My Boo's Review: Escape from Wonderland by Raven Gregory!

Every once in a while on here, I'll be posting my girlfriend Emily's reviews on here. She doesn't blog on her own, but sometimes she needs to let her book feelings out in the world, and that's where Bitches n Prose steps in. (She also drew that banner. Ain't she cute?)


Title: Escape from Wonderland
Series: Escape from Wonderland #1-6
Author: Raven Gregory
Format: Paperback, 199 pages
Pub. Date: April 2014
Source: Zenescope Entertainment


Book Description via Goodreads:

The beginning of the end is here. The final piece to the Wonderland trilogy brings the powerful story of Calie Liddle full circle. Her infant daughter was taken from her arms and brought into the realm of madness. Now Calie must re-enter the one place she has tried for so long to escape. The moment of truth has arrived as the girl who became a woman now sets out to become a hero. The one person who can prevent pure insanity from escaping into this world must now find a way to defeat madness itself. The final chapter of the most intense, riveting and addictive comic book series you have read in years has arrived and this time around there may be no escaping Wonderland.

Review:

★★★★★

First I want to say that my edition is exactly the same, only with a soft cover. Once the proper edition is added to Goodreads, I will edit my review appropriately.

I freaking loved this! I'm a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, and all of the dark and twisted takes on the classic story. I found this at a Half-Price Books store and couldn't pass up on the bargain even though I've never read parts 1&2, and I can tell you right now I'll be searching everywhere to snatch them up soon enough.

One thing I loved about this GN is that I didn't need to have read the previous stories to understand what was happening in this one, there was sufficient and important background information provided when it was needed to keep the story flowing and on pace. I was never left wondering what a character's motivation was, or what their connections to each other were for very long, and I appreciate that in graphic novels especially.

Another thing I loved was the stunning artwork, for a gritty and gore-y Wonderland, every page was filled with vibrant colors and exquisite details. One of the details I really liked were the signs on the trees in the forest that constantly changed their text to deliver sass, snark, and quips like an actual being in conversation. They were hilarious for the few pages they appeared, I highly recommend taking the extra minute to read each sign, it's definitely worth it.

The last thing I'd like to mention is the few pages in the back of the book that show the drawing process of some of the panels and full page art, from how it was blocked out with basic forms to half inked drawings, it really shows how much effort and detail goes into these books. And as an aspiring artist myself who often had a lot of trouble with portions and angles of view, these pages were helpful as a learning or reference tool, and I personally find that kind of nifty.

I would definitely recommend Escape From Wonderland and it's predecessors to fans of Alice in Wonderland, and fairy tales with a dark and twisted, modern spin to them.