DC Debuting New James Robinson-Written HE-MAN Comic in July

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DC ended the working week with the announcement that a He-Man and the Masters of the Universe miniseries is on the way, written by James Robinson and with art from penciler Phillip Tan and inker Ruy Jose.

The series will run for six issues, and picks up in a world dominated by Skeletor, who has made Eternia's heroes forget their Master-ful nature. After the Sorceress awakens He-Man to his true purpose, he embarks on a quest to restore the rest of the gang. (Including, we hope, Snout Spout.)

Writing a revival of an '80s toy line and cartoon might seem like an odd fit for the Eisner-winning writer of Starman and Leave It to Chance, but as indicated in an interview with MTV Geek, he's taking the material seriously.

"I know for a fact that a certain generation of people, who grew up at the right time, hold genuine affection for Masters of the Universe," said Robinson, who's currently writing Earth 2 and Shade for DC. "The challenge is to write something that raises the standard for the series, with a cool, modern story that nevertheless honors the fans of the animated series and toy line."

DC has printed Masters of the Universe comic books before, notably a 1982 issue of DC Comics Presents featuring a mind-controlled He-Man fighting Superman. Recently, Mattel — who holds the license to both DC's characters and the Masters of the Universe — released two-packs pitting the two properties against each other, including Skeletor vs. Lex Luthor and Hawkman vs. Stratos.

Marvel's '80s kids imprint, Star Comics, subsequently published Masters of the Universe comics during the franchise's heyday. Image and CrossGen both released comics tying in to the reimagined animated series that ran from 2002 to 2004.

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