Recently, I've been curious about the short-lived D.C. comic series, Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld. The idea of girlie aesthetics filtered through a sword and sorcery D.C. lens really appealed to me, so I sought out some issues at the comic book store in East Greenwich (I wish I remembered the name so you could all go, too). Amethyst is an ordinary '80s teen girl who finds out she's the princess of a gem-dimension and unwillingly dons the mantle of defender of Gemworld-pretty standard stuff, with gems! Yeah, that's right, I'm not immune to the draw of gems and crystals, which seem to be hugely popular hipster motifs right now,especially if you're an independent cartoonist. THEY'RE AWESOME, SO SUE ME. Anyway, I bought an early issue based on whichever one had the coolest cover under the assumption that I would get a lot of editor's boxes ("see last ish-ed.") or cheesy expository boxes ("I let down Uncle Ben and then I let a robber go and then he shot Uncle Ben and I ruined my life but hey now I'm Spider Man") that would fill me in. However,I was surprised to find out Amethyst was edited by Karen Berger, who edited more acclaimed "heavy" Vertigo comics like Alan Moore's Saga of Swamp Thing and Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. Berger is tasteful, so I didn't get much back story, but it's a pretty fool-proof story to follow. Plus, I was happy that a series that seems like a marketing ploy to get chicks to buy comics was actually edited by a woman and therefore the intention behind its existence is probably not as cynical as I assumed it would be.
This issue was really, really cool, and I am annoyed at myself for not grabbing more. It's mercifully devoid of obnoxious teenager slang ( although Amethyst gasps "omigosh!" when one of her team members is reduced to rubble before her eyes-couldn't she muster up a little more grief for the guy?) . Amethyst isn't a total bimbo, and she doesn't fall into the I'm spunky-but hey I'm really just bitchy-tough girl stereotype, either. Plus, the villains in this issue were just COOL-silent Horsemen of the Apocalypse type dudes whose faces are vortexes that suck in matter and spit it out into piles of debris. Weird. This comic supplied a lot girlie visual stimulation-pegasus steeds with unicorn horns, glittering crystals, weird 1980s futuristic fashions, flowing hair- while supplying good,substantial fantasy.
Now for the totally castrated version.
While I was looking up Amethyst images, I was reminded of a toy franchise from when I was a kid, Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders. I never had the toys, but I watched the cartoon,which came on every morning before Sailor Moon. Even as a child, I wasn't totally sold-the idea of the show appealed to me: I ate up a lot of stuff that involved babes in a battling sister-hood,vague fantasy elements, and of course, jewels. Yet the show's aesthetic was just too ugly. It promised the girl-goods but didn't deliver, like it was trying to sell us on the idea of girlieness alone and have us fill in the visual blanks. "What? Princesses? Jewels? Vague allusions to Arthurian Legend?!" It was gross and cynical. I mean, wouldja just look at this?
EW.
And how bout THIS...wait?Wha...?
HEY!!!
THAT LOOKS LIKE AMETHYST AND HER STEED!
Now, okay, I know a pegasus with a unicorn horn is pretty standard "oooo, pretttty" visual feminine/fantasy hyperbole, and I know " gem princess " sounds like a title any five year old girl might assign herself, but I was interested by the similarities,regardless. One uses feminine motifs in a way that is attractive and,albeit mega-girly, doesn't feel cynical and pandering to the aesthetic tastes of a female readership. One is totally ugly and seems predatorial-hey little girls! mommy's got a pocket book, don't you want these pretty pretty toys?
I found this article on a CRAZY Wonder Woman marketing ploy while looking at Gwenevere images. Once again, we have beautiful girls in a battle-sisterhood with wacky themed outfits. This comic, like Gwenevere, is also cynical and manipulative, but it's cool looking, so hey! Manipulate me! (I collect My Little Ponies-I never said I was immune.) But really, seeing a super hero like Wonder Woman, who has been appropriated by feminists (like myself) and represents justice,truth,and female solidarity, be reduced to a Jem and the Holograms type consumer product is weird. And what is with her sideways pony tail?!
Anyway, check out Amethyst. I was psyched to pick that up today, along with a Thriller-zombie-themed issue of Dazzler, another series of comics that prove that a commercial super heroine series can uphold ruthlesslessly feminine elements (glitter and rainbows!yay!) while offering substantial plots and characters with depth.
(Bill Sienkiewicz cover!)
Hey, lookit, I make girlie crap, too!
***This fondness for such typical feminine motifs arguably may be a product of the introduction of such a high saturation of motifs in media at an early age. I was the type of little girl who loved Mighty Max, Ninja Turtles, monsters and gross outs (especially) in addition to My Little Ponies and Barbie,so sometimes it evens out. Hell, I wanted to crash a Batmobile toy into a wall of sugar wafers as much as any dude.
****And hey, while I'm getting into a half-hearted,sleepy-brained gender-spiel, I would like to add that the most enthusiastic participants in these makeup workshops are always girls-usually aged 9-12-and they tend to produce the most ghastly effects. One girl today surprised me and warmed my cruddy heart with a beautifully executed slit throat wound.
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