New take on Amethyst doesn't sound as good as the original
5 Comments Published by Avi Green on Monday, June 11, 2012 at 8:45 AM.
DC, intent on keeping their output at 52 books in total, is producing another anthology that features a new rendition of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn's fantasy tale from the mid-80s, but it reeks of the kind of insularity they've become notorious for now:
The list of new items from DC also tells that Dan DiDio himself will be writing a new take on the Phantom Stranger, and I won't be surprised if that ends up the least successful of the bunch, since DiDio's name alone has already been enough to drive people away, and sure didn't help the Outsiders when he wrote it a few years ago.
SWORD OF SORCERY – Writer: Christy Marx. Artist: Aaron Lopresti.In the original story, Amy Winston/Amethyst's adversary was Dark Opal, a warlord who'd murdered her true parents in the Gemworld dimension, and after finding herself in that world again (where she discovered there's an age difference of about 6 years from Earth's turning her older), she'd traveled through Gemworld's kingdoms gathering allies to help bring about his defeat. But this new rendition makes it sound more like a family feud than a story sporting a real foe. That's hardly an improvement on any screw-ups the heroine went through in later takes on the premise. Making the enemy a member of the very same family actually cheapens the impact.
Featuring the return of Amethyst, Amy Winston leads a strange life on the road with her mother and resents it. She’s about to learn it’s all been necessary when she discovers she’s the lost princess of Gemworld—and she’s being hunted by her murderous aunt. With a back-up story written by Tony Bedard with art by Jesus Saiz, set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the monstrous warrior Beowulf is charged with finding and defeating the evil Grendel.
The list of new items from DC also tells that Dan DiDio himself will be writing a new take on the Phantom Stranger, and I won't be surprised if that ends up the least successful of the bunch, since DiDio's name alone has already been enough to drive people away, and sure didn't help the Outsiders when he wrote it a few years ago.
Labels: dc comics, msm propaganda, women of dc
On the other hand, Christy Marx is a rather competent writer (see her TV work), so it may not be so bad. Has she ever done actual comic work, because I think this may be her first? Or the first in a very long time.
On the other hand, the dysfunction junction from the synopsis doesn't sound too appealing. If only because of Marx, I'll be somewhat optimistic.
And while I'm glad Amethyst is back, what about Warlord? He'd fit right in the current 52 setup.
Christy Marx actually has written quote a few comics, one of note being "The Sisterhood of Steel"
http://www.christymarx.com/ledger/sos.htm
Never read it myself, but at least she's got some experience in the realm of fantasy :)
But yeah: you can't top a villain like Dark Opal - his evil was perfect, especially that brooch :)
The original Amethyst series was awesome; everything after that was subpar at best. I never liked how they retconned her world as being connected to the same entities who gave Hawk and Dove their abilities.
LadyAmethyst, I'm more familiar with her TV work (specifically her Hasbro ones), but I do appreciate the refresher. Thanks.
Interesting she worked with Marvel, back when. We'll see if DC will use her talent properly, or squander it.
DC seems to be bringing in a lot of people who worked at Marvel back when (maybe back when Bob Harras was there?). Hasn't helped their quality any.