Boom Entertainment Steven Universe, Vol. 9

sn davvero felice

The ninth (and last) graphic novel compilation of the ongoing Steven Universe comics.Weirdly, the cover art is from an issue that is not in this set of stories. This art is the main cover of #30, by Missy Peña.As with many comics originally released in individual issues, the publishers later released this trade paperback compilation of the issues 33 through 36 in Volume 9.I had already written outlines and reviews of the four comics as they came out. There’s not much point in writing up rereleased content, but just for your info, I’ll spotlight the included stories. Like the previous volumes (with the exception of Our Fearful Trip), the included stories are not connected to each other and they carry four different stories.CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE is about Peridot introducing Pearl and Amethyst to her favorite TV show–and encountering some frustration when they just don’t appreciate it the way she does. Is there a lesson to be learned here? WHO WILL WIN THE COLOR WAR?For issue 33 there were only two covers included; they have continued the trend of reducing the covers to only a main cover and a preorder cover now.1. The main cover: Peridot and Steven selling Meep-Morps at a stand while Lapis browses, by Missy Peña.2. Preorder cover: Vidalia painting a portrait of her son riding Lion while Steven colors a similar drawing on the floor, by Cy Vendivil.CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR is about Lars and the Off Colors hanging out on a planet with a beach talking about what’s so great about Earth. How can Lars really get it across to Fluorite, Rhodonite, Padparadscha, and the Rutile Twins when everything seems pretty meaningless to them and they don’t really know how to have fun?For issue 34, there are two covers.1. The main cover: The Off Colors gathered around Captain Lars in a group hug, by Missy Peña.2. Preorder cover: The Off Colors (and Garnet, Connie, and Steven) in profile looking determined, by Chan Chau.CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE is about how Greg and Bismuth are handling life when Steven and the other Gems are in space “negotiating” with the Diamonds. When Bismuth begins adding weapon-style upgrades to human machines and can’t understand why ordinary humans aren’t going to suddenly be soldiers, Greg has some perspective to share.For issue 35, there are two covers.1. The main cover: Bismuth proud of a sandcastle that Cat Steven is enjoying, by Missy Peña.2. Preorder cover: Lion, Lapis, and Peridot sit in a tree listening to Steven play ukulele, by Borg Sinaban.CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX is about Connie and Steven’s latest trip to Buddwick library. Steven learns about the organizational power of libraries, but it’s all for naught when all the books they want are missing even though they’re not checked out. Could someone or something be snatching Buddy’s books?For issue 36, there are two covers.1. The main cover: Steven and Connie in the foreground enjoying a book with Gem history portraits behind them, by Missy Peña.2. Preorder cover: A living-room campout featuring Steven playing ukulele, Connie playing violin, Peridot playing triangle leaning on Lapis, Ruby and Sapphire holding hands, Amethyst relaxing, and Pearl inviting Bismuth to come in and sit down, by Killian Ng.There is one more section of bonus content in this book: It’s labeled “From the Pages of Welcome to Beach City,” and it features the “Snapshots” story of Greg hearing about Steven’s adventures. Welcome to Beach City is itself a trade paperback that collects previously published material; this is from the 2015 standalone Greg Universe Special #1.There is NO other new content in the book, so if you only care about having all the stories and already own individual issues, there is no need to get this. But if you prefer having them all together and want the variant cover art, pick it up!This lovely last volume again had some really fun stories if you would like to spend a little more time with these characters.The first story where Peridot has to deal with fans who watch her show for the “right” reasons is a really nice lesson for some of us who get pretty deep into our fandoms, and some of us will feel seen here–whether we’re Peridot being frustrated that others just don’t get it or we’re Amethyst who just watches for the disasters or we’re Pearl who’s just there for the shipping.In the second story, the Off Colors are written so well–the author understood their character traits and did more than just have them all repeat their schtick, feeding into a lovely plot about Lars missing Earth.The third story has a dynamic so many of us have wanted to see–what are Greg and Bismuth up to while the others are in space??–and Bismuth’s righteous anger is on display when she wants humans to protect themselves and has to learn through Greg what she can realistically expect from them.And the last story has some long-overdue Steven-and-Connie jam bud action in the library, returning to how we all started this series: fighting and trapping a corrupted Gem.(The stories were all fun, but my favorite was story #1 and my least fave was #4.)I'm very sad that there won't be any more unless a new comic series gets started. I've loved these.