geekosystem

I'm all about there being more things that there aren't enough of. Superheroes dominate the world of comics, and that's fine, but I always felt there weren't enough comics in other sci-fi/fantasy subgenres. It's getting much better, though, and I'm personally stoked to see He-Man -- you know, blond Conan in space sans the womanizing -- return to the world of comics in April. Masters of the Universe (MotU) is the perfect blend of science fiction and fantasy: Swords, spaceships, magic, pseudo-science, laser guns, and crazy doomsday devices. DC Comics picked up the reins and announced the new series in January, but now they're showing off some artwork from the first issue. Folks, Hordak's back, and he's getting scarier.

Oh, hell yes. Tony Swatton is a blacksmith by trade, and he's made weapons for scads of movies and TV shows. Swords for Game of Thrones, cutlasses for Pirates of the Caribbean, Batarangs for Batman, and so on. But now he's turned his craft-- and his YouTube series, Man At Arms -- to the ultimate weapon of the universe. Swatton has forged He-Man's Sword of Power.

Accompanied by his faithful companion Battle Cat, the pious He-Man confronts the infernal tempter Skeletor while Orko watches from the heavens. Inscription: "Magister Mundi Sum!," or "I am the master of the world!" From the mind of Jason Hernandez. (Jason Hernandez via Super Punch via Neatorama)

Sins of a Solar Empire vs. Justin Bieber (Double Jump) 27 Huge Hamburgers (Urlesque) Inside the Mind of an Anonymous News Site Poster (Boston.com) Kim Jong-il Looks at a Radish (The Telegraph) The Goofiest Masters of the Universe Toy Commercial (Points of Articulation) World Cup: England vs. Algeria in LEGOs (SportsGrid) ThinkGeek's Best Cease and Desist (ThinkGeek) (pic via Tsaoshin.)

DC's announcement yesterday that they would release a limited-run, $250 statue of Superman fighting Muhammad Ali in homage to their classic 1978 comic book counter has stirred up a surprising amount of nostalgia from comic book fans. Hero Complex's Geoff Boucher: "I own about 9,000 comic books but ask me to pick my single favorite and I don't need to think twice. It's "Superman vs. Muhammad Ali," which (despite the smirk-inducing title) was a world-class knockout when it arrived in the fall of 1978 and remains an enduring classic all these years later."

Superman's encounters with the likes of The Hulk, Galactus, and Spider-Man are undeniably inspiring of geekery, but we tend to put comic book characters, Marvel and DC alike, in the same shelves in our minds, which is why totally uncomiclike crossover battles are stranger still.

After the jump, ten snapshots of Superman's encounters with the likes of The Terminator, Adolf Hitler, and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe:

Som Distilleries, an Indian exporter, manufacturer, and supplier of beer and spirits that presumably does not spend too much time worrying about such things as copyright, isn't just known for making "Genius Rum" and "Super Master Whiskey"; they also bottle He-Man in whiskey, gin, and rum form.

Have the power after the jump: