How He-Man Mastered the Universe: Toy to Television to the Big Screen

Elaborate cinematic universes and sophisticated marketing tie-ins are commonplace in entertainment today. It's easy to forget that the transmedia trend began in 1982 with a barbarian action figure. He-Man and the other characters in Mattel's popular Masters of the Universe toy line quickly found their way into comic books, video games, multiple television series and a Hollywood film. The original animated series (1983-1985) was the first based on an action figure, and the cult classic Masters of the Universe (1987) was the first toy-inspired live-action feature film. But it wasn't easy. He-Man faced adversaries more dangerous than Skeletor: entertainment lawyers, Hollywood executives, even the Reagan administration. The heroes and villains of Eternia did more than shape the childhoods of the toy-buying public--they formed the modern entertainment landscape.

Author: Brian C. Baer
Publisher: McFarland and Company, Inc.
Published: 03/01/2017
Pages: 228
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.70d
ISBN13: 9781476665900
ISBN10: 1476665907
BISAC Categories:
- Social Science | Popular Culture
- Performing Arts | Television | History & Criticism
- Performing Arts | Film | History & Criticism

About the Author
Brian C. Baer is a lifelong He-Man fan and pop culture writer from Spokane, Washington.