Hey!! Kids Comics: Power of Point Dread/Danger at Castle Grayskull

The Power of Point Dread!/Danger at Castle Grayskull! is a 1983 Masters of the Universe comic and audiobook. No author is credited; it was illustrated by Alfredo Alcala. In the first story, Skeletor tricks He-Man into leaving Castle Grayskull unprotected; in the second, Skeletor captures Teela and tricks his way into the castle.

The audio presentation, which includes voice acting, music, and sound effects, is pretty solid. Be advised, though, that in this pre-Filmation production, none of the characters sound like their cartoon counterparts.

Alcala's art is good, as always. He's using a distinctly different style from his runs on the mini-comics; it's perhaps more reminiscent of the first run, but it isn't quite as impressive as either of them.

The Power of Point Dread! is an interesting transition point from the original Glute mini-comics to what would eventually become the Filmation animated series. Skeletor is in his "Mountain Lair" (not Snake Mountain) where he and Beast-Man are playing with Masters of the Universe action figures! This tale boasts the first mini-comic appearance of King Randor, however he is an elderly fellow and looks nothing like he would in the animated series. There is no mention of a queen and the kingdom is refered to as the Kingdom of Eternia not Eternos and resembles Britain in the Dark Ages. It also features the first and only mini-comic appearance of the enigmatic and godlike Zodac, whose sole existence is to maintain a balance of power - which, apparently for him, means good winning every single time! This book was originally packaged with the Point Dread and Talon Fighter toy; as such, this story makes sure to let us know that the Talon Fighter holds two people and that Point Dread can attach to the top of Castle Grayskull.


Danger at Castle Grayskull! isn't quite on the same level, unless you're looking for the usual recycled early He-Man plots. The father/daughter relationship between Man-At-Arms and Teela is referenced for the first time. Speaking of Teela, since she's here, we know she's going to be abducted by Skeletor! Marketing-wise, this one plugs some of the newest toys and figures of Wave 2... Man-E-Faces is here, also Trap-Jaw and Tri-Klops are featured. We get to see the Attak Trak in action and Zoar (the Talon Fighter only holds two people - be sure to buy the Attak Trak too, so your Teela figure can go along on the adventure and get kidnapped). Well, at least we get Zoar dropping bombs and Skeletor with his hood off.


The Sorceress, while mentioned in both stories, is never seen.

Whether you're following along with the audio or just reading the comic, this is entertaining stuff.

	Here is the enitre storybook for you to download and read as a CBR file, just follow the link on the left. CBR files hold comic book pages as images in a compressed archive format enabling them to be viewed, sequentially, from within a comic book reader program or app such as CDisplayEx.
DOWNLOAD CBR FILE

So what did you think of today's adventure? Did you ever have Point Dread amd the Talon Fighter? Do you remember this storybook and record? Please leave your comments in the comment section below.

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