{"id":2427,"date":"2025-01-31T08:40:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T13:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opendoor-comics.com\/unbagged\/?p=2427"},"modified":"2025-02-07T08:33:35","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T13:33:35","slug":"reread-amethyst-princess-of-gemworld-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.opendoor-comics.com\/unbagged\/2025\/01\/31\/reread-amethyst-princess-of-gemworld-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Reread: Amethyst, Princess Of Gemworld 9"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Originally published March 23, 2013)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Diamonds prove to be an Emissary of Varn\u2019s worst enemy, or at least try to, any rate, the Princesses Emerald make their move, Prince Topaz gets hurt because of course he does and also yay, Dark Opal is Gemworld\u2019s worst matchmaker, and Amethyst proves her mettle on the battlefield in our latest issue, which has a cover date of January, 1984.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That is one busy cover.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, \u201cBroken Homes\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><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We start off by checking in on how Herb and Marion \u2013 and Taffy \u2013  are coping with Amy\u2019s absence.  Unsurprisingly, the answer is \u201cnot well.\u201d
From there we jump straight back into the action at the House of Ruby where the last surviving Diamond Priest made his surprise appearance.
He assures all assembled that being the only one wielding the magic of Diamond makes him immensely powerful, and he hits the Emissaries with a magical blast.
The Emissaries shrug it off and strike back, first hitting the Diamond Priest with a fireball, and then spitting out some rocks at everyone else, one of which bounces off of Lord Garnet\u2019s noggin.
He doesn\u2019t take kindly to that, and gives one of the Emissaries a face full of sword.  Unfortunately, the Emissary doesn\u2019t have<\/em> a face, and so he sucks up the sword into the empty void where his face ought to be, and then spits it back at Lord Garnet.
Topaz takes one for the team and pushes Garnet out of the way:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“I’ll live” is the worst thing Topaz could possibly say.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Emissary quickly grows back his hand and takes a swipe at Lady Turquoise, who gets saved at the last second by Amethyst\u2019s magic.
Before Team Amethyst can make a move, they find themselves buried under tons of rubble spewed up by one of the Emissaries.
Things aren\u2019t looking good for Amethyst and friends, but we move on to check in with the two Princesses of Emerald, who are making their way to Castle Amethyst, only to find that the bridge they expected to find is no longer present, and it seems they have no option other than to use up some of their limited magic to cross a river.  However, it turns out that the younger Emerald shares her mother\u2019s gift for speaking to faeries, and she requests some help from a group of them assembled on a nearby island.  The happy little faeries build them a bridge of flowers that allows the Princesses to cross.  Unfortunately, that stirs up some magical bugs who attack the Princesses.
The faeries, meanwhile, say, \u201cOur bad,\u201d and do nothing more to help.
Fortunately, Lord Aquamarine is sailing to Castle Amethyst and, detecting the disturbance, frees the sisters and brings them aboard his ship.
Back at the House of Ruby, Lord Ruby has finally decided that he can\u2019t remain neutral any longer, and he frees Amethyst and company from the rubble, who were protected from the rocks by Amethyst\u2019s magic dome, then turns his attention to zapping one of the Emissaries.
The attack makes it clear to Amethyst that the three Emissaries form some kind of circuit, which may be the key to defeating them.  She hopes that Ruby\u2019s relentless assault on one of them will cause an overload, but alas, the Emissary, being something of a weird, otherdimensional version of Sasha Grey, can suck up everything that Ruby can dish out.
Once Ruby passes out from being so drained, the Emissaries resume their destruction of the House of Ruby.
Meanwhile, the Emissaries\u2019 business partner Dark Opal is entertaining a guest:  the Lady Sapphire, who was left standing at the altar by Prince Topaz back in issue seven.
Dark Opal swears that he will live up to his obligations and find a man for Lady Sapphire.
Unfortunately, he seems to be doing all of his searching in the worst sections of the Gemworld equivalents of OKCupid and Craigslist:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Obligatory “Still a better love story than Twilight.”  Also, a better choice than Topaz.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, it doesn\u2019t turn out to be love at first sight, and so Dark Opal disposes of the would-be suitor in a fashion that\u2019s a whole lot more flamey than just, you know, not giving him the rose that indicates he moves on to the next round.  Which, honestly, seems like it would make The Bachelorette<\/em> a little more watchable\u2026
In any case, Dark Opal insists that he\u2019ll keep looking.
Back at the House of Ruby, Amethyst has finally figured out how to defeat the Emissaries.  One of them sucks, the other one blows, but as for the third one\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Is that your final answer?”  Oh, wait.  I used the wrong dated reference.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Her intuition proves correct as all those assembled hit him with all they\u2019ve got.  Suddenly the Emissaries are running scared and they beat a hasty retreat by diving into the open face of the weak link, who in turn reaches in and swallows himself up.
As Team Amethyst approaches the space where the final Emissary stood, the portal in the shape of his face hovers in the air, though it\u2019s closing.  Looking inside, Amethyst sees that Lord Moonstone is still alive, trapped in that strange dimension that occupies the space where the Emissary\u2019s face ought to be.  She reaches in, and with a little help from her friends manages to pull him free.
Citrina has been watching it all from her magical HDTV and is well-pleased with the young Princess.  She is less pleased when she checks in on Dark Opal and sees that he is seeking to \u201cunleash powers no mortal should possess!\u201d
However, she\u2019s distracted by the arrival of Lord Aquamarine and the Princesses Emerald, and so she doesn\u2019t see the channel change that would have let her know that Prince Carnelian is in hot \u2013 literally<\/em> \u2013 pursuit of the fragment of Amethyst.  The little lizard turned dragon is none too eager to hand over the fragment, and Carnelian finds himself diving for cover in a filthy snail pit to escape the dragon\u2019s flames.
Upon returning home, he ignores the japes that Sardonyx throws in his direction and plans his next move.
Up next:  Amethyst vs. Carnelian in a race to recover the gemstone fragment.  Also, Dark Opal has to deal with annoying \u2013 and creepy<\/em> \u2013 bill collectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Thoughts:<\/strong>
While this is an important issue that helps drive the story forward, and it shows Amethyst proving to be an effective leader in the heat of battle, it kind of left me cold.  The battle with the Emissaries is ultimately kind of anticlimactic and not terribly exciting.
I did really enjoy the bit with Dark Opal just straight-up being a dick to Lady Sapphire with his \u201cbungled\u201d attempt at matchmaking, and I was also amused by Carnelian\u2019s attempts at recovering the fragment, particularly with the thoughts going through his head that reveal a great deal about his character, and the kind of life he\u2019s lived as the adopted son of an evil monarch.
\u201dI\u2019ve always<\/em> had this trouble,\u201d he thinks, as he runs for his life from the dragon\u2019s flames, even as he assures the dragon that he meant it affectionately when he referred to it as an \u201covergrown lizard.\u201d
\u201dI simply can\u2019t make friends!  Oh, a demon whelp once in a while, but those things never last!\u201d
Still, I was kind of disappointed that the Diamond Priest fizzled out so quickly, especially after all the build up.  Oh, sure, it helped to demonstrate just how powerful the Emissaries of Varn really are, but\u2026honestly, it kind of reminded me of Dragonball Z<\/em>, where you\u2019d have Goku building up his \u201cspirit bomb\u201d \u2013 for like fifteen episodes \u2013 then throwing it at Vegeta and, when the smoke finally clears, finding that it had no effect whatsoever.
Still, at least Topaz got hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Art:<\/strong>
Honestly, while not bad, it seemed kind of rushed.  I suspect that has a lot to do with why this issue felt so \u201cmeh.\u201d
Loved the confused look on the Emissary\u2019s \u201cface\u201d when everyone turned on him, however.  Who would expect that someone incapable of having an expression could look so expressive?<\/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> #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> #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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