Fans of DC’s Amethyst can celebrate her full-fledged return to the limelight with Amethyst #1.
Following her recent appearance in Young Justice, Amethyst’s new six-issue miniseries gives additional exposure to the character.
In issue 1, we briefly recap what has gone on before: Amethyst’s existence in Gemworld, her being orphaned, and her life on Earth with her second set of parents.
Eisner Award-winner Amy Reeder is reinventing Amethyst for this miniseries. But perhaps ‘reinventing’ is too strong a word; let’s say ‘reimagining’. The purple princess continues to be a strong personality, riding a strong Unicorn. It’s a youthful title with a youthful energy, but it is fully capable of standing on its own two feet; just like Amethyst. Reeder pulls influence from the original tales By Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn, and Ernie Colon, but mixes in psychedelia, stunning graphics, lots of crystals and some new characters. And this time around things ARE different when Amethyst returns to Gemworld. Straight from celebrating her 16th birthday on earth, she is eager to get back and reconnect. But what she encounters is unsettling, to say the least. The place is a shambles. Wreckage everywhere. No friends or allies available; in fact, quite the opposite.
The dreamland atmosphere of Gemworld can be a paradise, and we’re shown a glimmer of hope, but a tarnish, a terror, a purple-hued haze of unsettling anxiety permeates the place.
I’m really impressed with this first issue. It’s my first exposure to this fantasy character, but the story works. Amy Reeder’s take on the visuals is solid. The jewels and gems, the germs, the germaine attitudes of the gentry. The drawings are precise, expressive and emotive. The colours get the purple and blues well in stead, and give us full spectrum Gemworld. Amethyst is extremely well-drawn and coloured, as are the supporting cast.
To top it off, the main front cover by Reeder is really amazing, seconded only by the variant cover by Stephanie Hans.
DC, Amethyst #1, $3.99 for 22 pages of content, Teen
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