Not your Disney Alice
Adapted and Illustrated by Rod Espinosa
Dark Horse Comics, $19.99, 128 pages
Dark Horse Comics’ version of Alice in Wonderland is clearly not Walt Disney’s version of the tale. The graphics convey a darker tone with language that is clearly closer to Lewis Carroll. Alice appears as a wide-eyed dreamer, curious more than fearful of her new experiences. Her trip down the rabbit hole is fascinating with dark faces and furniture in the passing. The White Rabbit bears blank yet expressive eyes with exclamation points to register shock, upset and fear. As Alice finds her way through a menacingly dark forest, the smiling Cheshire Cat is cat-like and wise rolled into one. The smile that remains then fades is also far more like a cat than the wide toothy human grin of the Disney Cheshire Cat. Overall, the graphics are wonderful yet the storyline itself is shallow, without much feeling. Most disturbing is the big-chinned Mad Hatter whose appearance echoes too closely caricatures of Jay Leno.
Reviewed by Mary-Lynne Monroe
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