To surprise Connie, Steven and the Gems work to restore an ancient Gem site. Your Major Spoilers review of Steven Universe #24 awaits!

STEVEN UNIVERSE #24

Writer: Grace Kraft
Artist: Rii Abrego
Colorist: Whitney Cogar
Letterer: Mike Fiorentino
Editor: Matthew Levine
Publisher: BOOM! Studios/kaboom!
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 23, 2019

Previously in Steven Universe: Steven, Connie, and the Crystal Gems work together to restore a historic site special to the Crystal Gems from the past.

THE LUNAR BLOSSOMS

We open with Steven, deep in thought, trying to find an appropriate gift for Connie after she passed a really hard test at school. When Pearl investigates, she finds him leafing through Buddy’s Book of interesting Gem locations ending up reminiscing about a secret hidden garden of Lunar Blossoms, beautiful flowers that bloom in the moonlight. When they agree to go there and surprise Connie, they find that the garden is overrun with weeds and growth, with the blossoms nearly dead. Pearl is thrown into a depressive episode, remembering how much the place meant to Rose. Realizing that Steven is also unhappy, Garnet and Amethyst team up with their young ward to clean up the garden, pulling out the weeds choking the beautiful flowers and clear away the overgrowth. When Connie arrives, Steven takes her and all the Crystal Gems travel through the warp, surprising both Pearl and Connie at once!

SWEET AND GOOD-NATURED, LIKE OUR PROTAGONIST

This issue feels like it could have been a missing non-mythology episode of Season 4, with Pearl still sad over her lost leader, Connie rocking her new haircut and Steven just being Steven. The art lacks a little bit of the animation squash-and-stretch that the animated SU has, but everyone stays on-model and has tons of expression in their faces and body language. It’s a simple little story, but one that emphasizes the emotions and the family nature of the Gems, with sweet moments from all our protagonists and ending with a dance party from Steven and Connie. The coloring is also particularly well-done, capturing the pastel shades of the cartoon perfectly, making every page feel vivid and alive. I also appreciate that this issue is a done-in-one story that captures the Steven Universe feel while allowing potential young readers to buy a single issue.

BOTTOM LINE: A WELL-DONE STORY

The best all-ages books can appeal to children and adults as well, and Steven Universe #24 is a cute little story that explores existing relationships with a feel-good ending and well-done art, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. Given how long we regularly have to wait for new episodes of Steven’s cartoon, I’m glad to see that this book captures the feel so well, and would recommend this for any young readers looking for more of Beach City in between the Stevenbombs.

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