Are You My Mother?

Recently the Masters of the Universe Classics line was up for renewal for the 2015 subscription. The sub barely made it, so Mattel reopened the sub during August 22nd through the 25th to fully reach 100% in sales. So fans rallied together to spread the word and celebrate the awesomeness that is the MOTUC line. The All American from He-Man.org had spread the word for everyone to tweet and Instagram MOTUC with the #SaveHeMan in connection to any photos or positive phrases regarding one of the best toy lines ever made. I wanted to participate with some fun photos that I posted on various forms of social media. Now I have decided to talk about them here, so click the link to read more!




One of my favorite people, Erik the Illustrator, does this wonderful thing. He shares his process for how his amazing illustrations come to pass. This process he shares is sort of the reason behind this post. I wanted to have fun and share in the joy of MOTUC by posting some fun photos to #SaveHeMan and #SaveSheRa. This post is essentially sharing that process, though it will not be detailed like Erik does on his blog. However, please check his blog out because he is supremely talented and I adore him. (He also just recently hosted an episode of Geek Fallout for the first time. It should be a great episode.)

Anyways, so my ideas for these photos was to tell a story. With the fate of MOTUC on the line, there were quite a few figures that faced the chopping block. One of which was Queen Angella of Bright Moon. Angella is Glimmer's mother, and for those who have been collecting this line, Angella is in many ways an integral character to have in figure form. I wanted to create a story that played off of that old Dr. Seuss book Are You My Mother? The arc being that Glimmer would be going on this adventure asking all these random toys if they were indeed her mother. It was meant to be funny and humorous and as Glimmer's search continues, the pop culture references just fly off the shelves! So, here are those photos with captions. (Some of the captions have extra added to them that didn't make the original posts.)

Glimmer: Are you my mother?

Help Glimmer reunite with her mother Queen Angella in 2015! Club Eternia subs are open again until August 25th! #MattyCollector #SaveHeMan #SaveSheRa

The goal of this one was simple. Glimmer has somehow lost her mind and asks if Evil-Lyn is her mother. I had a few one liners I wanted Evil-Lyn to be saying, but I could not think of one that was ultimately the best, so I wanted her posing and the tilt of her head to do all the talking. Snake Mountain made the perfect backdrop. 

Glimmer: Are you my mother?

Grams Bear: Umm, welcome to Dairy Queen dear.

Glimmer: Oh, I'll take a Hunger Buster please. With cheese.

Help Glimmer reunite with her mother Queen Angella in 2015! Subscribe to Club Eternia. It ends Monday August 25th. #MattyCollector #SaveHeMan #SaveSheRa #Lunch

This picture is one of my favorites. I love the DQ play set. Fast food play sets are always fun. I also wanted a variety of toys for Glimmer to ask, "Are you my mother?" Some of the toys had to have a motherly influence, like Grams Bear. The fact that Glimmer ultimately chooses a Hunger Buster with cheese was simply a play off of my own desires at the time. I too wanted to order a Hunger Buster with cheese. Actually, every time I see this play set I want to order a Hunger Buster with cheese.

Glimmer: Are you my mother?

Hawkgirl: Umm... no.

Be a hero and help reunite Glimmer and her mother Angella in 2015! Subscribe to Club Eternia at Mattycollector.com. #SaveHeMan #SaveSheRa #Mattel

I wanted a winged toy to be a part of this since Angella has wings too. In some ways it made total sense that Hawkgirl could be confused for Queen Angella. Right? It was a stretch, but a fun one! The Hall of Justice was a fitting piece for the background scenery. 

Glimmer: Are you my mother?

Groot: I am Groot.

Glimmer: Kay!

The search continues! Help Glimmer reunite with her mother Queen Angella of Bright Moon by subscribing to the 2015 Club Eternia Sub! #SaveSheRa #SaveHeMan #MattyCollector

I had to. Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the best movies of the summer and Groot has quickly tied with Godzilla for who I want to be my next boyfriend. Now this Groot figure is not as cool as the build a figure from the Marvel Legends line, but it filled in for this picture. I mean seriously, Groot is just too cool. I can totally understand why Glimmer would believe this hunk of wood was her mother. The fake plastic trees in the back should also look familiar. They were used numerous times during the Total Darkness stories and came from a Brave play set. It was a nice play set with Merida, her horse, and a tower for like less than twelve dollars at Toysrus. A little small, but totally worth every penny. 

Glimmer: Wait. So are you my mother or not?

Meteor: ...

End the search! Get a 2015 Club Eternia subscription today only at Mattycollector.com. 

Mattel- Trying to reunite mothers and daughters since 1984

#SaveHeMan #SaveSheRa

A jet plane. I couldn't resist. I was hoping this one would draw some laughs. It was a bit random and a nod to the Are You My Mother book, when the bird asks the machines like the broken down car or the bulldozer. (That was a bulldozer right?) Either way, a little M.A.S.K. toy play never hurt anyone. Also, this is one image that I only put on Instagram and Twitter, not FaceBook. The background was also pieced together with two different things. The rocky formation was from a Black Widow Marvel Select figure (and doubled as the dungeon that April tossed Megan Fox in during Total Darkness) and the image background of a sinister looking lair was a diorama 'fight scene' that came with the old X-Men vs. Street Fighter toys from Toybiz. Oh how I loved collecting that toy line back then. 

Glimmer: Gulp. I know you aren't my mother.

Alien Queen: Hiss!

Mothers need hugs. Time to reunite Glimmer and her mother, Queen Angella. 2015 Club Eternia subs are open till Monday. #SaveHeMan #SaveSheRa

I wanted to recreate the scene from Alien 3. It was too perfect. Originally the picture was like the other ones with Glimmer standing at a distance near the other designated toy, but I really did my best to make this picture like the scene from the film. The 'Mothers need hugs' part was also a fun goofy nod to the topic at hand and the love for the Alien films. It is hard to see, but the background was from the old Terminator toy series. This set has appeared numerous times on this blog.

Glimmer: I'm thinking you might be my mother.

Broom: Uhh...

Madame Razz: Oh dearie, you musta hit your head again. I've got a spell that will fix ya right up!

These toys have put a spell on fans for years! Don't let #MOTUC end now. Subscribe today for 2015 Club Eternia only at MattyCollector.com. #SaveHeMan #SaveSheRa

At some point I knew I needed to have more MOTUC figures in these pictures. Since Madame Razz had been released in August, it was perfect timing to include her in this series of photos. I also liked the joke that Razz plans on using a spell to fix Glimmer, when the reality will be very different. Madame Razz was never the best at using her magical spells. 

Glimmer: So I just wanted to ask you real quick, are you my...

She-Ra: For the honor of Grayskull, can't you see that I am busy?

Glimmer: Ok, I'll just wait.

She-Ra: Le sigh.

Don't delay! There is still time left to get a 2015 Club Eternia Subscription! Only at MattyCollector.com. #SaveHeMan #SaveSheRa

I wanted a picture with She-Ra in it, it only made sense. After all, she is one of my favorite characters of all time. By this point, I had been posting these pictures throughout the weekend and this was one of the last. The clock was ticking and fans were continuing to tweet their support for the line and I'm sure some people were also getting tired of my constant posting of these pictures. My second home, the Crystal Castle, was the perfect scenery for this battle scene.

Glimmer: Are you my...

Elsa: Honey, just let it go and order a 2015 Club Eternia Subscription already. Geez.

Don't be left out in the cold. The 2015 Club Eternia Subscriptions can be purchased on MattyCollector.com #SaveHeMan #SaveSheRa #Mattel #Frozen

The final photo in the series was certainly trying to capitalize on a few things. I wanted some relevant pop culture references and Frozen is still a big deal. I also liked the idea of someone telling Glimmer to just let it go. It was meant to cover a lot of bases, like letting it go in terms of the mother search, as well as the anxiety about subscribing, and also of the photos themselves. I had been posting them throughout the weekend and I liked the idea of being like, "let it go" we get it already! There has been a lot of build up and stress with collecting this line, and this last photo was meant to be a play off of everything. Like, regardless of what happens, let's all just let it go. Enjoy the toy line and whatever happens, happens. (Luckily, the sub did go through, which I kind of thought it would.) Little mini Elsa sits high atop her throne in the Frozen Castle play set. A nice purchase I nabbed for myself a few months ago. I wanted this castle for many months as it could double for Frozen toys but also as a home for Frosta. Trust, those pictures will be showing up soon. 

#MOTUC fans made it happen again! #ClubEternia passed and now we will finally get Angella to reunite with her daughter Glimmer. I also want to thank those who enjoyed Glimmer's 'Are you my mother' quest this past weekend. I had a lot of fun taking these pictures and I am happy to see what Mattel has in store for us in 2015! #SaveHeMan #SaveSheRa #Mattel #Glimmer #Angella #MattyCollector #Toys

This photo was posted after the subscription had passed. It was meant to be part celebration that the sub passed and part thanks to everyone who had liked and retweeted the photos, as well as the comments that people left. It felt nice to connect with other fans about this toy line and in some instances making new connections with people over this toy line.

I realize for some it might have been anoying. Like, why would I want to help promote a toy line long riddled with problems for free? I did all of this on my own for no reason other than to have fun and celebrate a toy line that started in 2008 and has been with me through some major changes in my life. I thought about it, and a great deal of stuff has happened to me during the course of this toy line. I graduated from grad school. I went through some major ups and downs with my career. I started this blog and got to know wonderful people from all over the world. I was given oppurtiunites to write for other web sites as well as regularly appearing on a podcast. I got engaged, married, and divorced. It's been a whirlwind and through it all this toy line has been there and I have been patiently waiting for some of my favorites to finally be made into figure form. It's crazy. In many ways this is not just a toy line. It has been a pop culture experience linked to the story of my life. So let's wrap of the figures for 2014 and start collecting 2015 in style! 

And then there was a bonus...

Sign up for a Club Eternia sub through August 25th so that we get Perfuma in 2015! Stinkor needs a date.

#MattyCollector #SaveHeMan #SaveSheRa

This was another photo I did that was going to follow a series of picture stories much like Glimmer. I wanted to do a series featuring a Bachelorette themed story where Stinkor and Moss Man join a dating reality show where the winner gets Perfuma's heart. The gag was going to be that no one knew where Perfuma was, so how on Etheria were they going to win her heart? The key would be (you guessed it) subscribe to the 2015 Club Eternia sub to finally get a Perfuma release and to find out who Perfuma would pick. I had really wanted to continue the joke but I just didn't have the time. I had work that weekend at the cosmetics counter so I could only do so much. 

However, once Perfuma shows up in 2015, I might just have to revisit this tale of love and romance and find out just who Perfuma would ultimately choose for her heart. 

So that is about that. I hope you enjoyed reading about all this. I am actually really excited, I have been trying to branch out and post a variety of things as of late like I used to, but I am also really thrilled for the coming months in regards to the All My Toys toy soap opera. I have been patiently bulding and crafting this story all year and it will hopefully be so freakin epic your heads will explode. Though not really, because that could get messy. Anyways, take care everyone! Hope all is well.