By now, you have probably seen some promotion for the new He-Man movie, Masters of the Universe, which comes out June 5, 2026. It’s based on the famous Mattel action figures, which launched in 1982, followed by the animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe in 1983, and a live-action movie with Dolph Lundgren in 1987.
If you’re not familiar with He-Man’s story, it’s a fantasy/sci-fi adventure about the weakling Prince Adam, who turns into the very muscular superhero He-Man when he raises the magical Sword of Power. He-Man and his friends must defend Castle Grayskull on the planet Eternia against the supervillain Skeletor and his cronies, who wish to have the castle and its secrets for themselves.
There are many books about He-Man to be found, including a collection of the mini-comics that used to come with the action figures. (My favorite action figure was Skeltor’s mount, Panthor, which was originally made with a purple velvet pelt.) And there’s a new comic run coming soon, starting with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Volume 1: The Sword of Flaws.
For those of you who can’t get enough muscly action heroes in fantasy lands kicking butt, here are a few more fun fantasy reads you may enjoy. And none of them are Conan the Barbarian, because that’s too obvious, but you may enjoy the Robert Howard stories if you like He-Man! (Also, I really wanted to call this post A Farewell to Man-at-Arms, but it didn’t make as much sense.)
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
For the “muscular heroes fighting monsters” aspect of He-Man, this is a really fun pick. It’s about a group of mercenaries who reunite for one last job, which involves a rescue mission. The swordsmen are different from He-Man in that they are older now and a bit out of shape. (Related: now that I think about it, Man-at-Arms was one of the older characters on He-Man, as the father of Teela, but he was probably only in his late thirties, which seemed close to death when I was seven.)
Swords and Spaceships
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Guin Saga by Kaoru Kurimoto, translated by Alexander O. Smith and Elye J. Alexander
If you are looking for an epic fantasy series, this Japanese classic is the very definition of epic, as it currently stands at record-setting 150 volumes and counting. (Although only the first five volumes have been translated into English.) Like He-Man, it’s about a near-immortal, muscular swordsman who fights monsters in a loincloth. But the difference is that Guin has a leopard head. So he’s kinda like a He-Man/Battle Cat mashup.
Head Lopper Volume 1: The Island or a Plague of Beasts by Andrew MacLean
I had to include this fantasy comic, because it’s my new obsession, and it’s about a muscular man who runs around with a sword, fighting all kinds of different monsters and cutting off their heads. In this case, unlike the He-Man cartoon, which was for kids and aired after school, Head Lopper is ultra bloody and violent, and also quite funny. (And so, so good!)
Okay, star bits, now take the knowledge you have learned here today and use it for good, not evil. If you want to know more about books, I talk about books pretty much nonstop (when I’m not reading them), and you can hear me say lots of adjectives about them on the Book Riot podcast All the Books! and on Instagram.
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