Escape from Wonderland by Raven Gregory

Escape from Wonderland Reviews

• 
  Jamie

  I'm glad it's over. Does that qualify as a review?
  
  The final installment in the trilogy provides a fitting end (although a bit confusing in the opening pages of the last issue)to a series that I didn't personally enjoy very much. The ending is satisfying but left open, just a crack, to allow for future stories to be told.
  
  Again, this is not a series I recommend. The artwork is good, but too much emphasis is put on the violence and gore and not enough put on telling a good story. It's not that the story is horrible; it's okay, it's just not that original and it's a little predictable. Many people seem to classify this series under "horror", and sure some of the imagery is "horrifying", but I think a horror story needs more than that. It needs to be at least a little scary, and this isn't. At all. Ever.
  
  The one kudos I will give the writers is that the signs in the forest are consistently entertaining and they are featured in numerous issues throughout the series.
  
  If you're a fan of Alice in Wonderland, you can live without this version. If you're a fan of twisted fairy tales, you can probably live without this version (preview an issue or two before buying the whole series). Same goes if you're a fan of horror comics. But if you're a fan of blood, guts, and exploitation, this is probably right up your alley.
• 
  Emily

  First I want to say that my edition is exactly the same, only with a soft cover. Once the proper edition is added to Goodreads, I will edit my review appropriately.
  
  I freaking loved this! I'm a huge Alice in Wonderland fan, and all of the dark and twisted takes on the classic story. I found this at a Half-Price Books store and couldn't pass up on the bargain even though I've never read parts 1&2, and I can tell you right now I'll be searching everywhere to snatch them up soon enough.
  
  One thing I loved about this GN is that I didn't need to have read the previous stories to understand what was happening in this one, there was sufficient and important background information provided when it was needed to keep the story flowing and on pace. I was never left wondering what a character's motivation was, or what their connections to each other were for very long, and I appreciate that in graphic novels especially.
  
  Another thing I loved was the stunning artwork, for a gritty and gore-y Wonderland, every page was filled with vibrant colors and exquisite details. One of the details I really liked were the signs on the trees in the forest that constantly changed their text to deliver sass, snark, and quips like an actual being in conversation. They were hilarious for the few pages they appeared, I highly recommend taking the extra minute to read each sign, it's definitely worth it.
  
  The last thing I'd like to mention is the few pages in the back of the book that show the drawing process of some of the panels and full page art, from how it was blocked out with basic forms to half inked drawings, it really shows how much effort and detail goes into these books. And as an aspiring artist myself who often had a lot of trouble with portions and angles of view, these pages were helpful as a learning or reference tool, and I personally find that kind of nifty.
  
  I would definitely recommend Escape From Wonderland and it's predecessors to fans of Alice in Wonderland, and fairy tales with a dark and twisted, modern spin to them.
• 
  Chris Everson

  Awful.
  
  My fault entirely for continuing to the end I suppose. This is more of the same, but even the art does not redeem it. Calie's face changes from page to page. Her fetish trousers change constantly. It's dire.
  
  Big 'reveals' such as who her mysterious ally in Wonderland is are obvious from his first appearance. Things continue not to make sense at all. Why is she so unbeatable in Wonderland? There's no tension or subtelty, as throughout the series whoever befriends Calie gets killed... and then Calie, who is so timid and who just runs away gets angry and goes to Wonderland to avenge them (and get her daughter back). She knows the way aoutomatically. There are repetitions from Vol 1. It's really terrible.
  
  At least there's a resolution, so there is satisfaction in that.
  
  But no.
  
  There's a 2-page epologue that renders it all a waste of time. Which it was anyway.
  
  Garbage. I have no idea why it gets good reviews on here apart from the fact that some might read it with a box of kleenex handy. Please... just watch porn. It has more class. Avoid this trash, it's not even worth one star.
• 
  Michael Padilla

  Well, finally finished this trilogy of books and I’m glad it’s over. It started off somewhat promising but since the beginning I sensed trouble. The middle book was a bore and while the third slightly picked things up, it still ended as an overall failed attempt.
  
  The artwork was neat and consistent throughout even if it pandered to a young adolescent audience at times. It was violent, pretty gory, but with such a weak and hallow story, nothing felt like it had any weight to it.
  
  I’m a huge “Wonderland” fan and I always seek out different iterations of its story, so this series intrigued me. But the story here kept tripping over itself. Constantly reiterating things and unnecessarily making things convoluted. If you’re attracted to these books for any reason, don’t get suckered in. It’s not worth the time.
• 
  Ray Ellis

  Third part of the Trilogy that began with Return to Wonderland and Beyond Wonderland. The new badass Calie Liddle returns to her now abandoned family home and deliberately enters the looking glass to find her baby daughter, who has been stolen away by the Mad Hatter. The Jabberwocky needs Calie, Johnny, Charles and Violet in order to be able to forge a link with our world.
  
  Other books that can be read alongside this trilogy are:
  Tales from Wonderland, which provide backstories for a number of the characters.
  House of Liddle, which contains three Annuals (2009 & 2010 take place after Return and parallel to Beyond, 2011 comes after Escape).
  Birth of Madness, a one-shot telling of Wonderland before the Jabberwocky, so a prequel to the entire series.
  
  There are a bunch of other prequels and sequels, but this is basically Calie's story done I think.
• 
  Jenny Clark

  This one had a bit more plot than the others, but still not 100%. Art is still fan service and that just is eh to me. Yes, I know strange considering some of the mangas I have read but still. The plot just seams to be kinda thrown in almost?? That's the best way I can describe it really.
• 
  Hec

  This book is the final part of the trilogy. It's best read along with the Tales from Wonderland trilogy. Those books help fill in a few of the gaps that happen between the second and third book. The stage is set between Cailie and the Jobberwocky as she finds herself returning to Wonderland once more against her will. They stole everything that she loved and now she has come back to Wonderland to take back what is most precious to her. The final battle that decides the fate of Wonderland takes place.
  
  We get some of the answers we've been waiting for in the past two books. We get to find out why all these plans have been set in motion and for how long. As the final book, it doesn't disappoint. I was glad to find out that the trilogy did well, so there were other books that take place in Wonderland. There is now a monthly series that is going on as well as few mini series. I haven't read all of them yet. But I do recommend picking up the Alice mini series. Since it tells us what happened to Alice when she went to Wonderland.
• 
  Joe Sergi

  I recently picked up Return to Wonderland and found it pleasantly disturbing. These books feature top notch horror and not for the faint of heart. But, if you love your stories dark and disturbing. This is the book for you. I would start with the Return to Wonderland Trade. Then move onto the Tales of Wonderland trades (volume 1 and volume 2)and then the Beyond Wonderland trade before tackling escape from wonderland. (Or you can just Wikipedia the story to catch up).
  
  Without any spoilers, I did not like the last issue. it felt like there was a lot of filler in that last issue that could have been avoided.
• 
  The Dark Krystal

  I mostly got this from the library for the cover. I wasn't too impressed with the writing. Doing a retelling of a classic is no easy feat. This was a re-imagining that sounds intriguing in concept, but seemed almost sloppy in execution. The penciling was good, but would have been greater if they were able to draw different looking women because they all looked alike between the heroine, her mother and other captured women. The coloring was beautiful and added a lot of depth to the drawings.
  
  I will give the other reads a try mostly because of my love of all things Alice; I'm hoping that these will flesh out Raven's characters a little better.
• 
  Jon FK

  Making the Alice in Wonderland tale into a contemporary nightmare with a psychotic twist wherein Alice is an adult, sexily drawn, and the Chesire Cat is so jacked he'd make Brock Lesnar look like a kitten seemed like it'd be sick. But the writing is incredibly poor and absurdly repetitive. And the illustrations are super inconsistent as well. I thought this would be a cool Adult Spin but instead, with all its horrible One-Liners and Extra Gratuitous Gore, it's an EdgeLord's wet dream.
  
  I love the premise but the execution was bad at best. Whoever does Quality Control at Grimm Fairy Tales isn't getting it right. Maybe it's the Mad Hatter.
• 
  A. Nixon

  A fitting end to the trilogy. This one really picked up the strength and rapid-fire story of the first installment ("Return to Wonderland"). Although the alternate endings got a little old and annoying -- it was unclear to me at first what was going on and then when I figured it out, I just wanted to find out what had actually happened-- I really enjoyed this final part. The signs on the trees in the Wonderland forest were just so much fun! I enjoyed this one.
• 
  Kegan

  *Return to Wonderland 2007 to 2008
  *Return to Wonderland Annuals 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
  *Beyond Wonderland 2008 - 2009
  *Escape from Wonderland 2009 - 2010
  *Tales From Wonderland 2008 - 2009
  
  *Alice = 2012
  Call of Wonderland 2012
  Madness of Wonderland 2013
  Down the Rabbit Hole 2013
  
  Through the Looking Glass 2013-2014
  Wonderland V1, V2, V3 2012 - 2013
• 
  Gabriella

  Despite being a fan of the disturbing series, I am disappointed as to how it ended. (?) Very confusing and all over the place, especially the alternate endings. Although I was let down, I'll look forward to any other "Wonderland" novels in the future.
• 
  Declan Waters

  Calie - Alice's daughter - returns to Wonderland to save her daughter from her brother and the other denizens of Wonderland.
  
  As a return to Wonderland, this comic returns to the lovely drawing, painting, and style of the first collection, and much to the better.
• 
  Catherine Siemann

  Satisfying conclusion to the narrative, but nothing really new or disturbing, so it doesn't have quite the impact of the first two.
• 
  Crissy Moss

  Beautiful dark take on the Alice in Wonderland story.
• 
  Zardwiz

  Buen cierre de la historia, muy bien contado a mi gusto