Review – Snarked #0
Ah Lewis Carroll, creator of so many characters that have been told to children and adults for generations at this point. From Alice and all her adventures in Wonderland to the Jabberwocky and Snark Hunting, Carroll has taken us on many adventures using the genre of “literary nonsense” – or so Wikipedia tells me.
Amongst the characters we’ve met on our journeys with Carroll are The Walrus and the Carpenter. In Snarked #0 the two are better known as Wilburforce J. Walrus and Clyde McDunk. Snarked follows their swindling and conniving ways as they try to con people out of their belongings and more importantly – their food!
Roger Landridge both writes and illustrates this fun tale with Rachelle Rosenberg on colors and Kaboom! Studios publishing. Let’s set the scene shall we? The Kingdom is without a King as he has been lost at sea for several months. This leaves only Princess Scarlett and Prince “Rusty” Russell in the palace as the Queen is not mentioned.
After stealing a newspaper and discussing potential scams to turn a profit, the news of the King’s absence seems an opportunity to make the score of a lifetime. Or is it?
I think what I enjoyed most was the bringing to life of the truly devious Walrus in this comic. If you’ve read the poem before you know that he tricks a large family of oysters out of the water and then mercilessly eats them. Carroll’s characters are playful because of the literary technique he used to write, but underneath – as with many children’s stories – lies the stuff of horror.
Now, Landridge never takes it that far and in this fun, mischievous book the antics of the two bungling scam artists are nothing that any kid wouldn’t get a giggle out of. The art style is totally appropriate for this playful setting and has a nice cross of Disney and Sunday morning comics feel to it. The writing is solid as well and gives us some background into what Wonderland may have been like back before things fell apart and Alice got there.
Some nice added touches after the story concludes are newspaper clippings where we get a glimpse of some other famous characters like the Cheshire Cat and the Mat Hatter and his tea parties. We also get an amusing look into the diaries of a young Princess Scarlett.
If you are a fan of Carroll’s work and just get a kick out of getting a glimpse behind the curtain into what may have been some of the lore that turned the kingdom into what the world becomes, have a look at this comic and take a fun whirl down the rabbit hole.
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