About Heroes

Publisher: Image/Desperado
Art by: Ben Templsmith
Story by: Frank Beddor and Liz Cavalier
Up Coming Novel by: Beddor, The Looking Glass Wars

First off my understanding of this book is that it is a prelude to a series of novels (not graphic the regular kind with many more words) that will be coming out soon. This is a take off of Louis Carol’s Alice in Wonderland. The tag that I received when this book was first being promoted was that Carol’s book was one interpretation of a true event and the other author Beddor has this version. Alice is actually Princess Alyss and she has been kidnapped and taken to our world. Hatter Madigan or Hatter M is a royal bodyguard sent by the Princess mother Queen Genevieve to our world in 1859 to find and protect Alyss. The Queen without her strongest bodyguard, we are told, has most likely died at the hands of her evil sister.

Hatter M is a pretty cool character. A take on the Mad Hatter (obvious I know, sorry) character, Hatter M is nothing like him (way to screw it up Carol!). He is smart and has many tricks up his sleeve (and a big thick knife!). He can also take off his hat and throw it, turning it into a blade-thingy and slice people up. The “vibration” of our world has weakened him, as Wonderland remains very mysterious, I am not sure what the difference is yet (two issues in, after all). Hatter M fights off many unusual foes and can travel via puddles (through the use of his hat) and there are mysterious people who talk amongst themselves in the reflection of glass.

Issue two kicks way more ass then the first issue, which only got one butt-cheek while two got both (so cover your third butt cheek when issue three comes out). The artwork is great. Ben Templesmith does a wonderful job with this book. I know I just bragged on Templesmith in the review below but in this book there is a drastic change in tones. This book has much more magic and action. It is rare that I comment on the artwork as being far superior to the story telling but this is one of those cases.

On the note of the writing I lead into my problems with the book. I don’t know if Beddor or Cavalier writes the actual script but it is often times confusing. The panel to panel flow is great and helps out a lot but the narration trips me up sometimes in its delivering of the plot and back story. I tried to make my recap make as much sense as possible (with these handy parenthesis to help me organize my crappy jokes). If it did make sense, your welcome you little snot. If not then I still say pick up the issues and read the inside cover synopsis and all the crap at the end, they lay it out, and that was where I got a lot of understanding. After all, to introduce people to a comic before a novel when the original concept story is for a novel, well need less to say things can get a bit confusing (I’m sure confused, but I’m still having fun!). For attempting the comic prelude novel concept the creators have big balls, even the chick (that goes for any writer who does such a change up)! All right enough gallivanting around A-.