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Comic Review > “Man-At-Arms” (Masters of the Universe, Web Exclusive, DC Comics)

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Release Date: July 14, 2012
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Penciler: Pop Mhan
Colorist: Carrie Strachan
Letter: Carlos Mangual
Cover: Mhan & Strachan
Assistant Editor: Sarah Litt
Editor: Kwanza Johnson

 Plot Synopsis: Set before the Great De-Remembering, the story follows Man-At-Arms’s attempt to retrieve Chrono, one of two relics that once served as Castle Grayskull’s eyes before they were stolen by rival tribes. The Sorceress asks Duncan to retrieve Chrono from the “Knoll Warlocks” who keep it. Duncan infiltrates their temple (making use of some very Predator-like invisibility cloaking and infrared vision technology) and finds the jewel, but the sorcerer who rules the temple catches him and attacks. Despite being stripped of his armor and weapons, Duncan’s Batman-like preparation allows him to win the fight. When he returns Chrono to the Sorceress, she offers to heal him magically but he responds, “I appreciate the offer, Sorceress, but you know me – I’m not a man of magic.”

Minicomic Monday > #1: He-Man and the Power Sword

Welcome to a new feature here on PGPoA. For the foreseeable future (or until I run out of minicomics), I’ll be reviewing classic Masters of the Universe minicomics from the 1980s and beyond. As fans know, these comics were included with the action figures back in the old days. Some were great, some not-so-great, and some were downright dreadful.

We begin with the very first minicomic, “He-Man and the Power Sword.”

Comic Review > “The Lost Knight” (Masters of the Universe, DC Comics, 2012)

“The Lost Knight”

Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciler: Howard Porter
Inker: John Livesay
Colorist: Carrie Strachan
Letter: Sal Cipriano
Assistant Editor: Sarah Litt
Editor: Kwanza Johnson

“The Lost Knight” is the first of a digital-first online miniseries, titled Masters of the Universe, that ties in to DC’s main MOTU miniseries He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.  It will feature a series of character one-shots.

The digital series will debut new chapters twice a month on Saturdays. The second chapter (7/14) is written by Mike Costa with artwork by Jheremy Raapack and it tells the story of He-Man’s most trusted companion, Battle Cat.  The third digital chapter (7/28), written by Kyle Higgins with artwork by Pop Mhan, is an adventure with the captain of the Eternia guard, Man-At-Arms. —DCcomics.com

The first issue focuses not on any classic MOTU characters like He-Man, She-Ra or Skeletor, but on a brand-new character, Sir Laser Lot, who was created by Geoff Johns in his childhood and will be one of the 30th Anniversary figures in Masters of the Universe Classics this year.

There be spoilers after ye olde jump!

Comic Review > Batman and Robin #1

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I got on board Grant Morrison’s run on Batman just a month or two before the “Batman R.I.P.” storyline began. I was so fascinated (and sometimes frustrated) with what I read that I went back and bought every issue he’d written since #655.

After a brief interval taken up by the bombastic and exceedingly anticlimactic “Battle for the Cowl,” Morrison is back to writing the Caped Crusader. But this time, it’s Dick Grayson as the Dark Knight, and Morrison’s own controversial creation, Damian Wayne–the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul–as Robin.

I’ll admit I’m one of those people who think you really can’t replace Bruce Wayne. That particular superhero/secret identity dyad is too iconic, like Clark Kent and Superman. At one time, fans might have pointed to Wally West’s Flash or Kyle Rayner’s Green Lantern as evidence that this “legacy” idea can work, but–aside from the fact that Barry Allen and Hal Jordan are back anyway–both of those heroes had their own predecessors in the Golden Age. Unlike them, Bruce Wayne has been Batman since before the very first Flash or Green Lantern appeared in comics. The time to replace Batman was the early Silver Age, before the 1960s TV show cemented Batman and stately Wayne Manor as American cultural icons.

What’s more, it’s largely Morrison’s own fault it’s hard to accept anyone else as Batman now. It was Morrison who created the “Bat-god” in the pages of JLA, and this characterization was carried into the Justice League Unlimited cartoon. As Morrison has suggested in interviews, “Batman R.I.P.” was essentially a mediation on that idea.

The upshot of all this is: enjoy the ride while it lasts, because chances are Bruce will be back in the cowl within a year or two. With that in mind, Batman and Robin is shaping up to be a fun–and profoundly weird–ride.

5 Questions With > MisterBigBo

Welcome to the first of what I hope will be many interviews with fellow collectors!

MisterBigBo, who comments here occasionally, is a real-life friend of mine who I’ve actually spent time with in person. He’s taken time out of his busy schedule as a brand-new dad to answer a few questions about his toy collecting.

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Codename: MisterBigBo
Base of Operations:
The Commiewealth of Taxachusetts
History:
Regular ‘ole suburban lower middle class kid who grew up in the 80s. Star Wars fan first, but like most boys of that generation I had a healthy action figure collection. I have gone on to become a teacher, a dad, and study traditional Japanese martial arts, but the toys are still there.

1.) What were your favorite toys or toy lines as a child?

Though I started with Star Wars, moved with the trends to Transformers and He-Man for a while, GI Joe was my favorite. The designs and the articulation caused me to stay with the line into junior high, after most of my friends had moved on. As a youngster I had a little of everything: a few M.A.S.K. vehicles, and one or two Sky Commanders, Army Antz, Silver Hawks, C.O.P.S., Centurins, Marvel Secret Wars and D.C. Super Powers, Captain Power, Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos, Battle Beasts, Starcom, Eagle Force. . . those are the faves that I can remember right now . I suppose my tendency these days to collect only one or a few of any given line is a continuation of that trend.

Poe’s Point > Nightwing R.I.P.

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The “Battle of the Cowl” is over, and to absolutely no one’s surprise, Dick Grayson has won the twin thankless tasks of being Batman until Bruce Wayne inevitably returns and being partnered with the awful Damian Wayne as the new Robin.

Poe’s Point > Thoughts on Online Comics Archives

[Poe’s note: This is a bit of an experiment. It’s not exactly a toy-related post, and I do prefer to maintain my laser-like focus on toys, lest I water down the brand by making PGPoA yet another pop culture commentary/news site. So please, post a comment and let me know whether you find this interesting or would rather I stick to toy stuff. I have a few ideas for columns like this, but I can always post them over on my other blog, where I posted this one first.]

Marvel Comics has a great online service called Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, which allows users to read thousands of back issues for a monthly fee. It’s awesome, but I’m a DC guy these days, and I just don’t get why DC Comics hasn’t done it yet. If they did, I’d sign up in a second.

Meet the new Batman, same as the old Batman

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DC has released their solicits for June, including a look at the new Batman and his “redesigned” outfit (from the cover of Batman #687). From what I can tell, the new touches are the bat-buckle and what look like scalloped work gloves instead of gauntlets, which seems like a step back to me. Of course, I still want a DCUC version of him as soon as possible, please.

Lex Luthor wants in on the bailout bonanza

Starring Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm as Lex.

What the Hawk, man?

He's mad at his editorsI recently became interested in Hawkman due to his great-looking DCUC figure, much as I became interested in Deathstroke last year for the same reason. As a result, I’ve started looking into the character. And holy shit, is his continuity a mess.

And I once thought Marvel had ruined Wolverine’s history. As much as I hate stuff like the bone claws, at least Wolverine doesn’t have three or four other versions of him that may or may not exist at any given time running around the canonical universe.

I think I’ve managed to get a grip on Hawkman’s continuity as it stands right now, though. Here’s the timeline I’ve put together. Feel free to correct me on any inaccuracies, as I’m sure there are many.

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