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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
The art drives me to give this graphic novel a four. The language itself needed to be edited a bit.
Even though everyone who deserved it got their happy end in ArchEnemy, the third volume of "The Looking Glass War" series, there are still tales left untold. Here is the third volume chronicling the adventures Hatter Madigan, Royal Bodyguard to Princess Alyss of Wonderland, as he searches our reality for his lost charge.
In The Looking Glass War (the first novel of the trilogy) Madigan and Alyss took a trip through the Pool of Tears to escape Alyss's murderous Aunt Redd, and Madigan and his charge were separated. They did find each other & returned to Wonderland to take their revenge on Redd...but there were years in there during which Hatter Madigan searched OUR world for the tell-tale glow of White Imagination. We’ve had two volumes of those searches presented in graphic format so far…and this is number three.
Here Madigan has traveled to America in 1865 and he hooks up with two agents of the Bureau of Illuminated Forces (think early American Mulder and Scully) Agent Alabaster and Agent Philomena Ark. He seeks the help of President Lincoln and aids in a battle against the crumbling forces of the Confederate Army...warped by the powers of Black Imagination. Madigan travels out west to discover a princess very different to his own...and a very special milliner's shop. Along the way we are also treated to snippets from Hatter M’s past.
Beddor and Liz Cavalier have produced another whirlwind tale of adventure…and its only fault is that it’s too short. Third time I have just wanted MORE when I reached the end. Sami Makkonen’s dark and scratchy & yet somehow still jewel-bright artwork is perfect for telling Hatter M’s tale. I admit I loved Ben Templesmith’s work on the first volume (about to be reissued! Reserve yours today!) but I can say that I love the art here too.
Herein fans will be treated to a preview of volume 4 of the graphic adventures ("Zen of Wonder") and a big hunk of aftermatter including further information about the characters and incidents of this volume and a lot of lovely computer generated art depicting Wonderland. Best of all there are a bunch of pages from the now out of print Princess Alyss of Wonderland (minus the foldouts and such). An absolutely necessary purchase for fans of the series & an enjoyable read even if you know nothing of the story so far!
In The Looking Glass War (the first novel of the trilogy) Madigan and Alyss took a trip through the Pool of Tears to escape Alyss's murderous Aunt Redd, and Madigan and his charge were separated. They did find each other & returned to Wonderland to take their revenge on Redd...but there were years in there during which Hatter Madigan searched OUR world for the tell-tale glow of White Imagination. We’ve had two volumes of those searches presented in graphic format so far…and this is number three.
Here Madigan has traveled to America in 1865 and he hooks up with two agents of the Bureau of Illuminated Forces (think early American Mulder and Scully) Agent Alabaster and Agent Philomena Ark. He seeks the help of President Lincoln and aids in a battle against the crumbling forces of the Confederate Army...warped by the powers of Black Imagination. Madigan travels out west to discover a princess very different to his own...and a very special milliner's shop. Along the way we are also treated to snippets from Hatter M’s past.
Beddor and Liz Cavalier have produced another whirlwind tale of adventure…and its only fault is that it’s too short. Third time I have just wanted MORE when I reached the end. Sami Makkonen’s dark and scratchy & yet somehow still jewel-bright artwork is perfect for telling Hatter M’s tale. I admit I loved Ben Templesmith’s work on the first volume (about to be reissued! Reserve yours today!) but I can say that I love the art here too.
Herein fans will be treated to a preview of volume 4 of the graphic adventures ("Zen of Wonder") and a big hunk of aftermatter including further information about the characters and incidents of this volume and a lot of lovely computer generated art depicting Wonderland. Best of all there are a bunch of pages from the now out of print Princess Alyss of Wonderland (minus the foldouts and such). An absolutely necessary purchase for fans of the series & an enjoyable read even if you know nothing of the story so far!
The pacing was really hoppin' in this one! I also really loved how many extras we got from Alyss's journal!
I'm going to be honest, I'm losing interest in this graphic novel series real quick. I'm not sure if this is because it's been years since I read the actual series or because it's a tad boring to me.
Wonderful art as always and always finding a way to connect to the real world.
Hatter's adventures continue as does his search for Alyss. This time he's in Washington D.C., where he meets agents of the "Bureau of Illuminated Forces," who work for President Lincoln, studying paranormal "Imagination" mysteries. The plot is one part supernatural (zombie warriors created by Black Imagination!), one part steampunk (flying by dirigible to the Grand Canyon!), and if it weren't for the weird illustrations I'd give it more stars. I just don't like this artist's style, unfortunately.
As I read these graphic novels, I'm getting less and less fond of them. I just discovered there was a fourth volume and I almost cried (but not really, obvs). Anyway, This third one was definitely my least favorite although it did mention Iowa...represent! and Colorado...soon to represent! I probably will end up reading the fourth one to find out if they finally find the lost fucking princess. We'll see.
1.5 stars.
I think this was a little bit better than the last one, but still pretty atrocious.
I figured out why I'm continuing though.
They're really short.
I think this was a little bit better than the last one, but still pretty atrocious.
I figured out why I'm continuing though.
They're really short.
I do love these books and the world that Beddor and Liz Cavalier have created, especially considering Hatter is my favorite character in the entire series. I love how they’re focusing on his search for Alyss and where that’s taken him. I doubly love that they’ve worked history into the mix and really blended reality with Wonderland and how seamlessly it all mixed together.
Being able to see Hatter as a young boy almost humanizes him. He is a bit of a stiff character and watching him interact with his older brother and how he jumped right in to save the princesses when he was little shows just how human he is, not just a machine built to guard.
The art itself, I like the stand-alone pieces like the cover and the art in the back after the comic is done. They’re so vivid and colorful and bring so much of the world to life. For the panels, though, I’m less than impressed. I liked Templesmith’s work much better. I like the grittiness that Makkonen brings to the table. It’s the same type of gritty that Templesmith had, so no surprise that Beddor hired this guy to pick up the pen for the series. But where Templesmith’s characters were better formed, being more solid people within the frames themselves, Makkonen’s depictions of people are something out of a nightmare. Faces are smudged and barely discernible, sometimes making the panels hard to decipher when all of that grit and slash was factored in together. They remind me of the drawings found in something like SCARY STORIES and a lot of the time I couldn’t reconcile the tone of the drawings with the tone of the story. And again, it made some of the panels more difficult to read.
So good story here. I’m definitely going to keep reading in the series. But I like the panel art in these less than in the first one.
3.5
Being able to see Hatter as a young boy almost humanizes him. He is a bit of a stiff character and watching him interact with his older brother and how he jumped right in to save the princesses when he was little shows just how human he is, not just a machine built to guard.
The art itself, I like the stand-alone pieces like the cover and the art in the back after the comic is done. They’re so vivid and colorful and bring so much of the world to life. For the panels, though, I’m less than impressed. I liked Templesmith’s work much better. I like the grittiness that Makkonen brings to the table. It’s the same type of gritty that Templesmith had, so no surprise that Beddor hired this guy to pick up the pen for the series. But where Templesmith’s characters were better formed, being more solid people within the frames themselves, Makkonen’s depictions of people are something out of a nightmare. Faces are smudged and barely discernible, sometimes making the panels hard to decipher when all of that grit and slash was factored in together. They remind me of the drawings found in something like SCARY STORIES and a lot of the time I couldn’t reconcile the tone of the drawings with the tone of the story. And again, it made some of the panels more difficult to read.
So good story here. I’m definitely going to keep reading in the series. But I like the panel art in these less than in the first one.
3.5