#thaymor

[Image Description: A cover and 14 comic pages from the She-Ra mini-comic, “A Most Unpleasant Present”.

Cover: Starburst She-Ra stands in a fairly small meadow of flowers, smiling at Flutterina as the latter lands. Perfuma stands between them, also smiling. The Princess of Power logo takes its customary place at the top of the page, while the title of the issue breaks from tradition and sits directly below it, reading "A Most Unpleasant Present" in violet, with a whisper of a black border surrounding it. At the foot of the page, on a wavy-striped green strip, the copyright info reads "Illustrations: (copyright symbol) Mattel, Inc. 1985. Hawthorne, CA 90250 U.S.A. PRINTED IN TAIWAN. All Rights Reserved. (registered trademark symbol) and TM designate U.S. trademarks of Mattel, Inc." Which is actually a little weird, because this is issue 8 and was released after Fishy Business. I guess they weren't necessarily produced in the order they were published in but huh. Huh!

Page 1: A pale lilac caption box reads, "Never was a garden in Etheria more lovely than the Laughing Swan Inn's. Perfuma tended her flowerbeds with care. Where a flower had bloomed and faded, she quickly planted another. Dainty lady's slippers and sweet candytufts, bright Dutchman's breeches and soft buttercups—each flower was a lovely work of art." Great, now the Netherlands are canon. 

Perfuma is walking through a garden with a basket of flowers in her arms. The artists don't share in the writer's proclivity for flowers, as they've taken the names literally and drawn literal lady's slippers, a pair of jorts overflowing with flowers like a scarecrow that's been chopped in half, and several flowers full of hard candies and candy canes, which is double stupid because candytufts aren't even named after candy (It's from Candia, former name of Crete's administrative capital). Which isn't to say the writer knows all that much, because those flowers would do pretty poorly if subjected to identical conditions. But perhaps Etheria has some kind of magical ability to filter its sunlight and soil drainage for individual flowers. Behind Perfuma is the Laughing Swan Inn, which is shaped like a giant pink swan. So I guess this is another of those things Mattel and Filmation had distinct designs for. 

End Page 1. 

Page 2: A pink caption box reads, "A bustle in the hedgerow took Perfuma by surprise. Looking up, she found a pretty cat-woman was standing at her side." Perfuma meets eyes with a sly-looking Catra, who's in her Scratchin' Sound Catra outfit, sans mask and gloves. Catra is emerging from a flower bed that might once have been a hedgerow but certainly isn't now.

"My my! Your flowerbeds are beautiful this time of year," says Catra, grinning with a little too much tooth.

"Won't you plant these seeds too? They're a special gift," she says, holding a neatly wrapped present out to a pleased Perfuma. It's wrapped in yellow paper and a blue bow. 

End Page 2.

Page 3: A pink caption box reads, "Perfuma quite unwittingly obliged. In an instant, pigweed and poison ivy sprang up everywhere! She found herself trapped in a tangle of briars with no hope for escape!" A startled Perfuma raises her arms and looks down at more plant names taken literally, with several shrubs sprouting pig heads and skull-and-crossbones blossoms. Poison ivy and pigweed are both used to refer to a series of weeds found primarily in eastern North America, especially further south. They're prickly and tend to snag, and of course poison ivy is an allergenic, irritating the skin and causing rashes, but neither of them has thorns so I wouldn't really use the term 'briar'. Like you're going to be pretty itchy and covered in seeds for a while, but you could simply walk out. 

"Soon all Etheria's gardens shall look like thisss!" says Catra, grinning again. 

End Page 3. 

Page 4: Oh, I see. This and page 3 form a two-page spread. Catra is standing on the other side of a meadow of weeds, arms held out and away from her body as if she's basking in the light of the sun, her face lit up with an exultant smile. There are more skulls and pigs heads around her, plus a few evil-looking fiddleheads that vaguely resemble ram horns. 

"Full of weeds… wonderful weeds!" says Catra, gesturing at her handiwork. Girl it was one seed bomb this is hardly guerilla gardening. 

End Page 4.

Page 5: A pink caption box reads, "Flutterina watched from a second story window at the inn. Spotting Catra, her face darkened. She knew she had to fly to Crystal Castle for help." Flutterina is standing on the world's smallest balcony, like I think as small as one can be before it stops being a windowsill. But it looks OSHA-compliant, so good for Thaymor. Perfuma and Catra are visible in the field of weeds below her. 

"So, Catra's up to her old tricks! I must get help quickly," says Flutterina, flying towards the Crystal Caslte.

End Page 5. 

Page 6: A pale purple caption box reads, "Spotting Flutterina in the air, Butterflyer took wing to meet her. Breathlessly, the young girl revealed Perfuma's plight. Her words echoed through Crystal Courtyard as Princess Adora listened secretly." So Butterflyer (usually called THE Butterflyer) was a carrying case released with Wave 2 of the toys. In-universe she was discovered by She-Ra in 'the beautiful caverns deep beneath Crystal Castle' sleeping in a cocoon and woke her up, whereafter she carried She-Ra and her friends around Etheria.

The illustration shows Adora watching Flutterina land in what's apparently called 'Crystal Courtyard', where Bow and a very green Mermista receive her. Like, her hair is green, her outfit is green, I literally wouldn't know this was Mermista aside from the necklace and seashell bodice. It doesn't help that (the) Butterflyer is nowhere to be seen despite being featured in the caption. 

A pale purple caption box reads, "She knew they would need her help. So she drew her Sword of Protection and said…" Adora holds the hilt of the sword, just in-frame. 

"For the honor of Grayskull…" says Starburst She-Ra, transforming with her arms spread wide, "I am She-Ra!"

End Page 6. 

Page 7: A pale pink caption box reads, "She-Ra leaped between Butterflyer's wings and beckoned her friends to join her. "Quick, everyone! We must help Perfuma stop Catra from ruining the beautiful gardens!" She-Ra said. In an instant they were airborne, heading for the Laughing Swan Inn." Oh good, we're back to quotations in the caption boxes. Bow and Mermista seem to be riding comfortably astride (the) Butterflyer, while She-Ra is like… floating alongside her? Her right hand is resting on her, but her left arm is held out and away from her body, while her legs float in free space. Flutterina flies along behind the Butterflyer. Mermista's hair is closer to teal than green on this page, so we're getting there. The Crystal Castle recedes into the distance behind them, sitting atop a beautiful pink mesa.

The Butterflyer is slightly smaller than her toy, proportionally speaking, being only about twice the size of the figures here. She's all pink, including skin and hair, though it's lighter and darker there, respectively. As a toy, her skin is a pearlescent white almost the same color as She-Ra's outfit, and her wings are a different, more flexible plastic, used as handles to carry the figures around. This picture is slightly off-model, as it shows the Butterflyer with her arms held back against her side aerodynamically, whereas the toy has them clasped in front of her and holding a white butterfly. She also has a different neckline; the toy has a scoop neck with a patterned border and the picture features more of a poorly-defined feather look. It's also sleeveless, instead of the elaborately patterned opera glove/sleeve combo of the toy. We can't even say they were keeping it closer to the Filmation design, because that one doesn't HAVE arms. 

End Page 7.

Page 8: Catra swoons extremely dramatically as a huge flower emerges from Perfuma's back and emits a large yellow cloud. A pale purple caption box reads, "Meanwhile, Perfuma had used her magic sleeping power to put Catra in a deep sleep. But she knew her power was only temporary and Catra would be awake soon." The skulls and pig heads are still there. 

"Oh my, I must have dozed off! Your power is strong, Perfuma, but not strong enough!" says Catra, who's awake again, after a single panel.

"Oh no… here comes She-Ra!" says Catra, looking mildly concerned.

End Page 8. 

Page 9: A pale purple caption box reads, "Down, down Butterflyer dived. Perfuma grabbed Bow's arm and off they flew leaving Catra behind in the brambles." Okay but if you just wanted to escape why not do it for the 5 seconds she was unconscious? I thought the idea was to stop her from seed-bombing the whole planet. Bow is floating off the side of the Butterflyer now too, his arm wrapped around Perfuma's waist to lift her to safety. Mermista and She-Ra are beaming at him. She-Ra has her sword raised ineffectually and Catra is seething in the meadow below.

"You butterbrains! Flee before you feel my fireweed at your feet!" says Catra, hurling what appears to be a flaming dandelion after them instead of the pioneer species also known as rosebay willowherb and bombweed. This time it seems not to be intended as a literal reference, at least.

End Page 9. 

Page 10: A pale purple caption box reads, "Mermista quickly put out the fireweed. Caught in the spray, Catra ran for cover. Swooping down, Butterflyer made a perfect landing at the Laughing Swan's front door." The Butterflyer smiles at a small explosion, as Mermista shoots a jet of water from her necklace at the fireweed. Mermista, Perfuma, Bow, and She-Ra are atop the Butterflyer, and there's a pair of butterfly wings behind Perfuma so I think the implication is that Flutterina is now, too? 

"Hurry, everybody! We have no time to waste!" says She-Ra, gesturing for her friends to spring into action now that they're all on the ground.

End Page 10. 

Page 11: A pale pink caption box reads, "She-Ra and her friends worked quickly to save Perfuma's garden. Bow began pulling weeds, but Catra hurled a tumbleweed that sent him sprawling. Waist-deep in tarweed, Mermista was helpless to stop him. Perfuma was certain Catra could not be stopped, but She-Ra had a plan." The princesses look on in mild concern as Catra gleefully throws a gross, fleshy, hollow orb at Bow. Honestly it looks like the mace of a nutmeg, without the nutmeg. There are still pig heads and skulls and such around everyone. The Laughing Swan Inn looms in the background but does help balance the composition a bit.

"It's time to give Catra a taste of her own medicine!" says She-Ra.

End Page 11.

Page 12: A pale purple caption box reads, "She-Ra sent Perfuma inside the Inn. When the girl returned, she held two tiny seeds—one in each hand. She-Ra told Perfuma she must trust the magic of the Sword of Protection and gently waved it over the girl's open palms." Perfuma looks down at her palms, held face up with a seed in each, as She-Ra holds a very short-looking Sword of Protection over them and lifts her other hand as though casting a spell. The sword and Perfuma's hands glow with sparkling purple magic. 

The seeds, about the size of blueberries, are coated in a golden light.

They grow larger, more the size of cherries. "Why, look!" says Perfuma.

They grow larger, now the size of kiwis. "The seeds have tripled in size!"

End Page 12.

Page 13: "Now quickly, Perfuma! Throw the seeds at Catra's feet!" says She-Ra. 

A pale purple caption box reads, "Huge snapdragons and dogwood sprang from the ground—their bark worse than their bite. Catra quickly darted away, quivering with fright." A dog-headed plant barks at Catra, while three 'dragon' plants snap. Catra looks apprehensive, rearing away from them but not yet running. Perfuma and She-Ra watch from the background, smiling wide.

End Page 13. 

Page 14: A pale purple caption box reads, "Perfuma's eyes were full of tears. Catra was gone indeed, but she had left her weeds behind! She-Ra gently spoke to the girl with words both wise and kind. "Catra plays some nasty tricks; but we can help you make your garden pretty again. Perfuma, I think we can all learn a lesson here!"" Is it the lesson that semicolons function as conjunctions and as such you should never follow it with a second? No? Just that you should always take plant names literally? 

She-Ra puts a consoling hand on Perfuma's shoulder. 

"Oh, yes! I know now that it's dangerous to take gifts from strangers," says a crying Perfuma, in the orange-ish red of recent morals.

"Come on everybody and pitch in! We have work to do!" says Bow, holding a hoe. 

End Page 14.