Anytime a Rabbit from Wonderland is involved … things will ALWAYS go wrong!
Creative Staff:
Writer: Erica J. Heflin
Art: Ferran Sellares
What They Say:
After years of torment at the hands of Wonderland and its many psychopathic denizens, Calie Liddle finally claimed a victory. By defeating the Queen of Spades, Calie assumed leadership of Wonderland. And now she cares for the realm that once existed to torment her family. With the White Rabbit and a newly reformed Cheshire Cat by her side, Calie seeks to transform the tainted realm to its former glory … But it will not be an easy task.
This is the story of Calie Liddle … White Queen of Wonderland.
Content (please note that portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As they continue tracking the malignancy from Wonderland, Calie and Violet find their way to New Orleans. The continuous wild party of the Big Easy seems appropriate for one to get lost in the riotous nightlife and to lose themselves in the madness of that foreign realm. One intermingles with the other and they become a menagerie of the bizarre into a toxic wasteland which the White Queen and the Mad Hatter knew all too well. How they miss that land, but at the same time, the poisons which polluted it have now leeched into this world, bring out the worst of Wonderland. It wasn’t bad enough that some humans already possessed the seed of lunacy, but now with Ace’s agents, they are getting the needed push to carry them past insanity and into that comforting madness.
But it is not enough that they are consumed by the gift, they must also share it with those they deem worthy of its embrace. Someone has been recruiting those lucky few off the streets of Nola and whisking them away, never to be seen again. However, when mother and daughter meet someone who has been asking about one of the forgotten, they cannot but help when Cheshire smells the taint from his homeland. It is in the bayou that hear of the exploits of a Mr. March and his matches to prove who among them is strong enough to join his ranks. Though can they resist the charms of this madman who chants of lost wonders or will they succumb to the thrill a challenger falling beneath their feet? An exiled Queen against a messenger from Wonderland, who will win and who will lose – or are they both victims?
In Summary:
Erica Heflin continues to drive the madness of Wonderland away from that twisted realm and into the reality of men. It is this ability of reflecting their exiled realm into the grounded sanity of human greed and a need for violence that helps to propel this new story tangent into something which is all too believable. Although we may not wish to acknowledge that Wonderland is this close, we cannot but understand that it has enveloped us in its chilling embrace. And it is a story like this of a perverted fight club which strikes all too close to home if you watch the news of these grotesque matches appearing even in local schools.
But the one part of the story which I found completely unrealistic was the renewed trust which has been restored since the last issue between Calie and Violet. When we last saw them, the mother was accusing daughter of going back to her Mad Hatter ways after seeing the bloody center ring. Of course, we don’t know how much time has passed since then, but now she completely trusts her child to save a man alone surrounded by maniacal spectators? That is a bit of a stretch since we all know how Violet’s personality flipped once she is stressed, even if she has lost her powers. Trust is earned, not given that easily to someone she knows can and has betrayed her – own child. It would have been more believable if this problem was mulled over for a few issues, allowing us to see a gradual attitude change between Calie and Violet.
It is strange to see someone aside from Giorgia Sposito depicting the exploits of Wonderland, but Ferran Sellares’ stark art style settles nicely into the fold. His crisp lines and dramatic usage of backgrounds to denote the emotional states of characters is unsettling but effective in the understated frames on each page. The way he is able to move the story along with exquisite close-ups and terrifying panels accented by speed lines to draw the eye to that image is chilling. The phrase less is more eloquently describes his illustrations since he concentrates all the actions to maximize their effectiveness; if more is needed, Sellares tries to keep it to a minimum, not to overburden the book with any unnecessary violence. While some artists may try to overemphasize a book with amazing pictures, Sellares gives us impressively forceful ones with the same impact.
The Liddles have settled another score with Wonderland, but the fight to cleanse it from Earth is not over. With each step they take, they seem to have a thousand more laid before them before the journey’s end. Who knows how much more it will take to stop the insanity, but we all know, it will be worth the trip!
Grade: B+
Rating: 16+
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: March 9th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
