REVIEW: ‘Steven Universe,’ Issue #24

Steven Universe #24 is published by BOOM! Studios and created by Rebecca Sugar, written by Grace Kraft, illustrated by Rii Abrego, coloring by Whitney Cogar, lettering by Mike Fiorentino, with the covers by Missy Pena and Ayme Sotuyo.As a fan of the show, I personally would have to say that Steven Universe #24 feels like an episode right out of the show.

It is a beautiful short story that has Steven learning something about Pearl’s past with Rose. Pearl’s excitement leads to her showing Steven the place, only to be let down by the current condition of how things are now, compared to then. Steven being the lovable and caring person he is, recruits Garnet and Amethyst to assist him in helping to bring back the fond memories of Pearl and also show Connie something beautiful too.

Garnet being the level headed one, helps calmly to resolve the situation. Amethyst who seemed up for anything lends a helping hand as well with the task. This issue reminds me a lot of several episodes in the show. There’s always a task that Steven takes up, has a hard time doing, and then recruits the Gems and/or Connie to help him. He does take up the leadership role in most instances as he’s the one who tends to lead the charge.

Steven Universe #24 was beautifully written by Kraft. Upon reading this entry I felt like I was familiar with the comic series and didn’t have many questions needed to be answered. Abrego did an amazing job with the art as it honestly felt like I was watching the show in book form. Similarly, Cogar is spot on with the coloring, as it looks like it was pulled directly from the show onto the page. My favorite piece of coloring is the statue that’s just outside their residence. Additionally, Fiorentino does a great job with the lettering. All the words are easy to read, nothing feels cluttered and forced into the space. Even the sound effects are done well.

The design of the comic which is done by Grace Park is superb. The overall flow of the comic goes from one panel to the next with hardly any issues of trying to follow where to go. The editors Matthew Levine and Michael Moccio did a great job editing the story to make sure it’s paced well and doesn’t drag on longer than need be. The cover done by Missy Pena is very whimsical. Also, after reading issue #24, I understand the underlying theme of the cover. The preorder cover feels like a classic scene out of the show (seen in the gallery below.)

Overall, I have to say I really enjoyed reading Steven Universe #24. It felt like I was reading a future episode of the show. It would be awesome to see this issue animated so that I can get a sense of nostalgia watching it play out. The read is fun and playful and definitely would highly suggest picking this issue up. I would recommend this issue for fans especially because it’s classic Steven. I would also recommend this to new readers as the story is written so you don’t really need to have read the previous issues to follow along.

Steven Universe #24 is available in comic book stores now.