Jump down the rabbit hole and enter a bloody, mind-bending new Wonderland.

Tales from Wonderland TPB
Publisher: Zenescope
Writer: Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco and Raven Gregory
Artists: Various
Colors: Various

Summary: The one-shot issues of the series that reinvented Wonderland are now collected together in one incredible trade paperback!

When two young twin girls are pulled into another dimension their purity will not be enough to save them. Lost, scared and unable to escape, the girls must find ways to adapt as they eventually realize that being raised by madness itself isn’t all that bad … A local hero has somehow been thrown into insanity as he attempts to adapt to a world intent on taking his mind. But he soon realizes that there is only way to adapt to the un-adaptable … Before the horror that tore a family apart, there was a child named Alice who entered a foreign world only to return forever changed. Her sanity would be taken, but her life would not be wasted. Witness the story of the girl who lost everything only to become an unlikely hero … A scientist discovers a portal to another realm but his obsession proves much more costly than he ever could have imagined.

Four incredible tales straight from a horror-filled realm unlike no other. Enter a place where madness and terror reign supreme … Enter the world of WONDERLAND!

Review: Alice is all grown up, and even more unsuspecting souls have stumbled into the mysterious depths of Wonderland. Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, and Raven Gregory keep all the playful twists and secrets of the famous Alice in Wonderland classic intact while putting a fresh, darker spin on the world of the mad.

From “Queen of Hearts” to “Mad Hatter,” “Alice,” the multi-chapter “Experiment,” and a bonus issue (BEYOND WONDERLAND #0), the TALES FROM WONDERLAND collection dazzles with a tea party of gore and morbidity and splits between the real world and the fantasy dimension of Wonderland. The characters in the book fall into a bloodline of protectors who keep the two worlds from merging; every generation a child must be sacrificed to the deranged realm in order to maintain the balance. That’s where Alice Liddle comes in—the only child to ever be sent back from Wonderland—but the comics focus more on the others cursed by the delirious, poisoning touch of Wonderland rather than Alice herself.

The writers spin a surprisingly enthralling and complex series of narratives that go back to the beginning, allowing you to witness the turn of events that created the well-known characters like the Mad Hatter and Cheshire Cat. The level of dread that the threat of Wonderland instills in both the characters and the reader glues you to the page and leaves you wanting another unhealthy dose of WONDERLAND insanity. The general art style fits the comic perfectly, and some panels—such as the Mad Hatter’s “introduction” through the Looking Glass—are utterly fantastic.

No doubt about it—TALES FROM WONDERLAND appeals to mature readers with a taste for bloodbaths, scantily-clad girls up to their knees in madness, and more than a spiked pinch of what made Alice in Wonderland a house-hold name. Fans of the Lewis Carroll books will even find subtle references sprinkled throughout the pages. The only thing preventing this jam-packed trade from reaching full five-star status is the jaggedly non-linear storytelling that, while supremely enjoyable, might spin your head a bit more than you’d like.

Rating: 4/5

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