tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post3952124206525937055..comments2024-03-27T11:32:34.392-07:00Comments on NOT A HOAX! NOT A DREAM!: HE-MAN MINICOMICS 1984Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-32403133479219669672022-07-27T05:07:38.170-07:002022-07-27T05:07:38.170-07:00"I definitely had some of the "wave one&..."I definitely had some of the "wave one" MOTU figures, and I highly doubt they were bought right when they came out (in fact, I probably didn't get them until well after the show started, which would have been my entry point to the whole thing)."<br /><br />There's a poster catalogue of the line from the fourth year which shows almost every figure released suggesting they were all officially still available then. The exceptions are Ram Man, Zodac and Faker. This probably explains how Faker could be re-released in Year 6 with "He's Back!" proudly proclaimed on the package and why Ram Man - and Zodac if you could him as one - is conspicuously absent from a group image of all the other heroic warriors in the penultimate issue of the Star Comics. (Also some vehicles had disappeared by this point.)<br /><br />However being on the official list and being on the pegs were two different matters. A common cited reason for the line's downfall was the difficulty of finding the original He-Man and Skeletor in later years making the line harder to enter for new waves of children and Mattel misunderstanding this so churning out yet more new characters (and erm rereleasing the one who combines aspects of the original He-Man and Skeletor).<br /><br />Hasbro in the UK and Europe did actually re-release some of the early Transformers, including Prowl, as "Classics" in 1990 either because they had now grasped the problem of key characters being missing or because of the popularity of a load of Mexican TF toys that got dumped on the European market complete with dangerous lead paint.<br /><br />The metal horse is Stridor. He and Fisto were released together in a gift set (as well as individually), reinforcing their connection. Similarly the repaint hose Nightstalker had a gift set release with Jitsu.Tim Roll-Pickeringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12589024696145675963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-73689770601510989552019-08-12T12:30:52.305-07:002019-08-12T12:30:52.305-07:00I remember kids at school talking about it, and th...<i> I remember kids at school talking about it, and that night I asked my mom and she confirmed it was true, and I cried. A lot.</i><br /><br />Aw. That sounds way worse. Mine was more of a quiet realization followed by resignation as I sort of worked through it all in my head. I don't remember being terribly devastated by it (I was mostly just bummed that there was no avenue for me to get Soundwave as a result). <br /><br /><i>That's probably why Fisto is one of my favorite secondary MASTERS characters, in fact.</i><br /><br />Mine too! I had the metal horse...whose name I'm forgetting now...and I think, because Fisto rides him in that minicomic, I paired the two of them up all the time. They were more or less second only to He-Man & Battle Cat for me. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-86765303412360202702019-08-12T12:04:08.328-07:002019-08-12T12:04:08.328-07:00That's a rough way to figure out the truth abo...That's a rough way to figure out the truth about Santa! Though I'm not sure there's any easy way... I remember kids at school talking about it, and that night I asked my mom and she confirmed it was true, and I cried. A lot.<br /><br />Funny you recall "The Clash of Arms" so well, because I have a really vivid memory attached to it too. Until rereading it last year, I'm not sure I would have remembered the full story, but I did recall bits and pieces... but the main memory I have of it is that we were at a department store, I think Mervyn's -- and it was evening for some reason, which was odd since we didn't usually go shopping like that at night -- and my mom bought me Fisto, who I opened in the store and I read the comic right there.<br /><br />That's probably why Fisto is one of my favorite secondary MASTERS characters, in fact. When I played, he was just as important a member of the core cast as Man-at-Arms and Teela, even though he barely factored into the TV show.<br /><br />I have a similar memory attached to the SUPER POWERS Robin figure, now that I think about it... we were also out at a department store, but it was during the day during summer vacation, and I remember reading opening that figure and reading his minicomic there, too.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-48690994636544828642019-08-12T07:34:37.653-07:002019-08-12T07:34:37.653-07:00Presumably this was done because the Filmation ser...<i>Presumably this was done because the Filmation series would provide origins for some of the characters</i><br /><br />Narrator: It did not. :) <br /><br /><i>You couldn't find an original Autobot like Prowl on a store shelf in 1987, for example, because he had long since been discontinued by Hasbro. </i><br /><br />Good point - I definitely had some of the "wave one" MOTU figures, and I highly doubt they were bought right when they came out (in fact, I probably didn't get them until well after the show started, which would have been my entry point to the whole thing). <br /><br />True story: Hasbro not keeping older Transformers on the shelves led to the end of my childhood belief in Santa, after I asked for Soundwave for Christmas (probably circa '86) and, of course, didn't get him, because he wasn't on the toy store shelves for my parents to buy at that point in time. <br /><br /><i>Finally we have "The Clash of Arms", a spotlight on Fisto -- to the point that He-Man barely factors into the action until arriving at the very end.</i><br /><br />I had a ton of MOTU figures, and of course, they all came packed with a minicomic, but for whatever reason, this is the minicomic I remember the most, to the point where, if someone says "He-Man minicomic", I immediately picture this story. No idea why, but I still have vivid memories of it (doesn't Fisto put a long in Clawful's claw, Luke-and-the-Rancor style, at one point?). I also had no idea that was the first comic book appearance of all the baddies Fisto fights in the arena, which is crazy! Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-47898979223792469552018-09-23T16:11:28.100-07:002018-09-23T16:11:28.100-07:00Great reviews on these minicomics, my friend.Great reviews on these minicomics, my friend.Philip Gipsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10230732112594635093noreply@blogger.com