Call of Wonderland

Call of Wonderland #1-4

by Dan Wickline

Calie Liddle defeated the Jabberwocky: The Dream Eater destroyed the Queen of Hearts. Now the realm of madness called Wonderland has no ruler in place.

Enter the Red Knight who is determined to destroy all of Wonderland and the world at large by unleashing a deadly, ancient force long thought to be gone.

Meanwhile, on Earth, a literary student researching HP Lovecraft will discover a long forgotten secret that could either save or damn the world.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Horror, Comic Book

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Dan Wickline is a writer/photographer/bassist living in Los Angeles, CA. In comics he has written for the 30 Days of Night and Grimm Fairy Tales franchises as well as the on-going ShadowHawk and 1001 Arabian Nights: The Adventures of Sinbad. He's also written prose for characters such as The Phantom, The Green Hornet and his own creation Lucius Fogg. As a photographer, Dan has been featured in numerous gallery shows as well as a collection of his black & white work published under the title Private Skin. Dan had a brief moment in the Hollywood spotlight playing a corpse on the hit series Dexter, but now spends his spare time as the bassist for the newly formed metal band Murder Most Foul. Dan is happily married to his lovely wife Debbie, who has an amazing capacity to put up with the insanity that is his life.

Reviews

[Kegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Return to Wonderland 2007 to 2008
*Return to Wonderland Annuals 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
*Beyond Wonderland 2008 - 2009
*Escape from Wonderland 2009 - 2010
*Tales From Wonderland 2008 - 2009

*Alice = 2012
Call of Wonderland 2012
Madness of Wonderland 2013
Down the Rabbit Hole 2013

Through the Looking Glass 2013-2014
Wonderland V1, V2, V3 2012 - 2013

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another step closer to the monthly series of Wonderland which I think so many people including me were hoping would always happen. Who couldn't love the twisted and dark place the talented writers of Zenescope turned Wonderland into. This Trade gives some important background on how some things came to be so in the land we all love.

[Declan Waters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zenescope's take on the Wonderland story is joined by Lovecraft and Cuthulu lore for a strange mix.
However the art work and story are as good as the previous in series. Not sure on the cross-over though... feels more like an attempt to cash in on non-copyright material with other non-copyright material.

Strange, but interesting - don't let this be your first Wonderland story!

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovecraft meets Wonderland. Good writing, art and interesting story.

[Todd Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story

[Robert Bussie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story fits in between the Wonderland Omnibus and before the 10 volume ongoing Wonderland trades. It feels more of a side story than a required reading in the series. The inclusion of H. P. Lovecraft seems forced and actually slows the action and fun of the story. So, his writings held back the creatures of Wonderland from going to the other realms including earth? Hmmm? A stretch in story telling even for a Wonderland comic. Plus it is not really explained well either.

The Red Knight's involvement fizzles out quickly and is disappointing. However, Julie Sands and Salome Grey has some fun action scenes and the tattoo inspired by H. P. Lovecraft's writings coming to life is really cool. I also liked that Julie and Salome twist ending of them becoming the Queen of Hearts.

The line art and coloring is solid and very well done throughout.

Overall, an average story that drags in spots, but worth reading as a tie-in to the events in Wonderland.

[Ray Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sequel to the original trilogy (Return to Wonderland, Beyond Wonderland, Escape From Wonderland) and also the 2009 & 2010 Annuals (House Of Liddle GN). Also prequel to the Wonderland ongoing series (Wonderland vols.1-10). The Queen of Spades is still manipulating things to bring together student Julie Sands and tattoo artist Salome Gray who will have a role to play in the Wonderland ongoing series. Secondary character, Detective Legrasse's story continues in our world in the Madness of Wonderland GN. The narrative style is a lot different to that of Raven Gregory and it is a shorter and simpler story without the bits of fringe madness and Easter eggs that Gregory often includes, which unfortunately made it a bit less interesting.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just when I was beginning to despair that this series didn't have anything left to offer, this book surprised me by being pretty decent. The art is a step up in quality, and the story brings more Lovecraftian themes to the Wonderland lore, which we've seen before, but I wish they did more leaning into that side of things.

It's not bad, and it seems like this might be a decent place for people to start with the series since it doesn't require that much previous knowledge to follow. Fingers crossed that that will be true of the Wonderland ongoing series that started coming out right after this one.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

So Lovecraft was in on the Wonderland secret... Interesting. This was a quick read, but as with a lot of Wonderland light on plot. Mostly blood and guts here. It was cool to see more history of the two who will become the new Queen of Hearts though.

[Jon FK · Rating 2 out of 5]

Making the Alice in Wonderland tale into a contemporary nightmare with a psychotic twist wherein Alice is an adult, sexily drawn, and the Chesire Cat is so jacked he'd make Brock Lesnar look like a kitten seemed like it'd be sick. But the writing is incredibly poor and absurdly repetitive. And the illustrations are super inconsistent as well. I thought this would be a cool Adult Spin but instead, with all its horrible One-Liners and Extra Gratuitous Gore, it's an EdgeLord's wet dream.

I love the premise but the execution was bad at best. Whoever does Quality Control at Grimm Fairy Tales isn't getting it right. Maybe it's the Mad Hatter.

[Caro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was good. I liked the story line and the art was pretty good. I'd like to read the next graphic novel that comes out, but it's not a must. The creativity and imagination was great and leaves some things to be answered. (In the next one of course) Not super page-turning but kept my interest. Not one of my favorites in Zenescope but not disappointing. I think I liked Return to Wonderland more though.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really should have be more enthused about Zenescopes’c combining the Lovecraft mythos with their already-established horror version of Wonderland, but this story never really clicked with me. The writing is a stark change from Gregory’s, though it follows the same formula. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see who these two new characters will alter Wonderland in their new role (roles?).

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Zenescope Comic. I look forward to reading many more....soon as I can figure out the order sequence lol.

[Christopher]

Really good. good lead in to the WONDERLAND ongoing series. Just started MADNESS OF WONDERLAND as well.