Masters of the Universe (comics) facts for kids

The world of Masters of the Universe is famous for its awesome action figures, but did you know it also has many exciting comic book series? Most of these were small comics, called "minicomics," that came as a special bonus with the action figures. Big comic companies like DC, Marvel Comics, London Edition Magazines, and Image Comics also published their own standalone comic series about He-Man and his friends!

Mini-Comics: Adventures with Your Toys

Many Masters of the Universe toys came with special small comic books called minicomics. These comics told exciting stories about He-Man, Skeletor, She-Ra, and other characters. They helped bring the world of Eternia to life! Here's a list of some of these cool minicomics that came with the action figures.

First Series of Minicomics

These were some of the very first minicomics released with the original Masters of the Universe toys.

• He-Man and the Power Sword (1981)
• King of Castle Grayskull (1981)
• Battle in the Clouds (1981)
• The Vengeance of Skeletor (1981)

Second Series of Minicomics

More adventures followed with the second wave of toys.

• He-Man Meets Ram-Man (1982)
• The Ordeal of Man-E-Faces (1982)
• The Terror of Tri-Klops (1982)
• The Menace of Trap Jaw (1982)
• The Tale of Teela (1982)
• The Magic Stealer! (1982)
• The Power of...Point Dread! (1982)

Third Series: Inspired by the TV Show

Some minicomics were based on episodes from the popular He-Man and the Masters of the Universe TV show by Filmation.

• Dragon's Gift (1983) (based on the TV episode "The Dragon's Gift")
• Masks of Power (1983) (based on the TV episode "Masks of Power")
• The Secret Liquid of Life (1983) (based on the TV episode "Valley of Power")
• He-Man and the Insect People (1983)
• Double-Edged Sword (1983) (based on the TV episode "Double Edged Sword")
• The Temple of Darkness! (1983) (based on the TV episode "Temple of The Sun")
• Slave City (1983) (based on the TV episode "A Tale of Two Cities")
• The Siege of Avion (1983) (based on the TV episodes "Reign of the Monster" and "Betrayal of Stratos")
• The Clash of Arms (1983)

Fourth Series of Minicomics

New characters and new dangers appeared in these comics.

• The Obelisk (1984)
• Skeletor's Dragon (1984)
• The Battle of Roboto (1984)
• Spikor Strikes (1984)
• The Stench of Evil! (1984)
• Grizzlor - The Legend Comes Alive! (1984)
• Leech: The Master of Power Suction Unleashed! (1984)
• Mantenna and the Menace of the Evil Horde! (1984)
• Hordak: The Ruthless Leader's Revenge! (1984)
• The Treachery of Modulok (1984)

Fifth Series of Minicomics

The adventures continued with more action and new villains.

• The Flying Fists of Power! (1985)
• Rock People to the Rescue! (1985)
• King of the Snake Men (1985)
• The Terror Claws Strike! (1985)
• Escape from the Slime Pit! (1985)
• The Menace of Multi-Bot! (1985)
• The Warrior Machine! (1985)
• Eye of the Storm (1985)
• The Fastest Draw in the Universe (1985)
• The Hordes of Hordak (1985)
• Between a Rock and a Hard Place! (1985)
• Snake Attack! (1985)
• The Ultimate Battleground! (1986)

Sixth Series of Minicomics

These later minicomics explored more of Eternia's history and future.

• The Search for Keldor (1986)
• Enter...Buzz-Saw Hordak! (1986)
• Revenge of the Snake Men! (1986)
• Energy Zoids (1986)
• The Powers of Grayskull - The Legend Begins! (1986)
• The Cosmic Key (1987)

Princess of Power Minicomics

He-Man's twin sister, She-Ra, also had her own series of minicomics that came with her Princess of Power toys.

• The Story of She-Ra (1984)
• Journey to Mizar (1984)
• The Hidden Symbols Mystery (1984)
• Disappearing Treasures (1984)
• Adventure of the Blue Diamond (1984)
• Across the Crystal Light Barrier (1985)
• A Fishy Business! (1985)
• A Most Unpleasant Present (1985)
• A Born Champion (1985)
• Fantastic Fashions (1985)
• Don't Rain on my Parade! (1986)
• Where Hope Has Gone (1986)

He-Man: The New Adventures Minicomics

When He-Man went to the future in the New Adventures toy line, new minicomics told his space-faring tales.

• The New Adventure (1989)
• Skeletor's Journey (1989)
• Battle For The Crystal (1989)
• The Revenge of Skeletor! (1989)

Masters of the Universe Classics Minicomics

Years later, a new line of collector toys, Masters of the Universe Classics, brought back minicomics with new stories.

• The Powers of Grayskull Part One: The Legend Begins! (2011)
• The Powers of Grayskull Part Two: He-Ro Unleashed! (2012)
• The Powers of Grayskull Part Three: Battle for the Fate of the Universe! (2012)
• The Secret Origin of Skeletor! (2013)
• He-Man vs Skeletor - Their Final Battle! (2014)
• The Fall of Eternia Part One - Homecoming! (2015)
• The Fall of Eternia Part Two - Together Again For The First Time! (2015)
• The Fall of Eternia Part Three - The Third Ultimate Battleground (2015)

Collected Comic Book Editions

Sometimes, several comic books are put together into one bigger book. These are called "collected editions" or "trade paperbacks." They let you read a whole story arc or many issues in one go.

Dark Horse Collected Editions

Dark Horse Books has released special hardcover books that collect many of the original minicomics.

• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection (This huge book gathers almost all the original minicomics from the Masters of the Universe, Princess of Power, and He-Man toy lines, plus some from the Classics series. It's over 1200 pages long and was released in October 2015.)
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Newspaper Comic Strips (This book collects the comic strips that appeared in newspapers from 1986 to 1991.)

MVCreations Collected Editions

MVCreations also published collected editions of their Masters of the Universe comic series from the early 2000s.

• Volume 1: The Shard of Darkness (This collects the first four issues of their 2002 comic series.)
• Volume 2: Dark Reflections (This collects issues 1-6 of their 2003 comic series.)
• Masters of the Universe: Icons of Evil (This book collects special one-shot comics that focused on villains like Tri-Klops and Mer-Man.)

DC Comics Collected Editions

DC Comics has also released many collected editions of their newer Masters of the Universe comic series, which started in 2012. These books bring together the ongoing adventures of He-Man and his friends for new readers.