Lullaby: Wisdom Seeker #1

March 25, 2005

Quick Rating: Very Good

To protect Wonderland, Alice sets out to the other realms of the imagination.

Writers: Mike S. Miller & Ben Avery
Art: Hector Sevilla
Colors: Simon Bork, David Curiel & Ulises Arreola
Letters: Bill Tortolini
Editor: Mike S. Miller
Cover Art: Hector Sevilla
Publisher: Image Comics/Alias Enterprises/DB Pro

This book really succeeded for me. It’s a fabulous mixture of fairy tales and great children’s literature, a sort of younger cousin to the likes of Fables or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, throwing together all of the fantastic characters we read about as children into one book together.

Alice is a young girl from another world who was mysteriously transported to Wonderland and raised until she was the right hand of the Queen of Hearts. As a war hero, Alice is much beloved, but troubled by dreams of her former life, and by words of disturbances in neighboring fairylands. She sets out to travel from land to land to find the truth behind the disturbance.

In a neighboring land, a young pirate lad named Jim Hawkins is tossed from his ship by a captain who fears he’ll one day take command away from him. Jim and his mate,, a little wooden boy who once was human, decide to set out on an adventure of their own.

This issue is largely set-up. We’re introduced to many of our main characters and many of the fantastic settings this title will use, but things aren’t brought together yet. Alice is on her own, and while Jim and Pinocchio are together, they’re all worlds apart.

I love children’s fantasy. I think the worlds of L. Frank Baum and Lewis Carroll are among the richest and most incredible ever dreamed by the human mind, and it’s incredibly exciting for me to see all of them pulled together in a title that’s written this well.

And the art, by creator Hector Sevilla is absolutely outstanding. There is a little of a Manga feel to it, particularly in the clothing designs, but it’s not so much as to turn off someone who doesn’t care for that style. Mostly, it’s just a very well-drawn, well-designed and beautifully colored fantasy comic book.

I picked this up because, as I said, I love children’s fantasy, and because I’ve become quite a fan of Mike Miller. I’m not disappointed in the least. This gives me a lot of hope for Alias’s future projects, both through Image and on their own.

Rating: 8/10