birindale

[birindale]

Hi I just wanted to double check something I am pretty sure I read on this blog. Is the origin of C'yra of D'riluth iii from the original cannon or was it a later addition? Also what does "of D'riluth iii" actually mean? I remember there being some vagueness to what it means

Okay there's a long version and a short version of this story.

Short version: It was a later addition. In 2008 Mattel launched a toy line called Masters of the Universe Classics, which could only be ordered through their website and was aimed at the collector market. One of the things they did was include "character bios" in a sort of homage to the G.I. Joe toys of the 80s, which featured 'personnel files' that gave specializations and a brief character history, including their real names (e.g. Duke was actually named Conrad S. Hauser).

Catra's figure was released in 2011 for about $65 USD. Her bio (which I've lifted from a Poe Ghostal review) is as follows:

We (I, and my friends whom I've pestered for opinions) are pretty sure D'Riluth III is the name of her planet, even though another planet in the same solar system (from the New Adventures of He-Man in the 90s) has the Arabic numeral 7, so including Roman numerals is a strange choice.

Long version: There was a fellow working for Mattel at the time named Scott "Toyguru" Neitlich, and he was (and remains to this day) exceptionally bad at things like 'writing' and 'creativity'. He was never very interested in She-Ra, though he loves to tell the story of stealing his sister's doll one year, so to him Catra is simply an agent of the Horde... which, in order to adhere to the 2002-2003 tv show, was now 5,000 years old. This bio directly contradicts the Filmation canon of Catra's mask having belonged to the Magicat queen, for instance, and introduces a number of confusing details.

One of the least popular was Adora being Hordak's "step-daughter" instead of his "adopted daughter", which was already kind of a gray area since he didn't exactly raise her. Scott digging in his heels on the matter was actually how I learned he'd written the thing in the first place:

Now you may be wondering, jeez, it's pretty confusing and the writing isn't great but aren't you being kind of harsh? Surely the push-back from the He-Fans was bad enough. Well give me a minute, dang. This is the long version!

I reached out to him about a year and half ago to ask 1. How it's pronounced, 2. If he could confirm that D'Riluth III is the planet, and 3. If he remembered how he came up with it. He told me the following:

Some backstory here--Scott runs a bit of a one-man content farm, in an effort to avoid paying hosting fees for advertisements or actually engaging in SEO. He is a marketing consultant.

He used to upload a 5-10 minute video every day, but shortly after I contacted him that dropped to only five a week, and his weekly "Director's Commentary" videos about MOTUC figures that he worked on (largely just explaining who the character even is in an unedited stream of consciousness, as his videos became slideshows of google images) moved to bi-weekly.

I was like, okay, he left Mattel in 2014 right? So surely once he's through that year he'll get to this new series.

Nope! He's doing 2015 too! So I reached out again in January, just to like. See if he was still intending to cover the 'real names', which imo should have been part of his commentary to begin with, but...

He had forgotten <3 I explained no, I was asking about these specific questions that I had outlined in my first email (I had replied to his last message in the chain for simplicity's sake), and he just said he'd be doing it soon. So I was like oh, cool, do you know if you'll be doing one a week still? since that would put a Catra video about 4 years out as he does them in release order, and he then promised he'd get to it soon and didn't answer the question.

Annoying, certainly, but whatever. Unless one of us dies horribly I can wait it out, right?

WRONG.

Scott, being an idiot, has not credited a single one of the images he lifted from google over his four years of mostly-daily slideshows. And recently, somebody fucking noticed!

So this guy--Ethan Wilson, a very talented toy photographer and reviewer--was informed that Scott (in his capacity as Spector Creative, the name of his YouTube channel/consulting business) had been using his pictures in videos. Actually, let me use Ethan's own words here:

I decided to dig a little deeper into Spector’s channel, and found 81 instances of my photos being used in 68 of the channels videos.  None of these featured credit to me for use of the photos, and 48 of the 81 instances removed or obstructed my watermarks.

-About This Spector Creative Thing

I very strongly encourage you to read through this linked post, as it gets worse! Somehow!!

Scott, not noticing these as they came in over the course of 10 days, logged in to discover his channel had been taken down. He emailed Ethan in something of a panic to ask that Ethan reverse the claims as a 'professional favor', as Scott got all his clients through his channel's "advertising".

Now you're never gonna believe this... but when he and Ethan came to an understanding, suddenly Scott didn't give a shit.

He released a libelous video claiming Ethan had no rights to the images (he does) and that Scott could use them all he wanted because of Fair Use (he can't) and emailed Ethan the following.

First of all: this is bullshit. Copyright is automatic in the US, trademark wouldn't apply regardless, and as Scott should fucking know by now Ethan doesn't have a 'channel', he has a blog.

Second, he shot himself in the foot with the Fair Use defense by outright stating that his channel is his exclusive advertisement for his business and that he depends on his content to make a living. He said in his first video that it was "educational" 🙄

So Ethan realized Scott was a Fucking Liar and decided he should just copyright claim the rest of Scott's shit, in order to protect his images and rights thereto. YouTube can't take the channel down again unless Ethan is willing to pursue legal action--which he isn't, because he has a full time job and two kids and even though he'd probably win, it's a lot of time and energy.

I and a few others were trying to convince him that it would be worth it anyway, and looking into identifying and contacting the other artists Scott's stolen from over the years, when... Scott released a book. His first-ever graphic novel [looks into the camera like i'm on the office]

drawn entirely by AI.

So we have a frankenstein's monster of copyright infringement masquerading as illustrations (with all the uncanny valley that implies), Scott's technically and practically terrible writing, and the plot is Greek mythology. There are four and a half typos just in the free sample, and that's not including the words in images like his map or logo. He claims the title is a registered trademark but it certainly isn't registered in his state, or federally, and it's already in use by several other brands, so I wouldn't believe him even if he hadn't demonstrated a lack of understanding of copyright & trademark as recently as last week.

So I'm kinda fucking done waiting for answers! I can't trust a thing out of this guy's mouth! And he's pretty stupid, so do I even care what he thinks? I have decided that no. No I do not. I'll check back in 2028 and if he's survived + actually followed through then maybe I'll give his video a watch but until then it is simply pissing me off to remember this guy exists.

Sorry this turned into a rant I'm just really starting to loathe the guy. It's been an infuriating week or two. But uh... No, it's only canon to this one action figure line that ran for a little over a decade. We're certainly not beholden to it, it's more of a fun little in-joke for the fandom these days. You see someone use C'yra and you're like haha I know her! It's fun :3 Regardless of Scott's bullshit I enjoy seeing it around, and it's not like he owns or benefits from it in any way when maybe 1% of the people using it know where it comes from (and the people who know it was him specifically may be limited to the followers that have watched me complain about it).

Thank you for asking, I really do love asks even if the answer isn't what I want it to be lol. I'm happy to verify or explain anything I can!

#answers #gluttonforgay #catra #motu #motuc #c'yra of d'riluth iii

[birindale]

So, bizarre ask… but.

I have a family friend whose brother was a huge fan of the original He-Man. He also claims that there was some sort of character design contest for the original Evil Horde characters, before they were used for She-Ra; he claims to have gotten a, like, second or third prize by design Mantenna.

Now normally I would write this off as BS but his family seems pretty in on the idea, to the point of claiming to still have the original drawing, and also this absolutely sounds like something Mattel would do.

If you could help to corroborate and/or contradict literally any of this story, I would be extremely grateful.

Verdict: Contradict

So there was a character design contest in 1985, which is the year Mantenna was released, but there are several holes in that story.

Most pressingly, there weren't second/third place winners, just the winner (fearless photog) and 4 runners-up, none of whom resemble Mantenna.

Additionally: Ted Mayer designed Mantenna. There's a great article about it up on the Battle Ram Blog with some concept art

I'd be interested to see the drawing though! You should demand evidence :3

#answers #ogjnogththeworldeater #motu #mantenna

[birindale]

I was looking at the species chart and noticed quite a few names I do not remember as being in spop 2018, can you clarify if any of these following species names were actually used in the show or just used in supporting material? the names are Silaxians, karikoni, wolf people, and frog men. Thanks!

Absolutely, thank you for asking! The names are not included, I applied them to species which are named outside of spop 2018. Although to be fair absolutely zero species are named in spop 2018 if we don't count the First Ones or the Clones (which are more... descriptors) so it's all technically conjecture.

Huntara is a Silaxian in the 80s Filmation show (from the planet Silax)

The other three are just close enough physical matches that I feel comfortable applying the names to them, as people feel comfortable with 'magicat' for Catra.

"Crabby" here is a karikoni, which... ah. right. discord killed all my images. really shouldn't have put all my eggs in the basket. hang on

honestly he's more because of the uh. pincers.

so these are the frog men, they don't show up until the crimson waste idt? i can't find my frog men post.

and these are um. well. i call them lupes 😔 but i counted them for Wolf People bc they look pretty similar:

#answers #gluttonforgay #long posts #oh christ this is gonna take so long to fix huh #my pagesssss

[birindale]

As the third and final wave of toys launches, we must once again reckon with a 'new' She-Ra. The people of Etheria throw the 'Parade of Happiness' and march across the land, until Catra attacks with her sinister Shower Squirter, getting all the princesses soaking wet. Bubble Power She-Ra and Noble Swift Wind save the day with infinite bubbles, face-kissing, and rainbows. 

You can't make this stuff up, folks. 

Transcript/Image ID below the cut

[Image Description: 14 comic pages from the She-Ra mini-comic, “Don't Rain on My Parade!”.

Cover: Bubble Power She-Ra holds the Sword of Protection aloft, posing heroically in the Whispering Woods. Shower Power Catra lurks behind her in the trees with a sinister smile. At the top of the page is the "Princess of Power" logo, and at the bottom in tangerine is the title of the issue, "Don't Rain on My Parade!". Below that is the copyright information: "Illustrations (copyright symbol) Mattel, Inc. 1986. Hawthorne, CA 90250 U.S.A. PRINTED IN TAIWAN. All Rights Reserved (registered trademark symbol) and (trademark symbol) designate U.S. trademarks of Mattel, Inc." 

Page 1: Adora stands atop a small rock, waving at a crowd of revelers in golds and oranges. Her own cape is a high-collared golden affair, matching her boots and bracers. Both she and the crowd are dwarfed by the enormous blue trees of the Filmation-styled Whispering Woods. 

A pale blue caption box reads, "Princess Adora stood at the crest of Whispering Woods. Never had Etheria looked more beautiful and never had she felt so excited! The sweet sound of music filled the air and hundreds of people lined the path below her. "There are Frosta and Perfuma!" Adora cried, waving. "And Bow and Peekablue! Oh, I can hardly wait for the Parade of Happiness to begin!""

End Page 1. 

Page 2: A pale blue caption box reads, "Bustling about, Glimmer and Flutterina groomed Enchanta for the day's festivities. The winged creature had never looked more beautiful! She was decorated with elegant ribbons and flowers. And the horses? Why… Spirit, Moonbeam and Sun Dancer had never looked more dashing!" Glimmer ties a bow in Enchanta's mane, while SweetBee does the same for Crystal Sun Dancer. In the foreground, we can see that Spirit is no longer crystal, instead a pink-tinged white with a hot pink mane. Enchanta, a maned swan vehicle from all the way back in wave 1, is a little off-model; she has her saddle and bridle, but her beak isn't pink and frankly doesn't look much like a beak. 

"Adora will certainly be proud to lead this year's parade!" says Glimmer. Her hair has shifted a few shades lighter between panels. 

"...if only Catra doesn't spoil it!" says Adora, with a fierce scowl. 

End Page 2.

Page 3: A pale blue caption box reads, "Joining her friends, Adora leaped to Spirit's back. "Let the parade begin!" she cried. In an instant, she was off. A cavalcade of horses, floats and merrymakers fell in behind her." 

Adora, cape how red, hops onto Spirit's back, waving at the crowd. Behind her, SweetBee, Glimmer, Bow, and Frosta look on with beaming smiles, and a few civilians with page cuts smile at her and play buisines. Several hanging banners bear an orange flower, outlined in yellow, against a pink background. Glimmer has a green basket full of flowers tied around her waist, and she appears to be grabbing handfuls and tossing them like a flower girl at a wedding.

End Page 3.

Page 4: A pale blue caption box reads, "Together, they marched happily for many miles. "Thank goodness! For once, Catra has left well alone," Adora smiled. But, as Spirit rounded a turn in the road, the fair Princess heard a terrible commotion behind her. She looked over her shoulder and was dismayed by what she saw." 

Adora rides astride Spirit, leading a procession of flower-draped Etherians. Peekablue, her tail feathers reduced to a fan-shaped hair ornament, is riding Enchanta. Glimmer rides Crystal Sun Dancer, and Bow rides Crystal Moonbeam—although they were sold in gift sets with SweetBee and Peekablue respectively so that would be a strange choice even if Arrow didn't exist, but it's fine. It's whatever. 

There's someone with a portable lap harp, just walking around like that's a thing people play in parades usually. Another fellow with a buisine, hanging off of a float.

"By Etheria… noooo!!!" says Adora, as she and Spirit look behind them. 

End Page 4. 

Page 5: A pale blue caption box reads, "Everywhere, people were running in every direction. Frightened horses threw their riders from their backs. And the reason for their fear was just indeed, for there stood Catra, scowling. "Rebels!" she cried. "You dare defy The Evil Horde with all your fun and merriment? Well, I shall put an end to that!" "

Shower Power Catra looms over Bow and SweetBee, arms raised but claws sheathed. Glimmer and Crystal Sun Dancer startle slightly in the background, but Glimmer remains un-bucked. Bow is pushing himself up on his elbows, glaring up at Catra. SweetBee appears to be swooning. There's a man with a stringed wishbone which may have been intended to represent a harp running away in long sleeves and no pants. Your typical parade, really.

"Now you wait just a minute…" says Glimmer, glowering at Catra. Crystal Sun Dancer scowls disapprovingly. 

End Page 5.

Page 6: "Glimmer! No!" says Bow, horrified beyond reason. 

A pale blue caption box reads, "But Bow's warning came too late. Catra paid no heed as Glimmer tried to reason with her. "Foolish child," she hissed. "A little Shower Power will put a damper on your rebel spirit!"" 

Catra sprays Glimmer and Crystal Sun Dancer, both of whom barely flinch, with the Shower Squirter—basically the fantasy equivalent of a Super Soaker. 

End Page 6.

Page 7: A pale blue caption box reads, "In an instant, Catra had drenched everyone and everything in the parade with a blast of her Shower Power. Poor Perfuma's lovely locks crinkled! Enchanta's pretty bows wrinkled! And Moonbeam and Sun Dancer's shiny crystal coats beaded!" 

Catra is laughing maniacally and everybody is soaking wet. Sad wet Bow. Sad wet crystal horses, who aren't beading because why the hell would they, sad wet bannerman in the background with a sad wet banner which is indistinguishable from a happy dry banner. 

End Page 7.

Page 8: Oh it's a two-page spread. Yes, more sad wet parade-goers. Perfuma's got a bit of a coloring error on her skirt but perhaps the paint got sad and wet too. Sad wet Enchanta, sad wet SweetBee. Glimmer looks moments from tears. Loo-Kee is here and guess what? He's sad. And wet. There's a soggy float and a few more wet people in the background.

End Page 8. 

Page 9: A pale blue caption box reads, ""Come on Spirit," Princess Adora cried. "You know what we have to do! " [sic] Quickly, the noble steed made its way into a grove of fruit trees. There, where no one could see them, Adora summoned all the powers of Etheria. She and her horse were swiftly transformed. "For the honor of Grayskull, I am She-Ra! Come on Swift Wind! There's not a moment to lose!"" So I guess she gets her powers from Etheria now? And not the sword? You'd think it would be because she's Bubble Power She-Ra now and has a different weapon but no, still lifting the sword. 

Swifty is now Royal Swift Wind, with hot pink secondary coverts and a golden harness with some drapey bits that I'm not sure how to describe. Sorry. I took Ornithology but must have missed Horse Fashion 101. Bubble Power She-Ra is holding the Bubble Blower in her left hand. 

End Page 9.

Page 10: A pale blue caption box reads, "Full speed, She-Ra and Swift Wind flew to the aid of their friends. The Princess of Power raised her Bubble Blower and let loose hundreds of perfect bubbles."

They do that. 

Catra looks kind of indignant but not surprised or particularly angry to see them, and Bow is still dripping wet in the foreground. 

"You can try to burst my bubbles, Catra," says She-Ra, "But don't rain on my parade!" Booooo. One at a time, girl, you gotta let them breathe! 

End Page 10. 

Page 11: A pale blue caption box reads, "Catra aimed a steady stream of Shower Power at She-Ra's lovely bubbles. Pop! Pop! Pop! The fearsome feline's aim was perfect. Several bubbles burst at once but, try as she might, Catra could not break them all." 

Catra sprays She-Ra and her bubbles, clearly unhappy, while She-Ra continues to use the Bubble Blower against her. A few of the bubbles pop. 

End Page 11. 

Page 12: A pale blue caption box reads, "She-Ra's Bubble Blower worked its special magic. A crystal clear shield formed around her frightened friends. Even Catra's strongest blast of Shower Power could not penetrate it. Kissing their sad faces gently, the bubbles made Glimmer and the others smile." 

Catra claws ineffectively at a series of bubbles around SweetBee, Crystal Sun Dancer, uh. Perfuma? With red hair? Maybe? Like they didn't line her well so they just colored everything red? But also there are lines on her shoulders as one might see in a jacket. Also Glimmer is there. Only SweetBee is smiling, and it looks kind of scared tbh. 

"Why, Glimmer—would you take a look around us?" asks a startled Bow. 

"Ooh, that tickles!" says Glimmer, smiling brightly. Bubbles are touching both of their faces. 

End Page 12.

Page 13: A pale blue caption box reads, "No one had ever seen the likes of it! The light of their smiles had turned Catra's drenching drizzle into rainbows—hundreds of them! Etheria's good citizens were merrier than ever. The evil she-cat's dark plans had failed." 

This might be the gayest minicomic. It's hard to move past 'Catra gets a bunch of women wet' but they're literally just holding a parade under a giant rainbow and blowing kisses, I mean bubbles which kiss you. Ahem.  

Not some of Skip's stronger work though, he stuck too closely to the color palette he'd set with the 'yellow sky' thing and just added some alternating stripes of blue. But with all the characters on this page I imagine he had his work cut out for him… probably wanted to keep it from getting TOO chaotic. 

Everybody's smiling at each other, including the bubbles, which is… I mean I guess they're reflecting the revelers' smiles? I don't THINK they're sentient. Bow, Peekablue, that guy with the wishbone instrument and the pageboy haircut, Royal Swift Wind, Bubble Power She-Ra, Frosta, SweetBee, Crystal Sun Dancer and a couple of incidentals are all officially cheered up. 

"Bubbles! Bubbles! For all my trouble… I am undone!" says a scowling Catra. A bunch of smiling bubbles float past her face. Probably going in for a kiss, huh. 

End Page 13. 

Page 14: A pale blue caption box reads, "So it was that She-Ra led the grand parade. And though their spirits had been dampened for a time, no one was the worse for wear. "Long live the Rebellion!" Bow shouted, and the crowd joined in his cheer."

Honestly if there were any place for a two-page spread I'd say it was here, but whatever, not my circus not my monkeys. SweetBee is flying overhead, Peekablue is climbing the float in a new, orange top, Swift Wind is blond, Enchanta, Bow, She-Ra and Glimmer are all beaming. Frosta is there, except she's even blonder than She-Ra. I think the yellow wash may have gotten away from Skip here. The float is back, and the flowers appear to have dried off too. Crystal Moonbeam isn't smiling, but he looks fancy again so I'm sure he's fine. 

Some guy is playing the flute in the foreground. He's wearing the same style hat as the wishbone guy, and his sleeves are… hm. You know, he kind of looks like Willawind. I don't think it IS him, but there's a resemblance.

"Loo-Kee here. Did you spot me on page 8?" asks Loo-Kee. Yes, you patronizing little beast, we did. "Now for the moral of this tale: A smile's a frown turned upside down. Wear one each day—you'll chase your troubles away." 

End Page 14.

End ID]

#motu #minicomics #she-ra #adora #bow #peekablue #glimmer #enchanta #crystal moonbeam #crystal sun dancer #sweetbee #spirit #frosta #perfuma #bubble power she-ra #shower power catra #loo-kee #swift wind #royal swift wind #uhh #willawind #just in case

[birindale]

So once upon a time they were going to make this vehicle for the third wave of toys called Effervescent the Bubble Carriage, sort of the Enchanta/Sea Harp of its generation, right? Well, they pulled the plug on the whole line before it came to fruition. But it made it in the style guide, and the minicomics, so... it gets a post, toy or no toy.

They did make a prototype, though! Seen here in a poorly photographed German toy catalogue. You're doing god's work, catone82, but man I wish you'd had a scanner.

#motu #swift wind #netossa #loo-kee #she-ra #spinnerella #vehicles #bubble carriage #the bubble carriage #the blonde in there with spinny was a cancelled character named Joya. in case you were uh. wondering. #tbqh i don't know how far along in the production the name 'effervescent' got but it made it to the Sander panel #and it's... you know. this is tumblr. we love effervescence.

[birindale]

Bow wanders by a tea party and is opportunistically kidnapped, SweetBee steals Glimmer's gimmick, and She-Ra obliquely threatens to cut off Entrapta's head.

Transcript/Image ID below the cut

[Image Description: 14 comic pages from the She-Ra mini-comic, “A Born Champion”.

Cover: SweetBee descends from the sky, her wings glowing and sparkling as She-Ra holds a welcoming hand out to her. At the top of the page, the Princess of Power (trademark symbol) logo sits on a flat purple sky. A fuzzy orange and magenta landscape in the foreground blends into a featureless mass behind the girls. Two lumps of hard material which are probably supposed to be cliffs or mountains or something but are colored like glaciers mark the skyline behind them. At the bottom of the page "A BORN CHAMPION" is stamped in dark blue and outlined in white. Below it, the copyright text reads, "Illustrations (copyright symbol) Mattel, Inc. 1985 Hawthorne, CA 90250 U.S.A. PRINTED IN TAIWAN. All Rights Reserved. (registered trademark symbol) and TM designate U.S. trademarks of Mattel, Inc."

Page 1: A desaturated, pale pink caption box reads, "It was daybreak and SweetBee buzzed about her hive. Passing by, Bow stopped to chat. "I'm scouting Etheria for signs of trouble," he said. "Will you be back by sunset?" SweetBee asked. Bow nodded and SweetBee watched him go. "If only I could be a hero brave as he!" she sighed." Thanks for the feminism as always, Tina. The illustration shows Bow, who's toy-accurate except for having both hands, making conversation with a flying SweetBee. There's no hive around, but they do appear to be at the foot of the Crystal Castle. 

A yellow caption box reads, "PRODUCED EXCLUSIVELY FOR MATTEL BY: WRITER — TINA HARRIS, PENCILER — JIM MITCHELL, INKER — TODD KUROSAWA, COLORIST — CHARLES SIMPSON, EDITOR — JOAN DUMBAULD & LEE NORDLING". God, how did I forget about Joan. Why would you keep the name "Dumb-old".

End Page 1. 

Page 2: Another desaturated pink caption box reads, "Meanwhile, inside her new tree-plex in the Valley of the Lost, Catra was busy entertaining. She and Entrapta sipped their tea while Clawdeen munched a crumpet. Suddenly, a twig snapped in the woods below." Entrapta lounges on a plush teal and amethyst bed, legs dangling over the edge, Catra lying prone beside her (and actually wearing her gloves for once! Good job, Skip!) They're both holding steaming cups of tea. The room appears to be a hollowed-out tree, a window showing several strangely shaped trees outside. Clawdeen, the pink lion, is watching Catra and Entrapta with a rather crudely-drawn crumpet in her mouth. She has a sparkling blue-and-yellow collar and some kind of garland draped over her mane for some reason. 

"What was that?" asks Clawdeen as she and Catra look around suspiciously. Damn, she ate that crumpet fast. 

"Look, it's Bow!" says Catra. She and Entrapta peer out the window, which is honestly just a tree hollow. Bow is indeed passing by beneath them, having made incredible time on circumnavigating Etheria, apparently. Look the Crystal Castle has been out for a full year now there's no reason they couldn't consult the map sticker. I'm just saying.

End Page 2.

Page 3: ""He can tell us the secret of She-Ra's power!" Catra cried. Entrapta called to Bow from the balcony. Bewitched by her golden glow, he stepped toward her. Letting loose her lovely hair, she trapped him in its tangles." So I guess there's a tree-balcony now. Entrapta wraps Bow in her hair, which is pink and purple, and can still move on its own. Her armor is gold, although it's not really colored to be as reflective as the plating on the toy is so it's—like that would hit better if you had the doll in front of you, I think. Catra just kind of stands there. Bow has his left hand behind his back, as though he'd gone to draw an arrow. 

"Ha! Ha! Good work, Entrapta!" says Catra, smiling wickedly with Clawdeen. Hm. No mask in sight I notice.

End Page 3. 

Page 4: A pale pink caption box reads, "The day passed quickly and SweetBee noticed it was getting dark. Bow was late and she began to worry." Sweetbee is tending to a small garden, trowel in hand, and looking over her shoulder with some concern. A climbing vine bearing some kind of fruit snakes its way up a climbing stick beside her. The sun is getting low in the sky, though it hasn't yet set.

"Bow could be in trouble. I must find him!" she says. 

End Page 4.

Page 5: A pale purple caption box reads, "SweetBee took to the air at once. She searched Etheria for many miles. Reaching the dark edge of the Valley of the Lost, she pressed on. Catra's tree-plex appeared suddenly below her." We see SweetBee soaring over a sprawling landscape, a huge forest bordered by steep mountains. Everything has an orange tint, which may indicate that it's now officially sunset, as the sky is too filled with beautifully-colored clouds to be sure, or just that Skip Simpson was really feeling orange this issue. A tree riddled with hollows stands out bright yellow in a clearing amongst the trees, in what must have been a discarded toyset, right? They're plugging it more than the Crystal Castle. Perhaps it was intended to adapt Justine Dantzer's proposed 'Topaz Tree Home' idea? But alas, it was never made.  

End Page 5. 

Page 6: A pale pink caption box reads, "SweetBee landed softly on the rooftop. She peered in through the skylight. Bow was trapped inside! Carefully she moved away and magically turned her wings from bright yellow into a powerful pink light…" Well, there's not really a roof, as it's a tree. But she is up above them. Entrapta has tied Bow to a tree with her hair, and Catra has one hand resting on his shoulder and the other balled up on her hip, literally talking down to him. Clawdeen looks on with a smile. There's an abstract painting hanging on the wall.

"... sending out a signal for help!" Seriously? THIS gets to be a dialogue balloon? Whatever. SweetBee is posing with her wings flared, as they flash bright pink. For context, her toy had reversible wings—one side gold glitter, the other pink and glow-in-the-dark. It's not super original, since Flutterina has wings and Glimmer glows in the dark, but they're… there. They are there. 

End Page 6. 

Page 7: A pale pink caption box reads, "From Crystal Castle's mighty throne, Princess Adora spotted the beacon light. Quickly, she decoded SweetBee's urgent message." Adora and Spirit are standing on top of the Crystal Castle. The throne (which is also an elevator) is up there with them, though it's gold instead of blue. If you really squint, the Crystal Castle's facade kind of looks like a skull. If skulls had big glass doors instead of teeth. And turrets. With shingles. It does seem to be getting later at least—the sky is beginning to turn this lovely indigo, and the clouds are a rosy orange. A sprite is whizzing around the castle, and Adora points at it as Spirit stands behind the throne. A slightly inaccurate flag is flying from the parapets. 

"Spirit, Bow's in terrible trouble!" says Adora. "We must leave at once!" 

End Page 7. 

Page 8: With a big dramatic burst of light, Adora and Spirit become Starburst She-Ra and Crystal Swift Wind, refracting all kinds of colors. The throne is still gold instead of blue, and it looks like they didn't realize the shield could be detached when drawing it.

"Fear not, SweetBee! Help is on the way!" says She-Ra, from Swift Wind's back. Skip did a great job coloring this one to make Swifty look like he was actually made of crystal and not just lit from below, everyone say thank you Skip.

End Page 8. 

Page 9: Another pale pink caption box reads, "Swift Wind sailed through the night. They circled Catra's tree-plex and landed with a gentle thud. SweetBee moved to greet them. Bow heard his friends up on the roof. Shuffling about noisily, he whispered to himself, "No one must know help has finally arrived."" Well, it's super not nighttime. Now I know what you're thinking, wouldn't making it dark out desaturate the bright colors which draw the children's eye? And yeah if it were realistic, but you can just make a dark blue sky and call it a night (heheh) in these things. They do it all the time in this very franchise. Anyway. We see Swift Wind landing, She-Ra on his back. SweetBee looks up from where she's evidently been hiding on the 'roof' of the tree-plex.

"Quiet, you!" says Entrapta, gripping Bow's shoulder where he's still tied to the chair. In the foreground, Catra and Clawdeen are curled up and napping on the big comfy bed. It's pretty adorable. 

"Disturb my friends' catnaps and they'll have both our heads!" says Entrapta. 

End Page 9. 

Page 10: A pale pink caption box reads, "Crashing through the skylight, She-ra took Entrapta by surprise. "And if you don't let go of Bow, I'll have yours—with all its lovely locks!" "No!" Entrapta cried. Clutching her braids, she fled into the night." 

Catra and Clawdeen are waking up, Catra angry and Clawdeen… disoriented, as She-Ra leaps down through the hole in the ceiling. Entrapta clutches her hair defensively. Her outfit is much more appropriately reflective this time, though it still doesn't scream 'metallic'. It's pretty. Bow smiles at She-Ra in apparent relief. 

"You think you've outsmarted me? Just try to find your way back to Crystal Castle!" says Catra, blasting us with some kind of pink sparkle. 

End Page 10.

Page 11: A pale pink caption box reads, "Catra sprang to Clawdeen's back and hissed a dire warning. "The Valley of the Lost's secrets are mine. Without them, you will remain trapped here forever!" Then, in a flurry of furry pink, she and Clawdeen disappeared." Catra sits on Clawdeen's back amidst a huge cloud of smoke and sparkles as Bow and She-Ra look on. Maybe the garland thing on Clawdeen's head is supposed to be her bow? It doesn't translate well to photograph so they may have misinterpreted it as a rope-crown thing or something. 

End Page 11.

Page 12: Whoa. Okay, everything is upside down now. A pale pink caption box reads, ""What a different forest this is!" Bow cried. "Catra has turned everything upside down!" Swift Wind shook his head. "She-Ra, I can't make hide nor hair of this. I've lost all sense of direction. How will we get home?"" She-Ra, Bow, SweetBee and Swift Wind all look around them in apprehensive confusion. 

"A bee's homing instinct is very strong. I can find Crystal Castle. Come on, we'll make a beeline for home," says SweetBee.

End Page 12. 

Page 13: A pale pink caption box reads, "And at their journey's end, the weary travelers found themselves at home once more." Swift Wind flies after a glowing SweetBee, Bow and She-Ra on his back. It is still not visibly nighttime, and the cliff under the Crystal Castle is much higher than it was in the beginning of the issue. I feel like this would have been fixed by some rescaling. Looking at you, Tim. 

"SweetBee! You saved the day!" says Bow, as they all land in front of the castle. 

"I never thought that just being myself would make a hero out of me!" says SweetBee. 

End Page 13. 

Page 14: SweetBee kneels before She-Ra, who holds the Sword of Protection to her shoulder as though knighting her. Bow and Swift Wind look on with big smiles. A pale pink caption box reads in the red 'moral' font, "She-Ra laughed and smiled. "Why, SweetBee! Everyone has some special talent to offer. It's when you put your talent to work that you become a champion. Helping others with your power is what makes you a true Princess of Power!"" Which like, I don't think that ALL needed to be in red. Also, Bow's stomach is blue. He wears a crop top, Skip. Get used to it. 

End Page 14.

End ID]

#motu #minicomics #a born champion #sweetbee #sweet bee #shrug emoji #she-ra #bow #clawdeen #catra #entrapta #adora #spirit #swift wind

[birindale]

Catra looks into ecoterrorism. Perfuma learns about stranger danger. The Netherlands are canon, I guess.

Transcript/Image ID below the cut

[Image Description: A cover and 14 comic pages from the She-Ra mini-comic, “A Most Unpleasant Present”.

Cover: Starburst She-Ra stands in a fairly small meadow of flowers, smiling at Flutterina as the latter lands. Perfuma stands between them, also smiling. The Princess of Power logo takes its customary place at the top of the page, while the title of the issue breaks from tradition and sits directly below it, reading "A Most Unpleasant Present" in violet, with a whisper of a black border surrounding it. At the foot of the page, on a wavy-striped green strip, the copyright info reads "Illustrations: (copyright symbol) Mattel, Inc. 1985. Hawthorne, CA 90250 U.S.A. PRINTED IN TAIWAN. All Rights Reserved. (registered trademark symbol) and TM designate U.S. trademarks of Mattel, Inc." Which is actually a little weird, because this is issue 8 and was released after Fishy Business. I guess they weren't necessarily produced in the order they were published in but huh. Huh!

Page 1: A pale lilac caption box reads, "Never was a garden in Etheria more lovely than the Laughing Swan Inn's. Perfuma tended her flowerbeds with care. Where a flower had bloomed and faded, she quickly planted another. Dainty lady's slippers and sweet candytufts, bright Dutchman's breeches and soft buttercups—each flower was a lovely work of art." Great, now the Netherlands are canon. 

Perfuma is walking through a garden with a basket of flowers in her arms. The artists don't share in the writer's proclivity for flowers, as they've taken the names literally and drawn literal lady's slippers, a pair of jorts overflowing with flowers like a scarecrow that's been chopped in half, and several flowers full of hard candies and candy canes, which is double stupid because candytufts aren't even named after candy (It's from Candia, former name of Crete's administrative capital). Which isn't to say the writer knows all that much, because those flowers would do pretty poorly if subjected to identical conditions. But perhaps Etheria has some kind of magical ability to filter its sunlight and soil drainage for individual flowers. Behind Perfuma is the Laughing Swan Inn, which is shaped like a giant pink swan. So I guess this is another of those things Mattel and Filmation had distinct designs for. 

End Page 1. 

Page 2: A pink caption box reads, "A bustle in the hedgerow took Perfuma by surprise. Looking up, she found a pretty cat-woman was standing at her side." Perfuma meets eyes with a sly-looking Catra, who's in her Scratchin' Sound Catra outfit, sans mask and gloves. Catra is emerging from a flower bed that might once have been a hedgerow but certainly isn't now.

"My my! Your flowerbeds are beautiful this time of year," says Catra, grinning with a little too much tooth.

"Won't you plant these seeds too? They're a special gift," she says, holding a neatly wrapped present out to a pleased Perfuma. It's wrapped in yellow paper and a blue bow. 

End Page 2.

Page 3: A pink caption box reads, "Perfuma quite unwittingly obliged. In an instant, pigweed and poison ivy sprang up everywhere! She found herself trapped in a tangle of briars with no hope for escape!" A startled Perfuma raises her arms and looks down at more plant names taken literally, with several shrubs sprouting pig heads and skull-and-crossbones blossoms. Poison ivy and pigweed are both used to refer to a series of weeds found primarily in eastern North America, especially further south. They're prickly and tend to snag, and of course poison ivy is an allergenic, irritating the skin and causing rashes, but neither of them has thorns so I wouldn't really use the term 'briar'. Like you're going to be pretty itchy and covered in seeds for a while, but you could simply walk out. 

"Soon all Etheria's gardens shall look like thisss!" says Catra, grinning again. 

End Page 3. 

Page 4: Oh, I see. This and page 3 form a two-page spread. Catra is standing on the other side of a meadow of weeds, arms held out and away from her body as if she's basking in the light of the sun, her face lit up with an exultant smile. There are more skulls and pigs heads around her, plus a few evil-looking fiddleheads that vaguely resemble ram horns. 

"Full of weeds… wonderful weeds!" says Catra, gesturing at her handiwork. Girl it was one seed bomb this is hardly guerilla gardening. 

End Page 4.

Page 5: A pink caption box reads, "Flutterina watched from a second story window at the inn. Spotting Catra, her face darkened. She knew she had to fly to Crystal Castle for help." Flutterina is standing on the world's smallest balcony, like I think as small as one can be before it stops being a windowsill. But it looks OSHA-compliant, so good for Thaymor. Perfuma and Catra are visible in the field of weeds below her. 

"So, Catra's up to her old tricks! I must get help quickly," says Flutterina, flying towards the Crystal Caslte.

End Page 5. 

Page 6: A pale purple caption box reads, "Spotting Flutterina in the air, Butterflyer took wing to meet her. Breathlessly, the young girl revealed Perfuma's plight. Her words echoed through Crystal Courtyard as Princess Adora listened secretly." So Butterflyer (usually called THE Butterflyer) was a carrying case released with Wave 2 of the toys. In-universe she was discovered by She-Ra in 'the beautiful caverns deep beneath Crystal Castle' sleeping in a cocoon and woke her up, whereafter she carried She-Ra and her friends around Etheria.

The illustration shows Adora watching Flutterina land in what's apparently called 'Crystal Courtyard', where Bow and a very green Mermista receive her. Like, her hair is green, her outfit is green, I literally wouldn't know this was Mermista aside from the necklace and seashell bodice. It doesn't help that (the) Butterflyer is nowhere to be seen despite being featured in the caption. 

A pale purple caption box reads, "She knew they would need her help. So she drew her Sword of Protection and said…" Adora holds the hilt of the sword, just in-frame. 

"For the honor of Grayskull…" says Starburst She-Ra, transforming with her arms spread wide, "I am She-Ra!"

End Page 6. 

Page 7: A pale pink caption box reads, "She-Ra leaped between Butterflyer's wings and beckoned her friends to join her. "Quick, everyone! We must help Perfuma stop Catra from ruining the beautiful gardens!" She-Ra said. In an instant they were airborne, heading for the Laughing Swan Inn." Oh good, we're back to quotations in the caption boxes. Bow and Mermista seem to be riding comfortably astride (the) Butterflyer, while She-Ra is like… floating alongside her? Her right hand is resting on her, but her left arm is held out and away from her body, while her legs float in free space. Flutterina flies along behind the Butterflyer. Mermista's hair is closer to teal than green on this page, so we're getting there. The Crystal Castle recedes into the distance behind them, sitting atop a beautiful pink mesa.

The Butterflyer is slightly smaller than her toy, proportionally speaking, being only about twice the size of the figures here. She's all pink, including skin and hair, though it's lighter and darker there, respectively. As a toy, her skin is a pearlescent white almost the same color as She-Ra's outfit, and her wings are a different, more flexible plastic, used as handles to carry the figures around. This picture is slightly off-model, as it shows the Butterflyer with her arms held back against her side aerodynamically, whereas the toy has them clasped in front of her and holding a white butterfly. She also has a different neckline; the toy has a scoop neck with a patterned border and the picture features more of a poorly-defined feather look. It's also sleeveless, instead of the elaborately patterned opera glove/sleeve combo of the toy. We can't even say they were keeping it closer to the Filmation design, because that one doesn't HAVE arms. 

End Page 7.

Page 8: Catra swoons extremely dramatically as a huge flower emerges from Perfuma's back and emits a large yellow cloud. A pale purple caption box reads, "Meanwhile, Perfuma had used her magic sleeping power to put Catra in a deep sleep. But she knew her power was only temporary and Catra would be awake soon." The skulls and pig heads are still there. 

"Oh my, I must have dozed off! Your power is strong, Perfuma, but not strong enough!" says Catra, who's awake again, after a single panel.

"Oh no… here comes She-Ra!" says Catra, looking mildly concerned.

End Page 8. 

Page 9: A pale purple caption box reads, "Down, down Butterflyer dived. Perfuma grabbed Bow's arm and off they flew leaving Catra behind in the brambles." Okay but if you just wanted to escape why not do it for the 5 seconds she was unconscious? I thought the idea was to stop her from seed-bombing the whole planet. Bow is floating off the side of the Butterflyer now too, his arm wrapped around Perfuma's waist to lift her to safety. Mermista and She-Ra are beaming at him. She-Ra has her sword raised ineffectually and Catra is seething in the meadow below.

"You butterbrains! Flee before you feel my fireweed at your feet!" says Catra, hurling what appears to be a flaming dandelion after them instead of the pioneer species also known as rosebay willowherb and bombweed. This time it seems not to be intended as a literal reference, at least.

End Page 9. 

Page 10: A pale purple caption box reads, "Mermista quickly put out the fireweed. Caught in the spray, Catra ran for cover. Swooping down, Butterflyer made a perfect landing at the Laughing Swan's front door." The Butterflyer smiles at a small explosion, as Mermista shoots a jet of water from her necklace at the fireweed. Mermista, Perfuma, Bow, and She-Ra are atop the Butterflyer, and there's a pair of butterfly wings behind Perfuma so I think the implication is that Flutterina is now, too? 

"Hurry, everybody! We have no time to waste!" says She-Ra, gesturing for her friends to spring into action now that they're all on the ground.

End Page 10. 

Page 11: A pale pink caption box reads, "She-Ra and her friends worked quickly to save Perfuma's garden. Bow began pulling weeds, but Catra hurled a tumbleweed that sent him sprawling. Waist-deep in tarweed, Mermista was helpless to stop him. Perfuma was certain Catra could not be stopped, but She-Ra had a plan." The princesses look on in mild concern as Catra gleefully throws a gross, fleshy, hollow orb at Bow. Honestly it looks like the mace of a nutmeg, without the nutmeg. There are still pig heads and skulls and such around everyone. The Laughing Swan Inn looms in the background but does help balance the composition a bit.

"It's time to give Catra a taste of her own medicine!" says She-Ra.

End Page 11.

Page 12: A pale purple caption box reads, "She-Ra sent Perfuma inside the Inn. When the girl returned, she held two tiny seeds—one in each hand. She-Ra told Perfuma she must trust the magic of the Sword of Protection and gently waved it over the girl's open palms." Perfuma looks down at her palms, held face up with a seed in each, as She-Ra holds a very short-looking Sword of Protection over them and lifts her other hand as though casting a spell. The sword and Perfuma's hands glow with sparkling purple magic. 

The seeds, about the size of blueberries, are coated in a golden light.

They grow larger, more the size of cherries. "Why, look!" says Perfuma.

They grow larger, now the size of kiwis. "The seeds have tripled in size!"

End Page 12.

Page 13: "Now quickly, Perfuma! Throw the seeds at Catra's feet!" says She-Ra. 

A pale purple caption box reads, "Huge snapdragons and dogwood sprang from the ground—their bark worse than their bite. Catra quickly darted away, quivering with fright." A dog-headed plant barks at Catra, while three 'dragon' plants snap. Catra looks apprehensive, rearing away from them but not yet running. Perfuma and She-Ra watch from the background, smiling wide.

End Page 13. 

Page 14: A pale purple caption box reads, "Perfuma's eyes were full of tears. Catra was gone indeed, but she had left her weeds behind! She-Ra gently spoke to the girl with words both wise and kind. "Catra plays some nasty tricks; but we can help you make your garden pretty again. Perfuma, I think we can all learn a lesson here!"" Is it the lesson that semicolons function as conjunctions and as such you should never follow it with a second? No? Just that you should always take plant names literally? 

She-Ra puts a consoling hand on Perfuma's shoulder. 

"Oh, yes! I know now that it's dangerous to take gifts from strangers," says a crying Perfuma, in the orange-ish red of recent morals.

"Come on everybody and pitch in! We have work to do!" says Bow, holding a hoe. 

End Page 14.

End ID]

#motu #minicomics #a most unpleasant present #she-ra #perfuma #flutterina #catra #thaymor #mermista #bow #adora #butterflyer

[birindale]

She-Ra: Progressive of Power

Episode 3: "The Sea Hawk" & "Return of the Sea Hawk" - Gender Roles

This week, we’re taking on the episodes routinely referred to as the “romance” shows. Adora gets a boyfriend — or does She-Ra? What do we think of Sea Hawk’s portrayal and, more importantly, Adora’s reaction to him? Why does Loo-Kee think you should just tell everyone you have a crush on, and what precisely is wrong with Saraha?

[The 80s theme song plays, upbeat music with an occasional chorus of ‘She-Ra!’]

ERIC: I'm Eric. 

LAUREN: And I'm Lauren. 

ERIC: We've both volunteered for progressive political causes.

LAUREN: And we're both nerds. 

ERIC: Growing up, She-Ra is one of my favorite shows. 

LAUREN: I've never seen it before. 

ERIC: Catching it on Netflix again recently, it struck me how modern the show still feels. 

LAUREN: Even though it's definitely a product of its time. 

[continued audio clip of the 80s theme song] 

LAUREN: We're interested in the ways She-Ra presents a modern progressive message. 

ERIC: And the ways in which it fails. 

LAUREN: Join us each week as we dive deep into a different She-Ra story.

ERIC: Always with an eye on how it relates to the present. 

LAUREN: We're only doing episodes from the first season, so you can follow along on Netflix. 

ERIC: But we'll also recap the episodes so you don't have to.

LAUREN: We'd love to hear your feedback on everything we're discussing. 

ERIC: So please enjoy this political, nerdy dive into a heck of a cartoon. 

ERIC AND LAUREN IN UNISON: This is She-Ra, Progressive of Power. 

[audio clip of the 80s theme song ends]

ERIC: Welcome to Progressive of Power. I'm Eric. 

LAUREN: And I'm Lauren. 

ERIC: How are you today Lauren? I know—I know it's been kind of a—a trying day. 

LAUREN: I have. I've had a trying day, uh… in kind of Chicago style. I left my car unlocked and got some change stolen out of it. But nothing else was taken so that's fine. I guess, I guess, you know, I can learn a valuable lesson and be grateful that it wasn't worse. [laughs]

ERIC: I bet there's a Loo-Kee moral somewhere about locking your car at night. 

LAUREN: [laughs and affects a silly voice] 'Don't forget…!' 

ERIC: I—I hope uh, talking about a silly cartoon show from 22 years ago will make you feel better. 

LAUREN: So much it will. No doubt. 

ERIC: So today we are covering two episodes that are basically one episode. Uh the Sea Hawk, and Return of the Sea Hawk. So, some background. You know, it's really funny, all of the creative team on She-Ra: Princess of Power, refer to these episodes as 'the relationship episodes'. And just because of all of He-Man and She-Ra, there's only really ever been one romance that has even been so in the forefront, like for our main character, that it—it deserves being called a romance. And that is the romance between Adora and Sea Hawk.

So we're going to talk about that. But Sea Hawk essentially is, uh, a pirate. And he's a pirate who uh, starts out working for the Horde, kind of. He thinks that he's free. But basically, he like steals from poor little elves and gives stuff to Hordak. The first mate, who is like named Swen, who is not at all a fan of the Horde, is like, 'oh, maybe you can convince our captain that he should start helping the rebels.' 

And—this is pretty cool. Adora just flat out is like, 'Hey, you suck. Why are you helping the bad guys?' And Sea Hawk's like, 'Well, 'cause we're free," which I think is… is interesting. He kind of makes the argument, 'Hey, the Horde pays me. And so I get to do what I want. I don't have to live in shackles like the rest of Etheria.' Uh. But things kind of change. He starts to think like, 'Hey, maybe Adora is right. Maybe I don't have that much freedom.' So he comes to his senses and saves Adora, which then allows Adora to turn into She-Ra and save him, which… I'm sure we'll talk about that as well. And that's the first part of the episode, and the second part, the Return of Sea Hawk isn't… it's not that interesting, except that it really focuses on the relationship, but essentially Catra and Grizzlor want revenge, so they capture all these poor elves, put them on a prison ship, and then they say Adora and Sea Hawk have to come rescue them. But of course She-Ra and Sea Hawk do and… Kind of the big play of that episode is, it's an inversion of the Superman-Clark Kent thing where—Adora—a gender inversion, right, where Adora is really worried that Sea Hawk loves She-Ra, but not her. But Adora is the one who likes Sea Hawk. So that's kind of the world that we're getting into. Uh. These are the relationship episodes. And so I thought it would be cool to talk about this in relation to gender roles, because there are some inversions in this episode, I think, and also some [laughs] very stereotypical moments. So with that all said, uh Lauren, what's your take on—on the Sea Hawk saga? 

LAUREN: So I—I think the… vulnerability part of that? Was really special. And I enjoyed watching that scene, because it does address, sort of the struggle of being a superhero and the sacrifices you have to make and the inner conflict that it can cause, I think. Growing up you see so many comic book characters and action heroes, and you're like 'man, superpowers are awesome', and I really love as just a, you know, science fiction and comic book fan—Seeing when those characters are allowed to face the issues that can come along with being a hero. And even though it's kind of the girly-girl like, 'what if I can't have a boyfriend?' stereotypical issue, I like it in this just from that general place. Sometimes being a hero comes with struggle that you wouldn't have experienced if you hadn't taken on this duty.

ERIC: And I think that She-Ra also, you know, there is that pitfall of the 'a woman defining herself through her romantic relationships' but I think She-Ra the series pretty deftly avoids that, because the token male that we love talking about, Bow is never ever presented as like, some romantic partner, like most of the time Adora is just like a leader of these warriors and that's what she is and that's awesome. And it's only this one guy who kind of makes her feel that way. Which I think is kind of cool, that like, it would have been easy to be like 'Okay, so Bow's the man, and so Adora loves Bow. That's just how it is', but that's not ever a thing in this—in the show.

LAUREN: Yeah, I appreciate that they show a female lead that can have friendships with male characters. We so often, uh, as women are portrayed in the media as Girlfriends, or Potential Girlfriends, or Former Girlfriends, and you know to—to—to this day there's this kind of cultural question all around us, like 'Can a man and a woman ever be friends?' and… Yeah, thank you, show from 1986 for at least in a—in a little way saying that they can. 

ERIC: Yeah, I do regret a little that Bow was not in these episodes. I—I don't know that he ever meets Sea Hawk. I could be wrong. I'm sure fans out there will send me angry tweets if I'm wrong, but uh maybe partially that's because his voice and Sea Hawk's voice are so close [laughs]. 

LAUREN: They also, I mean, there's a—more than a slight resemblance between them, too. We got the kind of redhead mustache thing going on. 

ERIC: Yes, absolutely. Although I think we're supposed to see, you know, you used the term in our first episode that Bow was very extra? And I think Sea Hawk is supposed to be more like the Han Solo. Like he's, he's, is like the shit, but he knows it, but he doesn't have to like put it in your face. 

[clip from Return of the Sea Hawk, 3:05]

ADORA: Madam Razz, can we talk? 

RAZZ: Of course, dearie. Now, what is it you wanted to talk about? 

ADORA: Um, Sea Hawk. 

RAZZ, SCANDALIZED: Sea Hawk?! That pirate rascal? 

ADORA: Well, pirate or not, he risked his life to save me.

[scene change trill as we flashback to The Sea Hawk]

SHE-RA: I suspect in your heart that you'd rather fight for freedom than for profit. 

SEA HAWK: Well, I never cared much for those Horde swabs anyway. All right, She-Ra. From now on, Sea Hawk is with the Rebellion. 

[scene change trill as flashback ends]

RAZZ: Oh, yes. [titters] What a story. So romantic. 

ADORA: Romantic.. for She-Ra?

RAZZ: [loud gasp] Aha! You think that Sea Hawk likes She-Ra more than he likes Adora.

ADORA: And I can't tell him they're both me!

RAZZ: Well… Perhaps Adora should tell him how Adora feels. 

[clip ends]

LAUREN: I don't love why she feels so strongly about Sea Hawk. So when we did Sea Hawk and then Return of Sea Hawk, I was expecting there to be maybe a big time jump between the two episodes, or maybe we were supposed to get that somethings happened between them off-screen, which I really would have liked, if we opened up Return of Sea Hawk and said, 'Oh, we see, we work with Sea Hawk now, we go on many adventures with him, and now our relationship's more established and we're tuning back in'. But when Adora is in the woods with Madame Razz kind of pouring her heart out, we literally see the flashback to the moment where Sea Hawk rescued Adora. 

And Adora's basing her feelings, it seems just kind of primarily on that, which is a very… 80s kids' cartoon mishandling of women, I think, like, 'Oh, he saved me. Therefore, a relationship has to happen now'. And I just wish there were more. I remember being a little girl, playing on the playground or at other girls' houses, some of the TV shows we used to love to watch. And I can remember specifically emulating the episode of Power Rangers where the Pink Ranger was trapped in a genie bottle. So some girl on the playground had to be trapped the whole time. Or we would play Aladdin and we'd say, Jasmine is captured, you have to be captured in the closet for a while. And that seemed so [voice pitches higher in distaste] normal? to me as a kid, because 'kidnapping and rescue by a man' plots were just so common in the late 80s and early 90s. I had such high hopes for there to be more substance here. And in terms of why she falls for Sea Hawk, I wasn't, frankly, seeing it. 

ERIC: The fact that then, after Sea Hawk swoops in and saves Adora, then She-Ra saves Sea Hawk, that doesn't really redeem anything for you?

LAUREN: It's not that it does or doesn't redeem it, um… I don't think it redeems the fact that she kind of fell for him over this minimal exchange of… of moments, like rescue should never result in this level of, of adoration. However, I do think She-Ra was owed that. So it's not that it redeems it or does this great massive gender role flip for me. It's that this is She-Ra's show. This is a show that's supposed to empower girls. And they damn well better have given her an opportunity to rescue him. And so it's not that I'm… impressed. It's that I'm like, 'Well… You did meet the bar where I setit at least, so good—good job, -ish.'

[clip from The Sea Hawk, 17:16]

SEA HAWK: Broil me in butter and call me a flounder, that was a close one. I don't know who you are lass, but I owe you for that one.

SHE-RA: The name's She-Ra. I'm a friend of Adora, and of the Rebellion. 

SEA HAWK, CONCERNED: Adora… did she get away?

SHE-RA: Yes, thanks to you. Now, about what you owe me…

SEA HAWK: Name it, my lovely. Jewels? Gowns? Gold? 

SHE-RA: I want you to stop helping the Horde and start helping the Rebellion. 

SEA HAWK: Me? But I'm a pirate. 

SHE-RA: You are also clever, and not afraid of the Horde. And I suspect that in your heart, you'd rather fight for freedom than profit.

SEA HAWK: You seem to know me pretty well. All right, She-Ra. From now on, Sea Hawk is with the Rebellion. 

SHE-RA: Glad to have you.

SEA HAWK: Not half as glad as I am. Now, what say we wrap up these Horde squids and send them back to old Bony? 

[end clip]

ERIC: I think… You could make an argument, maybe not a great one that… uh… And it's certainly not expressed in the text, but that part of Adora's attraction to Sea Hawk, is because maybe she views him as kind of an equal? Um. And there's no, like, weird chain of command issues, like they're—they're separate... You know, they fight for the same cause, but in separate ways, and they're both kind of leaders, and they both have a lot of the same values, uh, and they can have adventures together. I think all of that is probably true and also not really expressed in the show. [chuckles]

LAUREN: Yeah, I think, um… if I were more than… what I am now, like if I were a big fan of this show and really wrapped up in watching it each week and getting into the lore, uh, especially back when it was first coming out, I think I'd write a lot of those stories in while watching it, because that—that stuff is there to be found. They're both sort of the leaders of their respective Merry Men, you know, they're both sort of doing this Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves thing. Uh. And I think they could be compatible, and it probably is a good match in the end, which is why I was a little bit disappointed that they didn't give them more of those moments to bring those truths up to the front. I don't like having to write it in for myself. 

ERIC: Yeah, I think even though these are touted as 'the relationship episodes', there's just not a lot here. And I think that fans have remembered these more kindly than they're actually presented, because at their heart, like, especially Return of Sea Hawk, it's just an adventure story with like a little little bit of emotion. And the Sea Hawk is more about, I think, about convincing someone who's war profiteering that, 'hey, maybe you're exploiting people' than it is about forming a relationship, to the point where it even comes a little bit out of nowhere that She-Ra has this attraction for Sea Hawk. It seems like it's not seated at all. So that is weird. 

[clip from The Sea Hawk, 5:06]

ADORA: What do you think about all this Spirit?

SEA HAWK: So, our mysterious lady talks to horses, does she? 

ADORA: You startled me, Captain. 

SEA HAWK: Hawk. Sea Hawk. My men call me Captain, but uh, you can just call me Hawk. 

ADORA: I'd rather just call you Traitor. 

SEA HAWK: Traitor? Woman, I should have you thrown overboard.

ADORA: Go ahead. I don't want to be on the same ship with a man who works for the Horde. 

SEA HAWK, DEFENSIVELY: I work for no one but myself.

ADROA: Hordak pays you, doesn't he? 

SEA HAWK: My men and I are free. While the rest of this planet bows to the Horde, we roam the seas.

ADORA: And prey on your own people. 

SEA HAWK: But we are free. As free as... as free as this seaferry. Free to roam wherever we will. 

ADORA: Until the Horde decides to stop you. No one on this planet will truly be free, including you, until the day that Hordak and his evil empire leave this planet forever. 

SEA HAWK: You speak bold words, woman. I will think on what you say.

[end clip]

LAUREN: To your point about the relationship only being a portion of this episode, and a big part of it is also actually encouraging another hero to rise up against the Horde. One of my favorite shows when I was very little, also an 80s cartoon, was Johnny Quest. And I did love the Real Adventures of Johnny Quest as well when that came out, but like original, standard grade Johnny Quest. There weren't a lot of action shows made for me, made for girls. And so I kind of just let myself watch that one, even though it was clearly quote-unquote 'for boys'. And the moment when Catra's ship is seen for the first time and they're like, 'hmm, I don't see any weapons. That's unusual.' And then there's this amazing like, long sequence where just a ton of guns flip out of the ship and just every surface of this—of this vessel turns into guns to the point where the last couple, especially the like railgun that the robot is sitting behind, like—there was no more room for more guns on this ship, and yet, more guns. I thought it was awesome. [laughs delightedly] And uh, I love seeing that in a cartoon that is, you know, 'for girls.' Girls can have those really over the top action sequences, too. 

I think in episode one, you said… seeing Wonder Woman brought you to discussing this show, and thinking about this show again. And I thought of you when we literally throw She-Ra at a ship like she's just an explosive cannonball or something. Because that's what Wonder Woman does in that belltower in the—in the modern, the most recent film that came out. Just using this woman as a projectile weapon. And I—when I saw Wonder Woman, because I hadn't seen She-Ra yet, I was like, 'What a powerhouse. I've never seen anything like that before.' And I was just in awe that… it had been done before. A long time ago. 

I like that you mentioned Han Solo earlier in this episode as well, uh, my husband Clayton is a big Han Solo fan and loves to talk about Han's hero's journey in A New Hope. In that the thing that sets Han Solo apart, and that turns him into a hero instead of just a profiteering scoundrel and puts him decidedly on the side of the Rebellion instead of neutral is when he turns the Millennium Falcon around. He leaves with his money and there's the question out in the air, 'is he not gonna come back?' and he does. During that run on the Death Star, Han turns the ship around, and there he is at just a pivotal moment and pretty much exactly just so, Sea Hawk also leaves with his money and then turns the ship around. It's not a coincidence, I—I think that's pretty derivative. 

ERIC: I—I think so. And he has a laser sword. 

LAUREN: Yeah, he does. 

ERIC: Yeah. 

LAUREN: Thank you for pointing that out. Yeah he does. There's a lot to love in this episode. Um—As I mentioned in a previous episode what I'm trying to do, is, um, have a kind of constant dialogue with myself about femininity, and there were things in this episode like Adora had an empathy-related superpower that was very like Deanna Troi [[1]] and so, one note that I wrote down about her—when she's Adora, more than once, in quick sequence, she is very forgiving. As she's being arrested and hauled off, she—she says something like 'perhaps he had no choice' and then a couple seconds later 'I'm sure you did what you thought best, Sea Hawk' and there's something very touching and admirable about that part of her? That she's a karate-kicking superhero but also has such a deep capacity to forgive—because I don't think she's being sarcastic in those moments. 

ERIC: No, I don't think so either. 

LAUREN: And forgiveness is not a trait that I think I share. I think I'm a pretty judgy, uh grudge-holding person, and as I try to imagine myself as a young girl… who would be presented with She-Ra as a role model, I think that would have been a great thing, for me, growing up, to have more instances in which forgiveness is not just like a feminine obligation to be ladylike, but it's something that like badasses also do.

[clip from The Sea Hawk, 9:55]

SWEN: I—I don't believe it! He's turned you in! I—I'm so sorry, I never really thought he'd do it!

ADORA: Oh it's not your fault, Swen. Perhaps he had no choice. 

[music change]

SEA HAWK, RELUCTANTLY: I, uh.. I'm sorry, Adora. 

ADORA: No apologies, Captain. I'm sure you did as you thought best. 

[clip ends]

ERIC: So there's some neat real-world background on uh, on the Sea Hawk character. So Sea Hawk, as you may have deduced, was based on an Errol Flynn character. In fact named after a 1940 Errol Flynn movie called The Sea Hawk. Now I didn't know anything about this movie and I'm sure fucking glad that I googled it before we recorded this, because here's some fun trivia about that movie. The Sea Hawk is about Sir Francis Drake, the Elizabethan English explorer although in the movie his name is changed to like Jeffrey something[[Transcriber's note: Geoffrey Thorpe]]—for no reason. But he's playing Sir Francis Drake and there's a really great review in The Guardian from 2012 which lets us know that The Sea Hawk is a thinly veiled anti-Nazi propaganda movie, where the Spanish stand in as the bad guys and the Elizabethans only plunder the Spaniards in the name of freedom. In other words, Sir Francis Drake takes treasure from the King of Spain because the King of Spain is a despot and doesn't believe that all men should be free. That doesn't strictly relate to the themes of this episode of She-Ra, but boy I thought that was really interesting how—you know, just talking about how, you know, the victor writes history and white people with cultural capital tend to dictate narratives. Because boy I don't really think that's true of the Elizabethan era of exploration. Pretty sure Queen Elizabeth wasn't sending ships out there because she was an egalitarian. 

LAUREN: Clearly it's not a complete parallel to this episode, but someone in creating this episode read or knew that history. There's enough there that I believe that. Before we wrap that up I do want to note, that this show is still very funny. Uh, we didn't talk a lot about the comedy in this sort of recap, but… [laughing] they cut to Catra drinking just like from a saucer of milk at one point? And no one mentions it. It's just like part of the set dressing of the moment. It's just—

ERIC: That was commitment.

LAUREN: It's just the literal cat things. She's just getting down on a [laughs again] saucer of milk in a very otherwise serious, like, series of events. I love that. I love that this show still chooses to do that. 

ERIC: Regarding comedy I definitely want to talk about this before we move to the moral. The end of Return of the Sea Hawk. [laughs] 'If you take a walk with me I could explain it to you'. Like where 'take a walk' becomes this euphemism for like, I mean I know it's innocent but it just sounds so dirty to me especially when then Swen asked Madam Razz if she would like to take a walk?

LAUREN: That whole thing was not only filthy, but then it even escalated to… the broom?

ERIC, LAUGHING: Yeah, where Broom was like 'hey what am I supposed to do?' And Madam Razz says 'find a mop'. 

LAUREN: And Broom like, goes, [adopts a suave voice] 'maybe I will.'

[they both laugh]

ERIC: That—that was so absurd and that—that definitely made me laugh out loud. 

[clip from the end of Return of the Sea Hawk plays]

SEA HAWK: Adora! Hello. What are you doing here? I thought She-Ra would meet us.

ADORA: Sorry to disappoint you. 

SEA HAWK: Disappoint me? I'm not disappointed, I'm glad.

ADORA: Oh?

SEA HAWK: She-Ra was fun to fight beside but I'd much rather spend time with you. 

ADORA: You—you would? 

SEA HAWK: If you'll take a walk with me we can talk about it. 

ADORA: I'd like that. 

RAZZ: [coos]

SWEN: Madam Razz.

RAZZ: Oh, Swen. 

SWEN: I thought you might like to have a little stroll with me. I could tell you all about my adventures with the Sea Hawk. 

RAZZ: Oh [laughs] dearie my, well well, you bet I would. Oh that is, I think I can spare a few moments. I mean minutes. 

BROOM: Hey, what about me? 

RAZZ: Well why don't you just find yourself a nice friendly mop. 

BROOM, INDIGNANTLY: A mop? [he pauses to consider it] Hmm… Wonder if I could find one. 

[end of clip]

ERIC: I don't think the moral in this episode is as egregiously bad as it was in Duel of Devlin. I only want to talk about the second one, uh because I think… I think that's where the comedy gold lies. For our purposes. Uh. In Return of the Sea Hawk, the moral is, "In today's story, Adora and Sea Hawk liked each other, but they were afraid to admit it. Once they did, they became good friends. Everyone wants to be liked. If you like someone, tell them. And who knows? They may even say, 'I like you,' right back." 

LAUREN: And then you can go on a walk. 

ERIC, LAUGHING: Right. It's like, I'm not sure if, like, again, it's supposed to be innocent, but 'good friends' sound so dirty. 

LAUREN: Well, sure. And given that the last moral we discussed was like, 'if you're being bullied… get on the horn and tell somebody!' And this time it's, 'if you like someone… get on the horn and tell somebody!'

ERIC: Right. Which, again, not great advice.

LAUREN: Right. Every time I watch this show, like poor childhood-bullied Lauren is like, 'no, because then that boy would just make fun of me forever. You're, you know, first through eighth grade. I had a kid I liked in kindergarten. I heard about it for years!' Don't do this to me, She-Ra. You're throwing me into the bus over and over. 

ERIC: I also want to point out that, like, sometimes confessions of, well, Loo-Kee is clearly using 'like' to mean something more, he means—

LAUREN: Like-like. 

ERIC: He wants to take a watch—take a walk with these people.

LAUREN: [laughs]

ERIC: So I think, I think… Yeah, there's points where like confessions of your feelings can be used as like a weapon? And that's really not cool. And I think you need to be very cognizant of that. Like as a, as a nerdy dude, like, let me tell all the other nerdy dudes, you can't just go around like, telling people, 'Hey, I like you' and then expect them to respond. That's not how it works. And that's not cool. I do want to say this though, in the week that we're recording this, this app called Saraha has become all the rage. 

LAUREN: I hate it. 

ERIC: I hate it too. And in trying to articulate my hatred, I find myself seeing exactly what Loo-Kee says in this moral. If you like someone, tell them. 

LAUREN: But not anonymously. 

ERIC: Not anonymously. That's right. In, in a non-romantic setting, I want to come out fully on the side of like, if you have something nice to say to somebody, don't hold back. Just tell them you don't need an app. Just tell them how you feel. It's going to mean a hundred times more. 

LAUREN: Yeah. Well, yes, obviously I agree with that. It's why I don't have a Saraha and never will because I try to cultivate open and honest relationships. And I'm a very forward person. You may have noticed. And I just feel like if someone has something to say, particularly positive, the stakes are so low on that. If I've cultivated a good friendship with you, I want you to be able to say those things… with your name on them, to my face. And if you can't, what are we even doing here? 

ERIC: Yeah. So in that respect, I want to come out on Loo-Kee's side. If you like somebody, tell them. If you're trying to take a walk with them, maybe consider your approach a little more. 

LAUREN: [laughs]

[EPISODE OUTRO]

ERIC: Thanks for listening to She-Ra: Progressive of Power. If you like our show, you can write and review us on Apple podcasts. We'd super appreciate it. You can also send us any feedback you have, either to our email address, [email protected], or as a comment on our website at progressiveapower.wordpress.com. 

LAUREN: An organization making great strides for gender equality is the Transgender Law Center. Their mission is to change law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression. Their 2017 Plan for Resistance is an easy-to-understand list of ways TLC is adapting to succeed under our current administration. Visit transgenderlawcenter.org to get more information or donate.

[outro to “I have the Power”]

ERIKA SCHEIMER AND NOAM KANIEL: [As She-Ra and He-Man] For the honor of love, we have the power so can you.

ANNOTATIONS:

[[1]] Deanna Troi is a character from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Betazoids are telepathic aliens, but as she's half-human her psychic powers are somewhat diminished, so instead of reading minds she can read emotions (at least, at first). I've never watched TNG feel free to correct me here.

#progressive of power #podcasts

[birindale]

yeah the transcripts were originally to help screen readers & search indexing (a little treat for me) but it turns out i'm incapable of restraining myself from commentary.

"it's not right to use others to get ahead" she-ra princess of hypocrites over here 🙄 who built your ferris wheel huh? huh??

This time: Catra goes fishing, She-Ra has most of Aquaman's powers, and the scripts get even more unbearable to type. We all learn a lesson about capitalism, but perhaps not the one intended.

Transcript/Image ID below the cut

[Image Description: 14 comic pages from the She-Ra mini-comic, “A Fishy Business”.

Cover: Mermista (in her mermaid form) and Starburst She-Ra swim around underwater, smiling at a school of seven bright yellow fish. The Princess of Power logo is up top as always, and at the bottom of the page in blue, outlined in a desaturated red, is the issue title, "A Fishy Business". Below that, the copyright info reads, "Illustrations: (copyright symbol) Mattel, Inc. 1986. Hawthorne, CA 90250 U.S.A. PRINTED IN TAIWAN. All Rights Reserved. (registered trademark symbol) and TM designate U.S. trademarks of Mattel, Inc."

Page 1: A desaturated pink caption box reads, "In the forest near a stream that began at Crystal Falls, Catra was busy making mischief. She stood back to admire her handiwork, a big waterwheel over the stream. Along the wheel were small fishnets, and on the bank was a giant goldfish bowl filled with water." We do in fact see Catra standing before a giant wheel, though it can't really be described as a waterwheel because there's no way for the water to turn it; its only adornments are the 'nets', which look more like baskets but you saw the caption! Who am I to disagree? A slanted, equal-angle channel runs from the wheel closer to the bank, a sort of reverse salmon cannon into the fish bowl. Catra isn't wearing her mask, her clawed gloves are only silver bracers here, and her outfit still strays closer to red than pink. She has a crosscut or rip-cut saw in her right hand (can't say for certain without a closer look at the teeth), and a claw (heh heh) hammer in her left. Her gloves are only silver bracers here, so she doesn't have any claws, and her outfit is straying closer to red than pink. 

A yellow caption box at the foot of the page reads, "PRODUCED EXCLUSIVELY FOR MATTEL BY: PENCILIER—JIM MITCHELL. INKER—TODD KUROSAWA. COLORIST—CHARLES SIMPSON. EDITOR—LEE NORDLING." 

"'There. As long as I don't get wet, this water-stuff is a snap to handle," says Catra, with an evil little grin. 

End Page 1. 

Page 2: ""Now to see if it works." She said. Catra pulled a lever that released the wheel, and the wheel turned in the water. As the wheel went around, the fishnets bought up fish from the stream. The fish were then dumped into a trough that emptied into the goldfish bowl." [sic] on that whole paragraph. It's like they took a concept script for a picture book and just turned it into a comic with absolutely zero editing or forethought. 

Speaking of no forethought, Catra sure has made this contraption within sight of the Crystal Falls, notorious hangout of Mermista and Friends. She's gripping a lever with both hands (now gloved) and looking back over her shoulder instead of facing the wheel directly. Skip Simpson, bless his heart, seems to have colored her skirt black on autopilot despite Todd Kurosawa's careful delineation. In his defense, Skip was colorist for the whole first wave as well, so he's still getting used to Scratchin' Sound Catra's adjusted color palette. Four concerned-looking fish are scooped up and deposited in the goldfish bowl. 

Catra seemingly lies down in the sand to prop her chin dramatically on one hand and smirk at the captive fish. ""You don't know it yet, Fish-face, but you and I are going into business together."" Seriously though, who put all of these quotation marks in the dialogue bubbles? Why didn't Lee Nordling stop them? What kind of editor are you, Lee? Whatever. Three of the fish gape at Catra in shock. 

""I can see it now. I'll open the first marine world in Etheria," says Catra. This seems to be an attempt at genericizing Marine World (now called Six Flags Discovery Kingdom), which at the time of publication (1986) had just moved to Vallejo, California and was moderately big news, featuring such wild headlines 'professional basketball player called in to pull bolt out of dolphin throat', 'tiger bites the shit out of football player at pep rally' before Vallejo moved them over from Redwood City. The year after the move they dropped an orca on William Statner (who was, tragically, completely fine). Basically, I think Catra is envisioning an animal theme park with a heavy aquatic slant, rather than a flooded planet situation. But it's the kind of theme park which puts chimps on motorcycles and an elephant on water skis. So look out. 

End Page 2. 

Page 3: A pink caption box reads, "Catra saw herself as master of the show. The fish would do wonderful stunts! Catra herself would be the star. And how the crowd would cheer! Handsome men—maybe even Bow—would be madly in love with her." Oh so I didn't need to explain Marine World. Okay. Well I'm leaving that in anyway. This one's for you, Norcal.

Catra imagines herself in a series of fanciful situations, whipping the fish into a cheerleader-style pyramid (her gloves are bracers again, but the rest of her costume is Scratchin' Sound Catra-accurate, including ripped silver tights and a silver skirt); staring dreamily at Bow, who's offering her a bottle of milk; and waterskiing behind four moderately sized fish, which feels optimistic even for this fantasy. 

""So do some aerobics while I sew up your little swimsuits," says Catra, actually looking pretty reasonable despite the fish's shock. Can a fish do aerobics? I guess it doesn't specify that you get your oxygen through air instead of water, but I feel like it's implied.

End Page 3. 

Page 4: A pale pink caption box reads, "A few days later, Peekablue was riding in the Sea Harp near the beautiful Crystal Falls while Mermista swam alongside. Adora and Spirit stood on the shore. "Peekablue! Mermista!" Adora called. "Let's pick some berries for lunch." But just then a young seal swam up to Mermista with a message. 

We see the Crystal Falls in the background, and Mermista with her seal friend in the foreground, but the midground is the Sea Harp sitting on dry land next to Adora and Spirit. Is it not a boat…?

""Oh no! He says his friends, the sunfish and the tuna twins, are missing. And no one has seen the bluegills since yesterday,"" says Mermista, translating for a distressed seal with emanata that seem to indicate seal-speech. 

""Hmmmm, this could be trouble. I'll go look for help!" says Adora.

End Page 4.

Page 5: A pink caption box reads, "Hidden in a spot behind some trees, Adora raised high the Sword of Protection and said "For the honor of Grayskull, I am She-Ra!" And in a magical flash, she became the Princess of Power. Then, she changed Spirit into Swift Wind." Because god forbid we draw an action pose, I guess. 

Starburst She-Ra raises both arms to show off her cape, and Crystal Swift Wind raises both wings. They're so sparkly that light refracts all around them, twinkling and vibrant.

End Page 5. 

Page 6: A pink caption box reads, "Peekablue and Mermista were glad She-Ra had come to help. She-Ra suggested they split up. Peekablue said, "I don't want to get my lovely feathers wet, so I'll follow the stream leading into the forest. With my many eyes I'll be able to see any fish who went that way. Then I'll meet you later."" She-Ra stands beside Peekablue in front of the Crystal Falls, and Mermista watches them from the water.

A pink caption box reads, "Then She-Ra and Mermista dove into the Crystal Falls pool." 

She-Ra dives, Mermista just looks like she's floating downwards. It must be hard to slow down enough for a human (super-powered or not) to keep up. 

End Page 6. 

Page 7: A pink caption box reads, "Deep in the blue-green world, the two friends passed great sweeping fronds of sea moss, sparkling stones, many-colored shells, and the broken columns of old ruins. But, oddly enough, no fish. And no one seemed to know where they were!" She-Ra and Mermista swim past a coral reef, some decaying, vaguely Grecian ruins in the background. There's not a fish in sight. 

""Have you seen our friends, the fish?"" She-Ra asks an octopus, who shrugs and says, ""Nope."" Apparently She-Ra can breathe underwater in this one. 

""Fish should stay in one place, like I do," says a bivalve, "Then they wouldn't get lost!"" 

End Page 7. 

Page 8: ""Then I hope Peekablue has already found them,"" says She-Ra, looking concerned. 

A pink caption box reads, "But Peekablue found something else. As she followed the stream through the woods, her eyes searched the water. "I can see all the way to the bottom!" She exclaimed. But then her special eyes noticed something further upstream." Oh shit. Her brand. 

Peekablue is shown wandering alongside the stream, Catra's contraption bleary in the distance.

End Page 8. 

Page 9: ""Why, it's a wheel! I wonder what…?"" says a pink caption box, which was probably supposed to be a thought bubble. 

Another pink caption box reads, "Suddenly Catra rushed out of the forest. "What do you want, Feather-head?" "Catra! What are you doing here?" Peekablue asked. "I was taking a catnap. Now go away!" "Hummph!" Peekablue said as she walked away. But she thought, "I'm going to tell She-Ra about this.""

I really think they're doing this dialogue-within-captions schtick to torture me, specifically. 

Peekablue is shown looking startled, the Crystal Falls once more in the background, as Catra leaps out of the bushes in front of her. 

End Page 9.

Page 10: A pink caption box reads, "A little later the three friends met at Crystal Falls. Peekablue told what she had seen. She-Ra said, "I suspect Catra knows where the fish are. Let's find out." "Wait," Mermista said. "I want to go along." She dove, then flipped out of the water, her silvery tail dancing on its surface for a moment." We see Mermista, surrounded by a few perfect tendrils of water, suspended above the surface as Peekablue and She-Ra watch. 

A pink caption box reads, "Then with a spin she landed delicately on the shore on two legs!" and we see a four-stage, Animorphs-style transition between her two forms. 

""There. I'm ready!"" says Mermista, to a smiling She-Ra. Her hair is a little more purple than usual, but it plays off the yellow in the background well. 

End Page 10. 

Page 11: A pink caption box reads, "The friends soon found Catra's waterwheel and watched as more fish were caught in the nets. She-Ra said, "I thought so!" On the ground nearby were blueprints for Catra's plans, and She-Ra looked them over. "An amusement park! Leave it to Catra!" She-Ra stopped the wheel, but Catra, who heard their voices, came running. "

She-Ra stares at the plans in apparent wonder as Peekablue and Mermista look over her shoulder. Fifteen of the yellow fish are trapped in the fishbowl. Mermista's pants are orange. Peekablue is smiling for some reason. 

""Just what do you think you're doing here?"" asks Catra, who looks mildly affronted with her hands on her hips and a single eyebrow raised. She's missing her gloves again. 

End Page 11.

Page 12: ""Saving my fish friends from your clutches!"" says Mermista, with no expression whatsoever. Her necklace, which is a shell on the toy and a simple pendant in the Filmation show, is a tiny yellow fish. Presumably it spits water the same way. 

""They're mine now, Miss Scaley-tail! Now go away before I…"" says Catra, with a mild frown. 

A pink caption box reads, "But Catra had no chance to finish her threat because Mermista quickly drenched Catra with her water spray. "Yeee-ow!" Catra screeched, as she jumped back. "I think you're the one who should leave, Catra," said She-Ra "while we try to undo your mischief.""

Catra is soaking wet now. Would have been nice to show that action, instead of just telling us about it! Would have been a nice break from shot-reverse-shot close-ups! She-Ra, Mermista, and Peekablue all smile at her. Her gloves are still missing. 

End Page 12. 

Page 13: A pink caption box reads, "As Catra ran off, She-Ra lifted the giant fishbowl overhead and dumped it into the stream. "I think it's time you fellas went back home to Crystal Falls," she said. And the fish were very happy to do so." The illustration shows She-Ra doing that. You know, redundantly. 

""I don't think we should leave this here either, She-Ra. Catra may use it again," says Peekablue, pointing at the wheel contraption. 

""You're right, Peekablue. And I think I have a good idea," says She-Ra. 

End Page 13.

Page 14: A pink caption box reads, "Later, under the water at Crystal Falls, She-Ra and Mermista turned Catra's wheel into a ferris wheel. The nets were replaced by little seats. Their friends rode happily 'round and 'round! Mermista said, "I wish Catra could see her waterwheel now!"" The fish have set up a tiny admissions booth and everything. Various sea creatures gambol about. 

In an oranger-than-usual 'moral' font color, She-Ra says, ""Yes, and I wish Catra would learn that it's not right to use others to get ahead."" Girl, what? You mean the fish? You guys just assaulted her, stole her waterwheel, and undid days of work because she didn't immediately agree to your demands. Now is the time for a moral about how removing species can negatively impact a biome, or against cruelty to animals (not that 1986 was necessarily ready for that). Is this a good time to mention Mattel owned The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for a couple years?

""Now—how about a ride?"" She-Ra suggests to Mermista, beckoning her on. They won't even fit in the tiny little seats. Stop benefiting from using others, She-Ra. It's immoral. 

End Page 14. 

End ID.]

#responses

[birindale]

This time: Catra goes fishing, She-Ra has most of Aquaman's powers, and the scripts get even more unbearable to type. We all learn a lesson about capitalism, but perhaps not the one intended.

Transcript/Image ID below the cut

[Image Description: 14 comic pages from the She-Ra mini-comic, “A Fishy Business”.

Cover: Mermista (in her mermaid form) and Starburst She-Ra swim around underwater, smiling at a school of seven bright yellow fish. The Princess of Power logo is up top as always, and at the bottom of the page in blue, outlined in a desaturated red, is the issue title, "A Fishy Business". Below that, the copyright info reads, "Illustrations: (copyright symbol) Mattel, Inc. 1986. Hawthorne, CA 90250 U.S.A. PRINTED IN TAIWAN. All Rights Reserved. (registered trademark symbol) and TM designate U.S. trademarks of Mattel, Inc."

Page 1: A desaturated pink caption box reads, "In the forest near a stream that began at Crystal Falls, Catra was busy making mischief. She stood back to admire her handiwork, a big waterwheel over the stream. Along the wheel were small fishnets, and on the bank was a giant goldfish bowl filled with water." We do in fact see Catra standing before a giant wheel, though it can't really be described as a waterwheel because there's no way for the water to turn it; its only adornments are the 'nets', which look more like baskets but you saw the caption! Who am I to disagree? A slanted, equal-angle channel runs from the wheel closer to the bank, a sort of reverse salmon cannon into the fish bowl. Catra isn't wearing her mask, her clawed gloves are only silver bracers here, and her outfit still strays closer to red than pink. She has a crosscut or rip-cut saw in her right hand (can't say for certain without a closer look at the teeth), and a claw (heh heh) hammer in her left. Her gloves are only silver bracers here, so she doesn't have any claws, and her outfit is straying closer to red than pink. 

A yellow caption box at the foot of the page reads, "PRODUCED EXCLUSIVELY FOR MATTEL BY: PENCILIER—JIM MITCHELL. INKER—TODD KUROSAWA. COLORIST—CHARLES SIMPSON. EDITOR—LEE NORDLING." 

"'There. As long as I don't get wet, this water-stuff is a snap to handle," says Catra, with an evil little grin. 

End Page 1. 

Page 2: ""Now to see if it works." She said. Catra pulled a lever that released the wheel, and the wheel turned in the water. As the wheel went around, the fishnets bought up fish from the stream. The fish were then dumped into a trough that emptied into the goldfish bowl." [sic] on that whole paragraph. It's like they took a concept script for a picture book and just turned it into a comic with absolutely zero editing or forethought. 

Speaking of no forethought, Catra sure has made this contraption within sight of the Crystal Falls, notorious hangout of Mermista and Friends. She's gripping a lever with both hands (now gloved) and looking back over her shoulder instead of facing the wheel directly. Skip Simpson, bless his heart, seems to have colored her skirt black on autopilot despite Todd Kurosawa's careful delineation. In his defense, Skip was colorist for the whole first wave as well, so he's still getting used to Scratchin' Sound Catra's adjusted color palette. Four concerned-looking fish are scooped up and deposited in the goldfish bowl. 

Catra seemingly lies down in the sand to prop her chin dramatically on one hand and smirk at the captive fish. ""You don't know it yet, Fish-face, but you and I are going into business together."" Seriously though, who put all of these quotation marks in the dialogue bubbles? Why didn't Lee Nordling stop them? What kind of editor are you, Lee? Whatever. Three of the fish gape at Catra in shock. 

""I can see it now. I'll open the first marine world in Etheria," says Catra. This seems to be an attempt at genericizing Marine World (now called Six Flags Discovery Kingdom), which at the time of publication (1986) had just moved to Vallejo, California and was moderately big news, featuring such wild headlines 'professional basketball player called in to pull bolt out of dolphin throat', 'tiger bites the shit out of football player at pep rally' before Vallejo moved them over from Redwood City. The year after the move they dropped an orca on William Statner (who was, tragically, completely fine). Basically, I think Catra is envisioning an animal theme park with a heavy aquatic slant, rather than a flooded planet situation. But it's the kind of theme park which puts chimps on motorcycles and an elephant on water skis. So look out. 

End Page 2. 

Page 3: A pink caption box reads, "Catra saw herself as master of the show. The fish would do wonderful stunts! Catra herself would be the star. And how the crowd would cheer! Handsome men—maybe even Bow—would be madly in love with her." Oh so I didn't need to explain Marine World. Okay. Well I'm leaving that in anyway. This one's for you, Norcal.

Catra imagines herself in a series of fanciful situations, whipping the fish into a cheerleader-style pyramid (her gloves are bracers again, but the rest of her costume is Scratchin' Sound Catra-accurate, including ripped silver tights and a silver skirt); staring dreamily at Bow, who's offering her a bottle of milk; and waterskiing behind four moderately sized fish, which feels optimistic even for this fantasy. 

""So do some aerobics while I sew up your little swimsuits," says Catra, actually looking pretty reasonable despite the fish's shock. Can a fish do aerobics? I guess it doesn't specify that you get your oxygen through air instead of water, but I feel like it's implied.

End Page 3. 

Page 4: A pale pink caption box reads, "A few days later, Peekablue was riding in the Sea Harp near the beautiful Crystal Falls while Mermista swam alongside. Adora and Spirit stood on the shore. "Peekablue! Mermista!" Adora called. "Let's pick some berries for lunch." But just then a young seal swam up to Mermista with a message. 

We see the Crystal Falls in the background, and Mermista with her seal friend in the foreground, but the midground is the Sea Harp sitting on dry land next to Adora and Spirit. Is it not a boat…?

""Oh no! He says his friends, the sunfish and the tuna twins, are missing. And no one has seen the bluegills since yesterday,"" says Mermista, translating for a distressed seal with emanata that seem to indicate seal-speech. 

""Hmmmm, this could be trouble. I'll go look for help!" says Adora.

End Page 4.

Page 5: A pink caption box reads, "Hidden in a spot behind some trees, Adora raised high the Sword of Protection and said "For the honor of Grayskull, I am She-Ra!" And in a magical flash, she became the Princess of Power. Then, she changed Spirit into Swift Wind." Because god forbid we draw an action pose, I guess. 

Starburst She-Ra raises both arms to show off her cape, and Crystal Swift Wind raises both wings. They're so sparkly that light refracts all around them, twinkling and vibrant.

End Page 5. 

Page 6: A pink caption box reads, "Peekablue and Mermista were glad She-Ra had come to help. She-Ra suggested they split up. Peekablue said, "I don't want to get my lovely feathers wet, so I'll follow the stream leading into the forest. With my many eyes I'll be able to see any fish who went that way. Then I'll meet you later."" She-Ra stands beside Peekablue in front of the Crystal Falls, and Mermista watches them from the water.

A pink caption box reads, "Then She-Ra and Mermista dove into the Crystal Falls pool." 

She-Ra dives, Mermista just looks like she's floating downwards. It must be hard to slow down enough for a human (super-powered or not) to keep up. 

End Page 6. 

Page 7: A pink caption box reads, "Deep in the blue-green world, the two friends passed great sweeping fronds of sea moss, sparkling stones, many-colored shells, and the broken columns of old ruins. But, oddly enough, no fish. And no one seemed to know where they were!" She-Ra and Mermista swim past a coral reef, some decaying, vaguely Grecian ruins in the background. There's not a fish in sight. 

""Have you seen our friends, the fish?"" She-Ra asks an octopus, who shrugs and says, ""Nope."" Apparently She-Ra can breathe underwater in this one. 

""Fish should stay in one place, like I do," says a bivalve, "Then they wouldn't get lost!"" 

End Page 7. 

Page 8: ""Then I hope Peekablue has already found them,"" says She-Ra, looking concerned. 

A pink caption box reads, "But Peekablue found something else. As she followed the stream through the woods, her eyes searched the water. "I can see all the way to the bottom!" She exclaimed. But then her special eyes noticed something further upstream." Oh shit. Her brand. 

Peekablue is shown wandering alongside the stream, Catra's contraption bleary in the distance.

End Page 8. 

Page 9: ""Why, it's a wheel! I wonder what…?"" says a pink caption box, which was probably supposed to be a thought bubble. 

Another pink caption box reads, "Suddenly Catra rushed out of the forest. "What do you want, Feather-head?" "Catra! What are you doing here?" Peekablue asked. "I was taking a catnap. Now go away!" "Hummph!" Peekablue said as she walked away. But she thought, "I'm going to tell She-Ra about this.""

I really think they're doing this dialogue-within-captions schtick to torture me, specifically. 

Peekablue is shown looking startled, the Crystal Falls once more in the background, as Catra leaps out of the bushes in front of her. 

End Page 9.

Page 10: A pink caption box reads, "A little later the three friends met at Crystal Falls. Peekablue told what she had seen. She-Ra said, "I suspect Catra knows where the fish are. Let's find out." "Wait," Mermista said. "I want to go along." She dove, then flipped out of the water, her silvery tail dancing on its surface for a moment." We see Mermista, surrounded by a few perfect tendrils of water, suspended above the surface as Peekablue and She-Ra watch. 

A pink caption box reads, "Then with a spin she landed delicately on the shore on two legs!" and we see a four-stage, Animorphs-style transition between her two forms. 

""There. I'm ready!"" says Mermista, to a smiling She-Ra. Her hair is a little more purple than usual, but it plays off the yellow in the background well. 

End Page 10. 

Page 11: A pink caption box reads, "The friends soon found Catra's waterwheel and watched as more fish were caught in the nets. She-Ra said, "I thought so!" On the ground nearby were blueprints for Catra's plans, and She-Ra looked them over. "An amusement park! Leave it to Catra!" She-Ra stopped the wheel, but Catra, who heard their voices, came running. "

She-Ra stares at the plans in apparent wonder as Peekablue and Mermista look over her shoulder. Fifteen of the yellow fish are trapped in the fishbowl. Mermista's pants are orange. Peekablue is smiling for some reason. 

""Just what do you think you're doing here?"" asks Catra, who looks mildly affronted with her hands on her hips and a single eyebrow raised. She's missing her gloves again. 

End Page 11.

Page 12: ""Saving my fish friends from your clutches!"" says Mermista, with no expression whatsoever. Her necklace, which is a shell on the toy and a simple pendant in the Filmation show, is a tiny yellow fish. Presumably it spits water the same way. 

""They're mine now, Miss Scaley-tail! Now go away before I…"" says Catra, with a mild frown. 

A pink caption box reads, "But Catra had no chance to finish her threat because Mermista quickly drenched Catra with her water spray. "Yeee-ow!" Catra screeched, as she jumped back. "I think you're the one who should leave, Catra," said She-Ra "while we try to undo your mischief.""

Catra is soaking wet now. Would have been nice to show that action, instead of just telling us about it! Would have been a nice break from shot-reverse-shot close-ups! She-Ra, Mermista, and Peekablue all smile at her. Her gloves are still missing. 

End Page 12. 

Page 13: A pink caption box reads, "As Catra ran off, She-Ra lifted the giant fishbowl overhead and dumped it into the stream. "I think it's time you fellas went back home to Crystal Falls," she said. And the fish were very happy to do so." The illustration shows She-Ra doing that. You know, redundantly. 

""I don't think we should leave this here either, She-Ra. Catra may use it again," says Peekablue, pointing at the wheel contraption. 

""You're right, Peekablue. And I think I have a good idea," says She-Ra. 

End Page 13.

Page 14: A pink caption box reads, "Later, under the water at Crystal Falls, She-Ra and Mermista turned Catra's wheel into a ferris wheel. The nets were replaced by little seats. Their friends rode happily 'round and 'round! Mermista said, "I wish Catra could see her waterwheel now!"" The fish have set up a tiny admissions booth and everything. Various sea creatures gambol about. 

In an oranger-than-usual 'moral' font color, She-Ra says, ""Yes, and I wish Catra would learn that it's not right to use others to get ahead."" Girl, what? You mean the fish? You guys just assaulted her, stole her waterwheel, and undid days of work because she didn't immediately agree to your demands. Now is the time for a moral about how removing species can negatively impact a biome, or against cruelty to animals (not that 1986 was necessarily ready for that). Is this a good time to mention Mattel owned The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for a couple years?

""Now—how about a ride?"" She-Ra suggests to Mermista, beckoning her on. They won't even fit in the tiny little seats. Stop benefiting from using others, She-Ra. It's immoral. 

End Page 14. 

End ID.]

#minicomics #motu #a fishy business #she-ra #mermista #catra #peekablue #adora #spirit #the sea harp

[birindale]

Page 6 of S J Stine’s Production Journal. Rough transcript below the cut to maintain edit-ability down the line.

i know i autofilled 'sister' but that's straight from the pitch bible bro it's not my fault. help me transcribe this

bold means ‘I’m pretty sure this says X’, italic means ‘based on context i assume this says Y’. Don’t worry about the links they’re for underlining.

To Do

✓ Bring Haikyuu!! [???] for Christie

✓ Return temp key card

X reply to [???] [???]

✓ Grab blank check for direct deposit

✓ Bring notes [???] 

✓ - Call Dr [???] & see [???] [???] [???] @ 11 am

✓ - Call [???] get replacement card

✓ - Grab [???] key start uploading files to Dropbox

X - Get Storyboard Pro [???] DWTV [???]

(PRINT the the forms)

X - PRINT & fill out Parking Badge form

X - Forward Sid’s resume

- Forward Marta’s resume

X - Call Dr [???] & ask if I’ll be okay to go out & have dinner by Sat 

✓ - Get back to P2 above [???] was [???]

✓ - Fill out Staff / Parking / Direct Deposit forms for DWTV

✓ - Text [???] & ask when the docks will be ready? (CALL HER) 

DREAMFIT - [???] in 3 months Storyboard Gym shorts?

Referring people who are qualified via My DW “Job opportunities” 

SAVING INFORMATION

Save your work on either the H drive ([???] folder) or T Drive

The H Drive is your personal location as a shared [???] that is backed up

The T Drive is your show folder - department show in T Dept

Don’t save locally This is NOT backed up 

Thumb drives are NOT allowed here at Dreamworks

To transfer data outside of Dreamworks you can submit a JIRA [???] in the [???] [???] to request a Dreamworks Box [???] external w/ unlimited storage.

SET UP YOUR PHONE When you get to your [???]

My 1st episode boards Dec 15th 

✓   -     Audio > EMR listen to the voices Only Adora [???] [???]

Catra is the dirtbag little sister

26 episodes

Glimmer - everything is a battle for her Most [???] [???] [???]

Remember that everyone is 17

SHE-RA is always @ a 10 [...] mode no matter what

✓   -     A[???] [???] > [???] [???] > Memory

Read the notes for 105 Share it for script [???]

✓   -     Ask [???] about speakers

Ask [???] about Storyboard Part 51

✓   -     Ask [???] about printers

#catra #glimmer #she-ra #s j stine #visual development

[birindale]

As we enter the second wave of toys, a new She-Ra and Swift Wind have to be explained to the consumer, so Adora and Spirit wander through an interdimensional portal into a beautiful land called Crystal World. Josh is there. 

Transcript/Image ID below the cut

[Image Description: 14 comic pages from the She-Ra mini-comic, “Across the Crystal Light Barrier”.

Cover: Starburst She-Ra stands with arms spread high to show off her sparkles, Crystal Swift Wind at her side. They’re standing atop a mountain made of glittering crystal, beneath the Princess of Power logo. At the bottom of the page, “Across the Crystal Light Barrier” is written and actually outlined, though still definitely not the color I would have gone with. Beneath that, in a small font, it reads, “Illustrations: (copyright symbol) Mattel, Inc. 1985 Hawthorne CA 90250 U.S.A. PRINTED IN HONG KONG. All Rights Reserved. (registered trademark symbol) and TM designate U.S. trademarks of Mattel, Inc. 

The coloring style from this issue on becomes more pastel, and the gouache is blended more, giving it a softer feeling.

Page 1: A pink caption box reads, “Outings in Etheria are always very special and today’s picnic had been no exception. Adora smiled as Josh and Bow leaned against a fruit tree, the picnic basket empty and their bellies full. Spirit and Arrow stood nibbling at the lumps of sugar Glimmer held out in her hand.” Which pretty much covers the illustration. Adora is sitting on a blanket with the empty picnic basket.

Josh was apparently slated to be the Robin to Bow’s Batman at one point, but he never did get an official design, so this is just ‘generic blond man’. A second pink caption box at the bottom of the page contains the credits, “Produced exclusively for Mattel by: Writer… Tina Harris & Eric Frydler. Penciler… Jim Mitchell. Inker… Todd Kurosawa. Colorist… Charles Simpson. Editor: Joan Dumbauld & Lee Nordling”. 

“Want to race, Adora?” asks Glimmer. The composition on this page is leaps and bounds over the previous issue. Whatever Jim Mitchell was doing between waves one and two, I appreciate it.

“Sure! Come on!” says Adora.

End Page 1. 

Page 2: Adora and Glimmer mounted up. The second Bow fired his starting arrow, they took off! Galloping down the orchard path, they disappeared from sight. Neck-in-neck [sic], they raced against each other. Adora and Glimmer sped over field and stream, dashing wildly along the winding path.” So apparently we’re just going for outright narration. That’s cool. Kind of a weird decision in a comic, but I’m not a cop. Bow shoots his starting arrow and the girls take off, Adora on Spirit and Glimmer on Arrow. 

A beautifully colored panel of the race in partial silhouette. 

A rounded white caption box reads, “Suddenly, a mysterious burst of light appeared from nowhere!” and we see Adora rear back on Spirit, who balks at a stylized glow. 

End Page 2.

Page 3: A pink caption box reads, “Adora and Spirit slowed their pace. Startled, Arrow bolted, throwing Glimmer from his back”. Arrow is rearing and our heroes are walking sedately into the light.

End Page 3. 

Page 4: A lavender caption box reads, “Rounding the bend, Josh and Bow hurried to see the race’s finish. They found Glimmer on the ground and helped her to her feet. "Where is Adora?" Bow asked. "I don’t know," Glimmer replied. "She just disappeared!" "Over here!" Adora cried. I’ve crossed the Crystal Light Barrier." Missed some quotation marks there. Another reason not to use them in caption boxes. Adora and Spirit’s silhouette is distorted by the field of light and Josh’s hair is brown now. 

“Spirit and I are lost in a strange and wondrous land!” says Adora.

End Page 4. 

Page 5: A lavender caption box reads, “There Adora and Spirit stood, across a bottomless crack. "Arrow and I will save you!" Bow exclaimed. Glimmer begged him not to go and Adora breathed a word of caution. "She’s right. It’s much too dangerous. We’ll have to find our own way back to Etheria."" Adora and Spirit stare down into a foggy abyss, surrounded by crystal.

“Come on, Spirit! Maybe we can find someone to help us,” says Adora. 

End Page 5. 

Page 6:  A pink caption box reads, “Adora and her faithful steed wandered for many miles. Above them shone a bright rainbow sun. All around them, jewel-like mountain tops and petrified flowers glistened under the strange light.” over an illustration of exactly that.

“How beautiful!” says Adora, smiling.

End Page 6.

Page 7: A lavender caption box reads, “Soon they came upon a dazzling sight–a glittering herd of horses, unlike any they had ever seen before! Each horse had a color all its own–and each one shone like crystal! "Spirit, look!" Adora cried. "We’ve found help at last! But who can these beauties be?"" Adora points at a group of seven sparkling steeds, each with a pair of feathered (crystalline) wings.

“We are the Guardians of Crystal World,” says a voice from off panel. 

“Who…? What…?” asks Adora, looking around. 

End Page 7. 

Page 8: A lavender caption box reads, “The voice belonged to a sleek, crystal horse named Crystal Moonbeam. Adora quickly spoke to him. "We came across the Barrier and now we can’t get back." The lavender stallion nodded. "Recrossing the Crystal Light Barrier is certainly most difficult."" And I have to tell you, this horse is not lavender. His toy is a translucent violet, but this comic has him a soft periwinkle, cut through with orange light because he’s made of crystal. 

“Quite soon, you and your horse will become like us,” says Crystal Moonbeam, ominously.

“You mean we will turn into crystal?” asks Adora. Neither she nor Spirit seem thrilled at the possibility. 

End Page 8. 

Page 9: A pink caption box reads, “Crystal Moonbeam nodded gravely. "Yes. Anyone who touches the ground of Crystal World must change." But Adora hadn’t changed at all!” There was plenty of room for dialogue boxes saying this. Why even make this a comic? 

“I haven’t stepped from Spirit’s back,” says Adora. “I haven’t touched your world."

“Then, there may be a chance,” says Crystal Moonbeam. 

End Page 9. 

Page 10: A lavender caption box reads, “Dashing to his herd, Crystal Moonbeam returned with a sparkling filly. "This is my sister Crystal Sun Dancer," the lavender horse whinnied. "She knows the way across the Crystal Light Barrier."" The still distinctly un-lavender Crystal Moonbeam introduces them to a slightly smaller, yellowy orange horse.

“But to cross the Barrier again, you must have the power to fly!” says Crystal Moonbeam. 

“The crack is too deep to risk crossing it any other way,” says Crystal Sun Dancer.

End Page 10.

Page 11: Adora raises her arms and becomes Starburst She-Ra, with a long flowing cape with two wrist loops. Swift Wind becomes Crystal Swift Wind, a transparent pink plasticine version of himself. Herself? What are Swift Wind's pronouns this wave? The horse is see-through now. They have wings and a golden pleather mask, complete with unicorn horn. Light and sparkles radiate off the pair of them as they transform.

A pink caption box reads, "Adora unsheathed her Sword of Protection at once and raised it to the sky. In an instant, she and Spirit were transformed. Crystal World echoed with her powerful cry. "For the honor of Grayskull, I am She-Ra!" 

End Page 11. 

Page 12: "Swift Wind! Walking here in Crystal World has given you a crystal sheen!" says She-Ra, smiling as she reaches around to touch Swift Wind's face. 

A pink caption box reads, "Crystal Sun Dancer, Crystal Moonbeam, She-Ra and Crystal Swift Wind glowed with an unearthly energy as they leaped toward the deep opening. With a brilliant burst of color, they broke through the Crystal Barrier and vanished—gone!" as we see all three winged horses take flight, Swift Wind carrying She-Ra, surrounded by glowing and sparkles. 

"We'd better change back fast before our friends find out our secret!" says She-Ra, dismounting from Swift Wind and spreading her arms to show off her new starburst cape. Crystal Moonbeam and Crystal Sun Dancer aren't in frame, but they're still around, I promise.

End Page 12.

Page 13: A pink caption box reads, "Meanwhile, in Etheria, Bow, Glimmer and Josh had been looking high and low for Adora and Spirit. Suddenly Bow heard a rustling sound behind him." Right, Josh is here. I forgot about him already. He's a brunet now. He's holding onto his belt and kind of pouting at the panel gutter, while Glimmer stares forlornly at her staff (here a pink and blue rendition that looks more like a clock than the toy-accurate rose-with-jewel). Bow looks over his shoulder at the approaching Adora, Spirit, Crystal Sun Dancer, and Crystal Moonbeam. A mountain range towers behind her, and the few trees we can see are full of orange… bubbles? Transparent fruit? They've missed a few of the leaf portions. Sloppy work, Skip, but you were dealt a poor hand here. 

"Adora! Where have you been? We've been worried," says Bow, with an uncomfortable smile.

"Oh Bow! I've been in a wonderful land called Crystal World," says Adora. These last two panels were just close-ups, but the backgrounds have some really beautiful gradients on them. It really seems like they were going for more of a 'storybook' feel from this wave on. 

End Page 13.

Page 14: A lavender caption box reads, ""Tell us, Adora, who are your new friends?" Bow asked. Adora made introductions all around and Glimmer fairly gleamed. "Oh Spirit, with your crystal coat, you're more beautiful than ever!"" Josh and Arrow smile on as Glimmer and Bow greet the new, shinier version of Spirit. Adora has an arm slung around Spirit's neck, while Crystal Sun Dancer and Crystal Moonbeam watch with smiles of their own. 

"It is exciting to see another land…" says Adora.

"But it's so much better to come home to my friends!" she finishes, in the traditional red used for a minicomic's 'moral'. So… I guess the moral is don't wander into interdimensional portals? Traveling might seem cool but you're going to enjoy going home way more? Who knows. Bow, Glimmer, and Josh have all shuffled places, but they're crowded around Adora now, horses nowhere in sight. Everyone's smiling contentedly. 

End Page 14.

End ID]

#minicomics #motu #across the crystal light barrier #adora #bow #glimmer #josh #spirit #arrow #crystal moonbeam #crystal sun dancer #crystal world #she-ra #swift wind #crystal swift wind #wait aren't people going to notice that their friend's horse and she-ra's magic steed are both crystal now #does ANYONE care about maintaining a secret identity anymore?

[birindale]

Page 5 of S J Stine’s Production Journal. Rough transcript below the cut to maintain edit-ability down the line.

can you read this? cool. help me.

bold means ‘I’m pretty sure this says X’, italic means ‘based on context i assume this says Y’. Don’t worry about the links they’re for underlining.

PAGE FIVE

64) As a TV director isn’t story, but to create as much of the surrounding action as possible @ the same time making sure your team isn’t surrounded. & everything you do accounts for budget & time 

65) Layout is just location design. Try to help out the BG department by not placing the scene all over the place. Try to use the information the designers give you. 

66) Think about keeping count. Layout usually has a set number per episode. SAVE YOUR BEAUTY SHOTS

67) Breaking down a script if you have no other [???] for something let the board artists figure it out

68) 

DWTV ORIENTATION 9 AM - 11 AM 

11.28.16

#s j stine #visual development #adora

[birindale]

Double Trouble prelims by Noreen Porter, showcasing the two different ‘modes’ of the Glamorous Double Agent. DT changed the most from inception to final toy imo--obviously instead of this pink-and-maroon number she wound up with green-and-yellow, following an apparent blue-and-maroon middle stage with black hair and even more tulle than the final product. I imagine this one is closer to Justine Dantzer’s concept art, though I don’t have the sketches to back that up; she just used a lot of stripes and zigzags at this stage in her career, and she was big into outfit changes for the POP line in particular. My guess is someone at Mattel pointed out it would be cost-prohibitive to sell two outfits for the price of one,since this would necessitate at least a removable dress and shoulderpads. I do wish we’d kept a little of the face paint, instead of just slapping on some eyeshadow and giving her Angry eyebrows. And the mirror as a gimmick could have been pretty interesting, no? She wound up packaged with the standard comb, which I guess is fine, if you like maintaining rooted hair...

#prelims #noreen porter #double trouble #i didn't like rooted hair but i don't think i was mattel's target demographic. having not been born and all #unsolicited commentary

[birindale]

Page 4 of S J Stine’s Production Journal. Rough transcript below the cut to maintain edit-ability down the line.

Open to critique I still can't read. We're getting into the actual production shit soon guys I need second opinions

bold means ‘I’m pretty sure this says X’, italic means ‘based on context i assume this says Y’. Don’t worry about the links they’re for underlining.

47) It’s all just about management

48) Team collaboration Ben will ask a board artist to help out or [???] board artists’ sequences if they have time & 2nd person doesn’t. “Can you help me out w/ this?”

49) You HAVE to get stuff down early. Because if something doesn’t work you have to come up with a solution. 

50) If you have time (anything for Sam/[???]/from board artists) the editor doesn’t, ask for a Quicktime (so you can redraw)

51) Editorial appreciates it if you have a list of what you want to do (that’s why it’s good to return the Quicktimes beforehand)

52) Give the board artist [???] [???] [???] @ [???] [???] - don’t [???] everyone. Teamwork! You’re only as good as your [???] [???] - so we have to get along

55) Everyone gets a hold of everything (Just so everyone has something to do) 

54) Reward your people for doing good work, don’t punish them!

55) You have to work with your editor’s system

56) It’s okay if a sequence has a lot of problems - solve that in your head by pitch and & think up solutions after

» Storyboard Pro > Licensing Tools > Licence Wizard > [???] > Deactivate (or Return) > & then Activate [???] [???]«

57) If you want to fight a story [???], you have to turn in a big 1st draft (Every draft has executives’ notes and approvals). Don’t change it during boards b/c you’re disrespecting the notes from the executives. There is a hierarchy.

54) Clarity is #1! Trumps [???]

55) It’s all timing

56) Always give yourself 2 days’ worth of work in one day - if you get it all done great if not that’s fine, not freaking out

57) Make the [???] work for you (Shortcuts in Team [???]) 

58) On BH6 @ least drawing for a 2D show doesn’t mean drawing on model, but neither [???] [???] done [???] proportion 

59) Use lazy techniques to get [???] [???] done [???] 

60) Call editor “[   ] as needed [???] [???] [???] edited) to give them freedom to edit w/o you

61) SILHOUETTING a character to [???] [???] composites what’s good posing & what isn’t 

⭐62) Velcro patches on keyboard key [???] [???] to help you find shortcuts w/o looking @ keyboard

⭐63) Different reaction = New Section (No [???] [???]) Don’t make any section longer than 4 pages (15 [???] [???] 3 [???]

#s j stine #visual development

[birindale]

Adventure of the Blue Diamond

Frosta learns about stranger danger, Catra blots out the 'daystar', and She-Ra smashes a priceless gem for no discernible reason.

Transcript/Image ID below the cut

[Image Description: A cover and 14 comic pages from the She-Ra mini-comic, “Adventure of the Blue Diamond”.

Cover: She-Ra stands in a snowy field, staring at something. Double Trouble, Frosta, and Bow stand behind her, none of them dressed for cold weather. Bow has an arrow nocked, and his embedded ‘heart’ is situated low on his torso, more where a belly button would be. All parties look vaguely concerned. The ‘Princess of Power’ logo stands in sharp contrast to the indigo sky, while the title ‘Adventure of the Blue Diamond’ is a washed out azure with insufficient lining to read well against the lighter purple background and blue of Bow’s pants.

Page 1: A yellow text box reads, “The duties of the day behind her. PRINCESS ADORA indulges in a rare moment of quiet reflection. But her sweet peace is to be short lived… For all is not well in Etheria… ”

Adora is looking into a mirror, brushing her hair despite still wearing her crown and high-collared cape. She’s smiling peacefully.

Adora notices something in her reflection, pausing in her brushing. 

What appears to be a window glows gold in the reflection of the mirror, and she stares at it with a concerned frown. 

Kowl bursts into the room, frantic, calling, “Oh, fair princess, woe is me! DANGER! DANGER… all I see! QUICKLY! You must follow me! HOOT! HOOT!” Adora whips around to face him. 

“Good heavens, Kowl! What IS the matter?” she asks. The words ‘Adventure of the Blue Diamond’ appear on a title scroll at the bottom of the page. ‘Blue Diamond’ is rendered as though made of cut gems.

End Page 1.

Page 2: “Just look and listen!” says Kowl, leading her to the open window of the Crystal Castle. A strong and ominous wind hisses outside.

“CATRA! Up to her old tricks! I’d recognize that voice anywhere!” says Adora, looking out into a gathering storm. 

“She’s gone too far I fear! Etheria’s DOOM is all too near!” says Kowl. 

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” says Adora, with a confident smile. 

“BY THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL… I AM SHE-RA!” she yells, holding the Sword of Protection aloft. Magic swirls around her, and the word ‘BOOM!’ is printed in big red letters. Her crown inverts, but does not cover her eyes as a mask. 

“I must find the source of this dark trouble at once! Kowl, summon BOW and DOUBLE TROUBLE… quickly… I’ll need their HELP!” She-Ra says to Kowl.

End Page 2. 

Page 3: A yellow caption box reads, “Moments later…” and we see that it’s begun to snow. A large vehicle with lepidopteran wings, somewhere between the Butterflyer and the Flutter Plane in design but colored to match Double Trouble’s outfit, is parked in front of the Crystal Castle, where She-Ra meets with her allies. 

“Brave Bow, far greater is the force of Catra’s folly this day than I have ever seen it! I know not the SOURCE of her dark powers, but we must NOT let her EVIL TREACHERY SUCCEED!” says She-Ra. 

“Never have I seen Etheria look more DESOLATE and DREARY! Whatever Catra’s up to… It must be a vile TRICK indeed!” says Bow. 

“She-Ra, surely you must have some sort of PLAN!” says Double Trouble. 

“Indeed I do and much of it depends on you, Double Trouble., with your SPY DISGUISE you can make it into Catra’s camp UNDETECTED! GO NOW and discover for me just what wretched scheme that fiendish feline has up her sleeve!” says She-Ra. 

Double Trouble stands with her hands on her hips, wind buffeting Bow behind her. “And when I have your answer?” she asks. 

“Then send a SIGNAL skyward. The FLUTTER PLANE will bring Bow and me to your side in a but a moment!” says She-Ra, so apparently that is in fact the Flutter Plane, just riffing on the earlier two-seater concept art that Filmation discarded and Mattel never produced. Cool.

A yellow caption box reads, “A clever scout, Double Trouble soon finds herself on the evil Catra’s trail…” and we see Double Trouble slogging through the snow, following a very neat and precise course. 

“FOOT PRINTS! Catra has been here all right!” she says, following them as it continues to snow. The ground is now completely covered.

End Page 3. 

Page 4: “... and up ahead… a CAVE!” says Double Trouble, trudging through even deeper snow, approaching, you guessed it, a cave. “If I don’t miss my guess, the SINISTER FELINE seeks shelter from the storm inside!” 

“Just as I suspected! BUT WAIT… What’s this? The fiendish feline holds a PRISONER!” Double Trouble thinks to herself, peering into the cave to see an exultant Catra, wearing a silver fur cloak, gloating over a woman with long blue hair tied to a stalagmite. 

“AT LAST! The treasured SNOW CAPE and its powerful SECRETS are mine… ALL MINE!” says Catra.

End Page 4.

Page 5: “HELP! Somebody HELP ME!” yells the prisoner. Catra smiles dismissively and pulls out her mask and says, “FROSTA, my dear, you are a FOOL! There is no one to hear your cries, nor anyone to interfere with thissss…

“My most diabolical plot to SEIZE CONTROL of all Etheria!” she declares, putting on her mask. 

The space between panels reads, “Unleashed by Catra’s evil threats, Double Trouble CHANGES into her SPY DISGUISE - a face that Catra recognizes as a FRIEND!” followed by a four-panel sequence of Double Trouble shifting into evil mode. 

“CATRA! What have we here?” she asks. 

“WHA…? Oh it’s you, Double Trouble!” says Catra. “This foolish girl has given me her precious SNOW CAPE, and with its secrets, Etheria will soon be MINE!”

End Page 5.

Page 6:

“HOW? What secrets? Tell me your plan!” says Double Trouble. 

“I took Frosta’s powerful WAND and FROZE ETHERIA!” says Catra. “But its freezing effect is only temporary! Fear not, friend—I’ve discovered a MAP in her cape that will lead me to the BLUE ICE DIAMOND! And I will have the power to freeze Etheria FOREVER!” 

“Double Trouble, guard Frosta until I return!” says Catra, running from the cave.

A yellow caption box reads, “Above Etheria’s moonlit horizon, Bow and She-Ra watch… and wait…” and we see the Flutter Plane flying over a snow-covered landscape.

“LOOK THERE! It’s Double Trouble’s SIGNAL!” says Bow, pointing at a flare of magic from the pilot’s seat. 

“GOOD! Let’s take ‘er down…” says She-Ra. 

End Page 6. 

Page 7: “She-Ra, Etheris is in the greatest PERIL! Frosta, QUICKLY, you must tell She-Ra everything you know!” says Double Trouble, as she emerges from the cave, supporting Frosta. Bow and She-Ra run towards her.

“So LONELY have I been here, in the frozen north, for Catra’s TRICKERY I was an easy mark! A day ago, she befriended me… but it has COST me DEARLY!” says Frosta, beginning to cry. Double Trouble holds her closer in support.

“Go on, tell her about the SNOW CAPE!” she urges. 

“Foolishly, I GAVE my snow cape to Catra in exchange for her company! Inside the cape, there is a map that will lead her to the Blue Ice Diamond!” says Frosta, dripping tears. 

“THE BLUE ICE DIAMOND! Catra will use the gemstone’s powerful magic to turn Etheria into a frozen wasteland FOREVER! We must STOP her!” says She-Ra, evidently horrified.

A yellow caption box reads, “With Frosta in the lead, She-Ra and her stalwart cohorts race across the Dreaming Mountain! But can they reach the Blue Ice Diamond in time?” 

The Flutter Plane flies overhead while Double Trouble and Frosta (who has been mistakenly colored to look like She-Ra) ride in another vessel. It’s a sailing sledge (an iceboat meant for dry land) with an unstayed mast & single lateen sail, long and narrow in the style of a stereotypical viking ship, complete with an ornate figurehead of a bird of prey. The entire ship is a similar shade of green to Double Trouble, including the sail, which is feather-patterned. There are struts visible in later panels which confirm this is a sleigh and not a magical land-ship of some kind. The whole thing is reminiscent of the Sea Harp in shape, but that hasn't been designed yet.

End Page 7. 

Page 8: A yellow caption box reads, “... or does Catra ALREADY hold Etheria’s fate in her grasp?” as Catra gloats over a gem, which glows a vivid green. 

“CATRA!” shouts Frosta, now colored correctly, “HALT! Or I shall FREEZE you where you stand!” She climbs from the sailing sledge and brandishes her Snowflake Wand (which is really more of a staff). 

“You’re TOO LATE Frosta… TOO LATE!” Catra calls back, lifting a faceted gem to her face as she smiles in evil glee.

End Page 8. 

Page 9: “LOOK! Etheria’s bright daystar DIMS even as I speak, and a CLOAK OF DARKNESS SWEEPS THE LAND!” she yells, gesturing at what I think it’s safe to assume is a sun and not the planet Venus because it’s flipping huge, “Soon I shall rule FOREVER!” 

“WHISSSSHHHH,” goes the Snowflake Wand, which now more resembles a scepter, then “ZZZAAA,” in a spidery, electric sort of style. Sparkles emerge from the wand and Frosta looks pretty pissed.

“--KRAKK!” finish the onomatopoeia, as we return to Catra, who’s surrounded by sparkles as the sun darkens behind her. 

We zoom in closer to reveal she’s frozen solid, still cackling. 

The focus shifts to the sun, now completely dark. 

End Page 9. 

Page 10:  Frosta falls to her knees in despair, burying her face in her hands as Double Trouble tries to comfort her. In the background, the Flutter Plane lands and She-Ra leaps from within. 

“Oh She-Ra, I have FAILED! There is NOTHING we can do to save Etheria from darkness… it’s all MY FAULT!” sobs Frosta as She-Ra lays a supportive hand on her shoulder. 

She-Ra doesn’t respond immediately, trudging over to Catra as Bow reaches the sledge. 

“Perhaps there is MORE to this blue ice diamond than meets the eye!” She-Ra says, plucking the gem from the frozen Catra’s grasp. 

“BOW! Stand fast and make ready an arrow! I have an idea!” she calls back over her shoulder. Bow moves forward obediently. Frosta is still kneeling in the snow and Double Trouble’s still in the sledge. 

End Page 10.

Page 11: “The SECRET of this gemstone’s POWER may lie WITHIN…” says She-Ra, setting the blue ice diamond atop a rock. 

She lifts her sword. In this panel and the next, she’s shown with her inverted crown functioning as a mask. “... so, if we CRACK it…” 

She brings the Sword of Protection down with a huge “SMASH!” 

“... we can set its magic FREE!” she finishes, revealing that there was a second, smaller diamond inside the first diamond, matryoshka doll style. For some reason. 

“Now, let your arrow FLY!” she says to Bow, as he ties this smaller diamond to an arrow. It glows a soft yellow. She-Ra’s crown is no longer a mask. 

End page 11. 

Page 12: Bow aims directly at the darkened sun. 

We get a close-up of his face, deep in concentration, as he releases the arrow with a loud “SPUNGG!”

The arrow sails towards the sun. 

Double Trouble, Frosta, and Bow look on. Bow lowers his bow. 

The arrow disappears from sight, leaving only the darkness and the blotted daystar. 

Double Trouble, Frosta, Bow, and She-Ra watch in silence. 

The sun remains dark 

End page 12. 

Page 13: “BULL’SEYE!” hollers Bow, lifting his bow to the sky in jubilation as the sun goes “BUH WHOOM!” and begins emitting light once more. He slings a celebratory arm around Frosta’s waist, like he means to hug her but is just too excited about archery to bother. 

Catra begins to defrost beneath the heat of the sun. 

She comes to staring at her now-empty hand, startled and soaking wet from the melted ice, the snow cape falling from her shoulders. We see that beneath the snow, this was some kind of arid plain, which contradicts its earlier description as being the “Dreaming Mountain”, as the Dreaming Mountains are the home of Castle Chill (and thus, chilly) from Filmation. 

“CURSES! FOILED AGAIN!” shouts Catra, sprinting into the distance. 

End Page 13. 

Page 14: “YOU’VE DONE IT! The daystar glows brighter than ever!” says Frosta, clapping her hands together in delight. 

“Etheria is SAFE once more and I am FREE at last of Catra’s EVIL MAGIC!” she says, holding her snow cape over one shoulder like a jock with a letterman jacket. 

“Yes—Etheria is SAFE and BEAUTIFUL once more!” says She-Ra, walking over to her. 

“Bow, Double Trouble, time to go! The CRYSTAL CASTLE and NEW ADVENTURES await!” says She-Ra, looking over her shoulder to her friends. 

“But WAIT! How can I ever REPAY your kindness? Perhaps my coat…?” says Frosta, holding the snow cape out to She-Ra as Double Trouble and Bow climb into the Flutter Plane. 

“Fair Frosta—haven’t you learned a moral after all that’s happened? REMEMBER THIS!” says She-Ra:

“FRIENDSHIP can’t be bought or sold… it must come from the HEART! And from OUR hearts to YOURS—a friendship that’s EVERLASTING!” says She-Ra, in the traditional red text they use for morals. Everybody smiles at each other. 

The End.

End of Page 14.

Back Cover: The “Princess of Power” logo, with the text “Collect Princess of Power (trademarked) Dolls & Accessories! Each Sold Separately.

Cardback illustrations for She-Ra the “most powerful woman in the universe”, Bow the “special friend”, Double Trouble the “glamorous double-agent”, Frosta the “Ice Empress of Etheria”, Catra the “Jealous Beauty”, Castaspella the “Enchantress who hypnotizes”, Kowl “The Know-It-Owl”, Angella the “Angelic winged guide”, and Glimmer the “Guide who lights the way”. 

Illustrations copyright Mattel Inc., 1984. Hawthorne, CA 90250 U.S.A.

PRINTED IN TAIWAN. All Rights Reserved. 

0007-5220

End of ID]

#motu #minicomics #adventure of the blue diamond #she-ra #adora #kowl #bow #frosta #double trouble #catra

[birindale]

Disappearing Treasures

This time: Adora finds a mysterious chest in her garden, containing nebulously valuable 'treasures'. Catra steals them, is cursed by Castaspella (somehow), and the transcriber becomes increasingly irritated with the poor comic-making on display.

Transcript/Image ID below the cut

[Image Description: 14 comic pages from the She-Ra mini-comic, “Disappearing Treasures”.

Cover: She-Ra and Kowl lay fingers to their cheeks in contemplation, She-Ra gazing up and Kowl down into a box containing glowing treasure, which is partially obscured by the title, “Disappearing Treasures,” in a red that simply does not stand out enough. Behind them, Catra, wearing her mask, seems to be sneaking away with a piece of fabric, which is at least partially a very ugly hat that turns up in the story. The colorist (Skip Simpson, evidently) seems to have had some trouble with her, because he colored the shaded sections of her legs the same hue as the background, making her look like she’s missing the back halves of her legs. Behind Catra, the toy version of the Crystal Castle sparkles behind a single wisp of fog.

Page 1: A scroll style banner runs along the panel border, thick enough at the top to contain the title, “DISAPPEARING TREASURES!”

A yellow caption box reads, “SUNRISE—and Etheria’s bright daystar colors the world with the first blush of dawn. At work in the palace gardens, PRINCESS ADORA makes a remarkable DISCOVERY…” and we see Adora digging (unadvisedly) at the foot of a tree with a trowel, Kowl hovering nearby.

“How MYSTERIOUS! Look, Kowl, I’ve found something!” says Adora, reaching out to a freshly unearthed box. 

End Page 1. 

Page 2: “HOOT! HOOT! A gold and silver chest! I think to open it is best!” says Kowl, lounging back on some kind of like, retaining wall? Or something? 

“I don’t know… do you really think I should?” asks Adora.

“I see no real cause for alarm! To open it should cause no harm!” says Kowl. The retaining wall is four bricks tall and floating in midair. It looks like they wanted him to be flying the whole time but didn't stage their panels well. He just looks lumpy and gross this issue, and the compositions are all over the place.

“Well in that case—why not? I wonder how LONG it’s been here! And I can’t wait to find out what’s INSIDE!” says Adora, 

“FANTASTIC! What a remarkable discovery—I can barely believe my eyes!” she says in the next panel, as we get a view of the back of her hair and not what’s in the box. 

“Fair princess, you have never looked more GRAND—most BEAUTIFUL in all the land!” says Kowl. He’s holding a bicone which splits in half horizontally, like a clamshell, and appears to be a compact mirror. He’s flying again and the wall perch is nowhere in sight. Adora is preening at her apparent reflection, fluffing up a bizarre head ornament. 

They tried to get fancy with the panel shape on this last one, too. AND they broke the 180-degree rule. I can blame most of the shoddy lineart on the uncredited inker, but Jim Mitchell apparently did the pencils and he has no excuse for this mess.

End Page 2. 

Page 3: “Why thank you, Kowl—you sweet old owl! I certainly feel lovely! But we mustn’t keep these prizes to ourselves!” says Adora. 

“GLIMMER! CASTASPELLA! Come quickly—you simply must SEE what I’ve found!” she calls. We see Glimmer and Castaspella approach in the lower twenty percent of the panel, as Kowl poses dramatically at nothing. He’s cuter in this one but yeah I think they just didn’t know how to handle his legs while he was in flight. 

“I’ve unearthed a buried CHEST filled with beautiful TREASURES!” says Adora, gesturing to the chest, where it sits on undisturbed earth beneath the tree. 

“What a grand and glorious find!” says Castaspella, from behind Glimmer. “Oh, Adora! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!” says Glimmer. 

End Page 3. 

Page 4: “Gaze in the mirror and you will see, you’re both as pretty as can be! HOOT! HOOT!” says Kowl, holding the bicone over his head. His thumbs are backwards. Girl.

“Princess, the chest—where did it come from? And to whom do you think it belonged!” says Glimmer. I feel like they’re just fucking with me at this point, this one is traced and staged like a Mary Worth panel.

“I don’t know, Glimmer, but Etheria is full of such strange MYSTERIES—both GOOD and EVIL!” says Adora, taking off her hat/bow and smiling down at it. 

“... and if I don’t miss my guess, the evil CATRA lurks nearby—eager to STEAL our treasures away! Well I’ll FIX her!” Castaspella thinks to herself. 

“I now use my power to hypnotize, to guard these gifts from evil eyes. Hocus pocus! Soon Catra shall see just who she is and who she could be!” says Castaspella, whose bracer is missing as she holds one hand over the bicone still held in Kowl’s gross little foot-hand. 

End Page 4.

Page 5: “Adora, the hour grows late and there is so much to do about the palace!” says Castaspella, whose hair is layered over her magic disc, which makes her look like a turtle in a wig. With a giant head.

Glimmer is scowling and cut in half vertically on the left side of the panel. “But we’re having so much fun–do we have to go?” she asks. There wasn’t enough room in the dialogue balloon for the em dash so it’s just kind of crammed in there.

“Castaspella’s RIGHT—we can’t neglect our duties!..” says Adora, putting her bow back in the box. It’s like they wanted an ellipses but then turned it into an exclamation mark. 

“Let us put these things AWAY! There’ll be time enough to play tomorrow!” says Adora. A surprisingly nice picture of Catra in the foreground, ominously watching them from the shadows of a tree. I think we have the colorist to thank for that; you can see where the inks were solid blacks and where Skip decided to make it a mysterious silhouette to better direct our attention. 

“PURRRFECT FOOLS…!” says Catra, wearing her cat mask and now in full close-up. 

“Your precious prizes now belong to ME! HISSSSSSS!” she says, holding the box up to her face like she’s going to lick it. 

End Page 5.

Page 6: A yellow caption box reads, “Deep in the Dark Forest, Catra GLOATS at her good fortune, unaware she is about to PAY a pretty price for her ill-fated TREACHERY.” Catra appears to be inside a house of some kind, with a fireplace, a cauldron, some empty bottles on a shelf, a skull, a crooked rafter running through the middle of the room, and a piece of fabric. And what’s either a light fixture or some sort of wall-mounted cheese grater. 

“With these treasures, I alone shall rule Etheria… Its every creature SLAVE to the magic of my beauty!” says Catra in the background, mostly in shadow, as she dons the ugly bow and opens the biconical mirror. Her gloves have disappeared

A wrinkly reflection with green hair and Catra's masklooks back at her, and Catra screams, “EEEEE-YAH! My precious face… My lovely hair…” as she gapes in shock. The bicone is now a full-size mirror and appears to be sitting on a table with some more empty bottles.

End Page 6. 

Page 7: “YOWWWWWLLL!” cries Catra, running from a classic cottage into the forest, hat on head and bicone in hand.

“NOOOOO! It CANNOT be!” she yells. 

She throws something (presumably the bicone) into a small body of water. 

“What’s this? My eyes play TRICKS on me!” she says, turned away from the water and with her eyes closed. Whatever she threw–and it may also include the bow/hat, as she’s no longer wearing it–seems to be glowing from under the surface. 

End Page 7.

Page 8: “I’ve never looked more LOVELY…!” says Catra, approaching the water to look at her reflection. 

“Must get the mirror back… but HOW? I’m so FRIGHTENED of the water!” says Catra. 

A yellow caption box reads, “Meanwhile, Kowl makes a grim discovery!” as we see Kowl flying around outside the Crystal Castle. 

End Page 8.

Page 9: “THIEF! THIEF!” cries Kowl, clutching the empty treasure box, which now has a ‘D’ on it for some reason. 

“Goodness gracious, Kowl! What is the matter?” asks Adora. While off-screen, she’s donned her reversible crown. 

“Hoot! Hoot! The chest is GONE… and the treasures to boot!” says Kowl, even though he was just holding the chest. 

“This must be Catra’s doing! Fear not, my little friend! We’ll get them back!” says Adora. 

“BY THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL! I AM SHE-RA!” she yells. 

She transforms into She-Ra with a loud “BOOM!”, magic zipping around her. Her crown has inverted into its 'mask' position.

End Page 9. 

Page 10: A yellow caption box reads, “Guided by the magic glow of Glimmer’s STAFF OF LIGHT, She-Ra and her faithful friends make their way through the Dark Forest…” as Glimmer holds up her staff, staring at it instead of looking for the missing treasures. 

“This place gives me the goose bumps!” says Kowl, forgetting to speak in rhyme and pointing at something off-panel. 

“Glimmer, you look as if you’ve just seen a GHOST!” says Castaspella. 

“Perhaps that’s because… I have! LOOK OUT!” says Glimmer, or at least what I presume is Glimmer, because it’s only about forty percent of her face. 

A pair of sinister eyes glow from the darkness, and four yellow fingers wrap around the frond of a plant in front of them. 

End Page 10. 

Page 11: A lumpy, horrifically rendered yellow creature, vaguely reminiscent of a troll or ogre, leaps from the bushes.

“We have no time for toil or trouble! Vile gremlin BE GONE… and on the double!” says She-Ra, holding her sword like a fencing foil and zapping the creature with magic that wraps around it like weird little vines. 

The creature turns into a butterfly. Why is it always butterflies? 

“LOOK… up ahead! It’s Catra’s secret HIDEAWAY!” says Glimmer. We get a close-up of her. Casta’s just hanging out in the background.

End Page 11. 

Page 12: “Well, well! Our foul feline foe’s the thief… just as I surmised!” says Adora, as she’s apparently de-transformed, popping out of the bushes and frowning at Catra, who’s still trying to work up the courage to grab the treasure from the water. 

“Your wretched trinkets are of no use to me! She-Ra… I am HELPLESS! Set me FREE!” says Catra, who’s taken up verse as well. She starts crying. 

“Very well… says Adora, attempting to zap Catra only to be stymied by some kind of barrier. 

“What strange magic this is! It seems I CANNOT break the spell!” says Adora. 

End Page 12. 

Page 13: “Please… HELP ME!” says Catra, still staring at her reflection. It’s unclear what spell they’re referring to, as she still looks normal in the water. 

“Castaspella? Could it be there’s something you’ve not told me?” Adora asks. 

“Oh, all right… I admit I cast the spell!” says Castaspella. So it’s the ‘just who she is and who she could be’ stuff from earlier. But Catra’s explicitly seeing her own, current reflection. So what’s the problem?

“But She-Ra, I’m so tired of Catra’s troublesome meddling! I just wanted to TEACH her a LESSON! Do I HAVE to let her go?” asks Castaspella. 

“Perhaps if you show her kindness now, she will one day learn to be our FRIEND!” says a voice from off-panel. 

“Very well. Here goes…” says Castaspella, raising her arms as Catra pouts in the foreground. “Deep in your heart, true beauty lies! You’ve seen it with your very eyes! Only you can turn the key and make the choice–-who will you be?” 

End Page 13. 

Page 14: Apparently, Catra chooses to be a housecat. 

“You’re free to go! Be on your way!” someone tells her. 

“HISSSSS…!” says Catra. She’s a pale orange, bordering on beige, and surrounded by magic. 

“But now you look so SAD-–things can’t be all that BAD!” says Kowl. Adora is She-Ra again, though she’s lacking the eye-covering section of her mask. 

“In anger, I used my powers most UNWISELY! Catra didn’t have a chance against my overpowering trance. If She-Ra hadn’t set me straight, she surely would’ve PERISHED! I’m so ASHAMED!” says Castaspella.

“Now, now, no real harm’s been done. There’s a MORAL to be LEARNED here!” says She-Ra. 

“Tricks, no matter how innocent, can be HARMFUL! Remember when you’re ANGRY COUNT to ten–and then THINK again!” says Castaspella, in the red text they use for morals. 

A small scroll at the bottom of the page says “The End”. 

End Page 14. 

End of ID]

#motu #minicomics #disappearing treasures #she-ra #adora #kowl #catra #castaspella #glimmer