Revenge of Wonderland #1

by Raven Gregory

[Quirky Cat]

Revenge of Wonderland is a new and interesting six part series. As you can tell from the title, it’s building heavily off of Alice in Wonderland. Now, I personally loved Alice in Wonderland and all of the imagery that went along with it. That means this series will likely go one of two ways; either I’ll love the direction they’ve taken this already expansive world, or it’ll drive me absolutely bonkers. I imagine most fans will feel the same way, and find that it will fit in either one category or the other.
Also, it’s probably worth nothing that this is actually a sequel to another Alice comic series. I personally haven’t read it, so I can’t compare and contrast right now. I can however say that I had no trouble following what was happening. I am curious about some of the past events/characters referenced, so I’ll probably look into the original.
So far, for me at least, the jury is still out. It has potential – I like what I’ve seen and am curious with where they’re going with it. However, since this issue was mostly introducing us to the characters, world, and plot, I don’t really feel like I have the strongest grasp of it yet. So we’ll have to see.
Like Alice In Wonderland, this tale starts in the real world. It doesn’t take long before our cast of characters are introduced. We quickly have a good idea of who the villain is, or rather who one of the villains is (let’s be honest, even before seeing her we know the Queen of Hearts has to be involved somehow, right?), though calling him a ‘bad guy’ certainly helped identify him. Violet and Callie are the two main characters and protagonists of the series. Even without having read the past series I can tell that these two have a history (they didn’t really try to keep that bit subtle, which is fine by me). Hopefully we’ll see them reconciling in future issues, as I have a feeling they’re going to need each other.
I found the way the queen was introduced to be interesting. She almost reminded me of the queen in Snow White – with the mirror and everything else. I know that obviously isn’t the case, but I like that they’re pulling elements from it. I’ve always loved mirror imagery in context of antagonists.
There’s one character that’s a bit concerning, and some would honestly find her potentially triggering, so I just want to mention that. After seeing her motivation and actions, I can’t say for certain if she’s self-harming for psychological reasons or if it’s ritualistic. If I had to guess I would say the latter, though most likely it’s actually a blend of the two. Regardless, I am concerned about her. I don’t think she had bad intentions per se, but she certainly hasn’t put herself in a good situation…