DC Comics 2020
Written & Illustrated by Amy Reeder
Coloured by Marissa Louise
Lettered by Gabriela Downie
After being shunned by every royal house of Gemworld, Princess Amethyst finds a friend in the kingdom of Aquamarine, famed for its courageous navigators! Unfortunately, the lady of the house offers help only in the form of Prince Maxixe, whose duties as Amethyst’s guide are complicated by the fact that he. Hates. Her. Guts.
I am loving every moment of this series so far. I said last time that Amy has managed to keep the essence of the original story in place while she brings this into the now. I love the work Amy does, she’s a phenomenal talent and what she’s capable of doing just blows my mind sometimes. This is as much an introduction to Amy, Princess Amethyst, finding her way in the world as well as finding and rescuing her parents and the rest of House Amethyst's population from Lord Dark Opal. So what’s holding her back? A lot of folks who don’t want to listen and acknowledge a child for one and definitely don’t want to go up against Opal. So we see the different Kingdoms and their attitudes towards her.
The way that this is being told is sensational! The story & plot development we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented perfectly. The way the story flows through the pages revealing their travels, trials and tribulations reminds me of kids who don’t like each other, schoolyard hair pulling= I like you, end up bonding, becoming something of a family and a team to be reckoned with. How Amy seems to be able to make this as smooth as ice in the middle of winter is beyond me. This ties directly into the character development we are seeing here. Now with the adults unwilling to admit what they know is the truth it’s watching Amy and the others grow through each encounter that really does endear them to the reader and make them incredibly relatable to. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way we see how everything works in concert with each to create the books ebb & flow.
There is something about the way that this is seen by the reader that has this quality to it which long-time fans of the character will immediately pick up on and for those that are new to the character are able to experience and understand. Generations separated by birth can be united by the experience and the feeling one gets from this.
I love the interiors here. Amy is such a talented artist and her unique style and how she can utilise this seemingly delicate linework and make it feel stronger than a spider's web is special. Plus by utilising various techniques and varying weights we see how the attention to detail is brought out. This is Gemworld which means we get to see some amazing creativity and imagination on display here. Would I like to see more backgrounds being utilised, yes I would but what we do see is pretty amazing and we do get some beautiful depth perception, sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope for the book. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a truly talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is gorgeous! The way that the hues and tones within the colours are utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is expertly rendered. I love seeing gradation, colour blocking and more techniques being utilised throughout and it takes a good eye for this to happen not to mention how colour does actually work.
This is exciting. It is a fresh modern take on a classic character and the world she comes from. This is the kind of storytelling that I want to see from DC, it pays homage and respect to the past while moving forward and reclaiming a character who was lost in limbo.