How racially diverse is He-Man? Have you ever wondered? I have, and in the wake of studying just how diverse, or not it can be, I've shaken up some of the Masters of the Universe fans as I have been working on a push to racially diversify the upcoming Masters of the Universe Origins toy line. Wait, before anyone gets worked up just yet, I'm not wanting to change the race of He-Man himself, though that could be very cool. Some fans of the MOTU Nation Facebook page have suggested this idea in a negative way in their comments. I don't see anything wrong with it, but their are some that are angered. What I'm wanting to do, is to add humanoid characters that are heroes of color. On the group page I had some people who shouted insanity due to the fact that we did have Clamp Champ, a Black hero in the original toy line. Yeah, we did...one and he came at the 6th wave towards the end of the line. Almost like an racial equality grab at the very end of a franchise. And with some of the backlash over my petition to diversify the new Masters of the Universe Origins toy line, it made me think. What are the numbers for people of color represented in any of the He-Man toy lines. Let's take a look.
Above is a chart for the Vintage 1980's run of Masters of the Universe toys. I broke down the line based on how many original characters were made into action figure form. I did not include and giants, but if I did, it would be one green mutant giant that is a bad guy and one hero giant that is white skinned. That Seemed kind of unfair to the information collected. From the data, the only racial representation of people of color (based on Earthlings, you laugh, but mutants apparently spell out diversity of race for some members of the MOTU Nation group on Facebook) is one hero and two villains. The hero, Clamp Champ, is a Black man. The two villains are of Asian decent and both have a stereotypical idea about what is thought of the Asian cultures in white media, especially in Reagan era television. These two characters are a Karate fighter (Jitsu) and a Ninja (Ninjor)...go figure, or in this case, action figure. The only other character that was a question was Evil-Lyn because she is human like with yellow skin. But, seeing her in the cartoon basically places her in the pale white skinned category...so white. Let's take a look at the He-Man or New Adventures of He-Man that started in 1989. Will it be more racially diverse?
Above is the chart for the New Adventures of He-Man. Looking at the data, you would think that this is truly more progressive, but in truth we still only got one Black guy (Vizor) and one Asian man (Nocturna). Nocturna is a bit of a stereotype with him being a Kung Fu style master. The progression seams to be that this time no negative representation of people of color as villains was in place. But to be fair, neither were whites. There was a smart move in this line to make the bad guys all mutants and monsters. I'm sorry, if you are a monster, alien or mutant creature. The line ultimately ended due to fans not liking it from its redesign. In 2002, Mattel relaunched the Masters of the Universe toy line. It was updated in its sculpt and look. It is a small toy line and there were several fan favorite action figures that we never got made as actual action figures. Instead, we got those favorites as a small action figure sized statue. That's right, a non-moving plastic statue for collectors! In a modern telling of the series, let's take a look at how racially diverse is this toy line.
This run has one person of color...one. It's a small line, but it seems that the lack of representation hasn't changed. Mattel never got to finish it's run as planned, but I see no push for racial diversity in the roster. No new characters. It truly is the same ole' stuff. And the line didn't run that long. It had an amazing cartoon, and powerful Black man in a previous white role that now has created a whole new powerful character, Zodak! But, all in all, a big fail on racial diversity. Now, Mattel decided to bring Masters of the Universe back in 2008. This line was called Masters of the Universe Classics and it was massive! It is the biggest roster of characters to date for the He-Man property. I started really getting back into collecting MOTU again because of the launch of this toy line. This time, we would see characters from mini-comics, cartoons, and newly imagined people. Let's take a look at the data.
Keep this is mind. Out of 149 unique characters, there was a 27.5% chance of it being a white hero. There was a 3.4% chance of a hero being a person of color. And when I say person of color, I am including all races except white. There were 4 Black heroes, and 1 Asian Hero who's face was covered in a white ninja outfit. I guess white signifies purity and being a hero even though he is in a ninja outfit and ninja's were assassins... Ok, I've gotten a little off topic. Think the numbers through a minute. Out of 149 characters made, 5 are heroes that are a person of color. That's it. And from looking at the data, there were 41 white heroes made. In a line so diverse as I have been told, I'm astonished. Mattel created characters, and yet, we are still dealing with this issue. And it has taken me researching this to really understand the gross lack of racial equality in the MOTU toy universe. You know I have, cause you can see it too! You're welcome by the way.
At this point, you might be asking yourself, how in the world did this guy start this? I was watching a video that Ed's Retro Geek Out was showing. It was a video on knock off Masters of the Universe toys. In that video, He talks about Olmec toy's, "Sun-Man and the Rulers of the Sun" toy line. Then, my best bud, Jeff sends me a link to a video also about the line. I saw a strong He-Man like Black man that used intelligence and empathy to battle ignorance and greed. This was Sun-Man! I had to know more. I learned about Yla's story in the Washington Post. "Yla Eason (pronounced Y-la) received inspiration from her 3-year-old son to create a line of black toys for boys and girls. It was her son’s declaration that he could not be a superhero because He-Man was white that prompted Ms. Eason to make a change in the toy market and in her son's mindset.", says Debbie Behan Garrett in her 2010 artical on Sun-Man. I felt motivated and ready to help make a change. Knowing that Mattel was relaunching, yet again, the Masters of the Universe line, now called Masters of the Universe Origins, I felt that now was the time to act! I created a petition and I have been spreading the word. Now the good message doesn't come without backlash or blind ignorance from those who think it is stupid to add heroes of color into the upcoming toy line. I have been mocked and made fun of on the group page, but I will take it to diversify a beloved toy line so that no child of color in America will think that they can't have the power, just as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. If you would take a moment and open the link to my petition:
Read it over at the very least. Start thinking it through. Sign it, and share it. And when you share it, use the #DiversifyMOTUOrigins so we can find it all over the internet. The numbers in the graphs above are sadfor racial diversity and it's time for all of us to change it.
Jeff and I are having an 8th anniversary of our show, Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff! It has been a great ride. Celebrate the occasion by going through our backlog of shows on MarvinDogMedia!
I have been invited to be a part of a great new show that has just started back in May. It is "The Limited Edition Art Show" that is held at "The Lost Toys" toy shop in Dallas, Texas! It had a great show start using Star Wars as a jumping point in May. Now it's back and this show carries the theme of Masters of the Universe! Once, ArtBot138 asked me if I wanted to be in the show, I didn't hesitate to respond back with the happiest yes that I could muster without breaking my phone in excitement! If you are familiar with me, you already know my love for Masters of the Universe! There is an awesome artist line up and from what I have seen on "The Limited Edition Art Show"'s instagram page, there will be some awesome pieces up for grabs! The show will be at the Lost Toys toyshop near I-35 and Mockingbird at 1451 Empire Central, Suite 700, 5:30-9:00pm, Friday July 14th 2017. Don't miss out on the MOTU greatness! Here are some progress pics of my Monster High Customs that will be at the show.
By now you should know that I am on a podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff" on Marvindogmedia! We have just had our 5 year anniversary for the show and we will continue on for many more. Listen and enjoy our catalog of shows where we talk over many different toy lines from the past! If you want to jump into the discussion visit our facebook page. If you'd like to be a backer, visit our patreon page to help out!
This last year, I made my Artmor set of plates into Beast Man's Chest. It is a follow up to last years He-Man's Chest and the year before's Skeletor's Chest. As most of you know, I am a HUGE Masters of the Universe fan. These Artmor plates help me bring my fandom love of MOTU into the realm of Star Wars. The money made from this set and many other fantastic Artmor art pieces go to a cause that I am a strong supporter of, Toys for Tots. I talk toys, I customize toys and I love toys. My world was shaped due to the imaginative play of tiny articulated plastic and I feel it is important for every child to have that access to imagination in their youth. If you feel as strongly as I do about the importance of these auctions, or want to have a hand in owning new pieces being built for future auctions, follow up on The Artmor Project on NeoZaz's Artmor facebook page. You can also see this Artmor piece on my deviantart page here.
So, for all of you wereworm lovers and lovers of my work, I have toys, and art pieces for sale in my Storenvy shop. I'll continue to add awesome pieces to the shop over the summer. If you see something you like, don't hesitate to purchase it. Many of these pieces will be limited.
Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how.
Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other show is The pilot episode, where Jeff and Cory break down the Pilot Episode in TV series. The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
It's that time of year again! Time for the Neozaz Artmor Charity bidding to commence! This year, I made one set of plates. It is a follow up to last years Skeletor's Chest. Its a great piece and needs a good home! The money made from this set and many other fantastic Artmor art pieces go to a cause that I am a strong supporter of, Toys for Tots. I talk toys, I customize toys and I love toys. My world was shaped due to the imaginative play of tiny articulated plastic and I feel it is important for every child to have that access to imagination in their youth. So, if you feel as strongly as I do about the importance of this auction, or want to have a hand in owning this unique art piece go and bid now! There are also more pictures of this piece on the Neozaz Artmor page. Recently, I was being filmed for a convention documentary called, Unconventional. You can see it here. While you are at it, you should check out Johnathan Paul's other video work here.
Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how.
If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other show is The pilot episode, where Jeff and Cory break down the Pilot Episode in TV series. The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
I have been waiting for this guy for a while! The "New Adventures of He-Man" versions of Skeletor have been some of my favorite design for the menacing bonehead. This Classics version of Intergalactic Skeletor is based off of his first design in the 1989 He-Man toy line. So, like with most of the Masters of the Universe Classics toys, there are good and bad qualities. I am pretty impressed with this one, but do have a few complaints. Lets start with the good. The sculpt on this toy is downright amazing! I cannot say enough about the sculpting on this guy. All of the cybernetic hoses, pumps, and robot pieces sculpted fit so well with the look of a Skeletor that had to use a cybernetic virus to keep himself alive. There are a lot of newly sculpted pieces that really can't be used with any other action figure from the MOTU Classics line which makes him rather unique. Skelly here comes with his newly updated havoc staff that resembles the 1989 "He-Man" Skeletor version very well. Much like the sculpt on the action figure, the sculpt on this piece is fantastic. Lastly, he also comes with a removable helmet that is a beautiful update of the original and is a nice shining piece for this toy. The paint application on all of the sculpt is beautiful. There was a lot of thought that went into the design which kills me when looking at some of the thoughtless problems with this toy.
Ok, so the main complaint I have for this guy is his neck. Instead of using a new torso for the buck, Mattel used an over armor piece to act as his skin. This is bad in two ways. One, the over piece makes Skeletor look way to big and bulky, and two is that his neck is so thick, it hinders the up and down movement of his head. Since he is no longer able to look up and down, he is constantly looking down. This only works if he is up higher than everybody else and is purposefully looking menacing down at everyone else.
The next few complaints are minor to the first one. For my minor complaints, the first is that the over body piece is glued at the tabs. In the past, we've been able to take off the body armor or over piece, except on this one. Unless you want to destroy your armor trying to take it off of your Skeletor, it is basically glued into place. I'm not sure exactly why this was a must have decision. The only thing that I can think of is that the tabs don't hold well and had to be glued. The buck could have been changed and that would have fixed this and the first complaint. But, what do I know? Now the second thing is that his shoulders are swapped. They are essentially backwards. It just looks funny and this shouldn't be a problem by now. You wouldn't notice till you really look, but once you see it, its a bit distracting. The third complaint is that his hands are a bit soft, so he has a bit of a hard time holding his staff. This could be a safety fix, and if it is I can live with this complaint. Lastly, his staff does not have the same metallic sheen that his helmet has. Its not a big deal, but it stands out a bit and would have would have been a quick fix. I know its a bit late, but I kind of wish that these things could be straightened up before these go out to ship. For this line being out for many years now and the money that we as collectors pay for these pieces, some of these problems should not be occurring. And that's all for the complaints.
Now Intergalactic Skeletor also came with a bonus piece. It is the battle damaged head of Faker. Now if I had the battle armor Faker, I'd have a blast with this head! Alas, though, I do not. So I have my extra head in lock up in the Classics Castle Grayskull. I do focus on the complaints sometimes when I look at my new Skeletor. Again, that is due to the cost I am paying for the toys and seeing the silly mistakes that should have been fixed before hand. I will have to say that the overall look and sculpt of this guy is some of the best for what we have seen so far in the Classics line. He is a perfect update to the 1989 "He-Man" Skeletor and really stands out among the Space Mutants of the MOTUC toy line. Now, I doubt that we will get so lucky to really have any more New Adventures characters in the Classics line. It seems that this might be the last year for these Classics run toys. Now, that might mean that they will be released under another name, but I am seriously doubting that we will see too many more of the New Adventures characters. With that being said, I'm a bit bummed because my favorite version of New Adventures Skeletor will probably not be made in the Classics toys. My favorite: Battle Blade Skeletor. Well, I am happy to have this one. Intergalactic Skeletor went on sale with mattycollector.com on August 15th. He is still available on mattycollector.com after almost two weeks. That's usually not a good sign. You can also find his on amazon.com. Recently, I was being filmed for a convention documentary called, Unconventional. You can see it here. While you are at it, you should check out Johnathan Paul's other video work here.
Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how.
If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other show is The pilot episode, where Jeff and Cory break down the Pilot Episode in TV series. The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
It has been a while since I have posted an action figure review. I felt that it was time to start sharing again. I have acquired many toys from the last time I have posted an Action Figure Friday, so I decided to choose a recent purchase. Today, I bring you Flogg from the Masters of the Universe Classics toyline by Mattel. Lets dive right in to talking about this New Adventures of He-Man (HE-MAN) adaptation. Flogg or Brakk is the commanding officer of the evil space mutants. I have been waiting for this guy to come to the MOTU Classics run for a while now. I am waiting to get my Space Mutants off the shelf to put all of these bad guys together. Other than one bad thing in my opinion, he is a solid action figure all around. He has the full range of standard MOTU Classics movement. He has: ball jointed neck, waste crunch and turn, ball hinged shoulders and thighs, rocker ankles, swivel shin, hinged knee and wrists, and a swivel bicep. Instead of having the standard hinged elbow, Flogg here reuses the arms of the Horde Troopers and has a nice ball hinged elbow. Now I personally think that this is a bit much for this toy, but what do I know?! Flogg has some incredible sculpt work. It is truly fantastic. When I compared this new edition to the vintage toy, I was happy to see the basics of the vintage toy, but with a lot more updating.
Now, the vintage Flogg had a removable cowl and helmet. I would have been fine with not having the removable cowl on this Classics toy seeing that is a part of his chest armor, but I would have liked to have had the helmet removable just like the original. I thought that was probably a cheap move from Mattel. Flogg sports the all-time most reused boots from the Classics toy line. This time, we get Horde Prime's feet with them. There has been a lot of dislike for these legs seeing that they are reused quite a bit. To be honest, they don't bother me much on this character. the boots suit him. Now one thing that I was very happy to see was the soft good rope for the laser whip weapon, very much like the vintage toy. In this case, our Classics Flogg doesn't need a weapon that will work well with an action feature, seeing that the Classics toys are void of action features. Flogg also came with the Filmation style Sword of Power. I'm indifferent about this accessory. I don't really need the sword, so I have it on the wall of Grayskull.
Now the armor is a bit bulky. The bulkiness makes it difficult for Flogg to put his arms down close to his body. Having this happening with so many of the Classics characters in these last two years, the bulky body is something I can definitely overlook. All in all, this version of Flogg is a great action figure. If you are a New Adventures fan, this toy is an absolute must! Flogg went on sale at mattycollector.com on the 15th of July. You can find him on Amazon.com here: Masters of the Universe Classics FLOGG Space Mutants Action Figure.
Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how.
If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other show is The pilot episode, where Jeff and Cory break down the Pilot Episode in TV series. The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
I am a big fan of classic illustration works from the Masters of the Universe toyline. Earl Norem, Rudy Obrero, and William George's paintings have inspired me to no end. For this piece, I really wanted to capture the classic look of Skeletor and his great cat, Panthor. I decided to do Battle Armor Skeletor and pair him with the new Classics Panthor helm to give his battle cat an armored look as well. I broke up the proportions a little on Skeletor to give him perspective but to also mimic the squatty-ness of the original toys. Snake Mountain in the background is a nod to how the MYP 200X series took care of the evil fortress. To keep the same classic appeal, I colored the snake in green much like the snake trap of the vintage playset. I have been adding an easter egg to my paintings of recent. I've hidden a tiny gray skull in the piece. There is also a tiny gray skull in my pieces, "Dragon Camp", and "Deep Space Drifter". Why a gray skull? I am a huge Masters of the Universe fan and I love Castle Grayskull! I will offer this piece as aprint at the upcoming Dallas Comic Con in May 2014. This piece is an acrylic painting on a 11" X 17" piece on poster cardstock. You can see this piece in my deviantart gallery as well here.
Dallas Comic Con is this week! You can find my table in Artist Alley at A229. Stop by!
Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how.
If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other two shows are The pilot episode, where Jeff and Josh Taylor break down the Pilot Episode in TV series, and The Loosely Based Podcast where Brynna and Jeff compare the book to the movie adaptation! The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
Back in May, I ordered this action figure, Karatti. He is pretty much standard in what we see with the other Masters of the Universe Classics toys in the line. I am a big fan of the New Adventures of He-Man run of toys, so I really like this guy. Looking at the vintage toy and seeing how the re-use of parts were used to make this version of Karatti, I am happy with what we got. But I will have to say that I feel that there were a couple of parts that we could have changed. I know a lot of MOTUC fans were upset by the re-use of the same techno legs that, well, everyone with some techno looking suit in this toy line has. Honestly, I think we could have used some different feet. The feet on Icarius or the standard armored boot foot would have worked and could have broken up some of the look of this leg. The other thing is this, his left hand does not grip his sword very well. One of the reasons is the fact that the left hand is sculpted open a bit. I think that hand could have been replaced with an unarmored evil villain hand. That would have been better to grip his sword. Seeing that his hands are uncovered in the vintage toy, I think this would have been ok. But, at this point, there is not a lot that we can do to change this except to customize the toy myself and I definitely do not want to destroy my toy. Despite some of the changes I felt could have been made to Karatti, the sculpt that the Four Horsemen did for the newly tooled parts is absolutely fantastic. They did a great job of capturing the look of the space armor. I really like all of the sculpted pipes and scratches on the armor. The head is beautifully detailed and is the selling piece of this toy. The face mask sculpt into the face is great!. The Horsemen captured the evil scowl well. I am very excited to have another space mutant from the New Adventures of He-Man run in the Masters of the Universe Classics toy line. Now, if we could only get a Brakk and Lizor.
I've been invited to be one of the many talented artist to have work featured in a one night vinyl toy show called, "Vinyl Thoughts 4: Free for All" in Dallas on September 12th 2013. If you plan to be in the area, stop by and check out all of the cool custom vinyl toys.
I had a blast being on the DELol show on Sunday July 21st. I totally lost to Jeff in the "Throw down in the toy isle" toy quiz competition. Folks, Jeff knows his toys! This last competition should be an absolute testament to that. So, a whole hearted thank you goes out to Del Pullen and Taffeta Darling for having Jeff and I on the show.
Just to let you know all know, I am taking commissions. If you would like to commission me for original artwork, head over to the commissions tab in store to see how.
If you have not heard about the Podcast called, "Talking Toys with Taylor and Jeff", then it's time I let you know! Jeff and I are on the show where we talk about toys! (Go figure, I mean Go action figure!) Seems simple enough. We pick out a toy line to discuss in each show. We share our childhood memories, our favorite five, and talk about the one toy in the line that got away. Jeff talks about how he cherished his toys and I talk about how they ended up in the garden! The other two shows are The pilot episode, where Jeff and Josh Taylor break down the Pilot Episode in TV series, and The Loosely Based Podcast where Brynna and Jeff compare the book to the movie adaptation! The shows are great! If you are interested in what we got, go to Marvindogmedia.com and give us a listen. You can subscribe to the shows on itunes and get up to date info on upcoming shows on facebook:
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