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The Looking Glass Wars
The Looking Glass Wars: CrossFire
How does Alyss Heart of Wonderland fare after the creation of Everqueen, as described in Arch Enemy, the third volume of the best-selling Looking Glass Wars trilogy? With difficulty. Fending off political assaults from rival suit families, struggling to maintain diplomatic relations with the tribes of Boarderland, Alyss is more vulnerable than ever before. After she barely escapes an attempt on her life, no longer sure whom to trust, she aligns with controversial new allies in order to keep Wondertropolis safe and prevent havoc on Earth. And yet the fight, the battle, finds her—as it seemingly always does—and Alyss discovers that all decisions, even the right ones, have consequences.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 2016
About the author
Frank Beddor
26 books1,520 followersLiterary Sleuth and world creator Frank Beddor dared to expose the true story of Wonderland in the New York Times bestselling young adult trilogy The Looking Glass Wars. To satisfy the awakened curiosity of his readers he continued to tell the parallel adventures of Royal Bodyguard Hatter Madigan’s search for the lost princess in the graphic novel series Hatter M. He lives in Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
October 26, 2021
A great looking cover hiding terrible, ill-defined, sketchy artwork within. The story was cool once I got past the art, but I sometimes had a hard time following the story because I couldn't tell what was happening in the art. The story is kind of a grownup, steampunky version of Alice in Wonderland. I am intrigued enough by the concept to seek out other books in the series.
Received an advance copy from NetGalley.
Received an advance copy from NetGalley.
June 27, 2018
DNF too weird and hate the digitally drawn art.
February 23, 2016
**An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
I've always loved The Looking Glass Wars, and pretty much anything having to do with Alice in Wonderland, but I wasn't a fan of Hatter M. Thankfully, this was a whole lot better. Not only was the art somewhat better (still not very good), but the story was so much more cohesive. It is a continuation of the LGW (after 7 years!!), with a big cast of characters that were really great to revisit.
I'll definitely be around for Vol 2!!
I've always loved The Looking Glass Wars, and pretty much anything having to do with Alice in Wonderland, but I wasn't a fan of Hatter M. Thankfully, this was a whole lot better. Not only was the art somewhat better (still not very good), but the story was so much more cohesive. It is a continuation of the LGW (after 7 years!!), with a big cast of characters that were really great to revisit.
I'll definitely be around for Vol 2!!
March 15, 2019
So exciting! I couldn't wait to dive into this book when I learned one of my favorite trilogies was continued through other stories! 😃
The mixing of our world on Earth with Wonderland was brilliant. Especially the new characters introduced. 👑 😉
Only thing I would've done differently would be to have the sections more defined by a black line or something, like I see in most comics/graphic novels, or some more varying colors... Because some of the pages "melted" together and it was hard to tell which parts were separate.
Otherwise, I like the art, it's unique and raw. Kind of like sketches. Sami Makkonen really brings Frank Beddor's Wonderland to life...
Can't wait to read the next book and start the Hatter books too!
The mixing of our world on Earth with Wonderland was brilliant. Especially the new characters introduced. 👑 😉
Only thing I would've done differently would be to have the sections more defined by a black line or something, like I see in most comics/graphic novels, or some more varying colors... Because some of the pages "melted" together and it was hard to tell which parts were separate.
Otherwise, I like the art, it's unique and raw. Kind of like sketches. Sami Makkonen really brings Frank Beddor's Wonderland to life...
Can't wait to read the next book and start the Hatter books too!
April 26, 2020
Pleasant enough with skewed though enjoyable artistic renderings
February 23, 2016
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
Somewhere around the middle of Crossfire, I began to realize that I just wasn't caring about either the characters or the plot. I love steampunk and certainly enjoy a good urban fantasy or re imagination of a classic. But this story was so inert, suffering from both shallow characterizations and a rather trite plot. Perhaps the best summation is that (and here is the irony for a graphic novel), we're given all tell and no show.Story: In a series of interconnected stories, Alyss's instability on the throne shows through assassination attempts, a mission to Victorian London, and a large scale invasion. It is up to Alyss' wits and her friends' skills to keep Wondertropolis from being overrun by Boarderlanders.
There is a lot of dialogue here - and it is that talk which furthers the story much more than the illustrations. If anything, the illustrations are very static - vague pictures drawn to the dialogue rather than the other way around. I honestly keep feeling that the illustrator wasn't given much detail on the scenes and so just draw vague pretty pictures to try to get the point across. There weren't enough segues between scenes and each panel felt so disparate and solitary. It all lacked flow.
The story itself (a Steampunked Alice in Wonderland? I'm there!) was disappointing. All the magic and wonder of the genre was leeched out in the art and story - a monochromatic color wash whose color choices felt random. The art so intricate and the dialogue so heavy that each page was truly a chore to read. Both as stiff as a board and about as intriguing.
If there had been some spark of something creative in the story, I might have been entranced. But bog standard assassination attempts, some rather dull cavorting around London, and then a big invasion with creatures such as jabberpantheras were just too uninspired. It wasn't fun and instead drearily plotted.
I think the worst issue I had was the over-the-top dialogue. Every main character made speeches about how perfect they were - whether it is the swordsman who defeats everyone while crowing about it, the queen who says there's nothing that goes on in Wondertropolis that she doesn't know about, or the thief who says no jail can hold him. I got tired of the 'tell' and just wanted more 'show'.
Crossfire isn't terrible by any means. But it is very hollow where there should have been beating a warm steampunk heart. And characters needed to show more nuance and weaknesses in order to be interesting, intriguing, and believable. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
April 12, 2016
REVIEW COPY PROVIDED BY PUBLISHER IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW
How do I even begin to describe this book?
For starters, I would like to get this out there, I loved the story of this book. It was so stupid of me to read this without reading the rest of the series, but one thing I can compliment this graphic novel was how much I understood what was going on, even if I have not read the previous volumes.
That's impressive.
I love retellings, and I love Alice in Wonderland, which should be obvious by now, seeing my blog name has Wonderland in it. Okay, let's go back to what I was saying, I love retellings, but I haven't really read one for Alice yet. When I requested this from Netgalley, I was so sure I was going to love it, just basing it from the synopisis, and true enough, I really did enjoy this.
There was so much rich details about the world. I loved how Wonderland and Earth work together in a discreet way. Of course, seeing this is a graphic novel with only 139 pages, there wouldn't be enough time to have character development. This had a little bit of it, but not so much, probably because I haven't read the other volumes yet (yes... I'm stupid like that. This is probably the third time it happened to me), so I'll definitely be checking those out and the books!
There were a lot of really interesting and unique things to look out on this book, one of which is the relationship of each of the Kingdom Suits and also the main character, Queen Alyss, at least, I think she's the main character. You sort of can't really tell because all of the character had their own time to shine, which is very uncommon nowadays. Usually, books focus on one main character, the rest are expendables, but not in this story.
One thing thought that I have to point out is that the illustrations might not be for everyone. Wonderland is supposed to be a place of wonder and magic, the illustrations gave justice to that. It gave the readers a feel of what it could be like in Wonderland. I can't explain how it looks like, so I'll post a sample here. There's a lot of strokes in the illustrations, which worked for me, although it can be a bit jarring sometimes.
Over all, I absolutely enjoyed this! I am definitely going to check out the rest of the books and the graphic novels! Kudos to the author for making such a great alternate version for Alice in Wonderland.
How do I even begin to describe this book?
For starters, I would like to get this out there, I loved the story of this book. It was so stupid of me to read this without reading the rest of the series, but one thing I can compliment this graphic novel was how much I understood what was going on, even if I have not read the previous volumes.
That's impressive.
I love retellings, and I love Alice in Wonderland, which should be obvious by now, seeing my blog name has Wonderland in it. Okay, let's go back to what I was saying, I love retellings, but I haven't really read one for Alice yet. When I requested this from Netgalley, I was so sure I was going to love it, just basing it from the synopisis, and true enough, I really did enjoy this.
There was so much rich details about the world. I loved how Wonderland and Earth work together in a discreet way. Of course, seeing this is a graphic novel with only 139 pages, there wouldn't be enough time to have character development. This had a little bit of it, but not so much, probably because I haven't read the other volumes yet (yes... I'm stupid like that. This is probably the third time it happened to me), so I'll definitely be checking those out and the books!
There were a lot of really interesting and unique things to look out on this book, one of which is the relationship of each of the Kingdom Suits and also the main character, Queen Alyss, at least, I think she's the main character. You sort of can't really tell because all of the character had their own time to shine, which is very uncommon nowadays. Usually, books focus on one main character, the rest are expendables, but not in this story.
One thing thought that I have to point out is that the illustrations might not be for everyone. Wonderland is supposed to be a place of wonder and magic, the illustrations gave justice to that. It gave the readers a feel of what it could be like in Wonderland. I can't explain how it looks like, so I'll post a sample here. There's a lot of strokes in the illustrations, which worked for me, although it can be a bit jarring sometimes.
Over all, I absolutely enjoyed this! I am definitely going to check out the rest of the books and the graphic novels! Kudos to the author for making such a great alternate version for Alice in Wonderland.
February 5, 2022
As a long-time fan of this series, I have mixed emotions: on the one hand, I'm grateful that there's a sequel to this fantastic story, but on the other hand, I'm sorry that Beddor has chosen to follow it in graphic novel format because it takes away so much substance to the story, which obviously had to be very compacted and someone who is used to reading a book will notice a lot of the difference with the change in format. Also, I'm not a big fan of Sami Makkonen's “sketchy” visual art, so I'm not impressed by the designs, although I appreciate being able to see the idea that Beddor has always had for his characters. Although the plot isn’t bad, it's obvious that only those who have followed this saga from the first book will appreciate it, anyone who intends to take the story at this point won't understand it. Despite this, I've really enjoyed this graphic novel, I'm so excited to read the next one.
June 15, 2023
The story was good, though I think the graphic novel format hurts it. A lot of things needed more time to develop and it's hard to dedicate that time with the GN format. I also thought the art was a big downgrade. Even though Sami Makkonen did the art for most of the Hatter M books too, this was significantly worse. Much of the artwork just looked like smears on the page and Makkonen apparently only has three colors to work with. Which is probably the biggest disappointment. Wonderland should not be monotone. It should be bursting with color.
December 8, 2023
Good plot not a fan of the art 😅
Alyss has to defend her throne....again. Both from within and from earth...again haha
But this time she hires help even if people think she can't trust them. There an invasion of Wonderlandoplis and she will defend it.
Assassination attempts, battles, spies....good and interesting plot throughout.
But it did feel a bit repetitive and I wasn't a fan of the art. Especially in black and white it just seemed to blend together and be much darker than I imagined this world.
Alyss has to defend her throne....again. Both from within and from earth...again haha
But this time she hires help even if people think she can't trust them. There an invasion of Wonderlandoplis and she will defend it.
Assassination attempts, battles, spies....good and interesting plot throughout.
But it did feel a bit repetitive and I wasn't a fan of the art. Especially in black and white it just seemed to blend together and be much darker than I imagined this world.
July 29, 2018
The good - Expanding the wonderland series, even more intrigue and lots of action. Can never tire of this world and its wondrous characters.
The bad - Not a big fan of the style of art used. I get that its meant to emphasize the wonderland/imaginary aspect of the world its set in, but didn't do it for me.
The bad - Not a big fan of the style of art used. I get that its meant to emphasize the wonderland/imaginary aspect of the world its set in, but didn't do it for me.
July 3, 2017
Okay story. Gritty version of Wonderland after the books end.
March 24, 2019
Awful artwork meant the story was just unreadable. And the cover had promised so much *sigh*
July 20, 2017
This is extremely different from what I'm used too. I enjoyed The Looking Glass Wars series immensely, to the point of where I own the soundtrack created for the series. I haven't attempted the Hatter M. series, but when I saw this at my local library I grabbed it.
Alyss is now Queen with Dodge at her side. She must navigate assassination attempts and the various suite families. She handles diplomacy well, and the ending gives you a nice cliffhanger that isn't a nail biter.
I'm not used to so little detail, but this did well with the images and small descriptions. The drawings were very dark which was good and bad. Good because the different characters and such were drawn in such a creative way, but bad because I had to sit up and really study the pictures to see what was going on. Which may have been the intent.
Alyss is now Queen with Dodge at her side. She must navigate assassination attempts and the various suite families. She handles diplomacy well, and the ending gives you a nice cliffhanger that isn't a nail biter.
I'm not used to so little detail, but this did well with the images and small descriptions. The drawings were very dark which was good and bad. Good because the different characters and such were drawn in such a creative way, but bad because I had to sit up and really study the pictures to see what was going on. Which may have been the intent.
October 13, 2016
i thought this was going to be higher marks when I started it - loved the premise as post-red & the opening w. the politics & suits. but then, it flagged. the end section is all just one big battle that isn't that interesting. and if i am being honest i wish the whole thing would get back a little more wonder and ease up on the war. i really enjoy this reimagining of wonderland but overall it is just not sustaining me as much anymore with the stories being told.
March 16, 2017
Really disappointed in this. I thoroughly enjoyed the book series and the Hatter M comics I've read. This just felt a little disjointed and the art was not what I would have expected.
June 21, 2016
I went into this one blind. I haven't read the other entries in this series and wasn't expecting much of a connection with the Lewis Carroll original when I got a copy from Netgalley.
The comic does an excellent job of explaining the world and its characters without alienating a non-series reader. Kudos for that.
The story takes a while to introduce you to the Looking Glass world. At first it's very different with none of the characters resembling any of the creatures of yore. Once we move to, quite literally, the heart of the story, the connections become evident.
This book is an extraordinary read, quite fun and immersive. However, it had several problems.
While the main plot centers around the Queen of Hearts, she doesn't actually do much. Her partner Dodge leads the armies, she gets her advice from Hatter, she chooses a man for a strategist, and the wily con she sends to retrieve an important artifact is also male. All the suits are headed by Queens, but none of them do any heavy lifting. I know it seems like a weird complaint to make, but it would be great if we saw more active female characters in all art, rather than passive ones or authoritarian ones who don't get involved in any of the action.
The art was distracting at best and confusing at worst. It's hard to make out between characters when the majority of the female characters are svelte, dark-haired white women. It also made the action indecipherable, which is a massive waste as it takes up a sizable chunk of the story.
Lastly, I hated the ending. For me it felt like it ruined the entire book. Spoilers abound, so beware.
After successfully winning the battle that no one doubted the Hearts would lose, there is peace and prosperity in this land. This is when the Queen of Hearts announces to Dodge that she is expecting. Voila, great, that's like the only good news anyone should ever care about. I thought crappy pregnancy endings died with the eighties; apparently I was wrong. This really didn't work for me and annoyed me enough to not want to go back to this series. How disappointing. End Spoilers.
I would have loved to give this book a much higher rating but it was problematic on several levels. Story-wise it is a lot of fun, but this is the 21st century, we need to see comic books move away from cliches.
The comic does an excellent job of explaining the world and its characters without alienating a non-series reader. Kudos for that.
The story takes a while to introduce you to the Looking Glass world. At first it's very different with none of the characters resembling any of the creatures of yore. Once we move to, quite literally, the heart of the story, the connections become evident.
This book is an extraordinary read, quite fun and immersive. However, it had several problems.
While the main plot centers around the Queen of Hearts, she doesn't actually do much. Her partner Dodge leads the armies, she gets her advice from Hatter, she chooses a man for a strategist, and the wily con she sends to retrieve an important artifact is also male. All the suits are headed by Queens, but none of them do any heavy lifting. I know it seems like a weird complaint to make, but it would be great if we saw more active female characters in all art, rather than passive ones or authoritarian ones who don't get involved in any of the action.
The art was distracting at best and confusing at worst. It's hard to make out between characters when the majority of the female characters are svelte, dark-haired white women. It also made the action indecipherable, which is a massive waste as it takes up a sizable chunk of the story.
Lastly, I hated the ending. For me it felt like it ruined the entire book. Spoilers abound, so beware.
After successfully winning the battle that no one doubted the Hearts would lose, there is peace and prosperity in this land. This is when the Queen of Hearts announces to Dodge that she is expecting. Voila, great, that's like the only good news anyone should ever care about. I thought crappy pregnancy endings died with the eighties; apparently I was wrong. This really didn't work for me and annoyed me enough to not want to go back to this series. How disappointing. End Spoilers.
I would have loved to give this book a much higher rating but it was problematic on several levels. Story-wise it is a lot of fun, but this is the 21st century, we need to see comic books move away from cliches.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2016
I love the "Looking Glass Wars" series in regular print format. They are an amazing series that twists the tale of Alice in Wonderland. Beddor sees it as how Alyss influenced Lewis Carroll to write his story from her life, not as a retelling of the tale itself.
Weekly, I receive a digest on graphic novels from Netgalley. I was hyper excited when last week included the "Looking Glass Wars" continuation. Thank you to the publisher for granting my wish. With The Looking Glass Wars: Crossfire, we go beyond Alyss's adventures and into her life as queen of Wonderland.
For the obvious points:
It is a graphic novel, so the meat of the story is not as fully fleshed out as a print format would be able to cover.
Art is aesthetically pleasing in vastly different ways to every individual.
Now that those points are out there, I can honestly review this book. I would recommend it to all while my actual enjoyment was mediocre. I was pleased with the characters and their plot development. There was plenty of background information with thrilling new adventures. We get a continuation of the story diluted down to a fraction of the pages, but none of it feels cramped. All the magic of Wonderland is still present. Their are thought-provoking conversations and a range of emotions for such limited space. The pages just fly by without realizing time has passed.
What made the experience lackluster for me was the graphic embodiment of Wonderland. The art style is not my favorite as I prefer much cleaner lines and brighter colors. This is a completely personal observation for the book and no way detracts from the quality of the writing or story. Many may find the art appealing and heighten their experience. I want to make sure those who flip through it and dismiss it for the washed out feel DO NOT pass up the chance at a great story.
Weekly, I receive a digest on graphic novels from Netgalley. I was hyper excited when last week included the "Looking Glass Wars" continuation. Thank you to the publisher for granting my wish. With The Looking Glass Wars: Crossfire, we go beyond Alyss's adventures and into her life as queen of Wonderland.
For the obvious points:
It is a graphic novel, so the meat of the story is not as fully fleshed out as a print format would be able to cover.
Art is aesthetically pleasing in vastly different ways to every individual.
Now that those points are out there, I can honestly review this book. I would recommend it to all while my actual enjoyment was mediocre. I was pleased with the characters and their plot development. There was plenty of background information with thrilling new adventures. We get a continuation of the story diluted down to a fraction of the pages, but none of it feels cramped. All the magic of Wonderland is still present. Their are thought-provoking conversations and a range of emotions for such limited space. The pages just fly by without realizing time has passed.
What made the experience lackluster for me was the graphic embodiment of Wonderland. The art style is not my favorite as I prefer much cleaner lines and brighter colors. This is a completely personal observation for the book and no way detracts from the quality of the writing or story. Many may find the art appealing and heighten their experience. I want to make sure those who flip through it and dismiss it for the washed out feel DO NOT pass up the chance at a great story.
January 21, 2017
'The Looking Glass Wars: Crossfire' by Frank Beddor and Curtis Clark with art by Sami Makkonen is a graphic novel follow up to the Looking Glass Wars trilogy. I read the first book of that series, so I'm familiar with most of the characters and concept.
For those not familiar at all with the series, this is a fantasy series based on Alice in Wonderland. Alyss Heart of Wonderland is in charge, but the crown lies uneasy. There are people who would like to kill her. This leads to a mission to our world to recover a piece of the Heart Crystal, led by Ovid Grey. The Earth portion takes place in London and Venice. The finale takes place back in Wonderland when the Boarderlanders finally attack. They lead an army of mutant jabberwocky called Jabbers. The city is laid out like a chessboard and the citizens reconfigure it for an epic final battle.
After reading the first book in the series, I didn't feel compelled to read more, but I know the series has it's loyal fans. I can see why, and I did like this story a little better. The court intrigue, the spy mission, and the massive battle all appealed to me. What I wasn't crazy about was the artwork. It is a style that reminds me of sketches on storyboards. Drawn fast and loosely. Characters fade out at the appendages, or seem to float above the floor. Things don't seem fully formed. In spite of that, I was able to keep the characters separate, but it's just not a style that I was crazy about.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Letter Better Publishing Services, Automatic Publishing, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
For those not familiar at all with the series, this is a fantasy series based on Alice in Wonderland. Alyss Heart of Wonderland is in charge, but the crown lies uneasy. There are people who would like to kill her. This leads to a mission to our world to recover a piece of the Heart Crystal, led by Ovid Grey. The Earth portion takes place in London and Venice. The finale takes place back in Wonderland when the Boarderlanders finally attack. They lead an army of mutant jabberwocky called Jabbers. The city is laid out like a chessboard and the citizens reconfigure it for an epic final battle.
After reading the first book in the series, I didn't feel compelled to read more, but I know the series has it's loyal fans. I can see why, and I did like this story a little better. The court intrigue, the spy mission, and the massive battle all appealed to me. What I wasn't crazy about was the artwork. It is a style that reminds me of sketches on storyboards. Drawn fast and loosely. Characters fade out at the appendages, or seem to float above the floor. Things don't seem fully formed. In spite of that, I was able to keep the characters separate, but it's just not a style that I was crazy about.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Letter Better Publishing Services, Automatic Publishing, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
April 18, 2016
Wonderopolis offered a deal to the Borderlands, arms to defeat the rebels for trade and peace between the countries. Then assassins struck down Dodge, and it was found that a crystal shard had made its way to Earth. Secret agents determined that an invasion was imminent, providing just enough warning for contingency plans to be enacted. Plenty of fights, plenty of intrigues, and the continued development of the Looking Glass storyline.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 5, 2016
Looking Glass Wars
I really liked the story. The pictures could have been better. I really loved the looking glass Wars so I was really happy to find out that there was another one.
I really liked the story. The pictures could have been better. I really loved the looking glass Wars so I was really happy to find out that there was another one.
March 25, 2016
Is it possible to get enough of The Looking Glass Wars? No, no, and no.
Another fantastic installment in this fabulous fantasy world. I'll take all the Hatter M I can get.
Another fantastic installment in this fabulous fantasy world. I'll take all the Hatter M I can get.
April 6, 2016
Artwork is great. The characters took a lot out of me to stay involved.
August 2, 2016
Art killed it for me. Not that is was bad but way too gritty for this series and none of the characters or places how I envisioned them. It actually made me think less of the novels. Sad day...
May 12, 2016
Loved it. Great sequel to the Looking Glass Wars trilogy. Ending was fantastic, cannot wait for the next one. Thank you!
January 7, 2017
I wish it was more in depth and that the illustrations were a bit clearer.
January 12, 2019
I found the art to be difficult to follow - all the male characters look the same, except for hatter and dodge.
The story itself wasn’t terrible - the war was a logical challenge to Alyss’s rule.
The story itself wasn’t terrible - the war was a logical challenge to Alyss’s rule.
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