REVIEW: Alice Never After #5

Alice is about to have a child but will she be able to leave Wonderland soon enough not to have her evil dad send the baby to an orphanage? In the newest issue of Alice Neve After, Queen Alice meets the rabbit’s family and realizes that she must grow up and take care of her soon-to-be-born baby. This is a fantastic retelling of the classic story of Alice in Wonderland. This comic seems to be placed a bit in the future from the original story, and instead of having Alice follow the white rabbit during her wedding day (like in the movies), she is instead in what seems to be a hallucinatory comma. In this issue, we have a wonderful dose of imagination and reality mixing with the likes of the Cheshire cat taking the place of her evil dad who is trying to get rid of Alice’s baby. Beautiful art, that borderlines on the creepy, and gives the often dream-like story of Alice in Wonderland, a more sinister and serious undertone.

Opening at the home of the White Rabbit, we see a beautiful full-page illustration of Alice surrounded by literally hundreds of baby rabbits, all of which have very distinct features and could very well be their own characters in the story. In this environment, Alice meets the White Rabbit’s wife and asks her how she can take care of so many bunnies. She replies that love is the answer to everything and that she will be able to find a to care for her own child. In a flourish of stellar character designs, we are treated to a rendition of the classic tale like no other. Alice is truly beautiful in this comic, and so is the myriad of fantastical characters we’ve grown to know and love, like the evil Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit himself, and a new character known as Sir Ostrich whose job is to take care of Alice. Jumping between the fantastical and the realities of what looks like Victorian London we are able to make sense of the whimsical mind of Alice, as lines can be quickly drawn between the dialog of the characters in the real world and that of the imaginary of Alice.

Featuring a straightforward plotline; this issue is all about getting Alice back to the real world to face her father and once again take charge of her life. The lessons learned at the house of the White Rabbit have given her the courage to denounce the advances of the Cheshire cat to take care of her worries and leave her in Wonderland, and instead, she sets off on a journey through a corn maze that is meant to lead to the exit of Wonderland. In two beautifully laid out pages, we are able to follow Alice’s journey through the maze and be just as confused as she and Sir Ostrich are towards where the ending may be, and when all hope is lost, a ray of light shines through the maze and Alice realizes that she created the maze, she created Wonderland and it is up to her to create her escape. The tone of the story is mostly serious, with a couple of jokes here and there, however, the innovative use of panels and page background colors really makes this story pop. In Wonderland everything is vibrant, and magical whereas, in Victorian London, all the illustrations feel washed out and heavily decorated and textured. As if the artists are telling us that Alice created Wonderland as a simple repose from the complexities that her real life where bringing her.

When it comes to the art, I really did enjoy it all. While there wasn’t any true action (in terms of a fight or particularly dynamic action poses) all the character designs are all very unique and interesting to keep you reading right through to the end. I am a huge fan of all the design choices that were made to reimagine the characters of Wonderland in new ways. Especially the way that Cheshire Cat manages to resemble Alice’s father both in the panel where he turns into a cat version of his face, as well as back in Victorian London where we actually see her father’s face. I also think that the way Edith, Alice’s sister is colored in a similar way as the White Rabbit’s wife, even including a little bow on her hair is a little nod to the fact that both characters are tied in a similar way to her father and Cheshire Cat may be. The last detail that really stood out to me in terms of character designs has to be the bright aquamarine color that “real-life” Alice wears and how she takes it off when she wakes up from her hallucinatory comma. The dismissal of the bow feels like Alice is finally ready to grow up and leave behind the machinations of her imaginary world. The story is filled to the brim with symbolism that ties the real world and the fantastical into one cohesive narrative that sets this story apart and makes it a fully unique rendition of Alice in Wonderland, and not simply a retelling of the books of the past.

The lettering in this comic is very practical, and while in other comics this could be a bad thing, I feel that it works well for the tone of this story. Because it is a serious story, and even though the world is magical the characters are trying to help Alice deal with the realities of being a pregnant woman, we do not see a lot of creativity in the text. There are no real sound fx drawings to speak of, and the only time we see the lettering diverge from your standard black-on-white oval word balloon is when characters are whispering (the text turns into a light grey). This doesn’t make the story hard to read or diminish it but it does leave a little to be desired. I think the only creative use of lettering technique can be seen in the boldness of words, which in that regard is done very well. However, this all being said I am of the particular disposition that sound fx drawings allow us to hear, smell, and physically feel the world characters inhabit, and in that sense, there isn’t a lot of feeling like we are in the world of Alice. In all honesty, it isn’t the fault of the letterer either. It is a serious story and too many sound fx drawings would simply kill the mood, yet there are a couple of instances where a bit of exaggeration with a bigger and bolder font would have elevated the dialog and its panel. For example; when the Cheshire Cat loudly declares the word “Because!” and when Alice responds back ” You stay. And I’ll go.” These are the only two instances that I feel could have done with a bit more “oomph” behind the words.

Did I like this comic? Yes. I liked it a lot. It was not at all what I was expecting when I read the title and saw the beautifully illustrated cover art by Dan Panosian. Right from the start seeing Alice pregnant was jarring and killed all possible preconceptions I had of this being the Alice in Wonderland movie retold in comic book format. The art was outstanding, the writing was clear and direct and the narrative was incredibly easy to follow. While there were no “Shyamalan” twists, it was very captivating for me to see, as a first-time reader of this series, that Alice was in a comma and that her dad was Cheshire Cat. I look forward to seeing the story develop further and seeing how it all resolves as well as how the creators are going to keep our attention now that Alice has exited the realm of the fantastical Wonderland.

If you like the original book of Alice in Wonderland or the subsequent movies that were made, then this could make a wonderful addition to your collection.

Writing: 5 Stars
Art: 5 Stars
Colors: 5 Stars

Overall: 5 Stars

Written by: Dan Panosian

Illustrated by: Giogio Spalletta & Cyril Glreum
Coloring by: Francesco Segala & Gloria Martinelli
Lettering by: Jeff Eckleberry

Cover art by: Dan Panosian

Variant Covers by: Tamra Bonvillian & Sozomaika
Published by: Boom! Studios

Reviewed by Antonio “Mabs”