He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #1 (of 6, DC Comics, $2.99)
By James Robinson (w), Philip Tan (a) and Ruy Jose (i)
This is not a book I'd normally buy or review, but DC sent me a review copy. And I'm kinda glad they did.
Let's get one thing out of the way first: I have absolutely no nostalgic love for, or interest in, He-Man. I know many on this board do, because they were at the Golden Age when it debuted, and no matter how silly it was, they have a fondness for the character and the cartoon that will never be extinguished. That's well and good, but I was an adult by the time the cartoon debuted, and never saw a single episode. Further, I thought the name was incredibly stupid -- until the cartoon debuted, I had never heard the word "he-man" used in any way except ironically. It was a joke word, and thus I dismissed the character as a joke. In summary: I will never ridicule anyone's nostalgic love for something they grew up with, because that's normal and welcome, but I personally thought He-Man was dopey.
And, while I will always snicker at the name, this He-Man wasn't bad. As you'd expect, James Robinson -- justly lauded for The Golden Age, Starman, Earth 2 -- knows his way around a story. He sets the stage, introduces the characters, sets up a conflict, and gives us a reason to come back next issue. Neatly done.
Philip Tan's art is similar -- nothing flashy, but professional and well done. Most of the cast has yet to be introduced, but we see a few of the principals and they look exactly like we expect, only rendered a bit better than usual.
This is an all ages book, but both Robinson and Tan realize what most of us out here do: That doesn't mean it has to be dumb. It's not complicated, but that doesn't mean simple or simplistic -- both of which turn off not only adults, but the kids they're aimed at, who can smell condescension from a mile off.
In short, He-Man is a good enough book to be read by both parents and adults, but I suspect it would be most fun if the they read it together.
Replies
I really liked the first issue of this book. I kind of wish we'd been able to see more characters, but I thought what we did see what pretty darn solid.