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"A Fishy Business" is the second mini comic to be released in the Second Wave of Princess of Power action fashion dolls. It is notable for introducing us to Scratchin' Sound Catra, Mermista, Peekablue, Sea Harp and the Crystal Falls play set. Catra returns after being absent in the first mini comic of the second series - her Scratching' Sound variant costume does not get any explanation. Catra is at a river that is fed by the Crystal Falls. She's built a convoluted contraption called the waterwheel that she will use to capture marine life, which she will then use to populate her marine themed amusement park. The contraption works well, and Catra deposits her captures in a giant fishbowl.
Days later, Adora, Spirit, Peekablue and Mermista are gathered at the Crystal Falls. A young seal comes to Mermista, who is able to communicate with the animal. The seal tells Mermista that many of his marine friends have gone missing. Adora dashes away to find help, and becomes She-Ra. She advises that the group split up to find the missing marine friends. Peekablue, not wanting to get her feathers wet explores the shore. She-Ra and Mermista explore the underwater depths. We discover that She-Ra can maneuver easily underwater, can breathe without assistance, and can communicate with animals. Underwater, nothing is discovered. But on land, Peekablue uses her unique abilities to peer under water and far away, and ends up finding Catra's waterwheel. Peekablue finds Catra, who hisses and dismisses the magical feathered spy. Peekablue reports back to She-Ra, who is convinced that Catra knows where the missing marine animals are. Mermista displays another ability by changing her fish tail into legs and feet, accompanying her allies by land. She-Ra finds the blueprints for the waterwheel upon arriving at the wicked contraption. Catra attempts to make the trio leave, but a spray of water from Mermista's necklace quells the feline mistress. She-Ra frees the marine animals, and turns the waterwheel into an underwater ferris wheel for the marine friends to enjoy. OBSERVATIONS:
REVIEW: This issue is continuing the trend of blatant toy introduction - of course, that's what these mini comics are for, but a little fun adventure tale would be nice. The story is fluffy, and somewhat ludicrous. Though Catra is back, she is not the wicked sorceress that we had in Wave 1 - this is her first issue in Wave 2, so we'll see how the rest of the series goes. Catra is mischievous, and isn't really much of a threat - she's more of a bad girl that the She-Ra Sorority has to straighten out every now and again. This issue does a good job of setting up Peekablue and Mermista's powers, not so good in character development though. The Sea Harp and Crystal Falls are shown, but totally wasted, and Catra's new outfit is unfortunately only that. Images courtesy of he-man.org ACROSS THE CRYSTAL LIGHT BARRIER is the first mini comic of Wave 2 of the original Princess of Power toy line. It introduces Starburst She-Ra, Crystal Swiftwind, Crystal Sundancer and Crystal Moonbeam. Though he didn't receive a figure Josh is introduced as a prominent character as well - he has gone on to have a fan following.
The story starts with Adora, Bow, Glimmer and Josh having a picnic. Spirit and Arrow are there too - interestingly, Arrow is not a pegasus, just a regular powder blue horse - I wonder if he requires a magical change. Adora and Glimmer race on Spirit and Arrow respectively. Suddenly, a mysterious portal randomly appears. Adora and Spirit walk through, and emerge in Crystal World. After some time, they encounter a herd of crystal pegasi - The Guardians of Crystal World. Adora meets Crystal Moonbeam, who warns of the difficulty of recrossing the Crystal Light Barrier, and that soon both her and Spirit will turn into crystal themselves. Adora is spared the fate, since she rides on Spirit's back, and hasn't touched Crystal World as Spirit has. Moonbeam introduces the newcomers to Crystal Sundancer - his sister. She advises that in order to cross the barrier, one must have the ability to fly across a deep chasm. Adora, still on Spirit's back, raises her sword and transforms into She-Ra and Swiftwind. This is the FIRST time in the mini comics that "For the Honor of Grayskull" is used - this is from the cartoon, and replaces the mini comic's "By the Honor of Grayskull" from the first wave. Transforming on Crystal World augments She-Ra, who's now in her Starburst attire. Swiftwind is crystalized. With Moonbeam and Sundancer, She-Ra and Swiftwind fly over the chasm - effectively crossing the barrier. Bow, Josh and Glimmer were searching worriedly. She-Ra changes back into Adora and Spirit - not wanting to reveal her secret. She introduces her friends to Moonbeam and Sundancer. OBSERVATIONS:
REVIEW: This issue is strongly lacking in story. Though the mini comics are for kids, and are meant to market the toys, there's very little going on here. There's no explanation for what the Crystal Light Barrier is, why it appeared, and why Adora would thoughtlessly walk through it. Catra's presence is sourly lacking, but I don't think there's much room for her with having to introduce 4 new toys. Adventure of the Blue Diamond is the fifth and final mini comic in the first wave of the vintage Princess of Power toy line. It is notable for introducing Double Trouble and Frosta, and was known for being shipped with their figures. Kowl rushes to a contemplating Adora to warn her of trouble. Catra is up to no good again, and Adora quickly changes into She-Ra (albeit the only difference is that her cape disappears). She tells Kowl to summon Bow and Double Trouble to help. It seems that Catra has somehow summoned a blizzard that is chilling Etheria. She-Ra sends Double Trouble to do some reconnaissance - with a signal from Double, She-Ra and Bow will fly to assist her in the FLUTTER PLANE.
Double soon finds Catra's trail, and then her cave. Inside, Catra has Frosta held prisoner, and has taken control of the SNOW CAPE. Double changes her face (which is potentially a magical process that tricks Catra into seeing her as a completely different person) and brings greetings to Catra. Catra explains how she tricked Frosta into giving the cape to the evil sorceress. The cape seems to protect its wearer from the terrible cold, and also holds the key to finding the BLUE DIAMOND. Upon taking Frosta prisoner, Catra also seized her wand and had used it to cast the planetary blizzard spell. With the Blue Diamond, she can make the spell's affects permanent and easily take control of Etheria. Catra commands Double to guard Frosta, while she uses her newfound map to seek out the Blue Diamond. Once the feline villain was gone, Double summons She-Ra and Bow. Frosta explains that she had been lonely in the north, and was happy to give Catra her snow cape in exchange for her company. The new allies race to stop Catra before she can turn Etheria into a frozen wasteland. She-Ra and company find Catra, who has already found the Blue Ice Diamond, and has cast her spell. Etheria's Daystar is shrouded in darkness - it seems Catra's era of darkness has begun. Frosta hoping to stop the wicked sorceress freezes her with her ice wand (which must've been left in the cave), but it looks to be too late. She-Ra takes the diamond and raises her sword. Inexplicably, her mask-tiara appears, and she shatters the diamond with her sword. She prompts Bow to shoot the core of the diamond into the eclipsed daystar with one of his arrows. Bow's shot is spot-on, and soon the light returns to the land. She-Ra dispenses the moral that friendship cannot be bought or sold to a thankful Frosta, who makes an attempt to give She-ra her show cape. OBSERVATIONS:
REVIEW: Short and to the point, this issue does a good job of introducing Double Trouble as a new character, but leaves little for Frosta, who plays damsel in distress for much of the story. Even still, the story gives each character a moment to shine, and She-Ra is depicted as a strong and cunning leader. Previous issues had moments of "fluffiness", but this issue was a straightforward adventure story. Catra is depicted as a worthy trickster of a villain, who comes close to achieving her plan - if it weren't for Kowl the know it owl and the duplicitous Double Trouble. I have had the pleasure and honor of corresponding with Justine Dantzer, creator of the Princess of Power toyline, via email. She has been very busy since her appearance at this year's Power-Con. She has several projects in the works that will reveal her involvement with the original POP toyline, as well as others like Carebears and Robotech! Expect to see more from her as time progresses - particularly the much anticipated PRINCESSOFPOWERGENESIS.com website!
Currently, she is featuring her artwork on t-shirts (which made their debut at Power-Con). Here, you see the earliest concept work for She-Ra, Catra, Bow and Kowl! YES! She-Ra (not named at this point) looks pretty much EXACTLY like Teela. The reason for this is because the idea for a female action doll line evolved out of the revelation that Teela was VERY popular, and actually brought girls to the MOTU brand. So the initial conceptualization process started with TEELA! Justine expanded on the Teela concept by augmenting her cobra mask-helmet to be closer to a tiara (an element that would become a mainstay of She-Ra's design), pushing the colorful rooted hair concept, and adding in soft goods clothing that could be removable and adjustable. Ms. Dantzer would partake in a lot more back and forth with Marketing and other departments as the concept evolved further to be a more separate and distinct design. Bow would remain the closest to his original design, as would Kowl - who Justine named herself. Catra would experience several changes, although the mask and furry skirt with tail remained part of the toy design right to the end. If you would like to purchase one of Justine Dantzer's shirts, she has posted them on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/rustylouisa/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from= "Disappearing Treasures" is the fourth mini comic in the vintage Princess of Power toy line. It shipped with the Glimmer and Castaspella figures. We find Princess Adora in the palace gardens - the gardens surrounding Crystal Castle. While gardening with Kowl, Adora finds a treasure chest. Kowl urges her to open the chest. Finding treasures inside, Adora shares them with Glimmer and Castaspella. This is our first introduction to these two characters. Castaspella casts a spell on the treasure to keep Catra at bay. Catra comes and steals the treasure, as Adora and company return to their palace duties. Catra takes the treasures back to her lair in the Dark Forest, and soon falls victim to Castaspella's spell - she sees a reflection of an old withered crone in one of the treasures. In a panic, Catra throws the treasure in a nearby lake. She then sees her true reflection, her beautiful self looking back at her. We then discover that Catra has a fear of water, and she wonders how she will get the treasure back. Meanwhile, Kowl discovers that the treasure has been stolen, and quickly alerts Adora. The Princess of Power transforms into the masked She-Ra, and leads her friends to the Dark Forest. In the previous issue, the Dark Forest was treacherous, but Glimmer's Staff of Light leads the way to Catra's lair. A gremlin comes to stop them, but She-Ra casts a spell, turning the gremlin into a harmless butterfly. Glimmer points out Catra's "secret" lair. She-Ra and company soon find Catra trapped at the lake by her own reflection. Apparently Castaspella's spell would have led Catra to drown in the lake if left alone. She-Ra urges Castaspella to undo the spell. Catra transforms into a kitten and flees.
This issue continues the theme of discovering magical treasures and trinkets hidden throughout Etheria. There's no answer to where the treasure originated from. The story makes good use of both Glimmer and Castaspella's abilities, though it does not give us much background for these two new characters. There's no mention of Glimmer's relation to Angella (if any), or Castaspella's role as queen of Mysticor (if she is queen at all in this continuity). The story suggests that Adora has already known these characters for a while. Castaspella is apparently quite powerful, as Catra easily fell victim to the sorceress's spell. Adora again transforms into She-Ra by chanting "By the Honor of Grayskull". The mask continues to erroneously disappear as the story moves forward, suggesting that becoming She-Ra is more of a momentary "charge up". The art is consistent with the previous issue, although at times it doesn't clearly communicate elements of the story - it was difficult to see that Catra was in any true danger. This story seems to undermine Catra's nature as a powerful sorceress, possibly suggesting that she's more mischievous rather than be an actual threat. Images courtesy of he-man.org The "Hidden Symbols Mystery" is the third mini comic in the vintage Princess of Power toy line. It was released with Bow, Kowl and Bow/Arrow toys in 1985. This comic is notable for introducing Bow and Kowl to collectors. Bow ventures into the Dark Forest. We learn that the Dark Forest is the exact opposite of the Whispering Woods - it's enchanted, gripping those that enter with evil gloom. The Dark Forest is apparently a base of operations for Catra. She spies on the "Great Etherian Archer" and intends to take him to add to her ranks. Catra again transforms into a black cat - but still a diminutive kitten. Bow ventures to rescue the black kitten who seems to be in peril, but the wicked feline sorceress reveals herself, and her plans for the foolhardy warrior.
Kowl, after seeing Bow being captured, rushes to Adora, Speaking in rhyme, Kowl tells the Princess of Bow's trouble. Adora, quickly changes into She-Ra - in front of Kowl (he apparently is aware of her powers here too). "By the Honor of Grayskull" is used again. She-Ra and Kowl rush to Bow's aid. Venturing to the spot where Bow was captured, She-Ra and Kowl only find a cloth with strange symbols. They seek out the Wizardess - presumably the same character that was introduced in the previous mini comic "Journey to Mizar". The Wizardess provides a gemstone that deciphers the symbols on the cloth, and thus Bow's location. She-Ra and Kowl find the door to the Dark Forest, Meanwhile, Catra continues her attempts in seducing Bow. Interestingly, she states how Bow has served Adora for years, even though this is the third Princess of Power mini comic, but the FIRST time we encounter him. Bow refuses, and Catra unleashes her phantom warriors to subdue him. Bow fights back, firing an arrow that strikes two of his targets, but the arrow passes through them. Catra displays how powerful she is by catching the speeding arrow and disintergrates it in her hand. She retaliates by casting a spell over Bow's heart, but She-Ra arrives to foil the spell. She undoes the evil sorceress's spell, and returns the heart to Bow. They escape via Swift Wind, and Catra - having lost the "Heart of Darkness" flees. Review: This issue introduces Bow and Kowl well for the most part. However, there is no true motivation for why Bow would venture into the Dark Forest alone. The Dark Forest is clearly Catra's base of operations, so it makes no sense why Bow would risk endangering himself, other than a flawed overconfidence. Catra's interest in him too is not totally clear - is she attracted to him? Is she interested in increasing the size of her army? Will she use Bow to lure Adora? The story also potentially continues to be unclear about the She-Ra/Adora dynamic. Upon transforming into She-Ra, the tiara produces a mask on her face as before - albeit, Adora/She-Ra's attire remains the same. Throughout the rest of the story, the mask appears and disappears at random. At the end of the story, Bow seems to be aware of Adora's ability to "power up" - there is no mention of She-Ra as a separate person who came to rescue him. Catra continues to display magical abilities that place her as She-Ra's most powerful adversary, morphing into a cat casting spells and easily thwarting Bow's attack. In this story, she shows that she has phantom warriors at her command. In the first issue, she has cat goblins. In the second, catbirds. Though she only has Entrapta as an ally in the toy line, the comics suggest she has a slew of minions at her beck and call. This being said, we don't know what her overall goal is in the series, despite this being the third issue. She wants to conquer Etheria, but why? How far does her power and influence reach? We have yet to get a sense of this. It's a children's mini comic, so such details aren't important. It is suggested that the Dark Forest is where Catra is her most powerful - She-Ra has to use her wits to defeat her. But upon foiling the evil sorceress's spell, Catra retreats in utter defeat. The setup of her being a powerful villain is instantly deflated despite a decent set up. This is a contrived execution of the "villains can't be allowed to win" message. Observations:
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AuthorMike Jenkins is a fan of Princess of Power. All posts will explore past and present of the world of She-Ra. Archives
January 2018
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