{"id":2389,"date":"2025-01-29T10:05:22","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T15:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opendoor-comics.com\/unbagged\/?p=2389"},"modified":"2025-02-07T08:33:05","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T13:33:05","slug":"reread-amethyst-princess-of-gemworld-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.opendoor-comics.com\/unbagged\/2025\/01\/29\/reread-amethyst-princess-of-gemworld-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Reread: Amethyst, Princess Of Gemworld 7"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Originally published March 9, 2013)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More members of the Houses of Gemworld make themselves known, old feuds are revisited, and stands are made as Amethyst crashes the social event of the year:  the wedding of Lady Sapphire and Prince Topaz.  (Her invitation must have gotten lost in the mail \u2013 I\u2019m sure that Gemworld\u2019s postal system has a surplus of whimsy).  After our brief visit to Metropolis, we return to our regularly-scheduled issue of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld,<\/em> already in progress and cover-dated November, 1983. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Passion!  Intrigue!  Prince Topaz Getting Pimp Slapped!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, \u201cThe Uninvited\u201d
Written by Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn
Art by Ernie Col\u00f3n
Cover by George P\u00e9rez and Ernie Col\u00f3n
Edited by Karen Berger<\/em>

<\/em>Ah, weddings.  Weddings are always an emotional, stressful affair, what with all the family drama, the frayed tempers, the demanding brides, the nervous grooms, the drunken lothario preying on the desperation of the unattached friends of the bride, the attention whore guest who tries to upstage the bride on her special day, the zombified father of the groom possessed by the evil usurper who murdered the world\u2019s rightful rulers\u2026
If nothing else, this issue makes a strong case for divorce.
The issue opens as the guests begin to arrive at Topaz Keep, all the while, unbeknownst to them, being observed by Amethyst, Citrina, and Lord Garnet though a magical pool of water that Amethyst apparently acquired back in the Amethyst preview, which I don\u2019t have and have never read.
Most notable among the guests are Lord Aquamarine, arriving by boat, Lord Moonstone, whom Citrina reveals stood with Lady and Lord Amethyst until the very end, the still mourning Lady Emerald, and the young and headstrong \u2013 so Citrina says \u2013 Lady Turquoise.
Unfortunately, this happy occasion finds Lord Topaz desperately ill and bed-ridden, though he\u2019s confident he\u2019ll recover in time, especially with the ministrations of the attendants provided by his daughter.  Unbeknownst to the father of the groom, however, the attendants are in the employ of Dark Opal, who, it turns out, is the cause of Lord Topaz\u2019s distress.
Thanks to Princess Topaz, Opal has a fragment of the Topaz stone in his possession, and as the stone melts in his hand back at Fortress Opal, Lord Topaz shuffles off this mortal coil.
It\u2019s worth noting that for the first time in several issues we see a reappearance of whatever it is that Citrina did to Dark Opal\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eww, your hand is all full of Topaz spooge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of hands, Carnelian is busy showing off his fancy new mechanical hand to the ladies, spinning a tale of having lost the flesh-and-blood version to some horrid monster.  Lady Turquoise does her best McKayla Maroney, as she is unimpressed by the Red Prince\u2019s story, speculating to Lady Emerald that he probably lost his hand in a rodent trap.  Lady Emerald, still blinded by the grief of losing her daughter, doesn\u2019t pay any heed, seeming to not even notice Turquoise.
A \u201crecovered\u201d Lord Topaz meets with his son \u2013 we can tell he\u2019s being controlled by Dark Opal because 1. He\u2019s being kind of a jerk and 2. He\u2019s got evil red eyes \u2013 and is telling him that the wedding is happening whether he likes it or not.
We also learn that as part of the wedding ceremony there is some sort of Ritual of Blood that will sever the Prince\u2019s ties to the House of Topaz, and forever link him to the House of Sapphire.
And we\u2019re reminded once again just how whiny Prince Topaz is just before Amethyst makes her presence known:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Whiny and desperate\u2026no wonder Amethyst didn’t stick around.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Out amid the assembled guests there\u2019s another wedding crasher whose appearance is causing a stir:  Lord Garnet.  We learn that there is no love lost between Garnet and Aquamarine, though those differences were set aside after the start of Dark Opal\u2019s reign, and we also learn that Garnet has apparently been in hiding all of these years, which leads Aquamarine to wonder why it is that he\u2019s appearing here, now.  The answer comes in the official coming out of Amethyst.
This, naturally, causes quite a stir, though no one seems to be quite as affected by it as Lady Turquoise, who has perhaps had a bit too much to drink already, and loudly proclaims her loyalty to Amethyst\u2026just as Dark Opal arrives.  (Isn\u2019t it always the way?  You pledge your fealty to the rightful ruler of your world and it turns out the illegitimate dictator is standing right behind you.  Then again, it wouldn\u2019t be a wedding without some kind of faux pas.)
Under the circumstances, though, even Opal can\u2019t really afford to make a move, and so the ceremony is set to proceed.
Garnet, however, has other business to attend to, and while all other eyes are on the bride and groom kneeling before Dark Opal, he follows the Lady Emerald who has positioned herself behind Dark Opal and is prepared to put an end to his reign and have her revenge on the man who killed her daughter.
Garnet stops her and assures her that while the time is not yet right, it will<\/em> come.
With that out of the way, the wedding proceeds, and we catch glimpses of the various bits of intrigue taking place among those assembled.  Princess Topaz thinks about how, thanks to her deal with Opal, once her brother is married off to Lady Sapphire, the House of Topaz will be all hers, and Amethyst wonders again if there\u2019s some connection between Gemworld and Earth as the priest makes a reference to \u201cThe Seven Seas.\u201d
An annoyed Lord Moonstone calls out Carnelian for his drunken, loutish behavior \u2013 it seems the monster that Carnelian keeps talking about having killed was the Moonstone family pet \u2013 but before the fight can get underway, Lord Topaz(\u2018s Dark Opal-animated corpse) appeals to Lord Moonstone\u2019s sense of propriety.
Again, weddings\u2026
And now comes the pivotal moment.  Will Prince Topaz go through with it?  Will he surrender his rank and title as a member of the Royal House of Topaz to become the husband of Lady Sapphire?  Will he marry a woman he doesn\u2019t love, a woman who can\u2019t compare to his true love, Princess Amethyst?  He looks through the sea of faces and finds his answer as he locks eyes with Amethyst.
As he tries to walk away, the late Lord Topaz tells him what the five fingers said to the face:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Prince Topaz getting pimp slapped…  *Sniff*  I always cry at weddings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Amethyst confirms her suspicions by taking a gander at Lord Topaz though that magic water from earlier, and when she tosses it at the late, lamented Lord Topaz, reveals the ugly truth:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yep…exactly <\/em>like the last wedding I went to.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Things go downhill from there, and Prince Topaz is forced to skewer the monster that was his father.  I tell you, every wedding has the same old drama\u2026
With that Amethyst calls on those assembled to pick a side in her war with Opal, the whole wedding, as is typical, descends into a big argument, and, knowing that time isn\u2019t right to make his stand, Dark Opal beats a hasty retreat.
Amethyst heads off in pursuit of Dark Opal, but pauses to remind everyone that they have to pick a side.
\u201dFor no one can stand silent \u2013 and all the Gemworld must be told that Dark Opal may still reign\u2026but Amethyst has returned!\u201d
Up next:  A House of Gemworld is shattered by the Emissaries of Varn<\/strong>, and Jon\u2019s hopes of continuing to read comics are nearly shattered by the Increase in Price<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Thoughts:<\/strong>
I should feel bad for Prince Topaz.
Should<\/em>, but don\u2019t<\/em>.
I remember really liking Lady Turquoise when she was introduced.  She seemed like fun.  As the story progressed, and particularly a year or so later when DC ran a follow-up Amethyst special before launching the ongoing series, I began to wonder if there was some kind of subtext with her character, as she continually proves to be somewhat masculine in comparison to the other Ladies and Princesses of Gemworld, and I thought I detected something more than just friendship and fealty going on with her feelings towards Amethyst.  Then again, I was<\/em> going through puberty back when I was originally reading these, so\u2026

The Art:<\/strong>
As always, Col\u00f3n excels at the creepiness, and I was glad to return to his vision of Gemworld after the generic version seen in DC Comics Presents<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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> #4<\/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> #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

Go\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0for the Reread of\u00a0Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld<\/em>\u00a0#12<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Born and raised in the sparsely populated Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Jon Maki developed an enduring love for comics at an early age.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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