Comics Review: Alice and Red Sonja

So I went back to Zia Comics and bought some more comics.  My last trip to the store did not go well (and was kind of scary).  Most of the comics I’ve read lately have been disappointing (11-16-23 and 12-20-23).  (I have a small gripe against Archie Comics.  When I put in the order, they offered five free download comics, which I never got.  That’s okay.  Their giveaway comics aren’t usually that great.  Also, while I got a 22% discount when I put in the order, that discount code is now 40% for New Year’s.) 

 

This time I went right before Christmas.  I had business at the bank in the Downtown Mall.  I had no time to get anything to eat at any of the restaurants, unfortunately.  I had no time to go to Coas Bookstore, but just enough time to dip into Zia Comics.  I actually saw several comics on the racks that looked interesting.  From past experience, I knew they’d probably be disappointing.  I frantically looked over the trades section, but didn’t see anything I was interested in that wasn’t expensive. 

 

I finally settled on two comics.  Shockingly at the register, I noticed there were a bunch of kids at the store.  They weren’t buying American comics, of course, but they were there buying stuff.  That’s sort of heartening.  I should embarrassingly mention that the only reason I went to the store was because I was anticipating not getting anything fun on Christmas day.  That happened, but I did get a bunch of nuts, which I’ll enjoy.

 

Alice Never After #1

Great cover.  I’m sure it’s an homage to a classic artist, but I don’t know who.  I’ll also mention that the pages are really quality in substance.  They feel nice to the touch and seem very durable. 

 

Alice in Wonderland is an evergreen topic for media.  I don’t exactly know why, maybe it’s the pure whimsy element.  Whatever, I’m not immune to it.  This story takes place after the original stories (Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass), though it feels like this story is picking up from some story in the setting that I don’t know about.

 

Alice is still mentally going in and out of Wonderland, while her sister tries to find treatment for her.  Meanwhile, Alice’s father is visiting the two nefarious people who had been treating Alice.  In Wonderland, Alice gets lost in the woods following a mystery. 

 

It’s beautiful, but nothing really happens in this book.  I cheated and read ahead on an online “archive” site.  The story gets more interesting and involved.  And it’s not for kids.  The story hasn’t finished, but I can see where it’s going and it’s a bit dark, really dark.  The first issue doesn't exactly let you in on this.  Do I recommend this?  Sort of, but only to adults and only if you plan on getting more issues. 

 

Savage Red Sonja #1

It wasn’t until I opened this comic up that I suddenly realized that both of the comics I’d bought were written by the same person, Dan Panosian.  This was surprising, since these comics were featuring different characters from different companies.  Panosian did this excellent cover, which sold me on buying it.  He also did some of the art on Alice, the grittier-looking segments outside of Wonderland, which were very good. 

 

This is a straight-up fantasy adventure story featuring Red Sonja.  It has a good set up.  It gives you a good summary of Sonja and her feelings with spare text.  There’s good action.  It’s not a complete story, but gives you enough while leaving off at a good stopping point. 

 

My only crab with this is the artwork.  The samples I’m putting up look great.  The colors pop and the layout is sensational.  However, the artist can’t draw faces worth a crap.  This may be the only time I ever say this, but I think I could have done better in that aspect.  The artwork of people does show emotions, but not attractively.  I do recommend this anyway, even up to the point that I haven’t read ahead on the “archive” site.  I might be buying more issues and don’t want it spoiled. 

 

Sigh.  For both of these comics, I despair of ever getting a complete story in a floppy.  I appreciate giving stories enough space to be well told, but for the price ($3.99), I want more value.  Making individual issues a full story might fulfill that.  I actually turned down one Indy comic that I thought might read well (though the art didn’t look that great) because of the price ($4.99).  No more decompression.  No more writing for the trades.           

         

What have we learned here?  For myself, probably nothing.  I’ll likely end up back at the comic book store at some point to overpay for more abuse.  The only thing I really want in the store are some of these large hardback books featuring Conan and such.  It finally occurs to me that it would have been cheaper and better if I’d just bought one of these $100 books than all of these disappointing floppy comics over the years.