So here’s one that slipped through the cracks on me during
the Mammoth Read-Along Masters of the Universe Marathon:
The Sword of She-Ra is a 1985 Princess of Power children’s
book written by Roger McKenzie and illustrated by Fred Fredericks. Here, Prince
Adam takes the Sword of Protection into another dimension to find its rightful
owner.
This book is, essentially, a severely abridged adaptation of
the first half of Filmation’s The Secret of the Sword film. Substantial changes
have been made (e.g., they’re rescuing Queen Angella from Beast Island rather
than He-Man, and they get there on flying goats) and the story has been
rearranged (e.g., they go to Beast Island before Adam ever finds Adora).
Aside from a single page with Hordak and Shadow Weaver, the
named Horde villains are nowhere to be found – it’s troopers all the way
through. One wonders whether this was done out of consideration for the PoP
toyline or the delicate sensibilities of the young female audience.
Fredericks’ art is generally fine. He isn’t much for
backgrounds and his male characters look stubby sometimes, but the female characters
look good and the pages where he really applies himself are solid. The Horde
Trooper are oddly colored, though. But an Earl Norem cover is always worth
getting excited about.
The Sword of She-Ra is a passable version of She-Ra’s origin
story, and it’s different enough from The Secret of the Sword that it’s worth
checking out for that reason alone. Plus, where else are you going to see
Cringer on a flying goat (sort of)?
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