Hot off the USPS delivery truck comes this vintage MOTU puzzle from 1983! I'm not sure whether or not this is one I had when I was little; I know the art from my childhood, but I also had this coloring book that used the same art on its cover, so my memories may be from that. The artist is not credited on the box, but I recognize it as the work of R.A. Allen. Allen contributed painted art to a fair few licensed MOTU items, and much of it wound up on puzzles. His painted art is overshadowed by the work of artists such as William George, Earl Norem, and Rudy Obrero, but he contributed solid work that I feel is rather underappreciated by MOTU fandom at large.
This art has its roots in MOTU as it existed prior to the Filmation cartoon, an era many of us hold near and dear. Signs of this are Teela with blonde hair and wielding her serpent staff, and Skeletor using the power sword, while He-Man is armed only with his axe. These were common elements in MOTU stories before DC Comics and Filmation revamped the lore into what is recognizable to most people to this day. (I'll just add that while I preferred the pre-cartoon version of MOTU, I was always vaguely annoyed by blonde Teela. I preferred her as a redhead!)
The puzzle pieces are thin, and some have a bit of very mild warping. They fit together very loosely, without much interlocking going on. The pieces are large and easy for small hands to work into place. I have a couple more of these vintage MOTU puzzles on the way, so look for more soon! For now, enjoy a bonus image from that old coloring book, showing my childhood self's solution to not having enough non-white characters in MOTU!
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