New Alice in Wonderland

(Antarctic, 2006)
™ and ©2006 Rod Espinosa

Rod Espinosa, well-known for his stories of strong, young heroines, takes on the task of modernizing one of the strongest young heroines ever, Lewis Carroll’s Alice. With a mix of Carroll’s books and the famous Disney movie, and a few modern props scattered in the background, Espinosa creates a new version of the famous tale for today. His colorful style emphasizes the whimsical nature of the story, and creates the perfect book for the young reader, or simply the young at heart.

— Jennifer McGinnis

From the Comics Buyer’s Guide:

Lewis Carroll’s fantasyland of a dreamy young girl gets a semi-extreme makeover for the 21st century. Alice doesn’t have to take the red pill to go down the rabbit hole, as she encounters growth spurts, talking animals, and a world of unpredictable norms. The usual suspects are all here, including the addled white bunny, March Hare, and Cheshire Cat.

Although Disney has a mindshare monopoly on its character designs, Espinosa’s “American manga” interpretation is simultaneously simple and complex. Alice’s basic outfit and expressions are cast against constantly shifting settings in a rainbow of colors.

However, it’s distracting that The Mad Hatter resembles Jay Leno and the caterpillar looks as if it’s been smoking too much weed. This Wonderland appears suitably surreal and psychedelic and, therefore, appropriately unnerving for this traveling teen, as opposed to the classically nonplussed heroine. Perhaps trying to define his own line of princesses, Rod Espinoza attempts to reclaim a cultural icon and has done an admirable effort so far.

— Oliver Chin

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