I Hate Fairyland, Book One
Written and Illustrated by Skottie Young
ISBN-13: 978-1534303805
Published by Image Comics
Released 12/6/17 / $29.99
I Hate Fairyland. Now, why in the world would anyone give their story a title that just baits critics and reviewers like that? Luckily, I DON’T hate this book. But…I’m not amazingly fond of it, either.
I had heard murmurings of this series before I ever saw this collection and I’d seen its writer/artist Skottie Young’s name bandied about online. Apparently, they’re all very popular. I have to admit I don’t “get” that.
I Hate Fairyland is the story of a cutely drawn little girl who looks like she could have skipped her way right out of the pages of a modern-day tween graphic novel.
Here, though, she is subjected right from the beginning to a harrowing trip to a colorful land of adventure and magic where she has to complete a simple quest in order to get back home.
Soon enough, the reader is informed that this occurred nearly three decades earlier. Now an immature, uneducated thirtysomething still in the body of a little girl, she still hasn’t been able to complete her task and find her way out of Fairyland.
An ultra-gory mix of Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, S. Clay Wilson’s Zap Comix stories, and Paper Mario 2 or some such, our cute little “heroine” has become an insane murderer as she continually zips from one video game style level killing all and sundry as she continues to try to complete her quest.
A vaguely similar concept played out in the several seasons of the UK TV series, Yonderland, funnier overall and without the non-stop entrails and overuse of supposedly hilarious disemboweling.
I actually do admire Young’s art style. It’s a bit reminiscent of John Pound, best known for his work on the purposefully disgusting Garbage Pail Kids cards. I always liked Pound’s work…except on the Garbage Pail Kids. I have a feeling I’d like Scottie Young’s art more, too, on something other than I Hate Fairyland.
At more than 300 pages of Mad-style humor always followed up by endless, lovingly detailed variations on the one-note theme of the little girl committing Troma-style sanguinary mayhem, I was happy to finally exit Fairyland myself.
As I wrote above, I really don’t HATE Fairyland…but no way I can recommend it, either.
