Manga/Graphic Novel/Video Game Novel Challenge 2013

So this year since I said that I would try to get to Level 3 of the Challenge That means I need to have at least 25 books read before the end of the year. That's at least 2 books a month. (and one extra one in at least one of those 12 months)   As a change from last year I'm gonna be putting the reviews up here as I get them done and then linking them in the monthly round-up at Mother/Gamer/Writer.  I also plan to try to remember my update my Challenge page at the end of the month. Want to see what the other people in the challenge are reading this month? Click here!

Wonderland Volume 2

Amazon Summery:

After defeating the malevolent spirit of her long-dead brother and escaping the terror of a town possessed by the insanity of the Mad Hatter, Calie and her daughter, Violet, disappear into the city of Los Angeles hoping to evade Wonderland's ever-extending reach. But the duo is fast to learn that no matter where they run, or where they hide, Wonderland will find them! From the writers and creators who brought you Zenescope's original Wonderland trilogy comes the continuation of the adventure in a world of madness like you've never seen before. 

My Review:

I LOVED volume 1 and I have to say I LOVED volume 2 even more!

Again this is not a Wonderland for little kids.  I think there is even less clothing than in the first one, but there might be a tad less violence and gore…maybe, but just a tad.

Let’s start with the artwork. I LOVE the artwork. The colors are amazing. Then there are the details…I could get lost for hours in the details, especially on the full page portraits and covers.   I know there are going to be issues with how scantily clad most of the women are, but I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again,  if I could I’d dress like that too.   I mean it could be construed as degrading to women to let all their bits hang out, but considering the majority of main characters and villains in the books are women who lean to the sociopathic and are more than capable of taking care of themselves…um…yeah.  I don’t have any fear of them setting back the women’s rights movement.

As for the story….again this is not your grandmothers Wonderland.  Things have gone far beyond the looking glass.   As with the first one there are bits and pieces thrown in from other series in Grimm’s Fairy Tales Wonderland fold.  Little asterix abound referring back to other stories.  It doesn’t really take away from this volume; however it does make me want to pick up any and all of the series connected with this one and drool over the pretty pictures as I immerse myself in them.

The story also once again bounces back and forth between our world and Wonderland. In our world we follow Alice’s daughter and her granddaughter as they try to integrate back into life outside the looking glass. In Wonderland we follow the red king and queen as they search for the Temple of Purity. While I don’t think that you would need to read ALL the other series connected with Wonderland to make sense of the story, I do think that you should definitely pick up Volume 1 before reading Volume 2.

While the story is left open for more adventure, there are some strings from the first Volume that are tied up at the end of this one. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say my favorite character somehow always ends up being the Hatter no matter what incarnation of Wonderland I’m reading and this proves to be no different in this series.

Overall the book is twisted and crazy but absolutely amazing and I definitely recommend picking it up!

I was lucky enough to get a copy through Netgalley.