PRIME HAS THE POWER!!!

The excellent Masters of The Universe movie drops on Prime Video tomorrow.

You can read my review here.

I Never Set Out To Be A Funko Collector!

My most recent Pops!: Dunk and Egg

I have no recollection of when I first acquired a Funko Pop! or even which one it was, but now - like something out of the Twilight Zone they seem to be multiplying and filling every nook and cranny in the house!

Wikipedia says of the divisive little figures:

"In 2010, the Funko Pop! line was created. Funko Pop! vinyl line are figures modelled in a style similar to the Japanese chibi style. The figures have large squarish heads, disproportionately small bodies, and large, circular black eyes"

I know some people don't get the appeal, but I find them very cute (and affordable) manifestations of the various niches within my geeky hobbies.

My most recent acquisitions were Dunk and Egg from the excellent A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms and I was very excited to receive a random (one in six, I believe) chase variant of Dunk, dressed as a knight. Of course, this means, at some point I'll need to pick up the original Dunk in scruffy clothes figure.

Originally, I had a single shelf over the door into the gamesroom that was to be the home of my modest Pop! collection, but then more continued to arrive and the horde spread out. So now you can find on book shelves and on top of glass cabinets in several rooms.

Most have been removed from their boxes (one of Rachel's rules for my collecting habits), except for a handful they consider truly collectible (mainly Pops! related to the Mortal Engines movie, based on the book by Philip Reeve).

I'll get round to releasing Dunk and Egg soon, but, at the moment, they seem quite content boxed-up as they are.

A few aren't particularly well-balanced (and have a habit of jumping off shelves in the middle of the night) and so have to lean back on books, but mostly the figures are remarkably stable and remain where they're placed.

Frieren on the far left and He-Man on the right 

Clark Kent changing into Superman, and Krypto

Sue Storm and the Kerblam! Man, hiding behind Scooby-Doo action figures

Pops! have become so pervasive in our house that Rachel even got me a personalised one: me in Pop! form (see below):

That's me, that is

Superman and Lois Lane in flight

Keeping watch from on top of the new bookcase

My original shelf in the gamesroom - filled up very quickly!

Masters of The Universe (2026)

When the evil Skeletor (a surprisingly perfect Jared Leto) and his monstrous legions invade the city of Eternos, capital city of the planet of Eternia, young Prince Adam (Artie Wilkinson-Hunt) is magically sent to Earth (with the all-important Sword of Power) by The Sorceress (Morena Baccarin).

Unfortunately, along the way he loses the sword and so spends the next 15 years on Earth looking for it.

Now grown up Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) is stuck in a tedious corporate cubicle job until he is finally reunited with his magical sword.

This sends a signal back to Eternia - drawing the attention of both Skeletor's lieutenant, Beastman (voiced by Gary Martin) and Adam's childhood friend, Teela (Riverdale's Camila Mendes), who both race to find him as quickly as possible.

Whisked back to his home planet, Adam immediately discovers it is no longer the beautiful place he remembers, but has been devastated by Skeletor and his minions. Meanwhile, the heroes Adam was surrounded by as a child are downtrodden and no longer recognise him.

It is Adam's job to channel the power of his magical inheritance, boost the morale of his old friends, and overthrow the tyrannical Skeletor.

Masters of The Universe is a great 140-minute, light-hearted, action movie, barely slowing down for its entire duration, thanks for the excellent direction of Travis Knight (sadly, no relation).

This 45-year-old franchise has a rich - and oft confusing - amount of lore behind it already, but screenplay writers Chris Butler, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee, and Dave Callaham carve their own path that is both immediately accessible to anyone coming to the story for the first time yet also honouring what has gone before (including a slew of Easter Eggs).

Emphasising Adam's time on Earth adds a swords-and-planet veneer to what has always been (to me) a pumped up swords-and-sorcery epic. His mother, Queen Marlena (Charlotte Riley) fleeting points out that she actually came from Earth, but this is never dwelt on. As with everything in Masters of The Universe this nugget sweeps in front of the audience at warp speed.

Travis Knight ensures nothing drags in his movie. From the trailers I'd feared that too much time might be spent setting up Adam's life on Earth, but I was so wrong. Even moments later on that I thought might be slowing the action down quickly hit the accelerator again.

Occasionally self-depreciating, the film's humour sometimes strays in to "more adult" territory, but this will probably be lost on younger members of the audience anyway, while the rapid fire delivery of some of the double entendres pretty much guarantees eyes and ears will be immediately distracted by the next shiny thing to flash across the screen.

While, it's not the greatest film ever made, it's full of heart and - most importantly - fun. This is no post-modern reimagining of the classic Masters of The Universe set-up: Skeletor and his army are the bad guys, Prince Adam and his are the good guys, end of.

Packed to the gills with interesting side-characters, the often camp nature of Masters of The Universe definitely has it leaning into Flash Gordon territory, but it also shares many traits with the original Star Wars movie, and, possibly in a different cinematic climate, I'm sure this could be "the next big thing".

If there is any justice in the world, Masters of The Universe will be the start of a massive new movie franchise, the final scenes (including one mid-credits) spotlight familiar faces who didn't appear in the main movie but we'd love to see more of in any upcoming projects.

BECOMING HE-MAN!!!

Know Me, Know My Shelves

Works of, or inspired by, George RR Martin, JRR Tolkien and Jim Henson

Despite the heat wave plaguing our little corner of the world this week, I think I've finished organising my wonderful new bookshelves (put together for me by Rachel's dad last year).

As they are, the shelves are a pretty decent encapsulation of the inside of my brain, focussing on my favourite authors and favourite themes.

From Westeros to the World of Mortal Engines, via the Hyborian Age and Mega-City One, right through to the Planet of The Apes and the Wild West, this is a guided tour of my psyche and my primary, literary gaming inspirations.

Of course, these are not my only book shelves in the house, but are my most recently built and filled.

Pretty sure, now, there's no more room for any more shelves... although there's always room for more books.

Philip Reeve

Conan The Barbarian

Robert E Howard

HP Lovecraft and The Cthulhu Mythos

Westerns - there are more Western paperbacks in another cupboard

Judge Dredd & 2000AD (plus a sneaky little RPG that has yet to find a home)

Planet of The Apes

Not Long Now Until We All Have The Power

MOCKBUSTERS OF THE UNIVERSE!!!

A young man must use his untapped powers to fight back against an evil alien and their army, who will stop at nothing to take over Earth and then the universe.

The Asylum's Masters of The Universe mockbuster, Master of The Universe - starring Matthew Gademske, Morgan Flanagan and Jay Kramis, and directed by Marcel Walz - is released on Friday (May 22).

If nothing else, it certainly looks like they've upped their CGI game when it comes to spaceships and the like.

The Battle for Eternia: Have You Chosen A Side?

VERSUS

WHO IS HE-MAN?

TOMORROW IS FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!!!

Tomorrow is that most wonderful day known as Free Comic Book Day (and Comic Giveaway Day, for reasons).

The day when comic book publishers (large and small) try to tempt you to try their wares - or hook existing readers in for the next "must read" story arc - with free sampler comics at your friendly local comic store.

Remember, the books may be free to you - but the store still pays for them, so don't be greedy!

I've already revealed several of the titles that have caught my eye this year, such as the two Conan comics and Marvel's "apes and aliens" book, but there's also a He-Man and the Masters of the Universe/Dungeons & Dragons offering from Dark Horse that will scratch a certain itch.

Meet The Heroes and Villains of Eternia

GET HYPED! Prince Adam's Coming Home To Eternia

Masters of The Universe sees director Travis Knight bring the legendary franchise back to the big screen in this epic live-action adventure.

After being separated for 15 years, the Sword of Power leads Prince Adam (Nicholas Galitzine) back to Eternia where he discovers his home shattered under the fiendish rule of Skeletor (Jared Leto).

To save his family and his world, Adam must join forces with his closest allies, Teela (Camila Mendes) and Duncan/Man-At-Arms (Idris Elba), and embrace his true destiny as He-Man — the most powerful man in the universe.

Skeletor's Origin Revelation Is A Bit Close To The Bone

Dive deep into the history of Eternia this August with a new maxiseries from Dark Horse Comics: Masters of the Universe - Genesis.

Discover the origins of your favourite heroes and villains!

In issue #1, we meet Skeletor - a power-hungry demon-mage determined to seize control of Castle Grayskull, conquer Eternia, and become Master of the Universe!

This 12-issue comic series unpeels the layers of Eternia's storied past through the eyes of its most heroic and most evil warriors.

Issue #1, available on August 5, is the start of a three-issue arc, written by Rich Douek, illustrated by Gavin Smith, coloured by Fabi Marques, lettered by AndWorld Design, and featuring cover art by Mark Buckingham with a variant by Lee Bermejo.

Future arcs in Masters of the Universe - Genesis will feature stories by Cavan Scott, Nick Roche, John Harris Dunning, Giovanna La Pietra, Tiffany Smith, and more!