Put to rest any delusions or disinformation you have of the tea-guzzling madman of faux literary history and prepare to expand your consciousness a...
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Feb 05, 2009
Suj
rated it: 
Adds nothing whatsoever to the overall story. I am starting to feel that the author and his gang are just milking the success of the 1st book for all its worth.
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May 04, 2010
Bry
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This is supposed to be a telling of Hatter M's adventures during all of those years he was searching for Princess Alyss in the real world. The idea is that it is pieced together from his own journals left behind in our world along with random ephemera concerning him like old newspaper articles and what not.
The art in this book was what I found most lacking. The dialog ran like a manga. It was sparse and tried to allow the images to speak instead. The only problem was that the art More...
The art in this book was what I found most lacking. The dialog ran like a manga. It was sparse and tried to allow the images to speak instead. The only problem was that the art More...
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Jan 12, 2009
Kate
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I wasn't a few pages in before I realized that this was the same artist that did 30 Days of Night. It's a very unique style and it worked for this story. There were quite a few artistic tricks that really brought an element to the story that might not have been used in the novel format.
I can't help but compare this to another graphic novel based on a book I just read, Neverwhere. That story was so complex that it was difficult to follow as a graphic novel, and the artwork did no More...
I can't help but compare this to another graphic novel based on a book I just read, Neverwhere. That story was so complex that it was difficult to follow as a graphic novel, and the artwork did no More...
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Jun 08, 2009
Kendrawesome
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Well, the premise is interesting enough, but the execution...
It's a fairly jumbled mess; perhaps if I'd read Beddor's Wonderland series of books, I'd know what was going on--or at least get more out of it. I did love having the Mad Hatter as a knight with a deadly hat (like a cooler version of Oddjob), but the story jumped so quickly and was rather disjointed, so I felt like it was a bit of a waste. Templesmith's art also felt a bit wasted, since it was so overdone with the Photoshop More...
It's a fairly jumbled mess; perhaps if I'd read Beddor's Wonderland series of books, I'd know what was going on--or at least get more out of it. I did love having the Mad Hatter as a knight with a deadly hat (like a cooler version of Oddjob), but the story jumped so quickly and was rather disjointed, so I felt like it was a bit of a waste. Templesmith's art also felt a bit wasted, since it was so overdone with the Photoshop More...
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Sep 29, 2011
Barky
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Sep 28, 2011
Shazza
rated it: 
Oddly enough, I found volume two of the graphic novel in the library and requested volume one. Of course, by the time volume one came in, someone had checked out volume two...but that's not the real story, is it?
As this graphic novel is based on a literary novel, the feel of it is rather rushed, without a lot of detail. I could tell I was missing back story, despite this only being volume one. The story is relatively simple: Lewis Carroll got it wrong. Alice Liddell didn't fall down a More...
As this graphic novel is based on a literary novel, the feel of it is rather rushed, without a lot of detail. I could tell I was missing back story, despite this only being volume one. The story is relatively simple: Lewis Carroll got it wrong. Alice Liddell didn't fall down a More...
Jul 02, 2011
Julie
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Hatter Madigan is the Royal Bodyguard for Queen Genevieve. When the kingdom of Wonderland is attacked by forces under the control of the queen’s vile sister, Hatter wishes to take both Genevieve and her daughter Alyss and flee, but the queen will not have that. She begs him to take Alyss to safety, and there to keep her from harm until it is safe for her to return. Against his better judgment, Hatter does just that. Unfortunately, he didn’t expect to be separated from Alyss, nor to begin a 13 ye
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Feb 11, 2011
Emmie
rated it:
Book six of 2011: two stars. I'm not entirely sure where to start. I:m usually all for graphic novels and spinoffs of popular novels, but when they're tastefully done. I can say I really wanted this to be a good book. The idea of the Mad Hatter being some kick-butt bodyguard to the princess of Wonderland was pretty awesome to say the least. But let me tell you what this book is:
It's a fetch quest. An unfinished fetch quest, with bland characters and a pretty cliche plot. Wonderland i More...
It's a fetch quest. An unfinished fetch quest, with bland characters and a pretty cliche plot. Wonderland i More...
Feb 15, 2010
Lanica
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The original books were a good read, although the first novel was better than the second, which was a lot better than the third. I enjoyed the series as a whole and found the character of Hatter Madigan simply wonderful. I am a fan of the medium of graphic novels, and looked forward to these with great anticipation because they were written by the original author, not another person's imagining of someone else character.
Unfortunately, I was disappointed with both the story and, even More...
Unfortunately, I was disappointed with both the story and, even More...
Jan 03, 2010
David
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 30, 2009
Nicola
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I haven't read the novels so I'm jumping in here with no prior knowledge of the story. I am under the presumption that this is a parallel story to Alice's story in the original novels. It's easy enough to figure out that Hatter has been separated from Alyss and is spending his time searching for her. He lands in Paris and later takes a puddle to Budapest. There is a flashback to the novel retelling how and why Alice escapes to our world. So I felt pretty comfortable with the story though there w
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Jan 11, 2012
Karissa
rated it:
I read Beddor's Looking Glass War series and enjoyed it but I wanted to know more about Hatter M! I was excited to see that this graphic novel was supposed to cover just that...Hatter M's backstory. Unfortunately the artwork was vague and hard to follow and the story itself didn't add nearly as much as I had hoped.
This graphic novel starts the story of Hatter M's years searching our world for Alyss. In this novel he finds a girl he thinks is Alyss and tries to save her from an evil More...
This graphic novel starts the story of Hatter M's years searching our world for Alyss. In this novel he finds a girl he thinks is Alyss and tries to save her from an evil More...
Nov 09, 2010
Nikki
rated it:
I haven't read The Looking Glass Wars, and didn't know anything about them when I picked up this graphic novel. I was attracted to the artwork, which reminds me a little of Dave McKean's (though not quite up to that level), and also to the twist on the Alice in Wonderland story.
I think the story has some promise; I like the concept of the badass hatter looking for a lost Alyss. But it's too sparse. I felt like I went through a lot of pages with not much content. And sometimes it was h More...
I think the story has some promise; I like the concept of the badass hatter looking for a lost Alyss. But it's too sparse. I felt like I went through a lot of pages with not much content. And sometimes it was h More...
Jan 29, 2011
travelgirlut
rated it:
I've read the first couple books of the Looking Glass Wars series and saw this at the library so decided to check it out. The whole thing was somewhat disappointing to me. Having read The Looking Glass Wars so long ago, there were a lot of things in the book that I was thinking, Huh?, while "reading." The drawings themselves were just a mess to me. A whole lot of scribbles. I skipped over quite a few sections that had no words in order to not tax my brain in figuring out what was
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Mar 29, 2009
Ningerbil
rated it:
I had really been looking forward to this graphic novel spinoff of "Looking Glass Wars" and "Seeing Redd" -- which are excellent "alternate fantasies" to "Alice in Wonderland." This was a bit disappointing. There were some bright spots of dry humor with Hatter M, one of the neatest characters Beddor created. But the comic is not that well-drawn, and it's too monochrome. The story itself was a bit choppy.
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Dec 04, 2008
Lora
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This was disappointing. I was really excited to hear about this graphic novel because I love the original Looking Glass Wars so much. However, this book was crazy. Ben Templesmith did the art, and I loved it, but that's about it. I liked the character of Hatter, but the story was strange. When vampires were introduced I was UPSET. There are no vampires in the Wonderland stories!
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Oct 01, 2009
Kate
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*Please note that this is a spin-off of the first book of The Looking Glass Wars series, so the review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.*
I have been a long time fan of The Looking Glass Wars series, so I was really excited to take my love for this series into a different medium. The first thing I did upon opening the novel was take a minute to fully appreciate the artwork of this graphic novel. It is simply breathtaking. My attention was captured by its sketchy style, layers More...
I have been a long time fan of The Looking Glass Wars series, so I was really excited to take my love for this series into a different medium. The first thing I did upon opening the novel was take a minute to fully appreciate the artwork of this graphic novel. It is simply breathtaking. My attention was captured by its sketchy style, layers More...
Oct 22, 2008
Jennifer
rated it:
This is a very well illustrated graphic novel. However - I feel it is more of a companion piece than a stand alone. Although I knew the gist of the story - some of the elements and characters were unclear in this graphic novel. I think this piece would be better if you read it after you read the regular novel.
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May 28, 2009
Trevor
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At times, I felt like I missed something, or didn't know what was going on. But instead of frustrating me, it makes me want to go get Beddor's first Looking Glass Wars book. Plus, anything that Ben Templesmith touches is going to be fun to look at, so at least check out the art in this book!
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Oct 24, 2010
Paul
rated it:
2010.1022-2010.1024
I came into this books with high hopes and was sadly disappointed. Templesmith's art is reminiscent of McKean in Arkham Asylum but fails in its execution. I think Hatter was striving for a dream like state, like Asylum, but the art feels unfinished and choppy, too hard to follow what is going on and it kills the narrative structure. Beddor relied too much on The Looking Glass Wars Novel for plot (the same pit fall Furth encountered in the Dark Tower Wizard in Glass G More...
I came into this books with high hopes and was sadly disappointed. Templesmith's art is reminiscent of McKean in Arkham Asylum but fails in its execution. I think Hatter was striving for a dream like state, like Asylum, but the art feels unfinished and choppy, too hard to follow what is going on and it kills the narrative structure. Beddor relied too much on The Looking Glass Wars Novel for plot (the same pit fall Furth encountered in the Dark Tower Wizard in Glass G More...
Sep 06, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
I don't know if it was on purpose or not, but I found many of the graphics to be fuzzy, in addition to seeming hastily drawn. I suppose it could have been for atmosphere, but I was not a fan of the look of this book. Though I did like the use of color to express mood and illustrate how one character had a gifted imagination. After all, whether one has imagination and its "color" is a key part of the Looking Glass Wars universe. Still, I did enjoy the various people Hatter encountered i
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Jan 12, 2011
Deborah
rated it:
I checked this out from the library months ago and never quite wanted to read it, but I finally picked it up and it was fantastic. An alternate telling of the story of Alice in Wonderland with intrigue, mystery, danger, and violence as the Mad Hatter and Alyss have gone through the Looking Glass to escape death from the Evil Queen but got separated and the Hatter is trying deperately to find her at all costs. This book takes place in Paris in 1859 and the Hatter interacts with historical figures
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Jul 07, 2011
Hank
rated it:
The madness of the hatter is just part of his character, part of what makes him memorable. His hattiness is also a sort of affectation, and in this era of relatively relaxed millinery measures, is fitting for a madman's obsession. The mad hatter gets a complete revamp in Frank Beddor's YA books The Looking Glass Wars and Seeing Redd, stories in which the hatter is a highly trained bodyguard to princess Alice. Carroll was a liar and got it all wrong! The graphic novel pick up after M, the hat
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May 27, 2009
Beth
rated it:
Disappointing. There is little to no dialog that is awkward to read. Plus the character came off completely different from the book series. Great artwork but felt too disconnected from the original story.
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Feb 13, 2011
Sara
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I picked this graphic novel up because I'm a fan of Beddor's Lookingglass Wars series - a futuristic Alice in Wonderland take. I'm still a fan of those books, but this one didn't do much for me. It's about what happens to one of the Lookingglass Wars characters (Hatter Madigan) when he's "offscreen" during one of the books, and my issues were: 1. It's not a standalone book - you have to have read the others to understand this one; and 2. The illustrations are blurry and muddy-looking
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Feb 18, 2010
Icats
rated it:
I had just finished reading Alice and Wonderland when I saw this book, Hatter M The Looking Glass Wars Volume One in the Graphic Novel Reporter newsletter. I was intrigued on what twist they would do on the original story and from the cover; it also looked like great eye-candy.
The premise for the story is great. In this version we have Hatter Madigan, who is a loyal bodyguard to Queen Genevieve (the White Queen) and one of the fierce blades men of the Royal Wonderland Millinery. He w More...
The premise for the story is great. In this version we have Hatter Madigan, who is a loyal bodyguard to Queen Genevieve (the White Queen) and one of the fierce blades men of the Royal Wonderland Millinery. He w More...
Dec 13, 2010
Christina
rated it:
Weird art but a good story. A bit violent, but that's the nature of the Looking Glass Wars book series, upon which this graphic novel version is based. The art was sometimes a little difficult to follow; I prefer a little more realistic style myself. But I love the setting and the worlds Beddor has created, and the character of Hatter Madigan is so darn cool! I especially enjoyed the afterword that talks about the work as if it was found in an actual archive somewhere.
Aug 17, 2010
Latis
rated it:
I bought this graphic novel as a companion to the book, sight unseen, which was a mistake. I found the art so uninspired and not to my taste at all (looks like a 5 year old drew illustrated it) that I couldn't make it past the first page. I've heard, however, that people who are into the style or who can overlook it were able to really enjoy this novel, so I'll hold onto it in the hopes of finding someone who'd like it.
Feb 11, 2010
Torwalker
rated it:
I was really hoping for a lot more from this retelling of Alice in Wonderland. I liked the set up (the Mad Hatter - or Hatter Madigan - is a royal bodyguard who escapes Wonderland with Princess Alyss when there is a coup, but loses her in this world and now must find her and save her life) but the art wasn't great, it was sometimes hard to see what was happening, and the writing wasn't great. Don't recommend.
Jan 03, 2010
Lars
rated it:
Templesmith's sketchy and abstracted style made this a little difficult for me, and I'm not sure I would have stuck with it if I hadn't already read 'The Looking Glass Wars.' Despite my confusion, I'd have to say the sticking through was worth it. Old guys like me have to welcome the 'disorienting dilemma' (see http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/educat...).
