Note: In All-Ages All-Stars, P:R contributors put a kid-friendly spin on familiar comics characters. Today we’re looking at Bill Walko‘s awesome Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld revamp. – Dean Trippe

Bill had this to say about his redesign:

I redesigned DC Comics classic 1980s fantasy series, Amethyst, Princess Of Gemworld. My take is a sort of Buffy meets Harry Potter. As the story went, back in the 80s, on her thirteenth birthday, Amy Winston learns she’s a mystical princess destined to defeat the evil Lord Dark Opal. In Gemworld, however, young Amy is transformed into an adult.

In my version, Amy is sixteen years old, on both Earth and Gemworld, and pretty much the entire cast is the same age. Her adventures bounce back between Earth and Gemworld, as various characters cross-pollinate both worlds. And of course, multiple romantic entanglements ensue.

In this image: Amethyst is front and center, leading the charge. Castle Amethyst has been destroyed, and you can see Dark Opal and his bad-boy son, Carnelian, reflected in the wreckage smoke. Among Amy’s merry band: The fiery Princess Turquoise, noble Prince Garnet, little Princess Emerald (Emmy), and handsome Prince Topaz. Also along for the ride is Amy’s sardonic best friend, Rita. I’ve also given Amy a pet protector, Sparky, a dragon that magically transforms into a dog back on earth.

Note: All-Ages All-Stars is a new regular feature here at Project: Rooftop. Take your favorite superheroes from their usual settings and reimagine them in an all-ages, kid-friendly format, and what do you get? A cuddly Man-Bat? A snuggly-wuggly Punisher? Or how about this excellent take on The Martian Manhunter by the eminently talented Jon McNally! Check it out! If you’d like to submit an All-Ages All-Stars redesign, check our Guidelines for submissions info. - Jon Morris

Jon had this to say about his take on the Martian Manhunter:

I first saw the Martian Manhunter on the pages of Justice League of America 229-230 (which I picked up on a walk to 7-11 with my grandma).  In the story, a Martian armada invaded our planet and J’onn J’onzz betrayed his race to defend the Earth. Space operatics ensued—the JLA satellite was destroyed, and the Manhunter duked it out with a Martian champion. Since then, I’ve read lots of stories featuring the Martian Manhunter, but that one remains one of my favorites.

The image above is my attempt to depict a Martian Manhunter who’s ready for the kind of rollicking space action I just described, as well as some serious police work.

Oh, I gave him a shape-changing Martian dog, too.  Why?

Wonder Woman has her sisterhood on Themiscyra. The Flash has his fellow speedsters.  Superman and Batman have their respective families.  By contrast, poor J’onn J’onzz hasn’t much in the way of connections, aside from bands of bloodthirsty White Martians that appear every now and then. By gum, if Superman and Batman can have pets, then Martian Manhunter can have a dog!

Deep in the recesses of the abandoned Martian fortress Z’onn Z’orr, J’onn discovers a frost chamber holding a tolakk—one of the telepathic, shape-changing hounds of Mars!  As you might imagine, the two are ecstatic to find one other.  J’onn and his new pal return to Apex City and embark on a career of case cracking and criminal cuffing!

Tremble, evildoers!  The Martian Manhunter and his faithful companion, Red Rover, are hot on your trail!

Note: All-Ages All-Stars is a new feature here at Rooftop (sounds familiar, huh?). Calamity Jon Morris said to me the other day, “Comics aren’t just for kids any more, but imagine if they were! A cuddly Punisher, a brightly colored Wolverine, or perhaps this spunky preteen Scarlet Witch and her awkward bookworm boyfriend, The Vision, courtesy of the exceptional Mike Maihack!” And then he shoved the below image in my face. So here we are. If you’d like to submit an All-Ages All-Stars redesign, check our Guidelines for submissions info. - Dean Trippe

Mike had this to say about his take on the Scarlet Witch:

Lorna’s the “evil” half sister. She’s a year older than Wanda and pretty much thinks she’s more important than her in every way. Especially since she inherited her father’s powers. Speaking of which (witch?)…

Magneto is maybe the most infamous criminal/terrorist in the world but he’s been imprisoned for a while now so no worries there. Wanda and Petro have been living on some farm with some cow lady (just a regular lady, but with lots of cows) and going to school and whatnot from there. They know who their father is though, which makes it a bit scary when they see on the news he’s escaped. Cue: STORY ARC.

Oh, and the hat. I figure it’s an heirloom from Wanda’s mother, who died, of course. But maybe she had some witching powers too. Wearing the hat helps Wanda tap into some of her mom’s skills and helps her better control her powers (and feel closer to her as well).

And like you mentioned, Petro’s impatient and annoying. And Vison is an awkward robot boyfriend (though maybe they just start off best buds).

Sounds good to me.