#kowl

[Image Description: A cover and 14 comic pages from the She-Ra mini-comic, “Adventure of the Blue Diamond”.

Cover: She-Ra stands in a snowy field, staring at something. Double Trouble, Frosta, and Bow stand behind her, none of them dressed for cold weather. Bow has an arrow nocked, and his embedded ‘heart’ is situated low on his torso, more where a belly button would be. All parties look vaguely concerned. The ‘Princess of Power’ logo stands in sharp contrast to the indigo sky, while the title ‘Adventure of the Blue Diamond’ is a washed out azure with insufficient lining to read well against the lighter purple background and blue of Bow’s pants.

Page 1: A yellow text box reads, “The duties of the day behind her. PRINCESS ADORA indulges in a rare moment of quiet reflection. But her sweet peace is to be short lived… For all is not well in Etheria… ”

Adora is looking into a mirror, brushing her hair despite still wearing her crown and high-collared cape. She’s smiling peacefully.

Adora notices something in her reflection, pausing in her brushing. 

What appears to be a window glows gold in the reflection of the mirror, and she stares at it with a concerned frown. 

Kowl bursts into the room, frantic, calling, “Oh, fair princess, woe is me! DANGER! DANGER… all I see! QUICKLY! You must follow me! HOOT! HOOT!” Adora whips around to face him. 

“Good heavens, Kowl! What IS the matter?” she asks. The words ‘Adventure of the Blue Diamond’ appear on a title scroll at the bottom of the page. ‘Blue Diamond’ is rendered as though made of cut gems.

End Page 1.

Page 2: “Just look and listen!” says Kowl, leading her to the open window of the Crystal Castle. A strong and ominous wind hisses outside.

“CATRA! Up to her old tricks! I’d recognize that voice anywhere!” says Adora, looking out into a gathering storm. 

“She’s gone too far I fear! Etheria’s DOOM is all too near!” says Kowl. 

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” says Adora, with a confident smile. 

“BY THE HONOR OF GRAYSKULL… I AM SHE-RA!” she yells, holding the Sword of Protection aloft. Magic swirls around her, and the word ‘BOOM!’ is printed in big red letters. Her crown inverts, but does not cover her eyes as a mask. 

“I must find the source of this dark trouble at once! Kowl, summon BOW and DOUBLE TROUBLE… quickly… I’ll need their HELP!” She-Ra says to Kowl.

End Page 2. 

Page 3: A yellow caption box reads, “Moments later…” and we see that it’s begun to snow. A large vehicle with lepidopteran wings, somewhere between the Butterflyer and the Flutter Plane in design but colored to match Double Trouble’s outfit, is parked in front of the Crystal Castle, where She-Ra meets with her allies. 

“Brave Bow, far greater is the force of Catra’s folly this day than I have ever seen it! I know not the SOURCE of her dark powers, but we must NOT let her EVIL TREACHERY SUCCEED!” says She-Ra. 

“Never have I seen Etheria look more DESOLATE and DREARY! Whatever Catra’s up to… It must be a vile TRICK indeed!” says Bow. 

“She-Ra, surely you must have some sort of PLAN!” says Double Trouble. 

“Indeed I do and much of it depends on you, Double Trouble., with your SPY DISGUISE you can make it into Catra’s camp UNDETECTED! GO NOW and discover for me just what wretched scheme that fiendish feline has up her sleeve!” says She-Ra. 

Double Trouble stands with her hands on her hips, wind buffeting Bow behind her. “And when I have your answer?” she asks. 

“Then send a SIGNAL skyward. The FLUTTER PLANE will bring Bow and me to your side in a but a moment!” says She-Ra, so apparently that is in fact the Flutter Plane, just riffing on the earlier two-seater concept art that Filmation discarded and Mattel never produced. Cool.

A yellow caption box reads, “A clever scout, Double Trouble soon finds herself on the evil Catra’s trail…” and we see Double Trouble slogging through the snow, following a very neat and precise course. 

“FOOT PRINTS! Catra has been here all right!” she says, following them as it continues to snow. The ground is now completely covered.

End Page 3. 

Page 4: “... and up ahead… a CAVE!” says Double Trouble, trudging through even deeper snow, approaching, you guessed it, a cave. “If I don’t miss my guess, the SINISTER FELINE seeks shelter from the storm inside!” 

“Just as I suspected! BUT WAIT… What’s this? The fiendish feline holds a PRISONER!” Double Trouble thinks to herself, peering into the cave to see an exultant Catra, wearing a silver fur cloak, gloating over a woman with long blue hair tied to a stalagmite. 

“AT LAST! The treasured SNOW CAPE and its powerful SECRETS are mine… ALL MINE!” says Catra.

End Page 4.

Page 5: “HELP! Somebody HELP ME!” yells the prisoner. Catra smiles dismissively and pulls out her mask and says, “FROSTA, my dear, you are a FOOL! There is no one to hear your cries, nor anyone to interfere with thissss…

“My most diabolical plot to SEIZE CONTROL of all Etheria!” she declares, putting on her mask. 

The space between panels reads, “Unleashed by Catra’s evil threats, Double Trouble CHANGES into her SPY DISGUISE - a face that Catra recognizes as a FRIEND!” followed by a four-panel sequence of Double Trouble shifting into evil mode. 

“CATRA! What have we here?” she asks. 

“WHA…? Oh it’s you, Double Trouble!” says Catra. “This foolish girl has given me her precious SNOW CAPE, and with its secrets, Etheria will soon be MINE!”

End Page 5.

Page 6:

“HOW? What secrets? Tell me your plan!” says Double Trouble. 

“I took Frosta’s powerful WAND and FROZE ETHERIA!” says Catra. “But its freezing effect is only temporary! Fear not, friend—I’ve discovered a MAP in her cape that will lead me to the BLUE ICE DIAMOND! And I will have the power to freeze Etheria FOREVER!” 

“Double Trouble, guard Frosta until I return!” says Catra, running from the cave.

A yellow caption box reads, “Above Etheria’s moonlit horizon, Bow and She-Ra watch… and wait…” and we see the Flutter Plane flying over a snow-covered landscape.

“LOOK THERE! It’s Double Trouble’s SIGNAL!” says Bow, pointing at a flare of magic from the pilot’s seat. 

“GOOD! Let’s take ‘er down…” says She-Ra. 

End Page 6. 

Page 7: “She-Ra, Etheris is in the greatest PERIL! Frosta, QUICKLY, you must tell She-Ra everything you know!” says Double Trouble, as she emerges from the cave, supporting Frosta. Bow and She-Ra run towards her.

“So LONELY have I been here, in the frozen north, for Catra’s TRICKERY I was an easy mark! A day ago, she befriended me… but it has COST me DEARLY!” says Frosta, beginning to cry. Double Trouble holds her closer in support.

“Go on, tell her about the SNOW CAPE!” she urges. 

“Foolishly, I GAVE my snow cape to Catra in exchange for her company! Inside the cape, there is a map that will lead her to the Blue Ice Diamond!” says Frosta, dripping tears. 

“THE BLUE ICE DIAMOND! Catra will use the gemstone’s powerful magic to turn Etheria into a frozen wasteland FOREVER! We must STOP her!” says She-Ra, evidently horrified.

A yellow caption box reads, “With Frosta in the lead, She-Ra and her stalwart cohorts race across the Dreaming Mountain! But can they reach the Blue Ice Diamond in time?” 

The Flutter Plane flies overhead while Double Trouble and Frosta (who has been mistakenly colored to look like She-Ra) ride in another vessel. It’s a sailing sledge (an iceboat meant for dry land) with an unstayed mast & single lateen sail, long and narrow in the style of a stereotypical viking ship, complete with an ornate figurehead of a bird of prey. The entire ship is a similar shade of green to Double Trouble, including the sail, which is feather-patterned. There are struts visible in later panels which confirm this is a sleigh and not a magical land-ship of some kind. The whole thing is reminiscent of the Sea Harp in shape, but that hasn't been designed yet.

End Page 7. 

Page 8: A yellow caption box reads, “... or does Catra ALREADY hold Etheria’s fate in her grasp?” as Catra gloats over a gem, which glows a vivid green. 

“CATRA!” shouts Frosta, now colored correctly, “HALT! Or I shall FREEZE you where you stand!” She climbs from the sailing sledge and brandishes her Snowflake Wand (which is really more of a staff). 

“You’re TOO LATE Frosta… TOO LATE!” Catra calls back, lifting a faceted gem to her face as she smiles in evil glee.

End Page 8. 

Page 9: “LOOK! Etheria’s bright daystar DIMS even as I speak, and a CLOAK OF DARKNESS SWEEPS THE LAND!” she yells, gesturing at what I think it’s safe to assume is a sun and not the planet Venus because it’s flipping huge, “Soon I shall rule FOREVER!” 

“WHISSSSHHHH,” goes the Snowflake Wand, which now more resembles a scepter, then “ZZZAAA,” in a spidery, electric sort of style. Sparkles emerge from the wand and Frosta looks pretty pissed.

“--KRAKK!” finish the onomatopoeia, as we return to Catra, who’s surrounded by sparkles as the sun darkens behind her. 

We zoom in closer to reveal she’s frozen solid, still cackling. 

The focus shifts to the sun, now completely dark. 

End Page 9. 

Page 10:  Frosta falls to her knees in despair, burying her face in her hands as Double Trouble tries to comfort her. In the background, the Flutter Plane lands and She-Ra leaps from within. 

“Oh She-Ra, I have FAILED! There is NOTHING we can do to save Etheria from darkness… it’s all MY FAULT!” sobs Frosta as She-Ra lays a supportive hand on her shoulder. 

She-Ra doesn’t respond immediately, trudging over to Catra as Bow reaches the sledge. 

“Perhaps there is MORE to this blue ice diamond than meets the eye!” She-Ra says, plucking the gem from the frozen Catra’s grasp. 

“BOW! Stand fast and make ready an arrow! I have an idea!” she calls back over her shoulder. Bow moves forward obediently. Frosta is still kneeling in the snow and Double Trouble’s still in the sledge. 

End Page 10.

Page 11: “The SECRET of this gemstone’s POWER may lie WITHIN…” says She-Ra, setting the blue ice diamond atop a rock. 

She lifts her sword. In this panel and the next, she’s shown with her inverted crown functioning as a mask. “... so, if we CRACK it…” 

She brings the Sword of Protection down with a huge “SMASH!” 

“... we can set its magic FREE!” she finishes, revealing that there was a second, smaller diamond inside the first diamond, matryoshka doll style. For some reason. 

“Now, let your arrow FLY!” she says to Bow, as he ties this smaller diamond to an arrow. It glows a soft yellow. She-Ra’s crown is no longer a mask. 

End page 11. 

Page 12: Bow aims directly at the darkened sun. 

We get a close-up of his face, deep in concentration, as he releases the arrow with a loud “SPUNGG!”

The arrow sails towards the sun. 

Double Trouble, Frosta, and Bow look on. Bow lowers his bow. 

The arrow disappears from sight, leaving only the darkness and the blotted daystar. 

Double Trouble, Frosta, Bow, and She-Ra watch in silence. 

The sun remains dark 

End page 12. 

Page 13: “BULL’SEYE!” hollers Bow, lifting his bow to the sky in jubilation as the sun goes “BUH WHOOM!” and begins emitting light once more. He slings a celebratory arm around Frosta’s waist, like he means to hug her but is just too excited about archery to bother. 

Catra begins to defrost beneath the heat of the sun. 

She comes to staring at her now-empty hand, startled and soaking wet from the melted ice, the snow cape falling from her shoulders. We see that beneath the snow, this was some kind of arid plain, which contradicts its earlier description as being the “Dreaming Mountain”, as the Dreaming Mountains are the home of Castle Chill (and thus, chilly) from Filmation. 

“CURSES! FOILED AGAIN!” shouts Catra, sprinting into the distance. 

End Page 13. 

Page 14: “YOU’VE DONE IT! The daystar glows brighter than ever!” says Frosta, clapping her hands together in delight. 

“Etheria is SAFE once more and I am FREE at last of Catra’s EVIL MAGIC!” she says, holding her snow cape over one shoulder like a jock with a letterman jacket. 

“Yes—Etheria is SAFE and BEAUTIFUL once more!” says She-Ra, walking over to her. 

“Bow, Double Trouble, time to go! The CRYSTAL CASTLE and NEW ADVENTURES await!” says She-Ra, looking over her shoulder to her friends. 

“But WAIT! How can I ever REPAY your kindness? Perhaps my coat…?” says Frosta, holding the snow cape out to She-Ra as Double Trouble and Bow climb into the Flutter Plane. 

“Fair Frosta—haven’t you learned a moral after all that’s happened? REMEMBER THIS!” says She-Ra:

“FRIENDSHIP can’t be bought or sold… it must come from the HEART! And from OUR hearts to YOURS—a friendship that’s EVERLASTING!” says She-Ra, in the traditional red text they use for morals. Everybody smiles at each other. 

The End.

End of Page 14.

Back Cover: The “Princess of Power” logo, with the text “Collect Princess of Power (trademarked) Dolls & Accessories! Each Sold Separately.

Cardback illustrations for She-Ra the “most powerful woman in the universe”, Bow the “special friend”, Double Trouble the “glamorous double-agent”, Frosta the “Ice Empress of Etheria”, Catra the “Jealous Beauty”, Castaspella the “Enchantress who hypnotizes”, Kowl “The Know-It-Owl”, Angella the “Angelic winged guide”, and Glimmer the “Guide who lights the way”. 

Illustrations copyright Mattel Inc., 1984. Hawthorne, CA 90250 U.S.A.

PRINTED IN TAIWAN. All Rights Reserved. 

0007-5220