at the origins of He-Man, I think it’s very apropos to review it here.

Produced by The Power and the Honor Foundation in collaboration with Super7, the portfolio consists of eleven pieces of original artwork by Mark Taylor. These were the essential designs that culminated in the Masters of the Universe toy line.

Several of these pieces have been available for some time in black and white from such sources as Grayskull Museum and Mattel’s 2009 art book. Some were included in the 2011 Power and Honor Foundation Catalog. Others were made available in the Dark Horse Art of He-Man book (which included a great deal of artwork shared by Foundation). Some were even offered as Easter eggs in the 2012 Glitschsoft game, He-Man: The Most Powerful Game in the Universe.

However, most of this artwork has never been seen in full color until now. This is also the first time, to my knowledge, that the original concept artwork for Zodac has been made available to the public.

Before you even get to the artwork, there’s a lot to unpack in the cover. The front features a very subdued silver version of the Masters of the Universe logo, as recreated by Emiliano Santalucia for the BCI DVD releases. The familiar exploding rocks from the vintage card art are punctuated in red around the title of the collection. In the background there is a blown-up, gray-on-black image of the original concept He-Man design. Everything is slightly embossed for a very nice three-dimensional feel.

The back cover features a photo and biographical sketch of Mark Taylor, along with an interesting explanation of the origins of the term “B-sheet”

A note from the back cover – the original full-color Teela drawing was lost at some point. The one included in this collection was carefully recolored from other early source materials to capture the original intended look.

Each piece of artwork also includes the character name inside a banner, and line art version of the Masters of the Universe logo. These serve as a homage to the artwork of another artist who worked on the He-Man line – Errol McCarthy. A few examples of this kind of artwork, from The Power and the Honor Foundation website, are below:

Mark Taylor’s B-sheet designs are printed on thick, high quality card stock. I’ll cover each individual illustration, but I will say that one thing that strikes me about this artwork is the amazing colors. The shading and highlighting on many of these pieces is quite dramatic and vivid, giving them a sense of richness that was only hinted at in the line art we had seen previously. Mark Taylor has a unique and instantly recognizable style. Not every designer puts this much care and artistry into what are really preliminary designs, but I think this shows how invested Mark was in this concept.

Each piece is dated 1981. Some tell you the exact date on which they were created, while others give you only the year. For fun, I’ll go over the artwork in the order they are dated. I’ll make an educated guess about the ones without a specific date.

Battle Cat – 1981

For years we’ve seen a partially-colored version of this concept, which was first hosted at the Grayskull Museum, beginning March of 2008.  The Grayskull Museum has also displayed black and white B-sheet illustrations of Skeletor, Teela, Sorceress, Man-At-Arms, and others, which have been passed around by fans since that time.

The Grayskull Museum’s version of the Battle Cat B-sheet is described as a color study. I would assume that means that Mark was testing out different colors before committing to any one color scheme. In the color study, there are some pink and purple shades incorporated into Battle Cat’s armor. When Grayskull Museum asked Mark about the date of the image back in 2008, he said he believed it was done in 1979, although that may have been his best guess, as it doesn’t appear to be dated.

Image source: Grayskull Museum

The illustration included in the Mark Taylor Collection is the final version, and it features the colors we’re familiar with on the vintage toy. The tiger design is of course taken from the Big Jim tiger (or actually going further back, the Jungle Cat from Mattel’s Tarzan line), but Mark designed a saddle and helmet for the figure to make it work as a new toy for the Masters of the Universe line.  The shape of the saddle here is somewhat sleeker and swept backwards than its plastic counterpart, but otherwise the design is very close to what kids were playing with in the early 1980s.

From my interview with Mark:

I had used the cat on the Tarzan line. I liked the sculpt but the 5.30″ He-Man figures wouldn’t ride on him and I wanted him to ride on a huge cat.  Nobody messes with a guy riding a huge armored cat!  … The head armor came from my childhood sketches and had to be engineered for costs and molding ease, or the marketeers would lose it.

Castle Grayskull – 1981

From the Mark Taylor Collection (Super7/The Power and the Honor Foundation)

Although Castle Grayskull is not given a specific date here, I would guess that this drawing was created quite early in the process of formulating the Masters of the Universe toyline. I believe that is the case because there are no recognizable MOTU figures in this drawing – they look like fairly standard background sword and sorcery characters. Mark sketched similar-looking warriors in his mock-up for the Wind Raider box art, although of course He-Man is also included here:

Image courtesy of Ted Mayer

Mark called the castle the “Dwell of Souls” (the name Castle Grayskull was created by Don Glut, freelance story writer for the early mini comics). Mark has a complex back-story and mythology for Castle Grayskull and for the characters he created. You can read about some of that in my previous post about the castle.

In the portfolio illustration, we see that the castle is surrounded by water (a “fetid lake”, as Mark describes it). The sides of the castle don’t much resemble the mass-produced playset, but you can see in the castle’s face many elements that were carried into the toy, including the elongated fangs and the asymmetrically-shaped cheekbones. Interestingly, the face of this Castle appears to be hooded, and bears strong resemblance to Skeletor.

Fans may remember this exact illustration from the Art of He-Man book published by Dark Horse published in 2015. It’s nice, however, to have such a large version of it for display.  A black and white version also appeared on the Grayskull Museum website years ago.

Image Source: Grayskull Museum

Skeletor – March 30, 1981

From the Mark Taylor Collection (Super7/The Power and the Honor Foundation)

Skeletor, or “De-Man” (a play on the word demon and the name He-Man) as he is labeled here, is the earliest of the B-sheets that bear a specific date. The black and white version of this drawing (as discussed earlier) has been around for some time, but this is the first time most fans have seen a high-quality colored version. I absolutely love the use of color here, particularly the eldritch red lighting on Skeletor’s left side.

Image source: Grayskull Museum

The element that most sticks out about this early Skeletor is the fact that he does not have a skull face. He seems to have more of an undead look, not unlike the ThunderCats villain Mumm-Ra (ThunderCats, of course, did not come out until four years later).

Almost everything else about this Skeletor will be familiar to fans of the early MOTU mini comics illustrated by Alfredo Alcala. Other than the forearms and the face, Alcala’s earliest depictions of Skeletor are very closely based on Mark Taylor’s original design. He has the same bare feet, the same armor design with yellow bat motiff, and the same “commando” loin cloth (which is to say, he had no furry underwear underneath).

The design of Skeletor’s arms in the B-sheet is very interesting. The flesh of his forearms and hands seems to be decaying. There also appears to be some hanging skin towards the character’s elbows (unless I’m misreading the intent there). Looked at in another light, they almost resemble gloves, and indeed were interpreted as glove-like fins in later incarnations, such as the cross sell artwork and the mass-produced toy.

Skeletor’s pose here seems to have influenced the way the character was drawn in the cross sell artwork used on the back of packaging. The pose on the B-sheet design is a bit more dynamic, but otherwise the two versions cut the same profile.

Man-At-Arms – April 1, 1981

From the Mark Taylor Collection (Super7/The Power and the Honor Foundation)

This concept Man-At-Arms is positively bristling with intricate wires, hoses, buttons, and miscellaneous alien devices. The colors used here don’t quite match any other depiction of Man-At-Arms that I am aware of. That is to say, most of the colors are similar to those found in the cross sell artwork (as is the pose to a certain extent), but the character here sports orange boots and orange fur around his chest armor.

Image Source: Grayskull Museum

It’s clear to me that the color of his belt and helmet are supposed to be a metallic silver color. In artwork that can often translate as light blue. And indeed in many other incarnations his helmet and belt became more blue than silver.

Speaking of his belt, you’ll note that Man-At-Arms features a squared-off belt buckle, unlike the circular design of the vintage toy . You can also see that the fur of his loin cloth peaks over the top of the belt. These details are repeated in the He-Man, Stratos and Beast Man B-sheet designs. Man-At-Arms also features a knife tucked into his right boot, which he shares with the concept version of He-Man. These parts were clearly intended to be reused.

His pose here seems to have influenced the artist who drew his cross sell illustration, at least from the waist up:

Image courtesy of Axel Giménez. Note the black boots and black fur around his chest armor.

Mark’s Man-At-Arms concept drawing is one of my very favorites in this collection, which took me a little by surprise.

Beast Man – April 2, 1981

From the Mark Taylor Collection (Super7/The Power and the Honor Foundation)

Beast Man, or “Tree Man” as he was originally called, is quite a visually striking figure. His colors are not quite what I had expected. Generally speaking, Alfredo Alcala’s early mini comic artwork echoes quite closely Mark Taylor’s concept designs. But his first Beast Man illustrations depicted a character who is entirely red, with only splash of yellow on his armor to break up his monochromatic design.

Contrary to expectation, this version of Beast Man has a blue loin cloth and blue detail on his armor and around his eyes, very much like the vintage figure. There are other earlier incarnations of an ape-like or bear-like henchman character that appeared in monochromatic red. It makes me wonder if there wasn’t an earlier version of this B-sheet at some point that was colored that way.

In any case, this version has somewhat ambiguously-colored fur. There is quite a bit of highlighting and shading going on that gives his fur a somewhat orange look on balance. But I believe the intent was for him to have a much more reddish-orange color.

You might have noticed that Beast Man carries no whip here. That is also true of Beast Man as he is depicted in the early mini comics as well. Given that the whip was borrowed from a Big Jim action figure, it may have been something of an afterthought.

Image Source: Axel Giménez

The pose used in Beast Man’s cross sell illustration (above) is almost identical to Mark Taylor’s concept version.

He-Man – April 6, 1981

From the Mark Taylor Collection (Super7/The Power and the Honor Foundation)

The most powerful man in the universe is indeed quite powerful looking in this B-sheet design. This is another case where I was somewhat surprised at the colors when I first saw them. He sports tan and red boots, red and silver gauntlets, and a plain gray shield.

I was already familiar with a later version of this design (dated May 3, 1981) that had a different color scheme altogether. That color scheme will again be familiar to fans of the early Alfredo Alcala mini comics. He-Man has two-tone red and ocher boots (with boot knife), orange gauntlets, and an orange and gray shield. This version also has orange details on the straps of his armor, rather than the red used on the final design. I must confess that the May 3 version is actually my preferred version – I think the colors are perfect here. Perhaps it will make an appearance in part 2 of this portfolio, should one be offered (which is my not so subtle way of lobbying for a sequel).

Image source: The Power and the Honor Foundation Catalog

Probably the detail that will stick out most to He-Man fans is his helmet. This was of course dropped in the final toy, but the presence of this helmet really punctuates the original barbarian concept of the character. In time He-Man came to be depicted as almost Superman-like in his personality and abilities (with a Clark Kent-esque alter ego to boot), but it’s pretty hard to think of him like that with this helmet on. Personally I love the look here and would love to see some version of this design made into a figure or a statue. Really that goes for all of the figure designs in this portfolio.

You might notice that He-Man does not carry a sword. The axe was his original weapon, and the sword was added later. This particular axe also found its way into the early mini comics.

Image source: The Art of He-Man

Teela – May 28, 1981

teela-mt
From the Mark Taylor Collection (Super7/The Power and the Honor Foundation)
Image Source: Grayskull Museum
Teela without her collar/overlay piece (which ended up being a permanent part of the toy, rather than an accessory), by Mark Taylor. Image source: Rebecca Salari Taylor.

As mentioned previously, the colors for Teela (here called simply “Female Warrior”) were restored using prototypes and early mini comic artwork as references. Once again fans of early Alfredo Alcala mini comics will recognize this incarnation of Teela with her blonde hair, spiky red tiara (which was based on a hair accessory owned by Mark’s wife, Rebecca), two-toned brown and white boots, and exquisitely detailed gold and white costume.

While Teela’s gold and white shield shows up in the Alcala artwork, her spear, as it appears in this illustration, does not. A similar spear does show up in an early prototype of Teela. This prototype of course features the snake armor that was originally intended for Mark Taylor’s Sorceress character.

teela-proto

Teela’s posture in Mark Taylor’s B-sheet is nearly identical to her posture in the cross sell artwork, although again by that time her design had been cross pollinated with the design of the Sorceress. I don’t think any incarnation quite captured Teela’s face as Mark drew her.

teela-cross-sell-hi-res

Sorceress – June 3, 1981

From the Mark Taylor Collection (Super7/The Power and the Honor Foundation)

The artwork in this portfolio does not give an exact date for the Sorceress, but a black and white version that has been circulating for a number of years is dated June 3, 1981.

Image source: Grayskull Museum

The Sorceress’ form is in many details identical to Teela’s. She shares the same legs, arms, and basic outfit. As Emiliano Santalucia has explained, the idea was that the Sorceress would reuse Teela’s body. However, the gold detail going up and down the front of Teela’s costume, in addition to her gold collar, was actually intended to be a removable piece. The Sorceress’ design omits that overlay and instead gives her a cobra-themed headdress.

This character is again familiar to fans of the early mini comics. This green Sorceress (commonly referred to as the Green Goddess now) shows up only in the first mini comic – He-Man and the Power Sword. One crucial difference between the comic and the original concept is that the comic depicts Sorceress as having green skin. In Mark Taylor’s original concept, she is wearing some kind of green body suit, not unlike Man-At-Arms’ costume.

Although the Sorceress and Teela were merged into a single toy, the character of the Sorceress did not entirely disappear. She re-emerged as a character called the Goddess in the second series of mini comics, although it’s a rather confusing concept. Teela was also portrayed in other media with this same look:

The Tale of Teela!

It’s a shame that this version of the Sorceress was never released in the vintage line – she’s a striking-looking design, and frankly the toyline could have used more female characters. According to Mark, Sorceress was intended to be a kind of double agent and a changeling.

Mer-Man – 1981

From the Mark Taylor Collection (Super7/The Power and the Honor Foundation)
Image source: The Art of He-Man

Of all of the wonderfully vivid and creative illustrations in this portfolio, Mer-Man is my hands down favorite. In no other media has Mer-Man ever appeared so highly detailed or so rich with color. The closest version we have seen to Mark’s original vision was again in the early mini comics illustrated by Alfredo Alcala. Even then, Alcala simplified the colors and some of the detail (primarily in the colors of his clothing and face – Alcala omitted the copper accents and simplified the shape of his gloves).

I’m particularly pleased with the range of blues and greens appearing on Mer-Man’s skin. This design is practically begging to be translated into a toy or a statue.

In Mark Taylor’s concept, the shape of Mer-Man’s armor is actually fairly close to what ended up in the vintage toy, albeit without most of the spikes. In Mark’s illustration you can see that Mer-Man would have had some gill-like structures around his neck, which is also indicated in the cross sell artwork:

The cross sell artwork is very much based on Mark Taylor’s original design (including the pose), although the limbs are simplified and his chest armor is significantly widened. His skin color was also made much greener, perhaps to move him further away from Skeletor’s skin tone.

In his original form, Mer-Man would have required 100% new tooling and molds to produce. Over the course of his design process, Mer-Man was simplified to the point where he could entirely reuse the body and limbs used for Skeletor. Seeing Mark Taylor’s original concept now, it’s unfortunate that his vision was never fully realized in toy form.

Stratos – 1981

From the Mark Taylor Collection (Super7/The Power and the Honor Foundation)
Image source: The Art of He-Man

One of the hallmarks of many of these drawings by Mark Taylor is their mix between highly detailed realism, and the altered dimensionality inherent in the production of a plastic toy. That is apparent throughout the portfolio (for instance, Mer-Man’s gloves), but also  in the shape of Stratos’ (originally known as both “Bird Man” and “Wing Man”) feathers. A fully realistic illustration would have rendered the feathers much thinner in profile, but of course Mark was creating this artwork with molded plastic toys in mind as the end product.

The biggest detail about this artwork that sticks out to me are the eyes. We’re used to seeing Stratos’ “eyes” as goggles, but here they do appear to be his eyes. This transforms his look completely, giving him a much more bird-like appearance than was evident in the vintage toy.

Another thing to point out here is Stratos’ backpack. The design around the front is quite different from either the vintage toy or the cross sell artwork, as there are no straps going down his chest. Alfredo Alcala based his early illustrations on this concept Stratos, although he got the skin (or perhaps fur) color wrong. As you can see, Mark added some yellow and tan lighting effects to the center of Stratos’ chest, but I believe the intent all along was for Stratos to be light gray.

Zodac – 1981

From the Mark Taylor Collection (Super7/The Power and the Honor Foundation)

This Zodac (or “Sensor” as he was originally called) drawing was no doubt created last of the 11 pieces included in this portfolio. As Emiliano Santalucia pointed out several years ago at Grayskull Con, the design details are based on parts already sculpted for the toyline – specifically Skeletor’s arms and legs and Beast Man’s chest.

This is the only piece in the portfolio that has not been published in any form until now. As such it was the one I was most curious about, and it did not disappoint.

Zodac looks quite alien here. He adopts a straight-legged stance, but otherwise has the familiar Skeletor feet and forearms. The version from the cross sell art seems a bit tame by comparison:

Zodac’s expression here is heroic, if a bit cocky. Mark’s original intention was for Zodac to be an ally of He-Man. Perhaps the name “Sensor” came about because his helmet enhanced his vision and hearing – at least that’s my guess, going from the design cues. Mark has also said that Zodac “was all about flying” – perhaps he would have provided air support for He-Man in the Wind Raider.

Final Thoughts

As amazing as this artwork might look on your flat screen monitor, trust me when I say that it’s nothing compared to how it looks in person. This portfolio was printed in a limited run for San Diego Comic Con, so not everyone was able to get their hands on it. I hope that Super7 and The Power and the Honor Foundation will eventually make more copies available for fans who couldn’t get it the first time around. If you are even a moderate He-Man fan, you need this artwork in your life.

As I intimated earlier, I’d love to see a sequel to this portfolio. Items on my personal wish list would include the August 8, 1981 version of He-Man, alternate versions of any of the characters included in this portfolio, and artwork for Man-E-Faces, Ram Man, and any number of unproduced characters that Mark might have worked on before he left Mattel.

I hope also that this collection of concept illustrations will lead to the production of 3D versions of these designs, whether that takes the form of  new 5.5″ scale action figures, statues, or Masters of the Universe Classics figures. It would be, I believe, a fitting tribute to the man whose creativity and vision launched this beloved toyline.

Mark Taylor in his early Mattel days. Image courtesy of Ted Mayer

Thanks to Jukka Issakainen for pushing me to write this review. 

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