Wonderland
(2006/2008, Ages 13 and Up)
1/4/19
In my humble opinion, nonsense in fiction can be little fickle. There’s a very fine between delightfully random and inanely disjointed. And yet the great irony of it all is that, even at its most absurd, some of the best fictional nonsense still follows at least some rules in order to effectively tell its story. Perhaps nowhere is this truer than in the case of the granddaddy of literary nonsense: Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. As silly as this book is, it still works partly because of the episodic format of its chapters. Moreover, smaller bits that are introduced but never fully explained (if at all) are acceptable because they are interesting enough to engage the audience while being minor enough to be abandoned without disrupting or ruining the overall narrative. That being said, there have been countless tales that have since attempted to further explore some of those bits. One tale in particular revolves around a single, burning question: just who exactly is Mary Ann, the servant girl for whom the White Rabbit had mistaken Alice?
The inhabitants of Wonderland are still reeling from the chaos and destruction wrought by the creature now dubbed the “Alice Monster.” Indeed, the Queen of Hearts is in an even fouler mood than ever. But thanks to some “hints” from Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum—who are trying to weasel their way out of an execution—she now has the perfect scape goat on which to vent her rage: her very own herald, the White Rabbit! After all, why was the “Monster” trying so hard to find him? And just what exactly was she doing inside his house? As it just so happens, Mary Ann, the Rabbit’s obsessive compulsive but unfailingly devoted housemaid, returns to her master just in time for the Queen to brand the Rabbit a traitor and give her infamous order “Off with his head!” And now Mary Ann finds herself on the run along with him! As she strives to keep both their heads on their shoulders, Mary Ann comes to learn not only more about the notorious “Alice Monster”, but of “The Curious”, a mysterious cult that worships her — and who now wish for the similar-looking Mary Ann to finish what the “Monster” began and dethrone the criminally insane Queen once and for all, no matter how reluctant she is.
Having been published by Disney Press, the art style of Wonderland is heavily influenced by that of Disney’s animated film version of Alice in Wonderland. But the key difference between Sonny Liew’s illustrations and the frames of the 1951 film is the former’s much more visually blatant wackiness. Colors range from washed-out to very bright, its patterns as erratic and unpredictable as many of the comic panels’ shapes. The characters have highly exaggerated anatomies, with stick-thin limbs and huge, bulbous heads and bodies (and this is even when they’re not mutating from inhaling shrinking dust or sampling growth-inducing mushrooms). There is also Liew’s sketchy outlines, which give the environment a very scratchy and squiggly appearance, both insubstantial and solid at once. This works especially well during some of the more action-filled scenes in that the ensuing chaos makes the characters appear even less physically defined than usual, further emphasizing the bizarre nature of this world.
Along with all the original characters, like the proper and paranoid White Rabbit, the devilishly cheery Cheshire Cat, and the tea-crazed March Hare and Mad Hatter, we are introduced to some new ones, like the long-lost Queen of Spades. As skinny and serious as the Queen of Hearts is fat and fanatical, she provides much of the backward-thinking and pun-filled wordplay that Carroll’s work is known for, made all the more hilarious here because of her brutally brunt, stone-faced delivery, as if from a chronically irked Easter Island statue:
PAGE 70
PANAL 4: MARY ANN, A BAR OF SOAP STUFFED SQUARELY IN HER MOUTH, STARES UP DUMBFOUNDED AT THE AT THE QUEEN OF SPADES, WHO TOWERS OVER HER AS SHE SPEAKS.
QUEEN OF SPADES: If you’re to be my maidservant now, you will have to learn a few simple rules of behavior befitting a girl of your station. First of all, you should slouch a bit, and stand pigeon-toed.
PAGE 71
PANAL 1: THE QUEEN OF SPADES PACES AS SHE CONTINUES LECTURING, MARY ANN WATCHING ATTENTIVELY, WHILE THE KING OF SPADES DOZES OFF ON ONE SIDE AND THE TREACLE WELL SISTERS WHISPER TOGETHER ON THE OTHER.
QUEEN OF SPADES: A proper lady-in-waiting is quiet and polite. When she must speak, she does so softly and keeps her mouth mostly shut. Have the decency to look at the ground and twiddle your fingers nervously.
PANAL 2: THERE IS A CLOSE-UP OF THE QUEEN OF SPADES’ FACE; HER EYELIDS ARE TIGHTLY NARROWED AND HER LIPS ARE BARELY CRACKED OPEN.
QUEEN OF SPADES: When I call for silence, you shall bring me bushels and cartloads of it. I wish to acquire great storehouses of silence so that I never run out of it.
[. . .]
PAGE 76
PANAL 1: MARY ANN GAZES CURIOUSLY AT THE KING OF SPADES, WHO HIS SITTING ON A ROCK IN DROWSY SILENCE A FEW FEET AWAY.
MARY ANN: Why does your husband say nothing?
PANAL 2: THE QUEEN OF SPADES LOOKS AT HER HUSBAND, AS PRIM AS EVER.
QUEEN OF SPADES: He is my mate. We share our thoughts, our dreams, our opinions, our voice . . .
PANAL 3: THE KING OF SPADES STARES SLEEPILY INTO SPACE, HIS EXPRESSION AS STILL AND BLANK AS A STATUE.
QUEEN OF SPADES: And right now I’m using all those things.
But our primary new character is our young protagonist. Part of what makes this story so fun are the many ways in which Mary Ann, arguably the most human resident in Wonderland, treats all the ridiculousness around her like just another day at work, as it were, while still portraying the kind of insanity that makes even the other Wonderlandians seem sensible by comparison. Her greatest quirk—and weakness—being her absolutely frenetic obsession with cleanliness. I think the White Rabbit puts it best when she gathers up the filthy dishes from the Mad Tea Party for a dangerously good scrub with an immense beam on her face:
PAGE 92
PANAL 1: THE QUEEN OF SPADES, ANNOYED, AND THE WHITE RABBIT, RESIGNED, WATCH MARY ANN FROM THEIR SEATS AT THE TABLE.
QUEEN OF SPADES: Can’t you do something about her?
WHITE RABBIT: It would be a shame to make her stop.
PANAL 2: MARY ANN IS HUNCHED OVER AROUND A RUNNING FOUNTAIN AND WATER BASIN FILLED WITH SUDS; SHE IS BEAMING WITH IMMENSE PLEASURE AS SHE FERVENTLY WASHES THE DISHES.
WHITE RABBIT: She’s so happy when she’s scrubbing something to within an inch of its life . . .
But it is through Mary Ann’s reactions to Alice and her infamous deeds that Tommy Kovac really paints for us a picture of her character. It’s almost as if, as soon the White Rabbit admits his mistaking Alice for her, Mary Ann is cursed to be constantly compared to her in almost every way from that moment on, and not only because of her appearance:
PAGE 21
PANAL 2: THE CHESHIRE CAT LEERS AT MARY ANN AND THE WHITE RABBIT.
CHESHIRE CAT: Seems you’ve been incriminated, bunny rabbit. For suspicious dealings with the Alice Monster . . .
PANAL 3: THE WHITE RABBIT STAMMERS AT THE CHESHIRE CAT WHILE MARY ANN LOOKS AT THE WHITE RABBIT IN CONFUSION.
WHITE RABBIT: But, I--
MARY ANN: Monster? What’s this about?
PANAL 4: THE WHITE RABBIT WAVES HIS HANDS FRANTICALLY AT MARY ANN.
WHITE RABBIT: While you were gone, there was an imposter here! She wrecked some of the rooms, and shot the grounds-keeper out of the chimney like a pea out of a peashooter.
PANAL 5: MARY ANN STARES AT THE WHITE RABBIT, STUNNED, WHILE FEATHER LOOKS ON FROM OUT OF HER APRON POCKET.
WHITE RABBIT: I thought she was you at first!
PAGE 22
PANAL 1: MARY ANN PUTS HER HANDS TO HER CHEST, LOOKING DEEPLY HURT.
MARY ANN: Thought she was me?
PANAL 2: THE WHITE RABBIT TURNS HIS HEAD AWAY WITH SOME FRUSTRATION WHILE WAVING A HAND DISMISSIVELY AT MARY ANN.
WHITE RABBIT: Well, she was a girl like you, and was wearing some sort of dress, and she had some sort of hair on her head—I DON’T KNOW! I suppose I was distracted at the time.
PANAL 3: MARY ANN LOOKS AT HERSELF IN THE FULL-SIZE MIRROR WHILE THE WHITE RABBIT CONTINUES TO MUMBLE WITH HIS ARMS CROSSED.
MARY ANN: Am I that nondescript? I know I’m just a maid, but . . .
The more Mary Ann tries to distance herself from any association with such a trouble-making monster, the more we see how similar they really are to each other. Much like Alice, Mary Ann does her best to be reliable, honest, helpful, and obedient. But she also isn’t afraid to speak her mind when she believes something isn’t right. Plus, it really is funny to hear an “insane” person calling what we would consider a sane person “insane”:
PAGE 95
PANAL 5: THE MAD HATTER ADDRESSES MARY ANN AND THE WHITE RABBIT, THE LATTER FROWNING WITH HIS HANDS ON HIS HIPS, WHILE THE MARCH HARE POURS HIMSELF ANOTHER CUP OF TEA.
MAD HATTER: You know, we had another young lady come by for tea just a little while ago. That was before she outgrew herself and ended up on court. Might she be a friend of yours?
WHITE RABBIT: So! The Alice Monster was here, too, was she?
PAGE 96
PANAL 1: THE MARCH HARE PUTS A SIDEWAYS HAND TO HIS FACE.
MARCH HARE: You know, they say she’s been sighted in Looking-Glass House. But don’t tell the Queen of Hearts!
PANAL 2: THE MARCH HARE HOLDS OUT SOME CARDS WITH RED HEARTS ON THEM WHILE MARY ANN, THE WHITE RABBIT, AND THE MAD HATTER LOOK ON.
MARCH HARE: She has followers, now, who call themselves, “The Curious.”
MARY ANN: Why would anyone follow a monster?
PANAL 3: THE MARCH HARE PUTS A HAND TO HIS CHIN IN THOUGHT AS HE SPEAKS, WITH THE MAD HATTER BESIDE HIM.
MARCH HARE: There are those who quite liked the way she called the Queen’s guard “nothing but a pack of cards . . .” And she’s not afraid to call “Nonsense!” when she sees it.
MAD HATTER: Oh, poppycock! That would be like yelling “Sky!” every time you look up!
PANAL 4: FEATHER [MARY ANN’S LIVING FEATHER DUSTER] FLIES UP AS HE CHIPS IN, WHILE MARY ANN REACTS ANGRILY.
FEATHER: I think this Alice Monster sounds more interesting all the time!
MARY ANN: I think she sounds terrible and rude! If every girl were a back-talking, stuck-up little prat, Wonderland would be a jagged place indeed!
Also like Alice, just because Mary Ann is a little girl subject to the whims of powerful “adults” doesn’t mean she appreciates insults to her intelligence and dignity. And just because she’s a servant doesn’t mean she is never curious about the world around her, wondering how it might shape her and her future. Even in a place where logic is said to have no place, she only wants what any other logical person would want: to be herself:
PAGE 118
PANAL 3: MARY ANN AND FEATHER WANDER THE DUST DESERT, MAKING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE SCATTERED AND HALF-BURIED FURNITURE.
FEATHER: So, in this dream you had about the Alice Monster, was she doing all sorts of savage, exciting things?
PAGE 119
PANAL 1: MARY ANN TWIDDLES HER FINGERS AS SHE DOES HER BEST TO EXPLAIN TO FEATHER.
MARY ANN: Well, not really. It was both strange and dull at the same time. In her world, the animals all went about naked, and none of them talked at all! Even the flowers were silent. There were kings and queens, but they were just regular, stupid gits.
PANAL 2: MARY ANN SPREADS OUT HER ARMS AS FEATHER LOOKS ON AND LISTENS.
MARY ANN: But I—I mean, Alice, lived in a big, beautiful house, and she had more pretty dresses than you can imagine.
PANAL 3: MARY ANN WALKS ON, HANDS BEHIND HER BACK, WHILE FEATHER FLIES AHEAD OF HER; IN THE BACKGROUND, UNNOTICED, THE GRIFFIN SITS BEFORE THE MOCK TURTLE, WHO IS SPEAKING FROM ATOP A ROCK.
MARY ANN: She never had to wash or mend, or scrub the floors. And nobody told her what to do. At least, not much. And when they did, she didn’t have to listen!
FEATHER: She sounds spoiled! Boy, that’d be the life, eh?
PANAL 4: MARY ANN TUCKS HER HAIR BEHIND HER EAR, LOOKING THOUGHTFUL; A GIANT SQUID SWIMS IN THE OCEAN IN THE DISTANCE.
MARY ANN: I suppose. She had two sisters, and she was prettier than either of them. But she had nothing to do all day, except look at herself in the mirror and play with those creepy silent animals . . .
[. . .]
PAGE 124
PANAL 3: MARY ANN LOOKS AT THE GROUND GLUMLY; THE WHITE RABBIT TRIES TO ENCOURAGE HER.
[. . .]
WHITE RABBIT: Oh, Mary Ann, I think you’d be delightful at rebellion! It would be so orderly and tidy!
PANAL 4: MARY ANN SMILES GRATEFULLY AT THE WHITE RABBIT.
MARY ANN: Thank you, Master Rabbit. That means a lot to me.
WHITE RABBIT: And doesn’t every girl want to be a queen or a princess?
PAGE 125
PANAL 1: MARY ANN GAZES INTO THE DISTANCE WITH A SMALL SMILE, HER HANDS ON THE POLE END OF HER LARGE FAN.
MARY ANN: I have my dreams. Like any girl, I suppose. But I think I really just want to be humble, little Mary Ann.
As a sidenote, I kind of wish the title was different, as it doesn’t feel very original, nor does it do its narrative justice in either description or engagement. But, oh well. Truth be told, I personally wouldn’t recommend readers getting into this graphic novel unless they’ve at least seen Disney’s animated film beforehand. Although, I think being familiar with both the film and Carroll’s novel would help readers get the most out of it because there are specific elements from both versions found throughout, and knowing those would make the experience more enriching, and certain segments and cameos, for lack of a better way to put it, make more sense. Not unlike many contemporary stories based on fairy tales or century-old classics, Wonderland is much more plot-driven with more fleshed out and relatable characters than the story that inspired it. And yet it beautifully retains the poetic nonsense that made the original Alice so beloved. Liew takes the visual elements of Wonderland and exaggerates them even further, and Kovac very creatively expands on Carroll’s characters, especially one who was literally nothing but a name before, while not forcing too much unnecessary depth on them. If the Wonderland that came before has never been known to sweat details or take itself too seriously, then there’s no reason why this one should, at least to an extent. And in the end, for all the right reasons, we don’t have to care in the slightest.
CREDITS:
All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.
All book excerpts are from Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew (published by Disney Press).
MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund
The inhabitants of Wonderland are still reeling from the chaos and destruction wrought by the creature now dubbed the “Alice Monster.” Indeed, the Queen of Hearts is in an even fouler mood than ever. But thanks to some “hints” from Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum—who are trying to weasel their way out of an execution—she now has the perfect scape goat on which to vent her rage: her very own herald, the White Rabbit! After all, why was the “Monster” trying so hard to find him? And just what exactly was she doing inside his house? As it just so happens, Mary Ann, the Rabbit’s obsessive compulsive but unfailingly devoted housemaid, returns to her master just in time for the Queen to brand the Rabbit a traitor and give her infamous order “Off with his head!” And now Mary Ann finds herself on the run along with him! As she strives to keep both their heads on their shoulders, Mary Ann comes to learn not only more about the notorious “Alice Monster”, but of “The Curious”, a mysterious cult that worships her — and who now wish for the similar-looking Mary Ann to finish what the “Monster” began and dethrone the criminally insane Queen once and for all, no matter how reluctant she is.
Having been published by Disney Press, the art style of Wonderland is heavily influenced by that of Disney’s animated film version of Alice in Wonderland. But the key difference between Sonny Liew’s illustrations and the frames of the 1951 film is the former’s much more visually blatant wackiness. Colors range from washed-out to very bright, its patterns as erratic and unpredictable as many of the comic panels’ shapes. The characters have highly exaggerated anatomies, with stick-thin limbs and huge, bulbous heads and bodies (and this is even when they’re not mutating from inhaling shrinking dust or sampling growth-inducing mushrooms). There is also Liew’s sketchy outlines, which give the environment a very scratchy and squiggly appearance, both insubstantial and solid at once. This works especially well during some of the more action-filled scenes in that the ensuing chaos makes the characters appear even less physically defined than usual, further emphasizing the bizarre nature of this world.
Along with all the original characters, like the proper and paranoid White Rabbit, the devilishly cheery Cheshire Cat, and the tea-crazed March Hare and Mad Hatter, we are introduced to some new ones, like the long-lost Queen of Spades. As skinny and serious as the Queen of Hearts is fat and fanatical, she provides much of the backward-thinking and pun-filled wordplay that Carroll’s work is known for, made all the more hilarious here because of her brutally brunt, stone-faced delivery, as if from a chronically irked Easter Island statue:
PAGE 70
PANAL 4: MARY ANN, A BAR OF SOAP STUFFED SQUARELY IN HER MOUTH, STARES UP DUMBFOUNDED AT THE AT THE QUEEN OF SPADES, WHO TOWERS OVER HER AS SHE SPEAKS.
QUEEN OF SPADES: If you’re to be my maidservant now, you will have to learn a few simple rules of behavior befitting a girl of your station. First of all, you should slouch a bit, and stand pigeon-toed.
PAGE 71
PANAL 1: THE QUEEN OF SPADES PACES AS SHE CONTINUES LECTURING, MARY ANN WATCHING ATTENTIVELY, WHILE THE KING OF SPADES DOZES OFF ON ONE SIDE AND THE TREACLE WELL SISTERS WHISPER TOGETHER ON THE OTHER.
QUEEN OF SPADES: A proper lady-in-waiting is quiet and polite. When she must speak, she does so softly and keeps her mouth mostly shut. Have the decency to look at the ground and twiddle your fingers nervously.
PANAL 2: THERE IS A CLOSE-UP OF THE QUEEN OF SPADES’ FACE; HER EYELIDS ARE TIGHTLY NARROWED AND HER LIPS ARE BARELY CRACKED OPEN.
QUEEN OF SPADES: When I call for silence, you shall bring me bushels and cartloads of it. I wish to acquire great storehouses of silence so that I never run out of it.
[. . .]
PAGE 76
PANAL 1: MARY ANN GAZES CURIOUSLY AT THE KING OF SPADES, WHO HIS SITTING ON A ROCK IN DROWSY SILENCE A FEW FEET AWAY.
MARY ANN: Why does your husband say nothing?
PANAL 2: THE QUEEN OF SPADES LOOKS AT HER HUSBAND, AS PRIM AS EVER.
QUEEN OF SPADES: He is my mate. We share our thoughts, our dreams, our opinions, our voice . . .
PANAL 3: THE KING OF SPADES STARES SLEEPILY INTO SPACE, HIS EXPRESSION AS STILL AND BLANK AS A STATUE.
QUEEN OF SPADES: And right now I’m using all those things.
But our primary new character is our young protagonist. Part of what makes this story so fun are the many ways in which Mary Ann, arguably the most human resident in Wonderland, treats all the ridiculousness around her like just another day at work, as it were, while still portraying the kind of insanity that makes even the other Wonderlandians seem sensible by comparison. Her greatest quirk—and weakness—being her absolutely frenetic obsession with cleanliness. I think the White Rabbit puts it best when she gathers up the filthy dishes from the Mad Tea Party for a dangerously good scrub with an immense beam on her face:
PAGE 92
PANAL 1: THE QUEEN OF SPADES, ANNOYED, AND THE WHITE RABBIT, RESIGNED, WATCH MARY ANN FROM THEIR SEATS AT THE TABLE.
QUEEN OF SPADES: Can’t you do something about her?
WHITE RABBIT: It would be a shame to make her stop.
PANAL 2: MARY ANN IS HUNCHED OVER AROUND A RUNNING FOUNTAIN AND WATER BASIN FILLED WITH SUDS; SHE IS BEAMING WITH IMMENSE PLEASURE AS SHE FERVENTLY WASHES THE DISHES.
WHITE RABBIT: She’s so happy when she’s scrubbing something to within an inch of its life . . .
But it is through Mary Ann’s reactions to Alice and her infamous deeds that Tommy Kovac really paints for us a picture of her character. It’s almost as if, as soon the White Rabbit admits his mistaking Alice for her, Mary Ann is cursed to be constantly compared to her in almost every way from that moment on, and not only because of her appearance:
PAGE 21
PANAL 2: THE CHESHIRE CAT LEERS AT MARY ANN AND THE WHITE RABBIT.
CHESHIRE CAT: Seems you’ve been incriminated, bunny rabbit. For suspicious dealings with the Alice Monster . . .
PANAL 3: THE WHITE RABBIT STAMMERS AT THE CHESHIRE CAT WHILE MARY ANN LOOKS AT THE WHITE RABBIT IN CONFUSION.
WHITE RABBIT: But, I--
MARY ANN: Monster? What’s this about?
PANAL 4: THE WHITE RABBIT WAVES HIS HANDS FRANTICALLY AT MARY ANN.
WHITE RABBIT: While you were gone, there was an imposter here! She wrecked some of the rooms, and shot the grounds-keeper out of the chimney like a pea out of a peashooter.
PANAL 5: MARY ANN STARES AT THE WHITE RABBIT, STUNNED, WHILE FEATHER LOOKS ON FROM OUT OF HER APRON POCKET.
WHITE RABBIT: I thought she was you at first!
PAGE 22
PANAL 1: MARY ANN PUTS HER HANDS TO HER CHEST, LOOKING DEEPLY HURT.
MARY ANN: Thought she was me?
PANAL 2: THE WHITE RABBIT TURNS HIS HEAD AWAY WITH SOME FRUSTRATION WHILE WAVING A HAND DISMISSIVELY AT MARY ANN.
WHITE RABBIT: Well, she was a girl like you, and was wearing some sort of dress, and she had some sort of hair on her head—I DON’T KNOW! I suppose I was distracted at the time.
PANAL 3: MARY ANN LOOKS AT HERSELF IN THE FULL-SIZE MIRROR WHILE THE WHITE RABBIT CONTINUES TO MUMBLE WITH HIS ARMS CROSSED.
MARY ANN: Am I that nondescript? I know I’m just a maid, but . . .
The more Mary Ann tries to distance herself from any association with such a trouble-making monster, the more we see how similar they really are to each other. Much like Alice, Mary Ann does her best to be reliable, honest, helpful, and obedient. But she also isn’t afraid to speak her mind when she believes something isn’t right. Plus, it really is funny to hear an “insane” person calling what we would consider a sane person “insane”:
PAGE 95
PANAL 5: THE MAD HATTER ADDRESSES MARY ANN AND THE WHITE RABBIT, THE LATTER FROWNING WITH HIS HANDS ON HIS HIPS, WHILE THE MARCH HARE POURS HIMSELF ANOTHER CUP OF TEA.
MAD HATTER: You know, we had another young lady come by for tea just a little while ago. That was before she outgrew herself and ended up on court. Might she be a friend of yours?
WHITE RABBIT: So! The Alice Monster was here, too, was she?
PAGE 96
PANAL 1: THE MARCH HARE PUTS A SIDEWAYS HAND TO HIS FACE.
MARCH HARE: You know, they say she’s been sighted in Looking-Glass House. But don’t tell the Queen of Hearts!
PANAL 2: THE MARCH HARE HOLDS OUT SOME CARDS WITH RED HEARTS ON THEM WHILE MARY ANN, THE WHITE RABBIT, AND THE MAD HATTER LOOK ON.
MARCH HARE: She has followers, now, who call themselves, “The Curious.”
MARY ANN: Why would anyone follow a monster?
PANAL 3: THE MARCH HARE PUTS A HAND TO HIS CHIN IN THOUGHT AS HE SPEAKS, WITH THE MAD HATTER BESIDE HIM.
MARCH HARE: There are those who quite liked the way she called the Queen’s guard “nothing but a pack of cards . . .” And she’s not afraid to call “Nonsense!” when she sees it.
MAD HATTER: Oh, poppycock! That would be like yelling “Sky!” every time you look up!
PANAL 4: FEATHER [MARY ANN’S LIVING FEATHER DUSTER] FLIES UP AS HE CHIPS IN, WHILE MARY ANN REACTS ANGRILY.
FEATHER: I think this Alice Monster sounds more interesting all the time!
MARY ANN: I think she sounds terrible and rude! If every girl were a back-talking, stuck-up little prat, Wonderland would be a jagged place indeed!
Also like Alice, just because Mary Ann is a little girl subject to the whims of powerful “adults” doesn’t mean she appreciates insults to her intelligence and dignity. And just because she’s a servant doesn’t mean she is never curious about the world around her, wondering how it might shape her and her future. Even in a place where logic is said to have no place, she only wants what any other logical person would want: to be herself:
PAGE 118
PANAL 3: MARY ANN AND FEATHER WANDER THE DUST DESERT, MAKING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE SCATTERED AND HALF-BURIED FURNITURE.
FEATHER: So, in this dream you had about the Alice Monster, was she doing all sorts of savage, exciting things?
PAGE 119
PANAL 1: MARY ANN TWIDDLES HER FINGERS AS SHE DOES HER BEST TO EXPLAIN TO FEATHER.
MARY ANN: Well, not really. It was both strange and dull at the same time. In her world, the animals all went about naked, and none of them talked at all! Even the flowers were silent. There were kings and queens, but they were just regular, stupid gits.
PANAL 2: MARY ANN SPREADS OUT HER ARMS AS FEATHER LOOKS ON AND LISTENS.
MARY ANN: But I—I mean, Alice, lived in a big, beautiful house, and she had more pretty dresses than you can imagine.
PANAL 3: MARY ANN WALKS ON, HANDS BEHIND HER BACK, WHILE FEATHER FLIES AHEAD OF HER; IN THE BACKGROUND, UNNOTICED, THE GRIFFIN SITS BEFORE THE MOCK TURTLE, WHO IS SPEAKING FROM ATOP A ROCK.
MARY ANN: She never had to wash or mend, or scrub the floors. And nobody told her what to do. At least, not much. And when they did, she didn’t have to listen!
FEATHER: She sounds spoiled! Boy, that’d be the life, eh?
PANAL 4: MARY ANN TUCKS HER HAIR BEHIND HER EAR, LOOKING THOUGHTFUL; A GIANT SQUID SWIMS IN THE OCEAN IN THE DISTANCE.
MARY ANN: I suppose. She had two sisters, and she was prettier than either of them. But she had nothing to do all day, except look at herself in the mirror and play with those creepy silent animals . . .
[. . .]
PAGE 124
PANAL 3: MARY ANN LOOKS AT THE GROUND GLUMLY; THE WHITE RABBIT TRIES TO ENCOURAGE HER.
[. . .]
WHITE RABBIT: Oh, Mary Ann, I think you’d be delightful at rebellion! It would be so orderly and tidy!
PANAL 4: MARY ANN SMILES GRATEFULLY AT THE WHITE RABBIT.
MARY ANN: Thank you, Master Rabbit. That means a lot to me.
WHITE RABBIT: And doesn’t every girl want to be a queen or a princess?
PAGE 125
PANAL 1: MARY ANN GAZES INTO THE DISTANCE WITH A SMALL SMILE, HER HANDS ON THE POLE END OF HER LARGE FAN.
MARY ANN: I have my dreams. Like any girl, I suppose. But I think I really just want to be humble, little Mary Ann.
As a sidenote, I kind of wish the title was different, as it doesn’t feel very original, nor does it do its narrative justice in either description or engagement. But, oh well. Truth be told, I personally wouldn’t recommend readers getting into this graphic novel unless they’ve at least seen Disney’s animated film beforehand. Although, I think being familiar with both the film and Carroll’s novel would help readers get the most out of it because there are specific elements from both versions found throughout, and knowing those would make the experience more enriching, and certain segments and cameos, for lack of a better way to put it, make more sense. Not unlike many contemporary stories based on fairy tales or century-old classics, Wonderland is much more plot-driven with more fleshed out and relatable characters than the story that inspired it. And yet it beautifully retains the poetic nonsense that made the original Alice so beloved. Liew takes the visual elements of Wonderland and exaggerates them even further, and Kovac very creatively expands on Carroll’s characters, especially one who was literally nothing but a name before, while not forcing too much unnecessary depth on them. If the Wonderland that came before has never been known to sweat details or take itself too seriously, then there’s no reason why this one should, at least to an extent. And in the end, for all the right reasons, we don’t have to care in the slightest.
CREDITS:
All images, audio, and links belong to their respective owners; no copyright infringement is intended.
All book excerpts are from Wonderland by Tommy Kovac and Sonny Liew (published by Disney Press).
MAIN THEME:
“The Call” – Briand Morrison and Roxann Berglund
EPISODE SONGS:
“A Curious Case” - Paul Gutmann
“A Curious Case” - Paul Gutmann
“Alice Has Left the Building”- Fred Keller
“Many Horizon”- Thomas Wayne King
Download the full 15-minute episode here!
Disney on Wikipedia
Tommy Kovac's Official Website
Sonny Liew's Official Website
Tommy Kovac on Amazon
Sonny Liew on Wikipedia
Wonderland on Goodreads
Buy Wonderland at Barnes & Noble
Buy Wonderland on Amazon
Buy Wonderland on Ebay
Buy Wonderland at AbeBooks
^^ Back to Books, Graphic Novels, and Other Works of Literature
Disney on Wikipedia
Tommy Kovac's Official Website
Sonny Liew's Official Website
Tommy Kovac on Amazon
Sonny Liew on Wikipedia
Wonderland on Goodreads
Buy Wonderland at Barnes & Noble
Buy Wonderland on Amazon
Buy Wonderland on Ebay
Buy Wonderland at AbeBooks
^^ Back to Books, Graphic Novels, and Other Works of Literature