Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Wonderland

Grimm Fairy Tales: Beyond Wonderland

Rate this book
Months have passed since Calie Liddle returned from the terror that is Wonderland, months since that world took so much from her. Now jaded and bitter, Calie has moved far away from her hometown, attempting to lead a more normal existence in the city that never sleeps. With a different name and a new identity, Calie is just beginning to adjust to another life. But not every story has a happy ending as she soon realizes that things in her new life are not going to stay normal for very long… Something from Wonderland has found its way out and Calie knows that she could very well be the only one who has a chance to send it back to where it belongs.
The Hardcover graphic novel of the much anticipated sequel to the smash hit series RETURN TO WONDERLAND is here. And this time around madness will reach well BEYOND WONDERLAND!

159 pages, Hardcover

First published June 25, 2008

12 people are currently reading
375 people want to read

About the author

Raven Gregory

571 books89 followers
Executive Editor/Staff Writer of Zenescope Entertainment

Raven Gregory was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1979, the youngest of three brothers.

Discovered in 2000 by then Vice President of Publishing at Top Cow Productions, Renae Geerlings, his first professionally published work was the critically acclaimed creator owned independent comic series, The Gift, in 2003. The hit series would later be published by Image Comics as the writers' popularity continued to grow.

Years later, the young writer would come to attention of Zenescope Editor in Chief and co-founder, Ralph Tedesco, who recruited the writer to the newly created position of Executive Editor and Staff Writer of Zenescope Entertainment. Gregory would go on to co-create and write the best selling Wonderland Trilogy series with fellow co-creators Joe Brusha (President/CCO), and Ralph Tedesco as well as numerous other Grimm Fairy Tales spin offs, Crossovers and Creator Owned titles.

Known for his incredibly dark, yet realistic stories of horror, the writer's use of relatable personal tragedy, and powerful themes have made the writer a fan favorite creator across the nation.

After suffering the loss of a close friend to a car accident in June 2012, and the death of his ex-wife and mother of his children, Kourtney Keiser, to a hit and run accident one year later in 2013 Raven began work on his most personal story to date entitled NO TOMORROW. The story is currently set to debut August 28th, 2013.

Upon the debut issue's release it will be the 200th published story by the writer.

Raven lives in Arizona with his four children, a Pitbull named Wacko, and a Chichuana named Zombie.

Best selling fan picks: The Wonderland trilogy, FLY, The Theater, Irresistible, and the Dream Eater Saga

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
197 (39%)
4 stars
147 (29%)
3 stars
107 (21%)
2 stars
41 (8%)
1 star
10 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
Profile Image for Eric Mesa.
844 reviews26 followers
April 25, 2011
This review first appeared on my blog and reviews both books in the series.


The Mad Hatter Does Not Want to Be Late to the Unbirthday Party

Last weekend Danielle and I went to Borders so Danielle could check out the Buffy graphic novels and I could pick up Watchmen. While in the graphic novel section I started looking around to see what new books were out in this space and I came across Beyond Wonderland and Return to Wonderland, two comics in Zenoscope‘s Grimm Fairy Tales line. From the busty cover on Beyond Wonderland, I thought it might be like Clamp’s Miyuki-chan in Wonderland.



Beyond Wonderland Cover
Beyond Wonderland Cover - NOT an accurate indication of what's within (as you'll soon see)

But reading the back cover, I was intrigued. This story sounded a lot more like American McGee’s Alice. I was very curious to see where the writers would go with the Alice story. Tim Burton had already made his movie considerably darker than the Disney version we were all calibrated against. It was certainly a neat idea – what if an older Alice returned to Wonderland. But it was still kept from being too insane for kids, albeit older kids this time around. What if Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland had been rated R? You might have ended up with something like Grimm Fairy Tales’ Alice stories. So I delved into the books. And let me just say that from here on out THERE BE SPOILERS!




Late for an Important Date


Profile Image for Michael.
1,615 reviews211 followers
July 10, 2016
"The Charles Mansion Version of Disneyland" - so Calies treffende Beschreibung von Raven Gregorys umgewandelten Mythos des Wunderlands, einem psychotischen Märchen nicht für kleine Mädchen, sondern für Liebhaber von Horrorstories, in dem die Frauen sexy sind, die Monster riesig und das Blut reichlich fließt.
BEYOND WONDERLAND ist der zweite Teil einer Trilogie. Im ersten Teil ist Calie zum Schluß dem Wonderland entkommen, dem aus jeder Generation ein Kind geopfert werden muss, damit es sich nicht auf unsere Welt ausdehnt. Doch die Freude währt nicht lange, und es hilft Calie nicht weiter, dass sie nun unter falschem Namen in NY untergetaucht ist; ihr Bruder hat als verrückter Hutmacher die Spur bereits aufgenommen und will sie zurück holen...
Profile Image for Brandon.
599 reviews9 followers
March 4, 2025
This book in the ongoing series tries to add some substance to the chaotic issues that preceded it. It stays focused on only a few characters and avoids the peril at every turn method that made the previous issues so confusing. This book actually has a beginning, a middle, and an end. And it was the most readable of this series so far. There is still plenty of gore but on a much smaller scale than before and some of the loose ends are answered. Because of that I gave the book an extra star, and it probably deserves it. There is enough here to keep the fans of gore happy while adding validity to the overall story. This book is my favorite of the series so far. The artwork is much the same and the cheesecake is still plentiful. The villain is lame and more creepy than dangerous but the character works well. This book is moving the series in the right direction and I look forward to the next installment.
Profile Image for Chris Everson.
391 reviews8 followers
September 28, 2020
I said when reviewing Vol 1 that I would not be investing, and I didn't lie. My wife got me vols 2 & 3 as a gift, so I felt compelled to read them. It didn't take long as there's not that much depth or story. It's more of the same. One set piece after another. Loads of blood and gore, and women in scanty clothes.

It does explain a bit of the backstory and that is actually quite interesting, but if you stop for 5 seconds to think about any sort of logic (why characters appear when they do. How they do. Etc...) it just falls apart.

The sad thing is it's not far off of being quite good, but it just feels like a teen's wet dream. The art is quite good, but the lettering is riddled with grammatical and spelling errors that might not matter to some, but it takes my grammar-nazi mind right out of the story (such as it is).

2 for effort as I was quite intrigued as to how vol 3 would pan out.
Profile Image for Michael Padilla.
92 reviews1 follower
April 3, 2018
This follow up to “Return To Wonderland” may have more of a story than the first but I find it weaker than the first book nonetheless. Calie heads to NY to start fresh under a new identity but of-course her past catches up to her.

The change of setting is underused in my opinion. Having the world of Wonderland seep into NYC sounds like a great idea with some creepy possibilities. Sadly though it’s blandly highlighted and executed. The story at this point keeps reiterating itself and its growing old quickly. There’s some standout moments but they’re very few.

Here’s hoping the third installment and the story’s conclusion is better and makes the whole series at least somewhat worth it.
Profile Image for Gerin Moblo.
151 reviews4 followers
November 15, 2022
I LOVE Alice in Wonderland stuff, it's one of my FAVORITE non-disne-tized franchises--the books remain EVER the best, they can't be topped. I was long put off by all the T&A on the cover, but I ran out of stuff I felt like reading one half-drunken evening and decided to check it out.

It's honestly a really fun, goth, alternate take on the story, and the generations that follow. I've been JUST enchanted enough to give it a 4, which is high, to be honest, but DEFINITELY enchanted enough to continue reading for more, and also to check out the related Tales of Neverland spin-offs. Despite all of the GD boob-age, meh.
13 reviews1 follower
January 25, 2025
Surprisingly good

So I was looking for something to read while in between issues of what I normally read, I saw this series pop up as a suggestion and I took a chance and it totally knocked me back in my seat, it is very good to say the least. A very interesting take on a classic story, great character development and intreging dialogue, the artwork is not bad either, it flows with the storyline perfectly, reminds me of early Greg Capullo from the mid 90s Spawn area. Well worth a recommendation.
Profile Image for Tom.
1,224 reviews3 followers
May 29, 2025
In the previous volume, we got the real world encroaching on Wonderland, and now we get the inverse with a more traditional slasher-type story. Our hero Callie will have to confront her connection with the "madness" of Wonderland at some point, but for now she's doing what any reasonable person would do and running from it full pelt. I wouldn't say there's anything revolutionary here, but it's a good execution of what it's trying to accomplish.
Profile Image for Ray Ellis.
56 reviews3 followers
August 6, 2018
The sequel to Return to Wonderland sees Alice's daughter Calie, now calling herself Lacy Tenniel, trying to make a life for herself in New York. But Wonderland is breaking into our world. The ending sets things up for the third book, Escape from Wonderland.
Profile Image for Jenny Clark.
3,225 reviews123 followers
September 14, 2018
This was a pretty action packed story. The art is alright, though the women are all pin ups. It's a lot of fan service with creepy thrown into the mix. An interesting series, though not one I would buy.
Profile Image for Deionna.
59 reviews12 followers
January 10, 2020
Retelling Alice’s Story

This graphic novel retelling and extension of Alice in Wonderland is horror based; lots of blood, gore and death. It was interesting read; although Alice, now Lacie, takes a while to shake her guilt and do what needs to be done.
Profile Image for Helen.
415 reviews
December 25, 2020
Here and there few ok ideas passed through this issue of Grimm. Yet I have to agree with other readers it was weak. Rather weak in overall...
Profile Image for Bonnie.
621 reviews
April 3, 2024
Calie has returned to the "real" world, but Wonderland has left it's mark on her. And, something else found its way out. Again, beautiful artwork.
Profile Image for Rick Hunter.
503 reviews48 followers
March 6, 2016
I had never heard of this series, but just happened to stumble upon it while looking for something to read on Comixplogy.com. I had no idea this was part of a larger series until I started reading and there were footnotes explaining what had happened previously and where to find it. I'll have to track down the rest of the series later so I can have the whole story.

Raven Gregory is the writer for the series. I have no idea whether this person is male or a female so I don't know what pronoun to use. Raven has crafted a pretty dark story that is reminiscent of American McGee's Alice. This is one version of Wonderland that is definitely not for the kiddies. The lead character, Calie, has escaped Wonderland and the events that happened in Return to Wonderland (one of the other books I need to read now). Calie is now using an alias and is living in New York City with her boyfriend where the two are expecting a baby. In one of the books I haven't read, Calie's brother killed their father and she exiled her brother to Wonderland. He's now the Mad Hatter and wants revenge on her for imprisoning him there. While I don't think the writing here is tremendous, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I basically thought this was going to be a comic with lots of eye candy and no story. There was plenty of eye candy, but there was a decent story too. Writing gets 3 stars.

Daniel Leister is the artist that provides the previously mentioned eye candy. The art is fantastic. There is lots of detail in everything. There is some gore and weird creatures, but the humans are the stars of the art, especially the females. Alice looks sexy as hell in her outfit. Imagine a Playboy Playmate dressed up in the Alice costume. Calie and her friends look great too. Mad Hatter also deserves a nod. He's the standout male character. I'm not sure why Leister isn't employed by one of the big comic companies. This guy can puts lots of people at Marvel and DC to shame with how well he can draw. Art gets 5 stars.

The 3 star writing score and 5 star art score make this a 4 star overall book. I had no idea that I was going to enjoy this book anywhere near as much as I did. I'll definitely have to check out some other books in this series and other series from this company.
Profile Image for Hec.
5 reviews
July 19, 2013
This is the second book in the trilogy and the one that I like the best. It made me care about Cailie a lot more. Watching her struggle to lead a normal life while always worrying about Wonderland coming for her sets the tone for this book. Seeing her struggle with the paranoia and the guilt of lying to everyone rounds out her character well. I think it makes Cailie more likable and you find yourself being able to relate to her.

I like that we also get to see more about the twists and turns that come from Wonderland and the Jabberwocky. The wheels are set in motion for the inevitable battle between good and evil in the third book. There are reasons why I like this book the best in the trilogy. And that is due to the mind games that Caile is facing throughout the entire book. The lies and the deceit. Being forced to face her own past while wondering if she even has a future. That is some powerful stuff.
Author 3 books1 follower
August 8, 2021
More horrors await in Beyond Wonderland, the third chapter of Zenescope’s dark fantasy comic. After sacrificing her brother to Wonderland, Callie Liddle moves to New York with her boyfriend to start over, but her brother returns with the Cheshire Cat to exact his revenge and tear her world apart. It’s an interesting place to take the story, but tonally it feels off; as the violence and gore of Wonderland don’t quite fit when they take place in the “real world.” However, the writers do some good work in developing Callie; having her deal with life as a runaway, handling a pregnancy, and suffering survivor’s guilt. Also, they find some fun ways to working in elements from the Lewis Carrol books that weren’t covered previously. Beyond Wonderland is a bit of a step down for the series, but it’s still gruesomely entertaining.
Profile Image for Jon FK.
108 reviews2 followers
August 15, 2022
Making the Alice in Wonderland tale into a contemporary nightmare with a psychotic twist wherein Alice is an adult, sexily drawn, and the Chesire Cat is so jacked he'd make Brock Lesnar look like a kitten seemed like it'd be sick. But the writing is incredibly poor and absurdly repetitive. And the illustrations are super inconsistent as well. I thought this would be a cool Adult Spin but instead, with all its horrible One-Liners and Extra Gratuitous Gore, it's an EdgeLord's wet dream.

I love the premise but the execution was bad at best. Whoever does Quality Control at Grimm Fairy Tales isn't getting it right. Maybe it's the Mad Hatter.
Profile Image for Jamie.
75 reviews
January 25, 2012
The second in the Wonderland Trilogy is a bit better than the first. There's more of a story, some questions from "Return to Wonderland" are answered, and it's a bit less gratuitous (but not much). Overall, if you made the mistake of buying the entire series while it was on sale (like I did) it might be worth reading if you've already made the mistake of reading "Return to Wonderland" since it answers a few questions and has a slightly better story, but it's not good enough to justify picking this series up for those who haven't.
Profile Image for Joe Sergi.
Author 10 books11 followers
February 27, 2012
I recently picked up Return to Wonderland and found it pleasantly disturbing. These books feature top notch horror and not for the faint of heart. But, if you love your stories dark and disturbing. This is the book for you. I would start with the Return to Wonderland Trade. Then move onto the Tales of Wonderland trades (volume 1 and volume 2)and then the Beyond Wonderland trade before tackling escape from wonderland. (Or you can just Wikipedia the story to catch up).
Profile Image for Declan Waters.
552 reviews4 followers
September 25, 2016
A fun, but slightly weak follow up to the 'Return to Wonderland' series. This one is set in modern day America and Calie is on the run from her past, whilst dealing with a new name, pregnancy and a deteriorating relationship with her boyfriend - Brandon.

Featuring the same style as the rest of the Wonderland series this is let down by it's location... being based in New York allows for some use of famous buildings and monuments but none of the Wonderland backdrop.
Profile Image for Kegan.
60 reviews
September 1, 2016
Return to Wonderland 2007 to 2008
Return to Wonderland Annuals 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Beyond Wonderland 2008 - 2009
Escape from Wonderland 2009 - 2010

Wonderland V1, V2, V3 2012 - 2013
Tales From Wonderland 2008 - 2009

Alice = 2012
Down the Rabbit Hole 2013
Throught the Looking Glass 2013-2014

Call of Wonderland 2012
Madness of Wonderland 2013
39 reviews
March 11, 2014
If you read the first book you know how maddening the books might become. This one in particular was not a hard read to follow. It's all about the motivation for Alice's daughter's return to wonderland. We also get to learn some of the reasons for Wonderland's existence. It a bit of a gruesome tale, but if you enjoyed the first book you'll enjoy this next one.
6,244 reviews40 followers
February 14, 2016
Callie has terrible dreams about Wonderland. Further, she finds out she's pregnant by her boyfriend who has left her. The whole book is about Wonderland's efforts to get Callie to return. There's lots of blood and gore on Earth due to what they are doing.

Callie has her baby, and it's taken by someone back to Wonderland.
Profile Image for A. Nixon.
Author 2 books9 followers
October 7, 2011
A dark and twisted sequel to "Return to Wonderland." This one is a little heavy on exposition and explanation but still delightfully twisted. I would have liked to see more of Wonderland and (spoiler) Johnny, but it's a nice continuation of the story, at the very least..
Profile Image for Susan.
1,646 reviews121 followers
December 5, 2017
I read the individual issues as they came out -- devoured them.

then I read the whole mini-series on June 11, 2010
Profile Image for Jax.
182 reviews41 followers
May 16, 2012
Not as good as The Return...
But I'm willing to put that down to her hormones...
Hope the next one is as good as the first...
Profile Image for Claire.
193 reviews
May 24, 2013
I'm not really read graphic novels before, they never really interested me, but this one I enjoy. The drawings and colours were fantastic.
Will think about read more,maybe from this series
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.