News from IDW and NYCC - "Jem and the Holograms" third arc

[icon_uk]

Courtesy of CBR

For those who might think the Jem comic book is too bright and shiny, well the third arc is going in completely the other direction as we meet


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Spinning out of an idea Campbell first thought of years ago, before the "Jem" comic was even a reality, "Dark Jem" includes an artificial intelligence called Silica, which Thompson describes as "the first real look at a price for having Synergy in [the Holograms'] lives," goth-inspired versions of Jem, Kimber, Shana and Aja, and how all of this affects the series' other band, the Misfits.





I think Silica is a kind of story element that you almost have to address if your concept includes a powerful AI as "Jem and The Holograms" does. There have to be ramifications to something as powerful as Synergy, especially using it in a, let's be honest, mostly selfish capacity. Jem and The Holograms' intentions are not bad ones, or ones that are intended to ever hurt anyone, but you don't get anything for nothing in this life -- everything comes with a price.

Silica is the first real look at a price for having Synergy in their lives and it's going to force them to confront some painful truths and really lean on their strong bonds of sisterhood in order to make it through. From a story and character perspective, Silica is fantastic because she pushed on all our characters in amazing ways -- especially Jerrica, and the crutch that Jem/Synergy is becoming for her -- how reliant she is on it as a device to live her life. But Silica effects everyone and really pushes them toward self-examination. None of our main characters will escape Silica unscathed.

Campbell: The main threat Silica poses is that she is more stylish than the Holograms. The "dark" makeovers she gives them are cooler than their regular looks, and I'm not sure if they can bounce back from that!

How do the Misfits react to the news of Jem and the Holograms' big tour?

Thompson: Pizzazz of course freaks out. But something happens at the end of issue #9 that kind of changes her perspective on a lot of things and means that she -- and the rest of her band -- have much bigger problems to deal with than sharing a tour with Jem and The Holograms. The "Dark Jem" arc is a huge source of change for Pizzazz -- Sophie and I are really excited about digging into her layers and putting her through the wringer!

Have you heard any direct reactions from people who worked on the original animated series or toy lines about the comic?

Thompson: Sophie and I both talk to creator Christy Marx from time to time, and she's been very supportive and encouraging. Sophie and I have also talked a lot to Samantha Newark, who was the original speaking voice of Jem and Jerrica and who is still pretty involved in the Jem Fandom. She has been an absolute doll and is wonderfully supportive of and excited about the book.

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Well, it's a ballsy move so soon in the series life, but it's been an excellent series so far, so they have my attention!

There's an interesting bit about the reaction to the comic from long time fans of the series, but you can read that in the article, it seems only fair to give them the page hits! :)

Comments

[baihu]

I wonder if this would please The Mistress

[halloweenjack]

I'm pretty excited by this turn of events because Campbell does goth very well; her main creator-owned series, Wet Moon (which I'd like to post some stuff from here if I ever get my scanner working), takes place mostly in and near an art school and several of the characters are into the local goth scene, particularly in the earlier issues. The series has been on semi-hiatus while Campbell has done more lucrative work such as this and Glory, and it'll be a kind of nice reference to her earlier work.

[jekylls_salvation]

I need a complete education here. What is Jem? What do they actually do? And who's the target audience here, and why do they like it?

[icon_uk]

Gosh... where does one start on this one...

Well, you could try the preview post which outlines a little of the original quintessentially 1980's cartoon that it started with (well, it started with the doll line as well).

As noted there, the difference with Jem was that it wasn't just a "girly" cartoon, but in the hands of comics and cartoon writer Christy Marx, established immediately as an action adventure show which just happened to have nearly all the main characters being female.

Long story short, a young music executive Jerrica uses magical sci-fi earrings to create a stage persona of "Jem" and forms a group with her sisters. They have all sorts of adventures.

The opening titles promise "Excitement, Adventure, Glamour, Glitter, Fashion and Fame" and it delivered, and also had time for three MTV type music numbers from Jem or tival band The Misfits (And then later on a third group "The Stingers" were added)

As for the comic, if you follow the title: jem and the holograms tag, you can see

As for who it appeals to, well (and I say this as Jem fan to someone with a Captain Planet icon), it has a strong old school fanbase (like me), and the basic fundamental plot was good enough for Disney to...well... Disneyfy into Hannah Montana for umpteen season. The art is also massively distinctive, effective and genuinely, IMHO groundbreaking.

But perhaps a more recent convert to the series might be better answering this one, since I'm hardly an objective source.

[jekylls_salvation]

Stop, I was sold at magic earrings.

[yap]

My sister was much more into Jem when we were little but I really started watching it around the time I got Hollywood Jem at sdcc some years back. There's a real indication that Vietnam changed Hasbro's GI Joe line as it switched the villains from enemy nation soldiers to a trio who evoked the KKK, arms dealers and parasitic aristocracy. (The scale change had more to do with Star Wars). Jem is cut from a similar cloth but with much more of MTV -style aesthetics. There are moments I would say the show feels like MTV meets Oliver Stone: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VH9bdTl02aQ