Wonderland (Slave Labor)

(Slave Labor, 2006–2008)
™ and © 2006 DIsney Enterprises

Slave Labor Graphics has brought its distinct brand of comic-book creativity to four Disney properties: Haunted Mansion, Gargoyles (Slave Labor), Tron, and Alice in Wonderland. The latter, shortened to Wonderland (it’s a sequel, not a retelling), stars Mary Ann, The White Rabbit’s anally retentive maid who fusses and even fumes at the prospect of wearing a messy apron. Alice, less than fondly remembered by The Queen of Hearts as the “Alice Monster,” is long gone, but the unintentionally destructive effect of her visit continues to resonate. Unfortunately for The White Rabbit, the queen believes that he was in collusion with Alice.

Lewis Carroll’s hallucinatory world of anthropomorphic animals and objects is a fertile playground for writers and artists, and Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew indulge themselves admirably. Served with generous portions of menace and whimsy, the story is quickly paced (perhaps too quickly, some will argue, given the $3.50 cover price) and never talks down to its readers. And the art, which evokes the outré stylings of Sam Kieth, is richly dreamlike, just as it should be.

— Brett Weiss

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