[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writers: Rob David & Lloyd Goldfine
Artists: Freddie E. Williams II & Jeremy Colwell
Summary
The Ancient Spirits of Evil are unleashed on Eternia while Lion-O tries to resurrect Adam.
Positives
The cover by Freddie E. Williams II is okay. I don’t really like the background but the color contrast is cool. I like the energies from the two characters colliding. And I imagine the image of He-Man and Lion-O fighting might appeal to fans of these shows. I don’t care about heroes fighting so it doesn’t do much for me.
The interior art is okay as well; the issue is drawn by Williams II and colored by Jeremy Colwell. I do like Colwell’s colors. His uses of blues and purples work well to create a unique look and atmosphere.
Cringer gets to be a Thundercat and that is awesome.
Negatives
I still don’t like the way He-Man is drawn; he’s too big. I understand that is kind of what he looked like on the show but it looks ridiculous. His muscles have muscles and then those muscles have muscles. It’s overkill that takes me out of the story.
The book is a little gruesome. I understand that the point of this new line is to interpret these cartoons for children in a more mature way but I don’t think it works here. It’s certainly glum and violent but the story is still insanely over the top and goofy. The material is really unchanged; it’s just more violent and taken more seriously. It feels tonally off to me. There’s a scene in which the decapitated head of Adam’s father has been placed on a pike. It’s just a vision but it still seems strange to me.
Heroes fighting each other is not interesting to me so this issue is boring. He-Man and Lion-O fighting takes up a lot of the issue and it’s not an actual conflict. I won’t give away what’s happening and why they fight but it’s not that engaging.
Verdict
Overall, the issue doesn’t work for me. The art is fine for the most part with some cool colors. I enjoyed some little moments such as Cringer becoming a Thundercat and Skeletor being Skeletor. But, the main bulk of the issue is boring to me with the big fight and the tone of this series is not working for me. I don’t recommend reading this issue.
