All that and more is found in the fourth issue, cover dated August, 1983.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAmethyst, Princess of Gemworld, \u201cDark Journeys!\u201d When last we checked in with the young Princess Amethyst \u2013 and the even younger Amy Winston \u2013 she was making the journey back to Gemworld from Earth, in full view of her adoptive father Herb. Some Thoughts:<\/strong> The Art:<\/strong> Go here<\/a> for the Reread of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld <\/em>#1<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go here<\/a> for the Reread of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld <\/em>#2<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go here<\/a> for the Reread of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld<\/em> #3<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go here<\/a> for the Reread of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld<\/em> #5<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go here<\/a> for the Reread of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld<\/em> #6<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go here<\/a> for the Reread of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld<\/em> #6.5<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go here<\/a> for the Reread of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld<\/em> #7<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go here<\/a> for the Reread of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld<\/em> #8<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go here<\/a> for the Reread of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld<\/em> #9<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go here<\/a> for the Reread of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld<\/em> #10<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go here<\/a> for the Reread of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld<\/em> #11<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Written by Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn
Art and Cover by Ernie Col\u00f3n<\/em>
Edited by Karen Berger<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the fact that in the last panel of that issue Amy was looking back over her shoulder and saw Herb staring in disbelief as his daughter stepped into another world, as we find her appearing in Castle Amethyst, her thoughts are on the process of transformation that occurs as she changes from thirteen year-old Amy to twenty year-old Amethyst, with nary a thought about what just happened back on Earth. I\u2019m not sure if this represents an error in continuity on the part of the writers, or if it was an error in the art of the last issue.
Regardless, Amethyst has little time for musing, as she is immediately greeted with a scream upon her arrival. Investigating the cause, Amethyst finds the Witch-Mother Citrina in a catatonic state, as her spirit has been captured by Dark Opal. Amethyst casts a spell in an attempt to determine the cause, and the image of Dark Opal reveals itself.
With the encouragement of Citrina\u2019s handmaiden, Amethyst then approaches Citrina and tries to communicate with her.
In yet another of the many images that freaked me out as a kid, Citina’s voice calls out to warn Amethyst to stay back, as a strange frog-like creature comes crawling out of the Witch-Mother\u2019s mouth. The creature grows rapidly, and faster than you can say hentai, it sprouts tentacles that entangle Amethyst, and it then disappears, taking her with it.
I want to take a moment to talk about Citrina\u2019s handmaiden, Fawna. Back in the second issue, Carnelian made a reference to having someone loyal to Dark Opal on the inside at Castle Amethyst. While it was never explicitly stated in the original maxi-series \u2013 it may have come out in the ongoing series that launched some time later \u2013 I always assumed it was Fawna, given the otherwise inexplicable evil grin that she has on her face whenever something bad happens.
Either that or she was just kind of a bitch.
Back on Earth, Herb has informed Marion of what he\u2019s seen, and tells her that they finally have to accept the truth: their daughter is not a native, and has returned to wherever it is she does hail from.
We move from one lost daughter to another, as back on Gemworld we finally get to meet the members of one of the other Houses, in this case the House of Emerald. It seems that oldest daughter is leaving home, though not by her \u2013 or her mother\u2019s \u2013 choice, but according to the will of Dark Opal. This will actually prove to be a fairly pivotal moment in the overall story, though that\u2019s not immediately clear.
It also highlights one of the things that always bothered me about the worldbuilding efforts of Mishkin and Cohn when it comes to the nature of life on Gemworld: names.
On Gemworld, Amy learns that her real name is Amethyst, and she lives in Castle Amethyst, in the land of Amethyst, and she is the daughter of Lord and Lady Amethyst. Given that she\u2019s the only surviving member of the family, I suppose that it\u2019s less confusing that everyone in the family has the same name, and even if her parents were still alive, they could at least distinguish between each other through the use of titles \u2013 Lord, Lady, and Princess.
But we run into a problem with the House of Emerald, which was \u2013 until recently, at least \u2013 the home to Lady Emerald and her three daughters, Princess Emerald, Princess Emerald, and Princess Emerald.
Later in this issue we\u2019ll also travel to the House of Topaz, home to Lord Topaz, his daughter, Topaz, and his son, Topaz.
Maybe George Foreman, with his sons George, is also a native of Gemworld.
It gets even more bothersome when we consider the House of Opal, where the head of the family is named Dark Opal, instead of Lord Opal, and his son and heir, rather than being Prince Opal, is Prince Carnelian<\/em>. And why did Granch get a name, particularly one that has nothing to do with gemstones at all?
Speaking of Granch, while he\u2019s off in search of his siblings \u2013 who actually don\u2019t have names at all, even though they, too, should all be named Opal \u2013 inside the belly of the beast he killed last issue, he left one fragment of the Amethyst outside the portal to the nether dimension so that the mystic thread connecting it to the fragment he carries can lead him back out. Unfortunately, the glittering gemstone has captured the attention of one of Gemworld\u2019s curious little lizard creatures\u2026
As for the other son of Opal, Carnelian, he\u2019s intercepted the carriage transporting Princess Emerald to Fortress Opal, and intends to escort her the rest of the way personally.
While things look bleak for this particular Princess Emerald, they also aren\u2019t looking good for Granch, as the curious lizard absconds with the Amethyst fragment, and the mouth of the dead beast snaps shut, severing its connection to the fragment Granch carries, leaving him stranded with his siblings who seem none too pleased to be reunited with their oldest brother.
As for Amethyst, she finds herself forced to square off against Dark Opal, and while she appears to be holding her own, she\u2019s no match for him in his place of power. With some quick thinking, she redirects Opal\u2019s attack on her, using it to free the spirit form of Citrina from the magical web Opal had trapped her in, and the two make their escape back to Castle Amethyst.
Dark Opal doesn\u2019t give up so easily, however, and reaches through the portal they used to escape, grabbing Amethyst by the hair. (And bringing a smile to Fawna\u2019s face.)
Citrina manages to wrest Amethyst free from Opal\u2019s grip and close the portal, and she also does\u2026something<\/em> to Opal\u2019s hand. What that is, exactly, is unclear. I had initially assumed that she cut it off by closing the portal around it, and that the weird glow emanating from where the hand had been is meant to be Opal bleeding light or something, particularly given the way Opal hides it under his cloak, but in the next issue we learn that\u2019s not the case.
In fact, it isn\u2019t mentioned again for several issues, and even then it\u2019s not clear what, exactly, she did, other than to make it kind of…glowy. Still, apparently it hurt.
(It brings to mind that episode of Family Guy <\/em>in which the family gets super powers, but all Meg can do is make her fingernails grow. After she scratches someone: \u201cDid it break the skin? No. Still, ouch, though.\u201d)
After Opal makes his requisite vow to have his revenge, referring to his own history with the Witch-Mother when she used to serve his father, we meet, as promised, the Topaz family, where we learn that the young \u2013 and utterly dreamy<\/em> \u2013 Prince Topaz had caught a glimpse of Amethyst when she was initially captured and brought to Gemworld and it was love at first sight. Unfortunately, as his sister, Princess Topaz, is quick to point out, he is SOL as far as Amethyst is concerned, as he is currently betrothed to the Lady Sapphire, according to the will of Dark Opal himself.
So naturally he\u2019s going to do what he\u2019s required to do, marry Lady Sapphire, forget all about Amethyst, and that\u2019s the last we\u2019ll be hearing of that, right?
*Cough*
Anyway, flush with her little victory over Opal, Amethyst is feeling good about herself, channeling her inner Shania Twain<\/strong> and letting Citrina know that man, she feels like a woman<\/em>.
Citrina asks if this means that she\u2019s ready to fulfill her destiny, leave her childhood \u2013 and with it the Earth itself \u2013 behind, and move to Gemworld full time.
She lets Citrina know that she is ready, but she still needs to have a talk with the \u2018rents.
Inside the nether dimension, Granch is trying to reason with his nameless siblings, who suspect that their father has sent him to kill them. Of course, unlike snapping necks, reasoning isn\u2019t really Granch\u2019s strong suit, so they don\u2019t believe him when he tells them he left home years before in protest of the treatment they had received from their father, and we close with Granch fighting for his life, having lost his grip on the Amethyst fragment, and with it even the faintest glimmer of hope of ever getting out of there alive even if his family doesn\u2019t manage to kill him.
Next time: Amethyst, Princess of\u2026Earth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As mentioned, the whole thing about names bothered me a lot throughout my reading of the story. It strikes me as just being something that they didn\u2019t think through \u2013 or think about at all – as they wrote the story.
Interestingly enough, in the more recent incarnation of the character \u2013 and the world \u2013 appearing in Sword of Sorcery<\/em> \u2013 the cancellation of which has been announced recently \u2013 Amethyst does<\/em> have an actual name that is distinct from her home, family, and gemstone, as do the members of the other Houses, and I don\u2019t like it<\/em>. I guess there\u2019s no pleasing me.
On a more positive note, one of the things I always liked was how quick-thinking Amethyst was and the way she could turn a disadvantage into an advantage.
I never particularly liked Prince Topaz, and while it was immediately apparent that he was intended to be the love interest for Amethyst, young Jon didn\u2019t think he was good enough for her. There may have been some jealousy involved.
Old Jon still doesn\u2019t think he\u2019s good enough for her, but that\u2019s more of a recognition of how utterly useless he eventually proves to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As always, the art contributes a great deal to the story, not only through the throwaway whimsical elements, such as the little cameo clasp that Dark Opal wears on his cloak which has a carved face that changes its expression to mirror his \u2013 and sometimes takes on an expression of its own \u2013 and the various odd creatures that inhabit the land, but also in the subtle touches, like the evil grin on Fawna\u2019s face.
Beyond that, he knows how to deliver the creepy. That frog thing that crawls out of Citrina\u2019s mouth\u2026ick.
Also, while he may be an evil dick, I can\u2019t really fault Dark Opal for not wanting his kids around. After all, they certainly got no alibi \u2013 they ugly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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