Steven Universe returns to comic shelves! His ongoing zine-like series but might be over, but that’s not the last we’re get to see of Steven, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl at shops. Writer Josceline Fenton and artist Chrystin Garland (with Leigh Luna on colors) take over the material to delve into a more sustained story far more grounded in the show’s mythology and character for a satisfying and enjoyable opening chapter.
Written by Jasceline Fenton
Illustrated by Chrystin Garland and Leigh LunaWhat’s to Love: The Steven Universe Cartoon Network animated series has given us a serious case of the feels over and over again, and our first Steven Universe comic series was met with enthusiasm from our fellow fans, so we had to head back to Beach City for more adventures! Plus, all the Subscription covers in this mini-series by Jeremy Sorese connect to form one image!
What It Is: Josceline Fenton (“Hemlock”) and Chrystin Garland (“Adventure Time”) help keep Beach City weird with this new four-issue miniseries. Steven takes the Gems out for a camping trip and tells them spooky stories around the camp fire. The Gems don’t give him much of a reaction, but they do tell him a spooky story of their own about a monster who turns bad Gems into glass and shatters them. Pearl assures a terrified Steven that it’s just a story, but suddenly people around Beach City start turning up frozen in glass…
Like some of the most astounding adventures, and a lot of the episodes of Rebecca Sugar’s Steven Universe, “Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems” #1 begins with a relatively mundane situation that quickly escalates into being a major problem. The issue opens with Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems going on a camping trip. As it is with most things in the human world, this isn’t exactly a concept the Gems entirely understand, but they love Steven and are constantly trying to comprehend the creatures they’re defending, so they tag along. Garland and Fenton get a few good gags out of the Gems trying to complete the setup tasks. They’re effective and hilarious because they’re so grounded in the characters’ personalities and behaviors. Of course Pearl would make an inverted tent sculpture, because that’s who Pearl is. Eventually they get around to telling scary stories, which helps launch into the main plot line of the series, involving a corrupted glass gem that’s freezing everyone in ice. (None of that’s actually in the issue, so sorry New Critics, but the solicit itself spells it out, so….)
Josceline Fenton and Chrystin Garland are evident admires of the show, and that clear investment in the show and material give the book a nice authenticity, as if it was made of love.
Fenton captures the voices of the Gems and maneuvers the story to get the best mileage out of their personalities. She also reaches for some more ambitious devices in the small page count, pulling off several narratives, providing plenty of jokes, and setting up the overall plotline without making the issue feel overcrowded and packed together.
Garland hits all the right notes in the characters’ body language and demeanor. She also does well in conveying the physical space they all occupy, so you can sense the power and force of Garnet, the grace of Pearl, and the anarchy of Amethyst. Garland’s page layouts can sometimes skew a bit chaotic, which is especially jarring in an entity that’s not that chaotic to begin with, but the images she produces are nevertheless engrossing. She leads you through the story at a nice pace and juggles the humor and energy of the story confidently.
Leigh Luna sticks pretty closely with the show’s color palette, all those magic pastels. She also accomplishes some real emotion and atmosphere in the story-within-the-story scenes, where she uses different levels of saturation for a single color.
It helps that so much more of the show’s mythology and characterization has developed and set in place for this new series. Fenton and Garland are allowed to tell a more flowing story rather than having to rely on a bunch of gags or sitcom-like adventures.
“Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems” #1 captures the spirit of the show while still finding enough humor and excitement to be its own thing. Make no mistake, you need to have watched at least the first season of Steven Universe before you try this out: Fenton and Garland rely on your knowledge of the material to make a lot of their scenes work, but why would you even be picking up a licensed comic of something you’ve never even seen before? I mean more that “Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems” #1 is able to stand on its own as a Steven Universe adventure rather than feel like some meaningless extension of some random episode. The series is fun and charming as it mostly sets the stage for a bigger problem.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – Believe in Steven.
