Masters of the Universe Annual 1986

[1985] Annual. Original price £3.25.
64 pages. Full colour contents.
World International Publishing Ltd.

Cover by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

ISBN-10: 0723567514

Contents:

 2 Masters of the Universe painted endpaper (uncredited).

 4 Title Page / Contents / Indicia

 5 By the Power of Grayskull text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 8 The Song of the Sea text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

17 The Witches of the Western Hills text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

25 The Stealing of Teela text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

36 The Unwelcome Guest w: (uncredited); a: (uncredited).

42 Silvanos Threatened text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

62 The Masters Wordsearch wordsearch; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

With only one comic strip (and a rather poor one, at that), this isn't the best showcase of the characters. From the cover artwork, with a rough approximation of the characters, to the numerous prose stories, there is a feeling that the title was rather rushed - of course, the stories are well crafted and interesting, which salvages a great deal of the annual, though there is a definite imbalance present.

Regarding the stories, there are some fine illustrations, but none of the artwork really feels as if it is from the same pool of talent as the comics, which makes squaring these with the continuity there rather difficult. More cohesive ties between the annuals and the comics could have made this an essential purchase, though it is hard to imagine this appealing to younger readers.

1985

Masters of the Universe

1987