REVIEW: The Power of the Dark Crystal #1

The beautifully imaginative work of fiction The Dark Crystal is celebrating its 35th anniversary right – with a brilliant 12-part comic book series. But this series isn“t just a re-telling, it“s actually a sequel to the original film that drops us right back into the world of Thra.

I“m always nervous for sequels, I“ll admit it, especially with something as iconic as The Dark Crystal. I was, anyway, until I read the first page and was immediately sucked in. A creature by the name of Thurma has come from her native land of Firefast to save her people called the Firelings. The name is spot on, as the Firelings are a people who are constantly engulfed in flames and in a few scenes, it seems that any attempt to put Thurma“s fire out actually causes her pain. Her world is warm one and bright one, but it is dying and needs a shard of the Dark Crystal to save it.

Thra has changed throughout the ages, but we still see some familiar characters though the Skeksis are nowhere to be found just yet. It can“t be a Dark Crystal story without some of those beautiful baddies though now can it?

Simon Spurrier writes a first issue to give us just enough to sink our teeth into and I know Jim Henson would be proud of such a talented tale weaver. I immediately loved the story and how Thurma is a naturally sweet thing that wields great power and I bonded with her right away. This story pays homage to the original telling far better than I would have imagined, and everything is simply in its right place.

The film was full of various shades of browns and blacks, yet it gave way to life blossoming as Kira and Jen restored the Dark Crystal. Being a work of Jim Henson, the only limit was his imagination, and perhaps the technology of the 80“s. The Power of the Dark Crystal gets away with being one of the most gorgeously illustrated and colored books I have ever had the pleasure to lay my peepers on. It“s set one hundred years after the events of the film transpired, and Nichole and Kelly Mathews jumped on the opportunity to show what Thra looks like with the Skeksis gone. The attention to painstaking detail and all of the visionary scenery and character design will absolutely take your breath away. I swear every single color ever invented was used to bring life to this book, and it is absolutely perfect. This is what we talk about when we bring up revolutionary comic books, and it“s so fantastic to see where comics are today.

The Power of the Dark Crystal is truly a masterpiece, and stands proudly next to the original film that inspired so many great works of art today.

Story: 5 Stars
Illustrations: 5 Stars
Colors: 5 Stars
Cover: 5 Stars

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The Power of the Dark Crystal #1 (of 12)
Publisher: Archaia, an imprint of BOOM! Studios
Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artists: Kelly & Nichole Matthews