I have been enjoying drawing this He Man parody book for the last two months. My son has recently discovered my old He Man toys in the basement and it made me realize how crazy the toys were, not to mention the show. After checking out a few episodes on youtube I just and to play with this universe. Let's keep it real, He Man is a BARBARIAN. All of these characters are essentially muscle-bound barbarians. We never saw them actually fighting in the cartoons because they were not allowed to show that sort of violence in cartoons at the time. The new comics from DC have tried to reinterpret the franchise but personally it really falls short to me. So this parody comic (or fan comic) is an exercise for me to reimagine that world as an adult and have fun with line and color.
Though there is no foul language or sex int his comic, I wouldn't suggest this for kids. It has a lot of cartoon gore and violence.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Not Your Dad’s He-Man:
Masters of the Universe Gets a Bloody Grindhouse Make-Over in New Fan-Comic
“By the power of Grayskull, I have the Power!” But what if he didn’t? Grayskull Grindhouse twists the sentimental narrative of everyone’s favorite Master of the Universe in horribly violent and uncomfortable places. A mix between an underground fan-comic and a grindhouse movie, the 28-page comic by Michael LaRiccia depicts He-Man furiously venturing across Eternia for a final confrontation with his classic nemesis Skeletor. The difference in this story is that all bets are off, no mercy, no sword play, just cold gorey revenge for the brutal torturing and slaying of Battlecat and He-Man’s beloved...Clamp Champ.
Grayskull Grindhouse is a fan-comic created by Michael LaRiccia (www.michaellariccia.com) and serialized on Strange Kids Club, a home for retro gamers, toy and comic collectors, and eighties cartoons. When asked why he chose to create a fan-comic for He-Man in such a way, LaRiccia responded:
“I recently broke out my old He-Man toys for my 5 year old son and he just loved them. He had never seen the cartoon. It made me think about what it was that was so exciting about the MOTU universe as a kid. I started looking at the design of the characters and realized it was a perfect recipe for little boys: Sci-fi, magic, fantasy, it had everything. I wanted to make a story that capture that excitement and craziness but for adults, and also reflected the world we live in today.”
Grayskull Grindhouse posts every Tuesday and Thursday on http://www.strangekidsclub.com.
About the author:
Michael LaRiccia is a graphic designer, illustrator, comic book artist, and writer. He received a BFA and MFA in printmaking. In 2005 he was a recipient of the Xeric grant, an award for comic book self-publishers, and has published several titles including: Black Mane, The Death of Black Mane and the Feared Self, Satori, DISCO, TOO FAST: The Story of Blood Billin, Pirahnaz, and Tangled Planet. In the past he has done work for educational publishers, theaters, children's books, and universities. Currently working on multiple comic book and illustration projects, LaRiccia periodically teaches cartooning for children and exhibits at alternative comics conferences on the east coast. More at www.michaellariccia.com.
About the website:
Strange Kids Club—an online digest of the strange, geeky and subversive—has been dumpster diving through the underbelly of pop culture nostalgia since 2009. Founded by Rondal Scott, Strange Kids Club began life as an art and culture blog but has since grown into a lifestyle brand focused on comics, toys, film, animation and fashion. While the website delivers a daily dose of satirical and totally biased opinions on entertainment news, the brand is also committed to producing original content which includes comics, magazines, collectible art prints, spoof stickers, digital trading cards and parody apparel.
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