bellatora's review against another edition
5.0
The cover does not do this graphic novel justice at all. It also made me think that the main girl is trapped in an insane asylum, which she is not.
Em shows up one day with no memory of her past, but that part is quickly fastforwarded through to the day she finds a door that was not there before. Through the door is a key, an old man and a talking cat named Schrodinger. Em ends up in the Everlands, where an evil queen has taken over the other kingdoms and now rules over all that ever was, ever is, or ever might be. That means that legends and story figures pop up all over the place in the Everlands (Robin Hood, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Mulan, Sinbad, etc. etc.).
I liked the concept - the magic key that can open a door into different places and do other cool things like sending people backwards through their own timelines reminds me of [b:Locke and Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft|3217221|Locke and Key, Vol. 1 Welcome to Lovecraft|Joe Hill|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327921403s/3217221.jpg|3251160] and the Land of Famous Fictionals reminds me of [b:Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile|21326|Fables, Vol. 1 Legends in Exile|Bill Willingham|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327871895s/21326.jpg|1138855]. This first volume (and I'm thinking it is a series, because Em finishes this volume still needing to defeat the evil queen, find a missing queen, and regain her shadow) is a little rushed. It felt like entire books of story were crammed together into one - Em discovers the magical key! Em goes into the magical land! Em meets lots of famous people! The evil queen keeps sending people after Em! Em meets the evil queen face-to-face! A lot is going on, is what I'm saying, and it has to chug along at a very quick pace without too much pause for character growth or interaction. But there was a lot to establish and now that it's all properly set up, the next volumes can delve in deeper.
P.S. As a native Portlander, I loved that this was set in Portland and that there were lots of little jokes about the city in there. Like one of the Evil Statutes that attacked Em in the beginning was the Umbrella Man.
Em shows up one day with no memory of her past, but that part is quickly fastforwarded through to the day she finds a door that was not there before. Through the door is a key, an old man and a talking cat named Schrodinger. Em ends up in the Everlands, where an evil queen has taken over the other kingdoms and now rules over all that ever was, ever is, or ever might be. That means that legends and story figures pop up all over the place in the Everlands (Robin Hood, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Mulan, Sinbad, etc. etc.).
I liked the concept - the magic key that can open a door into different places and do other cool things like sending people backwards through their own timelines reminds me of [b:Locke and Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft|3217221|Locke and Key, Vol. 1 Welcome to Lovecraft|Joe Hill|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327921403s/3217221.jpg|3251160] and the Land of Famous Fictionals reminds me of [b:Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile|21326|Fables, Vol. 1 Legends in Exile|Bill Willingham|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327871895s/21326.jpg|1138855]. This first volume (and I'm thinking it is a series, because Em finishes this volume still needing to defeat the evil queen, find a missing queen, and regain her shadow) is a little rushed. It felt like entire books of story were crammed together into one - Em discovers the magical key! Em goes into the magical land! Em meets lots of famous people! The evil queen keeps sending people after Em! Em meets the evil queen face-to-face! A lot is going on, is what I'm saying, and it has to chug along at a very quick pace without too much pause for character growth or interaction. But there was a lot to establish and now that it's all properly set up, the next volumes can delve in deeper.
P.S. As a native Portlander, I loved that this was set in Portland and that there were lots of little jokes about the city in there. Like one of the Evil Statutes that attacked Em in the beginning was the Umbrella Man.
philipf's review against another edition
5.0
I'm a sucker for stories featuring mysterious curio shops that suddenly appear in alleyways, and this one doesn't disappoint. I hate to discuss the story, since I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that I really enjoyed this and can't wait for more. Highly recommended.
theartolater's review
4.0
A strange fairy tale-type of comic that got a ton of buzz, but I'm not sure how much I really enjoyed. I mean, it was really good, with subtly good artwork, but did I love it? I don't know yet.
The book starts out well enough - Em arrives in a Portland, Oregon hospital with no memory of her past. She ends up inheriting a store that deals in magical items, and unlocks a doorway to a magical land with talking cats, historically-mythical characters, shadow beings, and other oddities. The arc comes out with a fairly significant curveball that I didn't see coming, and it sets up a possible continuation, although I'm not seeing one planned.
I mostly like what Roberson has done - I really enjoy iZombie, and he's done work within the Fables universe, plus his sci-fi/fantasy books always intrigue me even if I don't love them. I think my viewpoints on this may be different when - if! - we see where this goes. The end was better than getting there, to be frank, and if this ends up being a miniseries with an open-ended conclusion, I think I'll simply end up liking this less as a result.
The book starts out well enough - Em arrives in a Portland, Oregon hospital with no memory of her past. She ends up inheriting a store that deals in magical items, and unlocks a doorway to a magical land with talking cats, historically-mythical characters, shadow beings, and other oddities. The arc comes out with a fairly significant curveball that I didn't see coming, and it sets up a possible continuation, although I'm not seeing one planned.
I mostly like what Roberson has done - I really enjoy iZombie, and he's done work within the Fables universe, plus his sci-fi/fantasy books always intrigue me even if I don't love them. I think my viewpoints on this may be different when - if! - we see where this goes. The end was better than getting there, to be frank, and if this ends up being a miniseries with an open-ended conclusion, I think I'll simply end up liking this less as a result.
leepydumpling's review
4.0
A slow starter but once it got going... fantastic. A mix of fairytale, fantasy and biblical tale with beautiful artwork. Looking forward to the next installment!
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