Thursday, November 12, 2009

1980's Flashback: Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld


Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld was a young girl named Amy Winston who discovered on her 13th birthday that she was in fact a princess from a magical world. Amy also learned that her real parents were dead, and that a dark figure from Gemworld was out to destroy her. Amy then traveled to Gemworld, becoming older throughout her voyage, in order to fight against the evil that was attacking her.

Amethyst first appeared in a teaser story in Legion of Super-Heroes #298 (Apr. 1983). Her origin was subsequently detailed in a twelve-issue, DC Comics limited series Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld, written and created by Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn with art by Ernie Colon. Years before the start of the series, Amethyst's eventual nemesis and arranged-marriage husband, the evil Dark Opal, ruler of the House of Opal, had murdered her true parents the King and Queen of the House of Amethyst (which was the rightful ruling House at the time) and set himself up as permanent ruler. However, the infant Princess Amethyst was taken to Earth by Citrina, to be raised there by others. Thirteen years later, Amethyst returned to lead a rebellion that killed Dark Opal and thus restored freedom to Gemworld.

The Amethyst family members were the most powerful magic users in all of Gemworld. Amethyst, while appearing to be a fully grown woman, still had the mind of a 13-year-old girl. During the war between Order and Chaos, the Lords of Chaos decided to reclaim Gemworld, and sent the Lord of Chaos called "The Child" to do so. Amethyst was only able to stop him by merging with him, and then merging both of them with the Gemworld itself, effectively trapping them both.

4 comments:

Joe Jusko said...

COOL POST! I'm actually going to be doing an Amethyst painting for a private collector.

Chuck Wells said...

Thanks, Joe!

I sure do hope that you post that commission somewhere so that I can check it out, before the lucky devil gets hold of it

Joe Jusko said...

Wil do! I'll have it on my site and my deviantART & Facebook pages. I'll let you know. Month or two away.

Mykal Banta said...

Chuck! Man, this book was so 1980s! (I mean that in a good way). You would think this title might be ripe for a redo, perhaps aimed at a "youth" or kid market. But then, so few publishers shoot for that market anymore - and we are all the poorer for it.

Ernie Colon! - always Harvey's most dramatic stylist. Great post and thanks. -- Mykal