Publisher: Antarctic Press Manga
Creative Team:
· Rod Espinosa
Grade: B+
|
Comic Book Review: New Alice in Wonderland #1
by R.J. Carter
Published: February 18, 2006
Almost as soon as the ink dried on the first manuscript, Charles Dodgson's dreamchild began hopping about to other versions of her story. Some chose to retell it as a straightforward sequence of events, losing all the charm and elegance of the original. Others thrust Alice into parodies of Wonderland to satirize the political climate of the times. Others still have chosen to put different spins on the tale, ranging from the sexual to the dramatic to the dark. Using Alice has proven simultaneously enticing and difficult, to which even I can personally attest.
Down the rabbit hole! Note the world on
the shelf.
|
Alice made the leap into the wonderland of comic books several years ago, starting -- appropriately enough -- with the 1948 issuance of Classics Illustrated #49. As was her wont, however, she couldn't stay put, and was soon having new adventures in Wonderland courtesy of the folks at Ziff-Davis throughout 1951. She continued to appear off and on, once even at Marvel Comics (although she oddly -- and probably wisely -- managed to keep herself out of Scott Shaw's Oz-Wonderland War at DC Comics.)
Now she appears -- again, not for the first time -- in the medium of manga. Yes, there's a prior version of her out there in the big-eyed world, but it's in the hentai format, so if you really want it be prepared to show your ID.
Rod Espinosa provides an adaptation that is true to the sequence of events with a flair all his own. Granted, he sacrifices much of the wordplay Lewis Carroll was so adept at, but it's a necessary sacrifice -- it simply couldn't translate into the story as well if he'd shoehorned it in there. So what you end up with is a story somewhere in between the original text and the Disney cartoon.
The first issue carries the reader from the start of the tale, with Alice growing bored from her sister's reading, through to the pool of tears and the ending of the caucus race. Here is the only major disappointment to be had, in my opinion. I've said that much of the wordplay had to be foregone out of necessity, but if any of the poems could have had a shot at getting translated into pictorial form, it's the poem "A Mouse's Tail" which already had a head start at bridging the gap between words and pictures in its original form.
Nevertheless, on the whole, Espinosa's New Alice in Wonderland has a charm of its own. The White Rabbit bears a distinct resemblance to Keith Giffen's March Hare (which is ironic, considering the March hare here bears no resemblance to any white rabbit I've ever seen) and the Mad Hatter (who appears only on the cover this issue) could be the lost twin to a certain large-chinned late-night talk show host. The artwork is cute, the original comedic bits are entertaining, and the overall effect is that you'll find yourself eagerly anticipating the next issue. Kudos on a well-done effort.
|
CD Giveaway - Paper Bird, "Rooms"
Ends May 28, 2013
Drifting ever so slightly away from traditional folk music, this Colorado band delivers harmony and energy aplenty. |
|
|
