Masters of the Universe Promotional Posters
Mattel
1984 - 1987
In conjunction with numerous blogs, we're posting a special post dedicated to the ultimate man of muscles, He-Man. We'll include a list of fellow bloggers at the end of this article.
A really awesome aspect to collecting Masters of the Universe toys in the 80's - Or rather, playing with Masters of the Universe toys in the 80's - was that every so often Mattel would put out wonderful promotional posters for us kids. More so fantastic to this idea was that the posters were free...With purchase of "X" amount of figures.
Each poster featured wonderful painted artwork of the toys, and served not only as a fantastic portrait to hang on your walls, but also as an excellent visual checklist. The posters were produced consecutively each year from 1984 to 1987.
There are two versions of each poster known to exist. The most common are those that have the printed names of all the characters showcased. The second version has no names printed on the artwork. Personally, we prefer the ones with the names printed.
1984 - AKA He-Man and Skeletor Castles
1985 - AKA The Evil Horde
For those of you looking to add a little of the vintage He-Man line nostalgia to your collections, but shy away due to high secondary market prices, these posters could be what you're looking for. Though some sellers try to list the posters as high as $100.00 each, they can typically be obtained for $15.00 to $20.00 each - However, be mindful of reprints if you're after the authentic ones.
1986 - AKA Eternia
1987 - AKA Preternia
These posters are fantastic! They come from a period in time that Photoshop didn't exist. As such, they were nicely painted by artists that actually worked to earn a living as opposed to just cropping photographs digitally. Boy, how many digital designers did we just tick off with that comment?
On that note, we wrap up our Masters of the Universe Day contribution. Don't forget to check out all the other great bloggers out there who are posting in celebration of the day;
Action Figure Adventures
Action Figure Barbecue
Battle Grip
Diary of a Dorkette
Hoard World
Needless Things
Nerditis
Toyriffic
Masters of the Universe Day logos created by The Toy Box using artwork of Orko created by KWilkinson of Deviant Art.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
On that note, we wrap up our Masters of the Universe Day contribution. Don't forget to check out all the other great bloggers out there who are posting in celebration of the day;Action Figure Adventures
Action Figure Barbecue
Battle Grip
Diary of a Dorkette
Hoard World
Needless Things
Nerditis
Toyriffic
Masters of the Universe Day logos created by The Toy Box using artwork of Orko created by KWilkinson of Deviant Art.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
Those posters are glorious!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I ever realized how complicated the He-Man lore was back then. I probably should have have read more of the cardbacks.
The amount of love that both Mattel and Filmation put into Masters of the Universe shines through in the detail and lore of the series. It's part of why we believe the series in both cartoon and plastic have become so iconic. It's not just a man of muscles running around defeating evil, but rather characters which have been developed to such a point that even the bad guys are loveable - In an evil sort of way.
DeleteI just got the new MOTU art book in the mail this evening so I'm excited to spend more time immersing myself in Eternian and Etherian art!
ReplyDeleteI'm always a big fan of these beautiful posters. I actually have the Preternian poster hanging on the wall in front of me. It's weird: It's a scan, but a high quality scan that someone had very nicely framed. It's even on a mat. I bought it at a flea market for $5 with the very heavy frame and picture hanging wire included. I have no idea where it came from but it's insanely attractive.
I wanted to get the MotU art book, but had to cut back on the amount of large hardback coffee table books I was buying. I literally have so many that I could build a coffee table out of them.
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