Affiliate Link – How He-Man Mastered the Universe: Toy to Television to the Big Screen
It appears that Mastering the Universe* is getting a friend in my home library.
Written by Brian C. Baer, the new How He-Man Mastered the Universe: Toy to Television to the Big Screen book is available now, and I am waiting for my copy to arrive.
The product description makes me suspect that the book continues the big lie surrounding Masters of the Universe — no, the cartoon wasn’t the first to launch from toys and revolutionize the way toys were marketed — but regardless of the descriptive text on Amazon, this is a book that must be a part of my collection.
Elaborate cinematic universes and sophisticated marketing tie-ins are commonplace in entertainment today. It’s easy to forget that the transmedia trend began in 1982 with a barbarian action figure. He-Man and the other characters in Mattel’s popular Masters of the Universe toy line quickly found their way into comic books, video games, multiple television series and a Hollywood film. The original animated series (1983-1985) was the first based on an action figure, and the cult classic Masters of the Universe (1987) was the first toy-inspired live-action feature film.
Related articles
- Masters of the Universe Action Figures on Sale in 1984 (battlegrip.com)
- “Mattel hopes new chairman is ‘He-Man’ to the rescue” in 1987 (battlegrip.com)
- Mattel’s BraveStarr in 1986 (battlegrip.com)
How is Mastering the Universe?
Seems like a good read.
@Court – A good read, but not worth the prices I’m seeing these days. Also: The author comes off as a braggart.