The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles: #1
Comic Book Review by R.J. Carter Published: August 7, 2006
Publisher: Buy Me ToysCreative Team:
Ben Avery
Casey HeyingGrade: A-
cover art by Joe Jusko
You know, if you step away from the racks of comic book titles published by the "Big Four", every now and then you'll find yourself in a gem-studded fantasy world known as "independent comics". Not often, but occassionally, you can find a real treasure there, as I did. Of course, it helps that I'm a complete and total "Alice"-head, always taking an interest in any new twist on the Carroll classic. And with a gorgeous doozy of a cover by Joe Jusko, how could I resist this first issue of The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles from Ben Avery and Casey Heying?Careful there. Almost had a typo, recalling the last time these two fantasy realms collided. But as much as I loved Scott Shaw's Captain Carrot and the Oz/Wonderland Wars, I was always disappointed by the fact that Alice herself never showed up in that ordeal. So right away, Avery and Heying have got a step up in my book with their offering.The setting is our modern day so-called "real world", and we find Alice and Dorothy living together in an apartment they share with three other friends (and while she's not named, it is strongly hinted that one of them is Lucy Pevensie of the Narnia adventures). Alice is something of a folk singer, performing strange little melodies of nonsense on her guitar in a coffee house in downtown Chicago. It's a bit out of Dorothy Gale's element, fresh off the Kansas farm as she is.As the girls go through their lives, we the readers catch glimpses of the fantastic going on in the background. Pink flamingoes fly by; munchkins race past; a dummy with a broken pumpkin head is delivered in a heap at their door; and a fight breaks out at Alice's gig between two fat twins over a toy rattle. But the girls don't really catch on to the weirdness until they are attacked on a deserted street by a pack of wheelers, creatures with wheels where their hands and feet should be.
The wizard examines a wogglebug while explaining things toa grown-up Dorothy and Alice. Rescued by a pistol-packing wizard, Alice and Dorothy are told that Oz, the fantasy world of Dorothy's childhood, is a real place, and that it's been taken over by a wicked witch whose quest for objects of power has begun to rend the veil between that world, this one, and another parallel dimension that the Oz spies have dubbed Wonderland -- a name that brings back jolting memories to Alice. The wizard recruits Alice, Dorothy, and the restored Jack Pumpkinhead to journey to Oz, where Dorothy is once again a princess (don't get too haughty, Dorothy -- in Looking-Glass land, Alice is a queen!) Reunited with her friends the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man, our heroes set out to find the lost Ozma and put an end to the evil that threatens three realities.I've got to give props to Avery and Heying on the story: they've certainly got their Oz history down. Not many people recall that Aunt Em and Uncle Henry went to live in Oz at the end of one of Baum's novels. Nor would many recognize some of the surreal creatures that are represented in the panels. Well researched, gentlemen.The artwork I'm a little less enchanted with, but it still shows remarkable talent. I think the failings in the art come from relying far too much on computer coloring and design. It works great for characters like Humpty Dumpty and the Jabberwock. But when it comes to rendering people, the characters just don't come out with the same appearance of life; it's a drawback that comes with even the best of comics that are computer-painted.Overall, however, I only have one real disappointment with the issue: the notice inside the front cover that it's published twice a year. Which means I have to wait another six months to see where things are going. However, since the guys are taking their time with this, I'm of the hope that -- when it's all said and done -- they might go back, clean up some of the panels that need it, and republish the whole shebang in a trade paperback.So saddle up your twisters and step through the looking glass. The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles is a fun tour-de-force that fans of neither Oz nor Wonderland are going to want to miss out on.
Publisher: Buy Me ToysCreative Team:
Ben Avery
Casey HeyingGrade: A-
cover art by Joe Jusko
You know, if you step away from the racks of comic book titles published by the "Big Four", every now and then you'll find yourself in a gem-studded fantasy world known as "independent comics". Not often, but occassionally, you can find a real treasure there, as I did. Of course, it helps that I'm a complete and total "Alice"-head, always taking an interest in any new twist on the Carroll classic. And with a gorgeous doozy of a cover by Joe Jusko, how could I resist this first issue of The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles from Ben Avery and Casey Heying?Careful there. Almost had a typo, recalling the last time these two fantasy realms collided. But as much as I loved Scott Shaw's Captain Carrot and the Oz/Wonderland Wars, I was always disappointed by the fact that Alice herself never showed up in that ordeal. So right away, Avery and Heying have got a step up in my book with their offering.The setting is our modern day so-called "real world", and we find Alice and Dorothy living together in an apartment they share with three other friends (and while she's not named, it is strongly hinted that one of them is Lucy Pevensie of the Narnia adventures). Alice is something of a folk singer, performing strange little melodies of nonsense on her guitar in a coffee house in downtown Chicago. It's a bit out of Dorothy Gale's element, fresh off the Kansas farm as she is.As the girls go through their lives, we the readers catch glimpses of the fantastic going on in the background. Pink flamingoes fly by; munchkins race past; a dummy with a broken pumpkin head is delivered in a heap at their door; and a fight breaks out at Alice's gig between two fat twins over a toy rattle. But the girls don't really catch on to the weirdness until they are attacked on a deserted street by a pack of wheelers, creatures with wheels where their hands and feet should be.
The wizard examines a wogglebug while explaining things toa grown-up Dorothy and Alice. Rescued by a pistol-packing wizard, Alice and Dorothy are told that Oz, the fantasy world of Dorothy's childhood, is a real place, and that it's been taken over by a wicked witch whose quest for objects of power has begun to rend the veil between that world, this one, and another parallel dimension that the Oz spies have dubbed Wonderland -- a name that brings back jolting memories to Alice. The wizard recruits Alice, Dorothy, and the restored Jack Pumpkinhead to journey to Oz, where Dorothy is once again a princess (don't get too haughty, Dorothy -- in Looking-Glass land, Alice is a queen!) Reunited with her friends the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man, our heroes set out to find the lost Ozma and put an end to the evil that threatens three realities.I've got to give props to Avery and Heying on the story: they've certainly got their Oz history down. Not many people recall that Aunt Em and Uncle Henry went to live in Oz at the end of one of Baum's novels. Nor would many recognize some of the surreal creatures that are represented in the panels. Well researched, gentlemen.The artwork I'm a little less enchanted with, but it still shows remarkable talent. I think the failings in the art come from relying far too much on computer coloring and design. It works great for characters like Humpty Dumpty and the Jabberwock. But when it comes to rendering people, the characters just don't come out with the same appearance of life; it's a drawback that comes with even the best of comics that are computer-painted.Overall, however, I only have one real disappointment with the issue: the notice inside the front cover that it's published twice a year. Which means I have to wait another six months to see where things are going. However, since the guys are taking their time with this, I'm of the hope that -- when it's all said and done -- they might go back, clean up some of the panels that need it, and republish the whole shebang in a trade paperback.So saddle up your twisters and step through the looking glass. The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles is a fun tour-de-force that fans of neither Oz nor Wonderland are going to want to miss out on.
