Princess Amaya continues to experiment with her new magical powers, under the tutelage of Elzere, a tough brute from the House of Citrine.  She quickly discovers that she has the ability to create solid objects out of mystical energy.  She also reveals some powers that startle her mother Lady Graciel, who arrives just in time to inform Amaya that Graciel’s treacherous sister Mordiel has agreed to meet with them in a neutral location, the home of their mutual brother Bhoj, who does not posses the powers of House Amethyst.  Bhoj turns out to be quite flamboyant and the ultimate host.  The two Ladies have different ideas about how to distribute the power of House Amethyst, so their meeting turns out to be for naught.  Elsewhere another threat emerges and we get a bit of a tie-in to Justice League Dark.  And, I don’t think this is much of a spoiler, but there is a reference to the Black Diamond and DC has been teasing that Eclipso will be playing a major role very soon.

In the Beowulf back-up, the hero comes face-to-face with Grendel’s mother, who teases his true origin.  Is he Grendel’s brother?  We get more fun references to the modern day DC Universe, reinforcing that this is part of DC’s actual history, just in the far, far future, post-apocolypse.  Things go sour very quickly.  The ending is a bit unfulfilling and it appears that this strip is going on a hiatus.  I guess by “unfulfilling” I mean that it was very abrupt, but it read sort of like old fashioned adventure comic strips, so maybe it was a tribute to that.  It was still, overall, entertaining and Jesus Saiz’s art is absolutely beautiful.

The Amethyst portion has two artists, regular penciller Jesus Saiz, whose work is consistently gorgeous, with Claude St. Aubin stepping in to wrap up the story and doing a fine job as well.  The colors by Hi-Fi are also fantastic.  While in the House of Citrine, the color yellow is slipped in everywhere it can be, but it’s subtle.  Even so, it really works, as the scenes shift to other locations and the color vanishes.

The episode is more drama than action, but the story advances nicely.  Amaya’s powers develop and the plot is furthered and new concepts are introduced.  I think this book is just very enjoyable.  Writer Christy Marx is crafting a true mythology.  You get get this richness and depth in every issue which makes you realize that Gemworld is this massive place with a long, storied history, that you can’t wait to explore to its fullest.

 

SWORD OF SORCERY #3
Amethyst Written by Christy Marx
Amethyst Pencils by Aaron Lopresti and Claude St. Aubin
Beowulf Written by Tony Bedard
Beowulf Pencils by Jesus Saiz
Cover by Aaron Lopresti