Roger Sweet Interview on Masters of the Universe Chronicles!

[Vinto-Man]

6 years ago Masters of the Universe Chronicles launched with my first interview and that was with Pixel Dan. This is the interview that people have asked for and now you have the Roger Sweet interview! This was probably my most requested interview and I hope you enjoy.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this podcast fun to do and I made so many good friends. You all rock and thank you!!

[RoboSteveo]

That was a great podcast! Very informative.

[Mechanizor]

I agree, it was not only informative but also showed Mr. Sweet's humor side...

That said, has any one investigated Roger's claim that he's the only one from the alleged HE-MAN creators who could provide a physical evidence!?... The guy sounded sincere and confident of his claim.

[Captain Atkin]

I think in his heart, he believes he created He-Man. He picked the name for the barbarian character that he designed for the "He-Man trio" (aka Vykron). Mark Taylor created the look of He-Man that we all know today, and there is speculation that his "Torak" drawing that was hanging in his office inspired Roger's barbarian design. One must remember at the time that He-Man was created, Conan (the movie) was popular. So it gets a bit complicated as to who created the character. Everyone seems to agree that the name He-Man was picked by Roger. My personal feeling having looked at the evidence is that it was a team effort. No "one" person created He-Man. Mattel wanted a new toy to compete with Star Wars, and their design team worked on different ideas, with "barbarian warrior" becoming the most popular idea. Regardless of who created He-Man, Roger was essential in the development of the figure.

[Mechanizor]

I already know more or less most what you've mentioned here, but I was more interested in the alleged documentations he claims to have as proof. I think it all comes down to the interpretation of what he thinks of the term of "the creation" of He-Man is/was!!!

[Battle Ram Man]

Awesome, can't wait to listen!

[Battle Ram Man]

So I listened to the interview. It sounds like Roger's claim to having created He-Man rests largely on his personal interpretation of what the word "created" means. All he's claiming is to have come up with the name, the crouched stance, the action feature, and the huge, oversized muscles of He-Man (which are features shared by almost every figure in the line). That's an important concept for the line generally, but that's not the same thing as having created the character. The one most recognizable and unique feature of He-Man's outfit is the harness, which he admits that Mark Taylor created. Without that He-Man is just another Conan imitator.

This would be like someone mentioning to Pink Floyd in 1971 that they should create an album about madness featuring a title with the word moon in it and lots of kooky sound effects, and then later trying to claim songwriting credit for the album, when he didn't actually write any of the music.

Roger does say that Mark (Taylor) was a talented artist and gives him credit for the other 1982 figures, but he also says "he was just dressing them" because Sweet takes credit for the muscled bodies. I think that's a stretch. What he's talking about is broad attributes of the MOTU line rather than specific character design.

[Mechanizor]

So I listened to the interview. It sounds like Roger's claim to having created He-Man rests largely on his personal interpretation of what the word "created" means. All he's claiming is to have come up with the name, the crouched stance, the action feature, and the huge, oversized muscles of He-Man (which are features shared by almost every figure in the line). That's an important concept for the line generally, but that's not the same thing as having created the character. The one most recognizable and unique feature of He-Man's outfit is the harness, which he admits that Mark Taylor created. Without that He-Man is just another Conan imitator.

This would be like someone mentioning to Pink Floyd in 1971 that they should create an album about madness featuring a title with the word moon in it and lots of kooky sound effects, and then later trying to claim songwriting credit for the album, when he didn't actually write any of the music.

Roger does say that Mark (Taylor) was a talented artist and gives him credit for the other 1982 figures, but he also says "he was just dressing them" because Sweet takes credit for the muscled bodies. I think that's a stretch. What he's talking about is broad attributes of the MOTU line rather than specific character design.

Saying something is one thing, and showing off a documented proof is another thing...

I wonder if he (Roger) meant by that proof was the documents that were shown in the Power and Honor Foundation catalogue volume one, specifically on page 10 and page 11!

[Battle Ram Man]

I believe what Mark Taylor has is his dated artwork that predates Roger's stuff. But even just going by what Roger says in this interview, I don't think he has a case for anything more than just generalized concepts for the line. At least for wave 1 figures.

[Hanzo the Razor]

In comics, characters often don't have a singular creator since most writers don't design the characters, and the costume is considered a integral part of a superhero. With Superman, Jerry Siegel created the concept for Superman while Joe Shuster came up with the iconic costume (and likely added a couple ideas of his own to Jerry's concept). They're considered the co-creators.

To me, it seems Roger Sweet and Mark Taylor are He-Man's co-creators -- He-Man as we know him doesn't exist without both guys' ideas and designs.