The folks at ComicVine.com got an exclusive cover reveal for the final installment in Keith Giffen’s excellent mini-series run He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. This is what the cover looks like.

“Hands down the best cover in the series.” ~Shadowhawk

I am very much a huge fan of the entire He-Man franchise, be it the toys, the movies, the TV shows, or the comics. I’ve been following DC’s reboot of the franchise since it was announced, and I’m mostly satisfied with how it’s turned out. The main series has been pretty excellent, with the digital one-shots being a mixed bag and the print one-shot (the one that’s been released so far) being not worth talking about. You can find my review of the entire rebooted franchise here (missing only the #5 for the mini-series and the #8 for the digital one-shot series). Keith Giffen has been doing a great job with the mini-series and I’m really hoping that he gets picked up for a second run. I would absolutely love that.

Yesterday, DC Comics gave ComicVine.com an exclusive cover reveal for Giffen’s final issue (for now!) and I have to say that the cover is absolutely amazing. I have a couple issues with the art, but the whole wrap-around version is the best in the series, and easily beats out the cover for #4, which I thought was simply great. Here is the new cover:

Quite breathtaking isn’t it? I love the whole composition. The mirrored aspect of the swords used by both He-Man and Skeletor stands out immediately, which is apt considering that they are often meant to be the two halves of a greater whole. Skeletor also has his trademark staff. We see Trapjaw right behind him, with Beastman and I believe Mer-Man rounding up the rogue gallery in the immediate scene. Then we also have Triklops and Evil-Lyn, arguably two of my favourite villains among Skeletor’s henchmen. After seeing Giffen’s portrayal of Evil-lyn as a crazy lunatic, compared to Kyle Higgins’ cold and calculating schemer, I really want to see where her character is taken next.

The Castle Grayskull stands prominent behind the two main foes, with King Randor and the Sorceress providing an ominous twist to the proceedings. We’ve seen little of both so far, which makes me rather curious, given that they are both on the cover here. The ending of Giffen’s #5 was damn amazing, with Prince Adam finally being reunited with the Sword of Power, so the finale #6 promises to be super-exclusive. I really can’t wait for this!

One of my issues with the cover however is that we don’t really see any of He-Man/Prince Adam’s friends and allies in the picture, especially Man-at-Arms and Teela who have been prominent in the series so far. They will most likely be in the comic, which is fine, but I would have liked to see them on the cover as well. And another, still no Panthor! I really wanna see that villainous panther in a face-off against Battle Cat.

Official Link

• The epic battle between He-Man and Skeletor comes to an explosive conclusion!

• As the dust settles, who will be left holding the Power of Grayskull?