Time is relative … and so is the anger of a mother.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Raven Gregory
Artwork: Allan Otero
Colors: Grostieta
Letters: Taylor Esposito
What They Say:
While Before the Duchess, before the Caterpillar, and before the Revenge of Wonderland, an event of nightmarish proportions ripped through the realm of dreams, decimating all the begins who dwelled there. In this epic issue, unimaginable events will take place as Calie Liddle comes face-to-face with the Duchess of Wonderland.
Content: (please note that portions of review may contain spoilers):
It was only a matter of time before the past and present confronted each other, and now Calie the former White Queen must face the Duchess of Wonderland – with the freedom of Violet being the prize. With two powerful women staring each other down, you can feel the tension in the air, until this cowardly upstart makes a daring move of using her pacified minions to strike from behind. Although she tries to warn her mother, it is too late and these voiceless and sightless abominations try to overwhelm the past queen by numbers, but as frightened kidnapped children cry to go home, the raven haired beauty cannot hold back any longer. Much to Colette’s surprise they are turbulently thrown asunder, leaving her to question how this invader could do such a haphazard act, even as she plans her next attack.
Although as Calie taunts this vile purple clad ruler to do better, it only takes a momentary lapse in concentration before she launches herself against this insulting trespasser, wrestling her down as the white haired monarch straddles her helpless foe. With herself in an obvious advantage, this merciless woman wraps her hands around this rival’s throat and begins to choke the very life from her helpless form, all while beginning a villainous monologue of how she is a better ruler compared to this failure. This is all it takes to awaken Calie’s suppressed powers, smoldering blue eyes becoming inflamed with mystical energies from the nightmarish realm, allowing her to easily pacify this boastful fool. Now that the threat has now defeated, mother sets about to freeing daughter, with the latter berating parent for not believing in her warning from the start, for if she had they could stopped this sooner. However as they argue as to who was right, neither notices a supposedly broken enemy rising up, ready to begin this fight anew much to their own chagrin.
In Summary:
As we near the ending of the series, writer Raven Gregory amplifies the intensity to levels unimagined, except within the madness which becomes sanity within Wonderland. To open the issue with a new character is remarkable and even before we know her identity, she poses an unfathomable question – the present does not exist, only the future and past are reality, all negating common thought. However this opening signifies a stunning leap by which everything is in flux, therefore allowing for an establishment of the narrative by which current actions become reality due to the simplicity of doing, thus allowing for interference since it has been predetermined it will occur. The act of wrapping one’s mind around such a philosophical conundrum is perplexing, and yet it brilliantly leads into the battle between the Duchess and Calie, allowing for their conflict to decide the fate of Wonderland. They are the future and the past respectively, each with their own perspective as to how the remains of the kingdom should be ruled, no matter how unexplainable their actions may become to the opposition, they themselves think their methods are justified and would be the most successful via whatever manner necessary and who/what they may need to sacrifice in order to fulfill those wishes. Of course we still do not know the true manipulator behind Colette’s ambitions, but the curse of the Liddles is tantamount to the destiny of this twisted realm, no matter who finally rule it is this family’s legacy which must be overcome. And with this untarnished truism, Gregory leads us into an uncertain future, all for the readers’ enjoyment and no matter what the future may hold.
Even with such an ambitious literary premise to fulfill, one cannot deny this title would be woefully inadequate without the fantastic illustrations of Allan Otero and colorist Grostieta’s striking command of a powerful palette – with the opening splash a prime example of their synergistic beauty. You cannot but be taken aback in seeing this memorizing page – an imposing beauty with power seemingly surging from everywhere and the detailing is amazing showing equal amounts of allure combined with an underlying presence of dread, but what ties the image together of her mastery of time is the melting clock from Dalí’s Persistence of Memory, allowing us to understand this woman is all powerful; and yet what allows the reader to become so enraptured by the luxuriousness of the picture is Grostieta’s phenomenal color scheme: golds undulating in the background seem to emanating from her very being, the mystical glow of her eyes convey a knowledge not known to others, the simplicity of her royal blue and ivory white costume denotes a elegance within her form and beaming brilliance of the glow behind ties everything together for an otherworldly sense of awe which allows us to be impressed and frightened at the same time … sheer magnificence.
This imposing opening creates an impression for the story – there is someone watching every action and by her whim she could step in to change the outcome, if she wished to and this initial appearance gives the reader this suspicion she is here for a unknown purpose. And yet as events carry on, kingdoms fall and the drama moves forward all in ignorance of this all powerful being surveying the terrain, with this opening a new venue which we knew was coming … the final battle between the Liddles and the Duchess. You cannot deny this conflict was unexpected from the beginning, but the pages which lead to this battle are just as epic, watching the Queen of Heart’s ambitions come to a bitter conclusion with such an inspiring cyclonic cataclysm it is a shame it had to end. However even when one scene comes to an end, Otero and Grostieta create a new tableau of impending doom, with Calie clad in soft blues, Violet in gothic black and the vile Duchess in her gripping purple, all of these seductive beauties command respect and yet we know it is their determination which announces their intentions and the strength behind those luscious faces. You cannot but simmer in anticipation as we know excitement is about to unfold and then cheer as we watch the women unleash pent up frustration, but even within this chaotic atmosphere, these talented artists create a finale only makes us want for more.
It is a tragic to know the fantastical madness which we so warmly embrace as Revenge of Wonderland is soon coming to an end, and yet it is this build up which has created a series which we waited for each month greedily. To see an all powerful character introduced alights hope there are inklings of things to come, but as we watch the issue draw to a close, the struggle only makes the wait all the more painful knowing while the title may closing in on its conclusion, it will also allow us a wish it will continue with renewed fervor with future plans. However as we wait in anticipation, we cannot forget the series is not over yet and those dreams may yet come true.
Grade: A+
Age Rating: T (for Teens)
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: November 28th, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
