Kings of the Snake Men Book of Inspiration and Power English Edition Preorder

We are so thrilled that the English version of the Kings of the Snake Men Book of Inspiration and Power is available for preorder on Big Bad Toy Store! Axel Gimenez (axel.gimenez), Leonardo Vega (zoooorito) and Timo Mrazek (spirits_of_grayskull) collaborated on this amazing new book filled with original character concept art, illustrations and customs! The book went up for for preorder on Big Bad Toy Store and could not be more happier for them! The Kings of the Snake Men – Book of Inspiration and Power includes countless drawings and character concept art by Axel Giménez with many prototypes/customs by Leonardo Vega. Axel Gimenez’s impact on Masters of the Universe has been crucial and defining and it is amazing that his illustrations and concepts are all in one place! Kings of the Snake Men also offers background information, interviews and previously unpublished material and we can’t wait to read the amazing words that Timo Mrazek penned to bring this all together. The English edition has about 40 extra pages as it features the GREAT WARS project. When we get the book in our hot little hands, we will also look for teases for figures we could see coming to the Masters of the Universe lines so we can’t wait to dive in! The estimated delivery date for the English edition of the Kings of the Snake Men Book of Inspiration and Power English Edition preorder is October 2024!

You can preorder The Kings of the Snake Men – Book of Inspiration and Power on BBTS or click the image below and make the jump!

Sample Pages and Concepts

Axel Gimenez is recognized for his dynamic art style and his ability to capture the iconic characters and settings of the MOTU universe. His illustrations have brought new life to the adventures of He-Man, Skeletor, and their allies and enemies. In the prolific days of the Masters of the Universe Classics era, Axel had come up with countless concepts for figures that were never produced in plastic although, in recent years, the Masters of the Universe Origins line has been the gateway for Axel’s concepts to come to life. We’ve included some sample pages as well as the original concept illustrations by Axel himself plus some concepts from customizers so we can envision his illustrations in figure form. you will also see one of customs created by Leonardo Vega as he brought Axel’s Red Shadow concept to life in MOTU Classics form.

Quick Flick

Quick Flick is a member of the Snake Men and is an archer!

Here is Axel’s original concept illustration for Quick Flick and, according to Toy Habits Crew member Allison (YouTube Channel | Instagram), if he was made into an action figure “He’d re-use parts from Mantenna which currently exist in the line. He does reuse Lizard Man pieces – but that could be easily replaced with a more generic waist if Mattel doesn’t have any plans to include Filmations’ Lizard Man in Origins. Also he needs Modulok’s feet. Since we have no Modulok yet… although it’s another case where they could make that tooling for this figure and then just re-use it – and we do already have Frog Monger who’s chest gives us a Filmation accurate Modulok. So maybe another new bit of tooling or two for Quick Flick – and then Modulok is more easily achieved.”

Here is a custom MOTU Classics concept!

Red Shadow

Axel Gimenez posted a custom MOTU Classics Red Shadow on Instagram, created by the talented Leonardo Vego, and said , “My beloved Red Shadow, by Leo, in a photo that I needed to send as a reference.” Since some of Axel’s deep cut Snake Men are in the works and Red Shadow was teased on the Moss Man box art, it is looking more likely that we could see Red Shadow come to the MOTU Origins line.

The following concepts are held over from Axel Gimenez’s work on the MOTU Classics line so you will see Red Shadow referenced and other concepts, as Axel explains below:

According to Axel, “One of my first projects for Mattel in 2013 was to design five figures for the Masters of the Universe Classics line. From those, Fang-Or, The Great Black Wizard, and Red Shadow are my favorites. Fang-Or was made by Super 7 when they took over the line at the time. The other two never made it to production, and that’s why a few years ago, I decided to ask @zoooorito to make a custom of Red Shadow, which would be the first he ever made for me. He decided to make two versions. A regular version, that is the one I chose, and a flocked version, which is the one Leo made for him. To complete the trio of my favorites from those early designs, Leo will be working on The Great Black Wizard.”

The Great Black Wizard

The Great Black Wizard was a skull-faced sorcerer and evil warlord from Eternia’s distant past. His magic gave Snake Face the power to turn victims into stone. He also created the dragon-human hybrid Draego-Man and took part in the Second and Third Ultimate Battlegrounds, fighting alongside the Horde, the Snake Men, Skeleteen, and the Unnamed One.

Here is the concept that was meant for the Masters of the Universe Classics line.

Here is a more updated version that Axel Gimenez illustrated and Diana Egea inked.

Mega Customx knocked his version of the Black Wizard out of the park and brought him to life like no one else can! He captured the spirit of Axel’s concept in MOTU Origins scale with stunning detail!

The paint app is really interesting as it’s more of a speckled gray, which brings a lot of life to the figure. Although this is not a 1 to 1 translation of the MOTU Classics concept, this is what we are likely to see if the figure were to made for the Origins line but with far less detail. The chest armor also contains some sculpted on parts that look like they are bolted to this abdomen, which look awesome!

The facial detail in the skull is outstanding and the helmet wraps around his head and fits like a glove. The open spell casting hand is a great choice and adds so such to the figures personality. The fluffy cape should look familiar as it is “borrowed” from someone but I would not want to be on the receiving end of anything the Black Wizard wants to get his hands on.

Missile Toe

Missile Toe was one of the Evil WArriors assembled by Skeleteen and Evil-Lyn on the Moon of Droom where he fight for them and the Unnamed One in the Third Ultimate Battleground.

Here is Axel’s original illustration for Missile-Toe as he is painted in a predominantly green color scheme with purple and black accents.

Cham-Or

Axel explains the story on how Cham-Or came to life! He said in an Instagram post, “An interesting detail about this Snake Man is that I made his design as a very rough sketch in the blank corner of a script page from a Classics minicomic. And he was rescued from oblivion thanks to the insistence and perseverance of @zoooorito who asked me once and again over the years to finish his design.”

Cham-Or is a new Snake Men character and will reuse parts from Tung Lashor, Mosquitor, Skeletor, Rattlor, Keldor, Castle Grayskull Space Suit, and Frog Monger!

Sharella

Sharella was originally conceived to part a heroic character in the mostly unproduced Powers of Grayskull line of 1987. She was seen on the box art for the Megator package running in the background.

As a MOTU Classics concept, she was thought to have come with a Sword, bow, and quiver with arrows. Unfortunately for all of us, she was never produced as a figure in the 1987 Powers of Grayskull line but her illustration from the talented Axel Gimenez lives on as a concept that was meant for the Masters of the Universe Classics line!

Mow-Dor

Mow-Dor is based on the vintage minicomic “The Obelisk” and one of the creatures summoned by Skeletor.

Here is the original illustration by Axel Gimenez, which shows the parts that would be used if Mod-Dor was to be made into the a MOTU Classics figure.

Strettch Nek

Strettch Nek is a concept based on an early Roger Sweet design and he would have a bendy neck, similar to how Squeeeze’s arms bend and stay in place.

As a MOTU Classics concept, he would resuse arms, loin cloth, and legs from Whiplash and the torso could be formed from the bottom piece of Tung Lashor combined with the top piece of Ceratus, who has not been hinted at or teased in the MOTU Origins line. He would need new armor and a head but this figure could be done using existing parts that Mattel has created for the Origins line.

Here is a custom concept of Strettch Nek, from the MOTU Classics line, created by the talented Orsogranito Granitebear Shop! It looks like a direct translation from the Axel concept art and would make a very unique addition to the Origins line.

High Priest Pythonus

High Priest Pythonus

If we recall Nepthu from the MOTU Classics line, he was designed in August 2013 and his MOTU Classics Bio makes him the first known member of the Snake Men Faction who is not part of the Snake Men species. This is corrected as Nepthu has transformed into the High Priest Pythonus and he resembles the concept illustration Axel intended for the MOTU Classics line. This concept builds off of the Nepthu character from MOTU Classics who pledged his life to King Hiss during the 2nd Ultimate Battle Ground. Here is the original concept illustrated by Axel!

Here is a custom concept of the High Priest! This figure is amazing from head to toe! First, the headwear mirrors the more recent card art teases and Mega Customx nailed the exact color orange we would expect from the concept illustrations. Around the back of the piece, there is a red and blue paint app that looks meticulously applied! The blue snake collar, also referenced in the concept art and illustrations, is spot on!

In this photo, we can see the up close and personal attention to detail Mega Customx poured into this figure! The snake texturing on the face is sculpted to perfection and the blending of darker green to light green ads depth and dimension to the face sculpt. The black outline on the lips compliments the appearance of real snake skin with his closed mouse sculpt. The bone scepter came out amazing and the way it was painted looks like it was created from an actual living being! The color of the scepter is also the exact color of bone, adding to the realism of the figure.

The loin cloth is also highly detailed and resembles the illustrations from the most recent card art teases. The figure looks amazing clutching the bone scepter and the snake staff. The additional spell casting hand adds so much displayability to the figure and you can change up the look for your shelf!