Jim Henson's Beneath the Dark Crystal Vol. 1

Jim Henson's Beneath the Dark Crystal #1

by Adam Smith, Alexandria Huntington (Illustrations)

An official sequel to the cult classic film The Dark Crystal and the bestselling comic series The Power of the Dark Crystal.

With the Crystal healed and the Skeksis banished, Kensho and Thurma return to their separate worlds to enjoy the peace they fought so hard to ensure. But when Kensho arrives at the Crystal Castle, the Gelfling look to him to take the place of Jen and Kira as leader of Thra. Unsure if he, or anyone, is fit to rule, Kensho sets out into the wild to rectify the sins of the past and better understand the world he saved. Meanwhile, Thurma strives to rebuild the realm of Mithra as the newly-crowned Ember Queen. But her own quest to decide the future of her land is thrown into question when a Fireling from a noble bloodline makes a claim as the true heir to the throne.

Written by Adam Smith (Long Walk to Valhalla) and gorgeously illustrated by Alexandria Huntington, Beneath the Dark Crystal Volume One dives deep into the worlds of the Gelfling and Firelings and examines the burden of responsibility that comes with heroism. 

Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Film

112 pages, Hardcover

First published March 27, 2019

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

This looks beautiful but the story moves at an urRu's or Mystic's pace. I expected more. The previous Dark Crystal comic was quite good.

[☾❀Apple✩ Blossom⋆｡˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

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Tbh I am such a fan of the Dark Crystal saga that I could watch/read anything from the franchise and enjoy it. But this was genuinely fun, it picks up right after the events of the movie and it's a nice sweet story. Love the artwork too. I need to read more of these comics!

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a PhD and I teach graduate courses in world arts, so I feel like I ought to be able to figure out what's happening in a Dark Crystal graphic novel. But I found this first volume confusing and bland. Maybe "bland" isn't the right word, but certainly not Dark Crystal–like, anyway. The artwork and action of this series seem to be moving even further away from the puppets of the original movie. That makes me wonder: is the Dark Crystal primarily a mythology that can be told in any medium, or is it primarily the 1982 film with the puppets, and other media should try to achieve the same kind of aesthetic? As I read more Dark Crystal graphic novels, I think I'm going with the latter. For me, this world just is that movie.

I also find that it's not easy to write a character in a way that feels like that character. I'm especially thinking of Aughra, who is apparently a very difficult character to write. She only sounds like herself in the movie; the graphic-novel versions just aren't quite right.

[Tamara Morrill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this series but similar to the last one i just do not like the new main characters
I had hope that this new story line would help me start to like these characters but sadly no , and the newer characters introduce i found more annoying then the new charters from the last series.

I hope that maybe the next two volumes will change my mind about the series

[Dann · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a new age dawns on Thra new adventures await in Beneath the Dark Crystal: Volume One. Thurma’s plans to rebuild the Fireling’s home are interrupted when a mysterious woman shows up and challenges her for rulership; meanwhile Kensho secretly explores a village in the country to discover how to best help the Gelfling people. Author Adam Smith expands on the series mythology and introduces several new and interesting characters. And illustrator Alexandria Huntington gives the series more of an Anime feel with her artwork. The plot is rather formulaic, but the action’s pretty good. Also, Smith sets up compelling climaxes at the end of each issue that hook the reader. Beneath the Dark Crystal: Volume One is a solid start to the second official sequel series to Jim Henson’s cult film.

[James Crawford · Rating 1 out of 5]

First off, some of the artwork is absolutely terrible, particularly Aughra. Since I haven't yet read what came just before this series of comic books I'm totally lost. One of the opening drawings of the Great Crystal makes it look like its a 2-D cardboard cutout held up by sticks.

Then you have the whole thing of the beings living underneath the land of the Crystal. They are fire-beings and one immediate question that leaped to my mind was how did such a being evolve on Thra? Why are they somewhat humanoid when their entire physical being is so different from the beings on the top world?

There's two areas of action, one in the underworld of fire and one in the above world of Thra. Politics is all in the lower world and breaking into a prison is the main thing in the upper world. Neither story is that interesting.

It's like this was done just to try to milk the original film and continue a story that had already reached a positive, upbeat ending. Some things should be left alone.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

As strange as the world of the Dark Crystal is, this series set well after the events of the movie feels a little too alien or far-moved from the narrative. Sure we have our Gelfling heroes at the center of the story and some new fire people and then it just gets a little too weird. There's a bit of a learning curve needed to appreciate the new world in the Dark Crystal's future but the very tone of the story feels different from what we've gotten before. By the end of this first volume, it doesn't feel like the setting is established enough to leave you confident about moving forward. But it'll get there, I suppose.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is so different from the source material that you wouldn't know this is Dark Crystal content to be honest. It's way more anime-style than Power of the Dark Crystal, and the gelfling hardly look like gelfling here, just like straight-up humans just with long ears and three fingers. The firelings are interesting looking but that's the only positive point I can say for the art design. The plot is patchy, as is the world building, and a few times I didn't fully understand what characters were talking about because of poor exposition writing.

[Scot Eaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dark Crystal continues to mystify me. I don't think I've ever seen a series where every piece of the extended universe is better than the movie that spawned it. Beneath the Dark Crystal is the sequel to The Power of the Dark Crystal, which itself was an adaptation of a sequel movie that never came to be. Beneath the Dark Crystal suffers a bit as the middle chapter of what I assume is intended to be a trilogy. It is not as good as The Power of the Dark Crystal, but it is still a great graphic novel.

[Ahdom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This continues much of the story set up in Jim Henson's The Power of the Dark Crystal, Vol. 1 and subsequent volumes. This story so far does not grab me the same way but I am going to give it a chance and see where the story goes.

[Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure how the story would carry on from the first three volumes. But this new story explore the deviation the had come come back to Thra, this time with a focus on the firelings and their culture which was wonderful to see. We see old and new characters, who have to face the mistakes and faults of their past and their repercussions.
Wonderful addition to the Dark crystal lore, excited to see how the story develops.
4.5/5

[pastiesandpages - Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork is pleasant to look at and it's lovely to be back with Kensho and Thurma in the world of the Dark Crystal but the story felt very lightweight and almost inconsequential. I'm hoping the pace picks up and that we get more character development in the next volume as I really loved the previous series, The Power of the Dark Crystal, and so far this series falls way short of the quality of that.

[Mitchell Seth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed with Volume 1. Maybe Volume 2 will have more exposition. I was told this is the sequel to the Dark Crystal, yet it doesn't make any sense... yet. I guess Vol 2 will explain how this story relates to the original Dark Crystal story. So I just reread the dust jacket. It have more story/plot than this whole volume.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beneath the Dark Crystal deals with the aftermath of The Power of the Dark Crystal. It's good that we're following the new characters from that series, but the plot hasn't done much to impress me so far. And the art style is really not what I'd prefer.

[Naomee M · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, I'm enjoying this more than the last Dark Crystal comic. It expands upon the lore of Thra and its' creatures, even the concept of "Firelings" has grown on me. I look forward to reading the next 2 volumes!

[Kyuu~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing I did not like is that they changed the art style completely from the last sequel series. I liked the old style better.

[Danii Jackman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic will read over and over fantastic artwork and fantastic storyline

[Burcu]

https://www.hemengeliriz.com.tr

[Leo Woolley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the duel story but Kensho’s story kinda boring

[Bri · Rating 1 out of 5]

horrible sequel to Jim Henson's The Power of the Dark Crystal. it's written for a way younger audience. the characters aren't consistent, just bad. what's with glaming up Aughra?

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO glad I read the other graphic novels first so I could easily slide into this series! I love it and love the art style. The cover art in the back is amazing. I look forward to the next two volumes!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic. So glad I found it and bought this story.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy the art style of this series. Two worlds about to collide again. I want to use arrows the way they do in this book in my games.

[Alaya Idrees · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an insult to the Dark Crystal lore. The story, characters and artistic style are all over the place.

[Mary Drover · Rating 4 out of 5]

God, the artwork in this is gorgeous. I’m going to try to read the other volume this month, too, to clear out some of the graphic novels from my owned TBR. I’m excited to dip back into this world really quickly, too, so beautiful artwork + Dark Crystal = not really caring about the scattered plot. Because honestly, I had zero clue what was actually going on during this. I don’t think this picked up right after the Power trilogy, but I don’t know where in the timeline it did pick up, and I was just super confused, but again, the artwork is so incredible for this trilogy that I didn’t really care, and it gets four stars purely for that. So like, yes, if you’re a Dark Crystal fan, read this! If not, not really worth your time.

[estherbookster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember loving the artwork and finding this sequel to be a cozy fantasy.

[faeriedragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

:D