Project Description

INKTOBER 52 2023 Day #6: SKULL.

Chances are, if it was a cartoon in the 1980s with an associated toy line, I’m a fan. He-Man was a cool blend of science fiction and fantasy that certainly captured my attention and imagination in my youth. I can’t say it was as influential for me as some other shows and creative works, but it’s definitely a noticeable part of the stew in my Brain that generates my ideas. In hindsight, the cartoon was a bit cheesy in the final form that hit the airwaves, but I think the original concept had a lot more to it from things I’ve heard over the years. I remember the original action figures (which I still have, by the way. Thanks mom and dad!) came packaged with mini comics, which I always thought was very cool. I don’t remember as much about them as I wish I did, but I feel like the tone was a bit…older? They read more like some of the other superhero comics of the day, whereas I think the cartoon was much more kidified. Maybe I’m just misremembering things from too many decades ago. Either way, He-Man was a staple of my childhood.

I had a few other ideas I was considering for this prompt, but I knew fairly early on I was going to wind up drawing Skelator (he’s such an iconic character with an equally iconic voice). I referred more towards the action figure for the details than the cartoon, with the exception of the skull itself. The animated version has more character in my opinion. I had a few different options for what I wanted PMD to be doing, all of which were much more serious or “animated” (in the energetic sense), but I thought this scene was funnier with Skeletor over-reacting to being “plungered” and PMD being more subdued (but decked out in He-Man garb. I particularly like the furry underwear on top of his classic flowered shorts).