Grimm Fairy Tales Presents
Alice in Wonderland #2
Publisher: Zenescope
Writer: Raven Gregory
Artist: Robert Gill (cover by Stjepan Sejic)
After we saw the beginning of Alice’s trip down the rabbit hole, her meeting with the Jabberwocky, and her track meet with the Chesire Cat, it’s pretty simple to deduce that Alice needs a friend in Wonderland. She thinks for a moment that a walrus might be that friend, but that’s debatable. He does invite her inside for a meal, but she doesn’t know if she’s going to end up being that meal. He actually seems to be mellowing out, when there’s a knock at the door. It’s the Carpenter, and he has no tolerance for the Walrus, or anybody else for that matter. Meanwhile, the Jabberwocky is interrogating the Chesire Cat and the rabbit. It seems that the rabbit is playing both sides 0f the fence, though, and I think it will catch up to him some day soon. As Alice slips further into the madness that is Wonderland, the question remains, will she ever get out?
I enjoyed this issue, but not as much as the first. Simply because I had a better idea of who was who in the first issue. In this issue there’s a dude that meets the rabbit and the two have a discussion about Alice, and I have no idea who he is. We also get to see the Queen of Hearts with all of her arrogance, and that was a cool appearance. The story itself is pretty good. It has a lot of different elements to it, and most of all, it has a sense of adventure to it. It also has me thinking about the original story of Alice in Wonderland, how that ended, all the players involved, and which aspects of that story will be implemented in this adaptation. I especially loved the parts with the Carpenter, the Walrus, and Alice. Not only did the Carpenter make everything rhyme, but Alice started doing it as well, and I thought that was awesome! I know Raven Gregory (The Theater, Dream Eater Saga) will have plenty to offer by story’s end, so I’ll be following along, down the rabbit hole.
Robert Gill’s artwork is definitely a positive in this book, as well. His portrayal of these mythical characters is spot on. I love the evil looking little white rabbit. His demonic red eyes really creep me out! The Jabberwocky is pretty cool, too. The only thing I didn’t love was the Walrus. He was just OK, and I kind of liked it when the Carpenter beat the snot out of him. There were a couple of scenes where I had to look several times to figure out what was going on (or what the setting was all about), but that isn’t a negative comment towards Gill, just his style versus others I’ve been reading lately, I assume. Now, onto the cover artist. Let’s be real here for a moment. There is nobody, and I mean nobody, right now, that I’d rather see on a cover than Sejic. The guy somehow makes his covers look like magic. The variant covers are always good, too (Debalfo, EBas, etc.), but nobody creates a masterpiece like Sejic does. Rating 3.5/5
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
