MISC. MANGA, *Amethyst: Princess Of Gemworld

Before Sailor Moon or She-Ra, Amethyst was the original magical princess/superhero! Premiering in 1983, Amethyst: Princess Of Gemworld would have made for an amazing Saturday morning cartoon series rivaling any 80s toy franchise. Usually taking place in the DC Comics Universe, the character would regularly meet up with characters like Superman, or as a member of Justice League Dark and Young Justice, although her adventures regularly happened in their own separate reality. She even had her own anime-styled mini-series screened on DC Nation. Hoping to appeal to a more modern audience without the decades of backstory, DC decided to release a one-shot graphic novel retelling the character's origin but geared towards younger readers.

Princess Amaya resides in the fairyland of Amethyst on the enchanted planet of Gemworld. After an accident involving her kingdom's keystone results in her younger brother Quartz getting into trouble, resulting in Amaya getting a time out as a regular girl on Earth with her guardian Citrina. Although her punishment was only supposed to last a week, the two end up getting stuck on Earth for three years, completely forgetting their lives on Gemworld. One day, Amaya uses a pendant containing a piece of the keystone to fend off some pesky bullies, which leads Prince Topaz from Gemworld to open a portal which brings the wayward princess and her schoolmate Autumn back to the magical realm. Amaya's memories come back upon her return, and discovers her family has gone missing, all while an indestructible monster known as Flaw rampages throughout the lands. The princess heads off to resolve this mystery along with her newfound powers and fighting skills.

Where most of the original interpretations of Princess Amethyst usually had the character in Arthurian or Tolkienesque fantasy adventure, but while focusing on her duality as a magical girl living a civilian identity on Earth, this new paperback is a self-contained story with a more diversified cast trying to lure fans of Amphibia or The Owl House. It makes for a great all-ages publication, which will hopefully add some new blood to the fan-favorite franchise.