REVIEW: Masters of the Universe: Masterverse #4

3.61/5.0 Stars
Rating if the Book Were a Movie: PG-13

Creative Team 

Writer: Tim Seely
Art: Eddie Nunez, Claudia Balboni, David Rubin
Colors: Rico Renzi, David Rubin
Letters: Deron Bennett, David Rubin
Cover: Eddie Nunez, Rico Renzi, Claudia Balboni, David Rubin
Editor: Daniel Chabon
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Ratings 

Story: 4.0
Interior Artwork: 4.0
Cover Artwork: 4.0
Dialogue:  3.3
Mechanics: 3.2
Editing: 3.2

About the Book:

As Zodac and Sorceress continue to debate the merits of what it means to be He-Man, Zodac points out that the current group she focuses on are in fact villains.  Much to her surprise, as she looks into the nexus to confirm the allegations.  Which leads to the next universes to be examined!

Reviewer’s Notes:

The cover art is fearsome, eye-catching and outstanding in appearance. While I do not watch the current rendition of the Masters of the Universe cartoon, this cover is all the villains from that show, and it definitely catches your eye.  I can see this cover being a poster on the wall of fans of the current show.

The interior art continues to jump around with the story, Zodac and the Sorceress remain the same as they have from the start in the first book.  The very next panel reflects the current cartoon, and while I have not seen the cartoon, as previously stated, it is pleasing to the eye, it does look a little 3D rendered, but the art for the first story is well done, the actions are well defined and you know what the character is doing.

All of which is a good thing when the art is concerned.  The next story in this book changes the art once again.  In a previous story the He-Man from the 1980’s movie was slain during the process, so we see a new champion wielding the power.  The art for this story feels more like a tale from a movie. The transition is seamless and done quite well, as it transitions again to the end of the book where the heroes meet Zodac and the Sorceress.

The work that went into blending these different art types was very impressive as it takes the characters from each “universe” and makes sure to show them in a light all their own.  I think that honors both the story and the character in a wonderful way.

The story itself starts out with more of the same between Zodac and Soreceress, debating the merits of the different He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.  While the art matches the different universes very well, it also brings forward a wonderful plot twist.

Zodac and Sorceress are so focused on the different He-Man and their cohorts that Zodac completely misses an attack from none other than Galen Nycroft, who is better known as Modulok.  While this character has never been properly portrayed on screen, he was a mad scientist who wanted more and used his brain to achieve the power of Greyskull.

But as the story wraps up it ends up being merely a test of the merits of Prince Adam from the Kevin Smith version of the Masters of the Universe, essentially making this book series a prequel to the mini series that Kevin Smith put on Netflix.

Having read the 4 book series, I found this series to be a wonderful display of just part of the many variations of the Masters of the Universe genre.  I highly recommend this 4 book series to any fan of the Masters of the Universe!

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