Comics Review: Steven Universe #18

Is this comic worth the learning experience?

Overview (Possible Spoilers Below)

The issue starts off with Steven & Connie eager to partake in one of Pearl’s combat training sessions, However this time, Pearl wants Amethyst to partake in a new lesson much to Amethyst’s apprehension and feels pressured to impress Pearl as she’s filled with anxiety and insecurity that her methods of teaching won’t exactly meet Pearl’s or any sort of standard…

Our Take

Consistently but in a good way, we are once again left with the talented joint efforts of Grace Craft and Rii Abrego Who find new ways to make these in-comic storylines excel, and in this case, they do it by bringing back fusions we haven’t seen on the show for a while which are always a welcomed visual feast to the eyes in terms of keeping things colorful and entertaining with stories that feel like they could seamlessly fit into the show as lost episodes.

The entire story has a decent start, but Amethyst’s anxieties and her attempt to approach her teaching methods in a way that doesn’t come off as forced or pressuring seem to be the primary focus, as Amethyst was never known for taking a strategic or intellectual approach but has often made up for it in later episodes in terms of character growth. Not to mention she understands Steven on a more human level compared to Other Gems since Amethyst was born on Earth way before Steven’s time.

There are occasional moments where Amethyst openly expresses her insecurities on the matter fearing she’ll fuck up, but underestimates the kind and understanding nature of Steven & Connie who try to find other ways to help them with their training. there’s also a small subplot with Garnet which I wasn’t sure where it would lead towards but everything starts to make sense and kinda works itself out by the end.

Overall, a decent story that succeeds with a properly conveyed message that sometimes even teachers and mentors need help with their job and nobody should be ashamed for asking for help regardless of the circumstance.