Writer: Ryan Fassett

Artwork: Noah Salonga(1-7) & Fritz Casas(8-29)

Colors: Robby Bevard (1-7) & Erick Arciniega(8-29)

Letters : Taylor Esposito

I honestly had no idea what to expect from “Steampunk- Alice in Wonderland”. I had a vague idea what the term “Steam punk” meant and had heard it referenced to WWE wrestler “Becky Lynch’s” style of dress, but other then that was not overly familiar with the term. Steampunk is a blending of historical setting , time appropriate tech and a great sense of adventure. This book lived up vividly to that description.

Alice in Wonderland has been told several times obviously, but this re imagining had more grit to it then a lot of the others I have seen. Alice seems a more independent lass this time around who simply wants to make the world better through her inventions. She doesn’t want to be the belle of the ball, or the center of attention. I can respect that……

The story itself flows well and is actually a relatively complex read which I enjoyed thoroughly. Writer Ryan Fassett caught my attention and held it on this book. At times it felt like a scene spanning trilogy instead of the 1 shot that it was. To me ,the more story the better so it worked on that level. My only critique of the writing was what almost seemed like 20th century slang in 17th century Victorian Britian. It just seemed out of place in this story.

A bit  of Alice’s brief origin gave us a good starting point and several aspects of the re-imagined Alice in Wonderland was introduced at well paced intervals within the story. This story is the stuff that’s sourced for material for TV series. I know that’s a big leap, but this story worked that well for me. Strong, well written, female characters sell. I hope they continue Alice Liddles story in a future series.

The art also worked quite well. By using two artists you were able to succinctly create a visual border between Victorian earth and the Wonderland. Noah Salonga captured the essence of shadowy, arcane feeling of Victorian England quite well, while Fritz Casas take on this re-imagined Wonderland gave it the more opposing landscape visual appeal that it required. The attention to detail in their paneling really conveyed the frenetic of the story. One other thing I noted was the fact that Alice dressed a bit more conservatively. Good characters don’t NEED to be bursting out of their corsets. Save something for the variants 😉

Like the art, the color was also broke down by worlds. Robby Bevard brought some lovely shades to emphasize the royal feel of Victoria, while Erick Arciniega built up Wonderland  using shadowy browns , blues and shade of orange. Great job done here

I hope there is a follow -up series to this book. There’s more story to be told.

Book was released Feb.9th and is on shelves on now.

I was a bit apprehensive when I saw the title of this book as I am a bit “zombied out” at this point .I was pleasantly surprised when I read along and realized it was a story of the “other” zombies. Those born(died?) of the occult.

The basic synopsis of the story is that heroine Mary Medina(A very attractively drawn dead raiser in her own right) has been sent a mysterious message summoning her to New Orleans(n’orleans to the locals),and it doesn’t take long for her to find out that danger is awaiting her once she gets there. This is part 1 of a 6 part series.

I liked this book for the most part and will be picking up part 2 because I’m curious about where the story of Mary Medina(does she have a code name? None that I saw.) is going. You can read more of her history in Grimm Fairy Tales #114 but they do  a pretty good job of giving you a brief history of her here. I think this very important to cover when you have a new series of a previously featured character. A wise man once said “Every comic is some ones first”…..it was Stan Lee…he was the wise man :/.

The art was beautifully done by Allan Otero. I couldn’t draw a bath, but I’m surprised why Marvel or DC hasn’t enlisted his talents at some point. I’ve seen much less appealing (to me…all things subjective)art in their books then what he has on display in this book. Hell, even his clothes creases look well done.:)

Writer Dawn P. Marquez tells an interesting first part of this story. Good introspection of the character and where she feels she is at in the world….and where she may want to be. Dawn was also able to show a sense of vulnerability and uncertainty both in her characters confidence, and her powers.

There were a few things that stood out for me as head scratcher .Mardi Gras didn’t seem all that busy. A more fleshed out crowd during those panels would have been more realistic. Plus, the flasher (buy the book to find out if it’s a he or she. That’s called a “hook” folks;))probably would have been a bit drunker before the flashing went down. Then again…..Mardi Gras. Also, being New Orleans it would have been nice to have more references to local landmarks as the action moved from area to area(Only Bourbon Street was mentioned)

As mentioned earlier I’ll buy Part 2 to see where the story goes next. I believe it’s on Sale in March. Check Zenescopes site for full details.

Cheers until next time

Story: Joe Brusha

Art: Allan Otero

Writer: Dawn P.Marquez

Letters: Kurt Hathaway

Colors: Erick Arciniega