Masters of the Universe Classics Spirit of Hordak Review (Mattel) / Vale Earl Norem 1924-2015

The review included in this blog entry was originally published way back in October 2013 on Poeghostal.com. It was written specifically for Poe Ghostal's site so may contain specific references to the site etc. Due to the age of the article, some of the information contained within may have dated somewhat. For example, obviously since the Spirit of Hordak chase figure came out, we've had Loo-Kee and Kowl as well as the recent Spirit of King Grayskull (Which I still don't have! OMC*). This version contains slightly different wording as well as many new links that were originally removed from the final version by the editor. You can check out the originally published version on Poe Ghostal's site here.

Before we begin this recycled review, I'd just like to pay tribute to one of the greatest illustrators who ever walked the Earth: Mr. Earl Norem. Along with the likes of William George and Alfredo Alcala, Earl Norem was an integral element of the Masters of the Universe mythos in its illustrated form. Aside from MOTU however, he was just an all-round wonderful artist. I was literally only just looking at some of his brilliant work and reading the interview with him in the recent Masters of the Universe Art Book a few days before he passed. Here's some footage of the man himself hanging out with Stan Lee at a con a few years back. Rest in peace, Earl Norem. You will be sorely missed but thankfully your decades of amazing work will be with us for generations to come.

VALE EARL NOREM 1924-2015

*Oh My Crom!

MOTU DAY 2015: FIVE THINGS YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE FROM THEIR VINTAGE GOLDEN BOOKS ADVENTURES

FOR THOSE WHO CAME IN LATE.......

MOTU Day is April 28th or so it was decreed back in 1987 by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.

He might not have meant for anybody to celebrate it in 1988 or ever again, but it's still an absolute fact. 

This actually happened. 

It doesn't matter that it was created for the sole purpose of promoting the POWER TOUR that was running through LA at the time - if it was good enough for Mayor Tom Bradley and the fine people of Los Angeles, it's good enough for you. 

MOTU has an actual day. (See: Los Angeles Times Article April 23rd, 1987 to read it transcribed in print)

So it was declared, so it shall be done. Forever and ever.  He-men.

MOTU DAY 2015 logo by The Toy Box

Masters of the Universe Classics Hordak Review (Mattel)

This review was originally published way back in April 2013 on Doomkick.com. It was written specifically for the Doomkick site's 1st Anniversary celebrations so may contain specific references to the site etc. Due to the age of the article, some of the information contained within may have dated somewhat. Although this piece was actually published before my "Mosquitor" guest review on Poe Ghostal's site, it is still chronologically (in terms of the order I wrote them) the second guest review I ever did. You can check out the originally published version (that comes with an introduction from Hoard World's "management") on the Doomkick site here.

Hi. I'm Hoardax.

Yes, the Hoardax. Maybe you've heard of me or maybe you've heard of me!

This isn't about me today, though. That was just a formality to set my new audience at ease. I am completely out of my comfort zone. Normally, I'd be talking to the legion of Hoard Worlders over on my Facey B page or on The Blog - to rapturous applause, often a standing ovation.

But today, I talk to YOU - The Doomkickers. Be gentle with me, won't you? Like many artists, or siblings of Evil Dictators who have become estranged due to a conflict of interests (He wanted to murder everybody all the time; I enjoy collecting nice things and sharing my love of said things with the world via the internets), I am very sensitive.

Masters of the Universe Classics Mosquitor Figure Review (Mattel)

This review was originally published way back in May 2013 on Poe Ghostal.com. It was written specifically for Poe's site so contains many references (and links) to his other reviews. Due to the age of the article, some of the information contained within may have dated somewhat.  This is the complete, unabridged version. You can check out the slightly edited version on Poe Ghostal's site here.

The latest addition to The Mighty Horde's army is Mosquitor The Evil Energy Draining Insectoid, who was released last December. He sold out reasonably quickly after he went on sale but has since turned up on Mattycollector for sale as excess Customer Service Stock. Which has also sold out. If you missed out, there's a pretty good chance he's still floating around on eBay for prices somewhere higher than Chief Carnivus or Dekker but much less than Whiplash or Beastman.

To my knowledge, Mosquitor never made an appearance in the Filmation cartoon or the 200x version. He did, however, get his own front cover fighting He-man in one of those Marvel Star Comics of the late 80s. Issue 8, I believe it was.

As such, we've never really known that much about him. All we know is that he's one of The Horde, he has a Mosquito head and he sucks blood. Oh, and that he's actually FEMALE thanks to The Fwoosh and their magnificent, fact-based logic.

It's well documented that Mosquitor is Pixel Dan's favourite MOTU character EVER. This was irrefutably proven once and for all by this video where Dan's celebration of finally receiving a MOTUC version results in a Kafka-esque Metamorphosis....and Gangnam Style Dancing. These days it's hard to even think about Mosquitor without thinking about Pixel Dan. (Or do I have some kind of problem?) In fact, Poe talked to him just the other day about the concept of a Toy Fan's favourite obscure character being called "My Mosquitor."

The "My Mosquitor" definition revolves around a "guilty pleasure" character that isn't popular with everybody. Now, there's a chance Pixel Dan might read this but this isn't why I'm saying what I'm about to say.....

WHO DOESN'T LOVE MOSQUITOR? Seriously. I want a show of hands.

He/She is a MOSQUITO-headed vampire that SUCKS BLOOD! The vintage figure had a blood-pumping chest action! Are you kidding me? That's objectively the best thing that ever happened.

But is the MOTUC re-imagining of Mosquitor a piece of black plastic recycling? Let's find out.

BRING YOUR MAN-E-FACES TO WORK DAY ON HOARD WORLD!

So there I was. At home. It was September 2nd. Just trying to do a nice, honest day's work. Taking pics. Listing on eBay. Being excellent on social media. That sort of thing.

That's when it happened. This guy (I think his name was "Manny") turns up. No hello. No nothin'. And he just won't leave me alone. He doesn't say a word. He just stands there. Watching me. Hugging me. Posin' for pics like the one you just saw.

AN OPEN LETTER TO JEFF WADLOW - DIRECTOR OF THE UPCOMING MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE FILM.

Jeff Wadlow (Writer/Director of Kick-Ass 2, the upcoming X-Force film and allegedly the new He-man film).
Pic Source: Celluloid & Cigarette Burns.

I don't expect that Mr. Wadlow will ever see this (however, I plan on immediately tweeting this to him after I publish it....so, who knows?) but I do think that if there was ever a director on Earth who was directing a Masters of the Universe film who might actually read this, it's the one who turned up to SDCC 2014 and chatted to MOTU fans about the Masters of the Universe movie.

Previously here on Hoard World, I have dream cast the new Masters of the Universe film if you haven't read that yet (Jeff, you can take a look too, if you like pal) but this will indeed be the first time I have directly addressed a current director of the new Masters of the Universe film using the magic of the internets.

Ahem.

Here goes...

WHAT HAS HONG KONG PHOOEY DONE FOR ME LATELY? aka HOW TO KENNY ROGERS.

The answer is: Not enough.

Sometimes you have to be Kenny Rogers.

You have to Kenny Rogers the heck out of an aspect of your life.

And that can be a gamble.

But knowing when to fold 'em. When to hold 'em. When to walk away. And when to run, is how you be Kenny Rogers successfully.

And sometimes you have to be Kenny Rogers about something. You have no choice.

The time for me to be Kenny Rogers is NOW and that "something" I mentioned earlier is my vast collection of things I quite like.

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE DAY 2014: THE CLIP SHOW

We hadn't really planned on doing anything for MOTU Day this year. Never say never.

FOR THOSE WHO CAME IN LATE.......

MOTU Day is April 28th or so it was decreed back in 1987 by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley.

He might not have meant for anybody to celebrate it in 1988 or ever again, but it's still an absolute fact.

This actually happened.

It doesn't matter that it was created for the sole purpose of promoting the POWER TOUR that was running through LA at the time - if it was good enough for Mayor Tom Bradley and the fine people of Los Angeles, it's good enough for you.

MOTU has an actual day. (See: Los Angeles Times Article April 23rd, 1987 to read it transcribed in print)

So it was declared, so it shall be done. Forever and ever.  He-men.

The oversized He-man and Skeletor heads in this pic are actually vintage pencil toppers, in case you didn't already know. I just shoved them on top of their Classics counterparts. 'Cause I'm an artist.

SPOTLIGHT ON: E.A. HORDACUS & DARK RIDER by KABOOM TOYS

Geldor, E.A. Hordacus and your pal, Hoardax.

It's a great pleasure to be back again to spotlight more fantastic Toy Artists from around the globe.

This is the final installment of what has been a quartet of specifically focused Hoard World Spotlight Features.

The previous spotlights (in case you missed them) were:

• Luke Toywalker & Pablo Perra's Wrestlers Of The Universe. 
• Ryan Hall's 3-D Paper Toy Art pieces. 
• Eric Nilla & Wolf Voigt's M.U.S.C.L.E.S. of the Universe.

VALENTINE'S DAY featuring EXCLUSIVE tips from TV's Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad fame.

Welcome to Valentine's Day on Hoard World - the only blog that is 99.1% pure...ROMANCE.

Last year, that jerk Hoardax gave you the Top 5 Valentine's Day Tips of All Time.

Well, I'm here to tell you - his romance was inferior.

This is the new shizz.

Let's cook.

GUEST COLUMN: TOP 5 ACTION FIGURE LINES WITH AWESOME ARTICULATION by DOOMKICK.COM!

All photos taken and text written in this guest spot by Jesse Chagnon.

This is a guest article by prolific toy review site DOOM KICK! Thanks for getting on board The Hoard Dr. Rampageo!

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE DAY!

This is how Trap Jaw and Fang Man celebrated MOTU Day this year.

I bet you've been crossing off dates on your wall calendar, counting down the sleeps and waiting feverishly in anticipation while looking at a clock. I bet you thought the day would never arrive. Well, it finally has and that time is NOW.

It's Masters Of The Universe Day!

I know there's three or four of you out there that are wondering what MOTU Day is? That's ok. Don't be alarmed, embarrassed or even ashamed of yourself. We're all friends here. Theoretically.

MOTU Day is April 28th or so it was decreed back in 1987 by Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. He might not have meant for anybody to celebrate it in 1988 or ever again, but it's still an absolute fact. This actually happened. It doesn't matter that it was created for the sole purpose of promoting the POWER TOUR that was running through LA at the time - if it was good enough for Mayor Tom Bradley and the fine people of Los Angeles, it's good enough for you.  MOTU has an actual day. (See: Los Angeles Times Article April 23rd, 1987 to read it transcribed in print)

So it was declared, so it shall be done. Forever and ever.  He-men.

But what are you supposed to do on Masters Of The Universe Day?

I guess that's up to you.

Picture by DOOMKICK.

There were some people out there who did the only thing any right-minded MOTU FAN could summon up the energy to do. They BLOGGED. Oh, how they blogged. They blogged the Stinkor out of it.

History would forever remember them from that day forth as
The Magnificent Seven

...people what done blogs about MOTU on April 28th 2013 and stuff.

Each site has special MOTU surprises for all those playing along at home. It's a veritable treasure trove of content you will almost definitely enjoy:

ItsAllTrue.net talk about He-man. All of the He-man. It's quite good. You should read it after you read this. The fine folk at DoomKick (who had the bright idea of reviving MOTU Day for the people and spearheaded this cross-over) have done not ONE but three MOTUC reviews covering Skeletor, Battle Armor Skeletor and Snake Face (whom I still haven't received in the mail yet because I live off-planet). Preternia give Fang Man a going over with some fantastic pics. Battlegrip has more MOTU-related content than you can poke a Power Sword at and The Epic Review takes a walk down memory lane with their Top 5 MOTU-related memories! I also have it on good authority that the infamous Poe Ghostal is taking a long, hard look at Jitsu.

But what about lil' ol' me?

How did Hoard World spend MOTU Day? Great question. Glad you asked.

EXCLUSIVE: VINTAGE AUSTRALIAN TOY CATALOGUES FROM THE 80s AND 90s!

1985 Masters Of The Universe Competition found in an Australian Magazine
(not 100% sure which one, but it has been narrowed down to either TV WEEK, WOMAN'S WEEKLY or NEW IDEA)
I wonder who won the Masters Of The Universe SUPER 550 Competition? Was it YOU?

Greetings Hoard Worlders!

Earlier this week, one of your fellow Hoard Worlders (Mr. Brendan Ryan) approached me with some rare scans from his personal archives!

Many of them, I have never seen before (in real life or online) but a lot I do vaguely recall from my own childhood.

Nevertheless, I couldn't possibly keep them to myself and with Brendan's blessing they have been released back into the loving eyes of the viewing public.

This is all very exciting and a little bit of a Hoard World Exclusive since I have had difficulty locating ANY of these elsewhere.

Never-before-seen Toy Catalogues? Well, not quite. But it's been a long time since anyone's seen these.

Let's begin, shall we? I have such sights to show you.

TOP 5 VALENTINE'S DAY TIPS OF ALL TIME!

Hoardax's Online Dating Profile 

NAME: Harold H. Hoardax

OCCUPATION: Overlord/Part-time eBay seller

AGE: You don't wanna know.

SEX: See Above.

LOCATION: Hoard World.

LOOKING FOR: Love in all the wrong places. 

LIKES

Hoarding

Plastic Things

Hoarding Plastic Things

DISLIKES

My brother Hordak

Going outside

Dust.

Valentine's Day. 

Love it or hate it - you can't escape it. 

Sadly, even Hoard World isn't safe.

And as it turns out there's a whole 'nother side to Hoard World that you ain't seen before.

I may not be able to write a dating profile to save my plastic behind but I know what love is.

I present to you now:

HOARDAX'S BEST EVER VALENTINE'S DAY ADVICE.

SEASONS GREETINGS FROM HOARD WORLD!

Everybody loves LOG from Blammo! for Hoardsmas.
It's Big! It's Heavy! It's Wood! It's LOG! LOG! It's better than bad, it's good!
(The only LOG commercial I could find on YouTube was German. Just replace the word "Klotz" with "LOG" and it's pretty much the same. Unless you're German, in which case...as you were.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HE-MAN - HOARD WORLD CELEBRATES 30 YEARS OF MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE 1982-2012

I can still remember the impact that Masters Of The Universe had upon me as a child. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to articulate because I was so young when it struck me that it feels just like a series of stream-of-consciousness flashbacks. I can remember Alfredo Alcala's amazing art from the minicomics. I can remember how cool it was that Skeletor came from another dimension of people just like him. I remember how mysterious the swords and sorcery mixed with science fiction theme was.

THE FIRST 24 HOURS OF HOARD WORLD HAS BEEN GIVEN THE THUMBS UP BY KOBRA KHAN HIMSELF!

Kobra Kahn Celebrates 50 Facebook Likes!

Now that Hoardax and Hoard World have been officially launched out into the stratosphere and the welcoming arms of The Internets Public, it's time to say a quick thank you to everybody that has accepted us  with open tentacles and already shown their support so very early in the piece.

THANKS EVERYBODY!

It's all been very exciting so far. Last night watching the likes increase exponentially on the facebook page so rapidly after being announced was a real thrill. Special thanks should go in particular to the guys at Melbourne's own All Star Comics for recommending us on their page and liking us themselves - they played a massive part in spreading the good word last night. It was so awesome to start seeing people I didn't already know starting to like us. (To the people I do already know that liked us, we love and appreciate your support too!)

It is very early days (well, it's still very early DAY) but in the upcoming week expect to see a bunch of new blog entries about things we all like to hoard, a metric hoardload of new ebay listings covering all sorts of territory, and, for you local folk, watch out for some sneaky loose action figures turning up in the vintage toy cabinet at All Star Comics Melbourne.

To celebrate our 50th Facebook Like on Hoard World we gave away a mystery vintage MOTU toy. It turned out to be Kobra Kahn (pictured).

Congratulations once again to BJ for being that special FIFTIETH Hoard Worlder.

What's in store for the next lucky person to hit a Facebook Like Milestone? 

We'll all see when we get closer to the 100 mark.