CATCHING UP ON WONDERLAND WITH RAVEN GREGORY

[MattBrady]

by Kevin Huxford

Like others, Raven Gregory and the folks at Zenescope wondered what a new version of Alice in Wonderland would look like today, if created in and reflective of our times. They took that idea and ran with it, creating a new story where the daughter of Alice is going on a little adventure that is, in some ways, much like her mother’s. Of course, this trip is much darker and more disturbing than the one Alice went through…because this isn’t your (well, her) mother’s Wonderland. The first four issues of Return to Wonderland have hit the stands and issue #5 is just about to drop, so we sat down to discuss exactly what is running around in Mr. Gregory’s Wonderland (and the darker corners of his imagination).

(Editor’s Note: Much of this interview was conducted prior to RTW #3 and, due to circumstances beyond the site’s control, wasn’t able to be published until now. A few additional questions were asked just prior to publication of #5 to bring thing a little more up to date for you, the readers.)

Newsarama: There are a lot of difference between the traditional Alice in Wonderland tale and the one you're weaving here that might obviously be jarring to the uninitiated reader. You said in an earlier interview that the changes are a reflection of the world we live in today. Is that just the real world reason for you taking this angle or is that, also, the reason within the book for the changes in Wonderland?

RG: I'd like to think both. The story is very much of reflection of the here and now and the world we live in. I remember reading that one thing Lewis Carroll included in the original Alice's adventures in Wonderland were the proper etiquette a young lady should have for those days and times. Most of those lessons no longer apply in the society we live in today. So I took those same tid bits and applied them in a more modern day context. In #3 during the tea party there's a life lesson about ladies letting strangers prepare their drinks that really brings it home that this isn't your mom and dad's wonderland. But there's also a sense that time has moved forward since the original tale was told that relates to this story in various ways.

NRAMA: Any similar bit from the original that you plan on turning on its ear (without necessarily giving away what you'll be twisting it into)?

RG: The Tea party, the logical end point of the relationship between the Walrus and the Carpenter (even though this occurs in the Looking Glass Story), and the Queen psychotic tendencies to name a few. But yeah, everything is up for grabs. While the original played more towards a child imagination, this tale plays more toward the different types of madness that infests the world today.

NRAMA: What would you say are some of the most important subtle bits you've woven into the story that readers should keep in mind while reading the next few issues?

RG: That Wonderland is just the icing on the cake. The real story goes much deeper than it appears and there's hints to it all through the issues that Wonderland is..."something". Also, the family. The relationship between Alice and her daughter Calie (ever notice how if you mix up those letters Calie becomes Alice) is the true meat of the story..but because they interact so little you don't see it at first. But look closer...especially over the next few issues.

NRAMA: Speaking of the family, you seem to be working towards something interesting/disturbing with the brother...or am I just imagining things?

RG: Nope. All that will be explained in the next few issues. Johnny is easily one of the most heinous yet tragically relatable characters in the series.

NRAMA: What character do you feel the most natural writing and exactly how worried are you about just how easy they come to you?

RG: The Mad Hatter was fun. He's so elegant and fluid that his words have a real poetic beauty to them. Even if he uses that ability for less than upstanding psychotic reasons.

NRAMA: Pleading the fifth on whether it is scary how easy he came to you?

RG: It was both difficult and easy. Writing him felt cliché which, as a writer, you try to avoid at all costs, but knowing that the reader had to loathe this character in order for Calie to fully come into accepting the new her was pretty easy in setting up.

NRAMA: What character has been the most challenging to you?

RG: Calie was a bit tough at first. During the first part of the series she's just reacting to the hand she's dealt (which is easy to write) so there wasn't a lot of time to really flesh her out and get into her head but as the story moves forward and she progresses through Wonderland seeing her come to life has really been fun. She feels real.

NRAMA: So, do you feel as if you sort of discovered the character through how you saw her reacting earlier on or did she develop some other way for you?

RG: Both. At the beginning I just couldn't get into Calie. It took a while for her to flesh out and start to feel real. Like I mentioned before, for the first few issues she's reacting to her environment. But once she comes into her own she really shows how fresh and unique she truly is.

NRAMA: In the first two issues, what scene do you feel you got just right and what is your favorite one in the issue that is about to hit the stands?

RG: The closet scene where Calie finds her mother hiding in the closet. I really like how that one came out. The interaction between the two is really very touching yet frightening at the same time. My favorite in issue three is watching the caterpillar f___ with her head. I had the chance to throw in a lot of philosophy in that scene that played in nicely.

NRAMA: For those readers coming to mini-series late, what is the dynamic between Alice and Calie like in the series?

RG: Calie is slowly learning what her mother went through in this world and is beginning to understand why she is the way she is. Meanwhile, Alice knows her daughter is gone but is still so far gone there's nothing she can do about it.

NRAMA: In an earlier interview on Newsarama, one of your collaborators suggested you really paint a vivid picture of what you want your characters to look like in the series. What character have you been the most pleased with your vision being realized?

RG: The queen. The queen is great. I could do a whole other series just on her because of her design.

NRAMA: Does the look impress you just due to a coolness factor or because it really helped you get across the character to the reader and make your job that much easier?

RG: Once again both. The idea is so simple and so well known but never done before that it's just one of those slap on the forehead moments of why didn't I think of that before. But the logic behind it and the realization of why this character acts the way she does just drives it home in how much sense it makes.

NRAMA: That said, there is always a time where an artist can come along and just wow you with an idea that never dawned on you for a look. Anything like that happen here?

RG: Dan Leister, the artist on the series, really took the Cheshire Cat to a whole other level with his style.

NRAMA: Same questions here as with the Queen?

RG: The cat's appearance conveys everything the reader needs to know about the character and that rare in a comic.

NRAMA: Catching up to date with issue #5, we've seen Callie's brother round out his transformation into something truly disturbing, which appears to have caught the interest of the rabbit. We're left to wonder exactly what the results of their interplay was. Does it have anything to do with the event you end the issue with?

RG: In some ways, yes. This is something we have been building up to since the beginning of the story in issue #0. At first people thought wonderland was contained to the fantasy world but now we see that wonderland reach is much farther than we once thought.

NRAMA: You mentioned being thrilled with the design of the Queen, so much so that you could see yourself writing another series based just on her. For a second, that became a confusing statement upon reading the bloodbath that is #5. With the Sisyphus-like nature of Wonderland, I guess that is still possible. Does the perpetual nightmare of Wonderland and homely sister play into your love for the Queen?

RG: Yeah, the duality of two sisters, one beautiful and one homely, mixed in with the reality or should I say fantasy of the situation adds a lot of cool character moments that I definitely are some of my favorite of the series. JC Tyler is writing a prelude to the Queen that explores her origins even further in Tales from Wonderland: Queen of Hearts one shot and just seeing how she becomes the twisted amalgamation she is today has been a blast all in itself.

NRAMA: Despite this story reading like Alice in Wonderland on an acid trip (somewhat redundant, I know) as interpreted by Charles Manson (and that is meant as a compliment), I'm getting the sense that the end of this issue is meant to be a heroic sacrifice...and the sense that it won't quite work out the way it was intended. But that's just one of many bits I'm sure readers should focus on in anticipation of the final issue. What might scenes might you suggest going over in preparation for the final issue coming up?

RG: It's one of those things where when it's all said and done we hope reader will enjoy rereading the entire series and seeing how so much of the beginning played into the "unfortunate" ending.

NRAMA: There are probably more than a few readers out there that would enjoy this series. Here's your chance to throw your sales pitch. If they like Title X, they might just like this?

RG: The best way to describe it is Wonderland grown up, refusing to take its' medication, breaking out of the insane asylum and coming to visit you in the middle of the night.

NRAMA: What sort of feedback have you gotten from readers on the series? Anything they're digging especially that you weren't expecting or anything that isn't resonating with them the way you may have hoped?

RG: Strangely it's all been positive except for the occasionally hater that thinks we over-sexualized the Alice story. I think that once the book came out and people saw what it was really about most of all that died down.

[Blackbeard]

It's obvious that all you did was over-sexualize the Alice story.

Just kidding.

I've really been enjoying the series, Raven. Keep up the good (sick) work, brother!

[J.D. Lombardi]

Should I have been amongst the "haters" for over-sexualizing, that wasn't my only problem and I DO at the very least look thru them in the store - I just don't buy them. It is a real shame that Dan's gorgeous artwork looked to have been pixel-ated in the latest issue of the series.

(ever notice how if you mix up those letters Calie becomes Alice)

It is something like THAT, that makes me laugh. When you take such classic fantastical literature and that...the above is all that you have to offer in terms of intelligence and wit, well...it sort of speaks for itself that you'd even point it out yourself.

Another thing I found funny in this interview is that he has said the most challenging character to write was Calie - arguably the ONLY character Raven created himself in the story. If you're finding your own creation difficult, well...

Alice was overtly sexual in Lost Girls and there was no problem with it...Alice In Sunderland is also a very smart and incredibly fresh spin that is sans "acid trips," or "on crack."

No doubt some fan'll call me a troll, or something or other. At least I"m versed in the material and say what I feel. How wrong is that, in the grand scheme of it all?

[Troy Brownfield]

Originally Posted by J.D. Lombardi

Another thing I found funny in this interview is that he has said the most challenging character to write was Calie - arguably the ONLY character Raven created himself in the story. If you're finding your own creation difficult, well...

So you're saying that no writer ever had a difficult time with writing a character of their own creation?

Paging Mr. Joyce . . . paging Mr. Pynchon . . .

Granted, I'm not comparing Raven to Joyce (he'd laugh at me), but I find it ironic that you say a couple of things that are obviously meant to be insulting, and then try to throw up the backdoor straw man that someone will call you a troll.

I find your post funnier than you found the interview.

[00scotty]

I don't get previews and my store doesn't order this title so missed the boat. Might get it on zenescope.com.

Anyone ever read the Grimm Fairy Tales???? Curious if they're any good.

And the Calie/Alice thing is on purpose.

[DaVeO]

Well, I doubt I can find any back issues at this point so I might as well wait for the trade. How many issues will this run?

[Marc_Spector]

6 I believe as #5 just came out. It has been a good story and the art has been great. I have enjoyed both Return and Grimm Fairy Tales, just wish the LCS I go to would have been getting them from the beginning. Early issues of Grimm (1st printings are almost impossible to find at a decent price).

[ArchonComics]

Zenescope is putting out some very fun stuff. I really enjoyed the first two Grimm TPB's. I expect this title to be just as fun.

[Blackthunder]

1. I still find it funny that J.D. Lombardi comes to post on nearly every Zenescope topic with nothing but hate and yet he still appears to read the issue (but not buy them because.... why? let me guess you stand in the video stores and watch the movies on the display just so you don't have to buy them too? Too cheap for $3 to buy a comic?)
P.s. - yes, you are a troll.

2. there are 7 issues to Return to Wonderland 0-6.

3. the full title to this is Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Return To Wonderland ... and yes Grimm rocks too.

4. Tales from Wonderland: the Queen? ... is this going to be an extra story for the TPB? Like how Grimm has theirs...

5. Much love to Raven and all of his work...

[Ravengregory]

Thanks guys. Appreciate the kind words. The story has been a blast to work on.

[Ryan Bodenheim]

Dan's quality just keeps getting better and better with every page he does on this project. Keep up the great work guys!

[RedSquirrel]

Originally Posted by J.D. Lombardi

It is a real shame that Dan's gorgeous artwork looked to have been pixel-ated in the latest issue of the series.

I noticed this too. What happened?

[Blackthunder]

^Apparently the wrong versions of the page were sent to the printer. They said it would be corrected when the Hard Cover comes out.

[Ravengregory]

Originally Posted by Blackthunder

4. Tales from Wonderland: the Queen? ... is this going to be an extra story for the TPB? Like how Grimm has theirs...

It's going to be one of three one shots. The prequel to RTW which leads in...................................... ................

[Dan Leister]

Originally Posted by Ravengregory

Thanks guys. Appreciate the kind words. The story has been a blast to work on.

I've got to agree with Raven that Wonderland has been alot of fun working on and I can't wait to sink my teeth into the next series. Thanks for sticking around and checking in on us guys.
D

[bkbirge]

Awesome series, I got onboard from issue 0. $0.99 for a first issue is a good marketing tool. Grimm Fairy Tales is a great series also but back issue costs are through the roof. I'm looking forward to whatever they put out.

[Ravengregory]

Originally Posted by bkbirge

Awesome series, I got onboard from issue 0. $0.99 for a first issue is a good marketing tool. Grimm Fairy Tales is a great series also but back issue costs are through the roof. I'm looking forward to whatever they put out.

Thanks. Very cool of you to say.

[AnthonyL]

Originally Posted by bkbirge

Awesome series, I got onboard from issue 0. $0.99 for a first issue is a good marketing tool. Grimm Fairy Tales is a great series also but back issue costs are through the roof. I'm looking forward to whatever they put out.

Yes, but at least the trades are available! (i'll admit I sold my originals when I saw how much they were going for on eBay, i'm on opportunist, sorry!)

Anthony L

[sire64]

hey all, this is Mike Dolce creator of the SIRE. Having worked with Dan on numerous issues of SIRE its awesome to see his work not only reach a broader audience but to kick some SERIOUS ass. Makes me forgive Raven for stealing him away from me, lol (jk Raven - great stuff all around. You know it! )