Hatter M: The Looking Glass Wars

I have just begun the second volume of Frank Beddor's The Looking Glass Wars--Hatter M, Vol. 2: Mad With Wonder. And I am smitten, but I am not sure why.

The storyline is clever and engaging. The battles of Wonderland have begun to flow over into our own past. (Perhaps it is our past.) The Mad Hatter is Hatter Madigan, in this telling, Wonderland's equivalent of a Secret Service,-Navy Seal-Ninja bodyguard to the royal household. We follow the hat and knife wielding defender in his search for the lost Princess Alyss.

So far the narrative's focus on Madigan. Reminiscent of a fantastical Batman, the hatter moves through the moral no mans land of our past in his search for the missing princess. At times, the narrative slows to a halt, as Beddor engages his characters in traditional, well worn and tried, comic book battles and dialogue.

Ben Templesmith's artwork is what captivates, rescuing the graphic novel from the commonplace. The drawings are suggestive, provocative. No, not sexually. They provoke the imagination--forcing the reader to complete the images, the battles--forcing the reader to look closer. In this way, it reminded me of Kevin O'Neill's work in The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. This is what graphic novels bring to the table--what the genre adds to the canon. The images are essential.

It seems The Looking Glass Wars--novels, games, and graphic novels--is Automatic Pictures' sole franchise. I would be curious if anyone knew more about the publishing house and artist.

It's a fun read. If you haven't already, pick this up.

Bayard