Masters of the Universe: The Lost Knight
Written by Geoff Johns
Pencils by Howard Porter
Inks by John Livesay
Colors by Carrie Strachan
Letters by Sal Cipriano
Cover by Howard Porter & John Livesay
DC Comics
Release Date: June 23, 2012
Cover Price: $.99

When reading Masters of the Universe: The Lost Knight, you get the feeling that if Mattel was still including mini-comics with their toys, this is the one that would be included with Sir Laser Lot. DC Comics will be releasing these shorter, digital comics every two weeks as a companion or supplement to its Masters of the Universe six-issue miniseries that debuted in comic stores on July 4th. And by the looks of things, we’re in for some GREAT reading.

I guess you could say this Geoff Johns guy knows how to write a comic. But, does he know how to write a licensed property comic? Guess what folks, all those DC Comics that he writes, at this point ARE licensed properties. And to answer my own question, YES, he does. Time/page-wise, he doesn’t have much to work with, as this comic is about 17 or 18 pages long, a little shorter than what he’s used to working with. And, to be fair, because of the digital format, most of the pages are only feature a couple of panels. BUT, what he DOES do is pack a TON of story into these panels.

Again, this is a prologue to the upcoming six-issue miniseries, so he doesn’t give too much away, and teases us just enough to make sure we’re going to come back for the next chapter. There’s a few mentions to some very important characters in Eternia’s past and even it’s future. What I loved best is that the story is about the Masters of the Universe character that he created, Sir Laser Lot. In the short time we actually spend with the character, we get a lot of characterization, clarification on some things, but there’s enough left a mystery that we can make up the rest with our imagination. Just as is should be. We also get to see some of Eternia’s familiar faces, which is nice. All in all, this a GREAT beginning to the new series. It’s really a covert introduction to the “Universe” of He-Man & Company told through the origin of a brand new character. Very clever and VERY entertaining!!

I have to admit, I’ve always loved artist Howard Porter, so seeing his name on this was a great surprise. I’m not sure how familiar he is with the property, but he does a great job rendering the word of Eternia just as it should be, and while I won’t go into spoiler territory, does a great job giving some original characters a fresh, new look. I was surprised that I got as much enjoyment as I did out of his art in the digital format. All the comics that I review are provided for me as PDF files, so I’m no stranger to looking at comics on the computer screen, but with the things that DC does with its digital comics, you can really get a fantastic, close-up view of the art and it’s spectacular. He knows how to draw the classic He-Man body, and therefore knows how to draw almost all of the other Masters of the Universe characters. I really enjoyed his art on this, and wish he was doing the rest of the series, but I’m very glad that he got to draw this opening chapter into the world of Masters of the Universe for today’s audience. His art has an energy to it, that’s perfect for the book.

What’re you waiting for? Go over to Comixology and buy this right now!!! What’s not to love? You’ve got Geoff Johns and Howard Porter on MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE and it’s .99¢!!! That’s only .99¢ more than FREE! If you’re a typical Masters of the Universe fan, you’ll secretly love it, but complain about it on the internet. If you’re new, this is the perfect gateway into the world. You get just enough of a taste so that you won’t be too overwhelmed when you get the new PRINT Masters of the Universe comic. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go play with my He-Man toys…… GO BUY THIS COMIC!!!!!