You gotta have Faith
Written: Marguerite Sauvage
Art: Francis Portela and MJ Kim
Publisher: Valiant
Release Date: 6 December 2017
Reviewed by: Andrew McAvoy
No wise fish would go anywhere without a porpoise. Yes, its time for a little Lewis Carroll inspired Jabberwocky as Faith goes down the Rabbit hole. With that in mind lets begin at the beginning and go on till we come to the end: then stop.
So if you got the references to Alice in Wonderland above then you will be salivating at the prospect of some Wonderland inspired fun. Everyone else will be braced for a mind bending issue in any event written as this book is by Marguerite Sauvage. Anyone who has experienced Sauvage's artwork (she's only on writing duties in this offering) is likely to be ready for some mind-altering storytelling. Fitting then that the very soul of storytelling is at stake in this book!
With expectations raised then for a surreal experience this book fully delivers. The concept is at a remove from Carroll's work as its premise is a TV special of Alice in Wonderland watched by Faith in her childhood. While out in a store Faith notices an old still of the show on a Postcard. She purchases the picture and puts in in her pocket. On her way through the park, on the way back shopping, she spies an old friend and follows the White Rabbit (cue Jefferson Airplane) down the rabbit hole.
It transpires that he has led Faith to Wonderland in order to help free Alice from the Evil Queen's grip. It transpires that the Queen has gone mad; previously she had been inspired by the art of storytelling but she has become tainted and cynical, turned evil because story telling has died replaced by story-vehicles used to sell products and encourage consumerism - tie in merchandise and cheaply made toys strangling the art of "storytelling for storytelling's sake". The issue represents this eerily through the characters of The Pink Candy for Girls and The Blue Candy for Boys. Faith breaks the stranglehold that the cynical Queen has over Alice by showing her the image of the TV special on the postcard from the store. Renewing Alice's faith through that magical images she saves the child from the Queen's grip.
Bits and Pieces
This issue is a lot of fun. Okay it may not be the most heavy weight of books you'll read this week but it is fun and that, for me, is what Holiday Specials should be about. There is a neat parallel drawn in the book between the commercialization of kids TV (or just new stories for kids) and the commercialization of Christmas. Plus the Lewis Carroll vehicle sold me from the off. A sugar-high of an issue, and a piece of pure escapism with a festive tinge.
7/10
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