I Hate Fairyland: Book Two

I Hate Fairyland #3-4

by Skottie Young

From SKOTTIE YOUNG, New York Times bestselling, Eisner Award-winning cartoonist of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz graphic novels, Rocket Raccoon, and Fortunately, the Milk, comes the continuation of Gertrude's gruesome gallop through the sugar-sprinkled fantasy world of Fairyland. Gert's presence has unleashed a monstrous amount of macabre magics, crippled poor Larry's burgeoning social life, and changed Fairyland forever from a bright and shinny weird-kidnapping-quest-puzzle to a dangerous, dark, and vengeful....weird-kidnapping-quest-puzzle.

In this, the second oversized DELUXE HARDCOVER, our axe-weidling ace, Gert, really buckles down on getting the FLUFF out of Fairyland, but after battling a cosplay cohort and a riddle-prone goblin king, there's just the itsy-bitsy, barely worth mentioning, insignificant matter of an extended stay in a fantasy netherworld to deal with.

Collects I HATE FAIRYLAND #11-20, I HATE IMAGE FCBD SPECIAL, and Exclusive Extras!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Humor, Graphic Novels Manga, Fiction, Adult

336 pages, Hardcover

Published September 17, 2019

About the author

Skottie Young has been an illustrator and cartoonist for over ten years working for entertainment and publishing companies such Marvel, Warner Bros., Image, Upper Deck, Mattel, and many more.

He is currently illustrating the New York Times Best Selling and Eisner Award Nominated adaptions of L. Frank Baum's OZ novels with writer Eric Shanower. The series has gained acclaim from both fans and critics.

Skottie currently lives in Illinois with his family, Casey, Baxter and their Saint Bernard, Emma.

Reviews

[☾❀Apple✩ Blossom⋆｡˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this comic when it first came out as single issues, then I kinda forgot about it and picked up these volumes now because I was curious of how the story ends. Even though I wasn't completely satisfied by the very end, I must say it was kind of emotional to see it finished.



I love the concept and the art behind this graphic novel and I love Gertrude's character. I really think this is one of the best original comics of the past years.



Now I'm curious to check out other works from the same authors!

[Hosein · Rating 3 out of 5]

یکم افت کرد، شایدم بیشتر از چیزی که دوست دارم بگم افت کرد. خیلی از اون بخش‌های جالبِ دوتا کتاب اول رو پاک کرده بود و بیشتر از قبل داستان و شخصیت‌ها رو برد سمت ریک اند مورتی و بوجک هورسمن. این باعث میشد دیالوگ‌ها و نوع شخصیت پردازی تکراری بشه. که واقعا برام عجیبه، جلد اول خوب داشت پیش میرفت، نمیتونم بگم خیلی اورجینال بود اما شخصیت مخصوص خودشو داشت. اما نصفه‌ی دوم چیز خاصی از شخصیتش رو نمیشد دید.

در کل متوسط بود، چیزهای خوب و بد داشت. میتونم بگم ارزش زمانی که گذاشتم رو داشت، اما چیزی نیست که بازم بخونمش یا بهش فکر کنم.

[Pavel Pravda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miluju tuhle sérii! V podstatě během celé téhle fluffy tlusté knížky jsem se při čtení hihňal a nebo se hlasitě smál. Miluju humor a kresbu Skottieho Younga!

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this starts off with a very different Gert! Wow! Did she finally grow as a character?! Although the adult sexual humor is also more over the top as well. So less violence at first. But if you think that holds....um...no. Of course not. It would get dull real fast that way. I liked how Larry felt like a more prominent character. An Duncan's scene's were amusing. I hate the council and I love the irony that happens in the last couple chapters.

[Roman Zarichnyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Згадайте ваше дитинство, ваші яскраві фантазії та казкових героїв. Думаю, багато хто мав нестримне бажання потрапити у їхній світ та зустрітися із ним. Такі приємні дитячі мрії, адже вигадані казкові світи такі невинні та добрі…
⠀
Маленька дівчинка Ґертруда в мальописі «Я ненавиджу казкову країну» також до нестями хотіла потрапити в казкову країну. І мрії, на нещастя, мають здатність здійснюватися. Уже на першій сторінці ми бачимо сцену із порталом у підлозі, куди провалилася головна маленька дівчинка. Вона дуже довго летіла, не розуміючи, що відбувається із нею, а від швидкості аж очі вилазили з орбіт. І тут плям, вона розбилася об землю… Поламані руки, ноги, обличчя, наче його пожував бегемот. Але навколо всі радісні, а королева Казкової Країни з посмішкою вітає новоприбулу гостю в цьому милому місці.
⠀
Ви задасте собі питання: «А що взагалі таке відбувається?». Ось так є в Казковій Країні, сюди потрапляють діти, які дуже цього хочуть. А, щоби вибратися, потрібно знайти ключ від дверей у свій світ, пройшовши безліч пов’язаних завдань. І для того, щоб зрозуміти всі ці нові виверти навколо, дівчинці приставляють у допомогу помічника, муху Леррінґона Венстворта III. Усе просто, наче. Але не з Ґертрудою.
⠀
Основні події починаються аж за 30 років, де дівчинка далі в пошуках схованого ключа, постаршала, але далі залишилася в тілі маленької дівчинки. Для неї цей квест виявився заскладний, ба, може, це її методи пошуку є зовсім незвичні. Вона ні з ким не панькається тут. А всі вже пожалкували, що вона опинилася тут. Місяць, який каже, що він найсвященніший оповідач, отримав постріл із гармати від Ґертруди. А зірки, які є свідками цього, теж отримають свій смертний вирок. Для головної героїні нічого не стоїть на перешкоді, навіть велетні, у яких вона повиривала серця, бо там мала б бути річ потрібна для неї.
⠀
Знайомство з Ґертрудою відбувається дуже динамічно, бо вона не дає спокою, ні жителям цього світу, ні самому читачеві. Мета для неї головне, вона хоче повернутися додому, а для цього підходять будь-які методи.
⠀
Багато чорного гумору, але в такому антуражі виглядає шикарно!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Book 1 of this series, but I loved book 2. In book two i felt there was more character depth, more lessons to be learned, that were actually learned, and a story arc that had little repetition, even when it purposely had repetition. I loved that this book also included the Free Comic Book Day short I Hate Image. It has been expanded and added to and made for a great ending.

What I do wonder is, is this actually the end. Yeah we have an ending, but is it really an ending, or is it just another dimension. Overall I loved this book. I love the bright and vivid colors for a story so dark and gruesome. I can not wait to read the next series from Skottie.
#MountTBR
#NancyDrewChallenge #Flyonaplane (okay a spaceship)
#GondorGirlGNChallenge

[Shu Wei Chin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Book 1, I just absolutely adore the art, and the pure fun of the story. I was also pleasantly surprised by the development of our excessively violent main character, so much so that I actually felt a little emotional towards the end.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

So very good from start to end, each issue has something new to offer and a new theme to play with. I loved it. The ending was funny, can't say it was my favorite but I still found it entertaining but I loved the bonus free comic book day issue where Gert takes on the Image Corporate team haha it's so Meta and funny.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This carries on Gertrude's story. A bit of the same old tricks, gruesome art, and sarcastic/rude comments. Overall, I enjoyed it; however, a bit repetitive. Also, I'd love to have seen what came of Larry, how Gertrude behaved when she returned, etc.

[Joe Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gory fitting end to a gory fairy beginning.

[Radwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gert is truly the antihero we want and need.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this I realized how great it would have been if it has been written from the point of view of Duncan instead of Gertie. Gertie's just such a thoroughly unlikable character and in such a boring way for like 80% of the story. I wish she'd either been more likeable or even more hatable. She has maybe three human moments in the series and it would have been so much better with more of that. She also has moments where she seems like bad bosses I've had and I would have loved if it ran with that even more. I appreciate that she grows as a person, but she's been so devoid of a real human personality the whole time that it doesn't quite work for me. She doesn't really come across as a jaded, closed off person with rage issues as much as just a cartoon sociopath with god-like killing skills and I think that makes things less interesting. She does have some choice jokes but I think her lack of depth makes her less funny than the other characters. The best part of her entire character arch is watching her deal with a carbon copy of herself who's super freaking annoying.

It probably sounds like I'm overthinking a cartoon, but there was just something missing.

That said, I do feel like the character of her side-kick Larry is well done. He's funny, he's depressed, he's relatable as an overworked and unappreciated subordinate.

And I do feel like this story improved a lot in the second half. I'm giving it three stars all the way through because I think it's a three star story. It's still five star art.

[Yezi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The drawings. The art. Oh it was good. The stories were good to. But the art was awesome.

[Renato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had first come across Skottie Young during his fantastic Oz adaptations with Marvel. His characterizations of L.F.Baum's characters and lands were wonderfully realized and never visually boring. So when I first came across news of this newer story (which is, in a way, an Oz sendoff with a twist) I knew that it was going to be something very special.

The I Hate Fairyland: Book One series is visually stimulating romp of the story when the ethereal promises of lands that only exist in our imagination becomes corrupted by things going horribly wrong.

Its first pages set the premise : Gertrude (Gert) is whisked away to Fairyland where she is given a quest and a guide (Larrington) to find a magical key that will send her home. Unfortunately, over two decades have passed and not only has she not made any progress on the quest, but she has also become very cynical and ultra-violent towards Fairyland's denizens. It does not help that she is still stuck in her youthful body (while resentment and hate have grown over the 2+ decades). It is also not helpful to Fairyland that she is protected from any true danger until her quest is complete.



Gert is a entropic force, bringing destruction to almost anyone who pisses her off (including the various fourth-wall narrators of her story).



Young does an excellent job of making the series consistantly visually engaging, even changing up the artistic styles to follow pacing and thematic changes in the story. There is not a single page in this series that does not have as much fun happening in the foreground as well as in the background.



If I had one criticism about the series, it is that Fairyland is just too damn big. There seems to be no limit on the lands to be narratively explored. As a result, it seems that everything you are reading about is diminished in significance because there will always be uncorrupted lands out there. Even when Gertrude takes on the mantle of Fairyland queen, her effect on the world seems small because you will always find more Moustache Mountains and Candy Apple Archipelagos that have hitherto remained untouched. I want to see consequences in the aftermath of Gerts reign of terror in its setting and I want to see the world evolve and change based on those consequences.

In the face of the criticism above, I do not feed that the story suffers in a similar manner as the setting. Skottie Young does and excellent job of maintaining character continuity when certain characters return from what we once believed was death. In fact, I would say that the narrative arc of the entire series is wonderfully circular and you get a satisfying sense of closure as you hit the last few chapters.

All in all, still a 5 star read!

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review of the entire series!

Gert is just like any other bright and happy little girl. She loves cupcakes and cute stuffed animals. She dreams of magical fairy tale lands full of rainbows, sprinkles and happiness. One day, Gert's dream comes true when she is whisked away to the colorful world of Fairyland. As a guest in the realm, she is tasked with finding a key to get back home. It starts off as a whimsical adventure that most children could only dream of, but after searching for nearly 30 years, Gert starts to get a bit sick of Fairyland and all of its obnoxiously complicated shenanigans.

Imagine The Wizard of Odds meets The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. It takes the story of a bright and cheery little girl and turns her into a nihilistic, bloodthirsty psycho trying desperately to carve a path back home and failing do to her own reckless brute force. It takes familiar and cute fairy tale themes and waterboards them with a hilarious sense of adult cynicism and explosive violence. Just think about it. Wandering aimlessly in a beautiful but dangerous world where everyone speaks in riddles. A world full of pesky inhabitants who force you to complete menial tasks without ever fulfilling their end of the bargain. Every second wasted is another year spent away from the home you long to get back to. After a while, all the deceivingly frilly and colorful imagery starts to feel like severe psychological torture. Any reasonable person would start to break after a while.

Gert is a lovably chaotic villain-protagonist. She's off her damn rocker, curses like a sailor, slaughters like a psychopath and always gets herself into more and more trouble through her own impulsive recklessness. Her poor guide Larry the fly is stuck with his savage companion until he can find a way to get her back home and offers a bitter edge of cynical humor as he provides constant commentary over Gert's troublesome antics. The story is told in an episodic format without caring too much about continuity. It's like Deadpool turned into a forty-year-old woman and got trapped in the body of a wacky six-year-old girl. It's gruesome, hilarious and constantly pokes fun at itself with witty parodies of other famous works of art from Lord of the Rings to Mortal Kombat and Lone Wolf and Cub.

It does start to get a bit repetitive after a while, but it ends at the perfect length and remains consistently hilarious, vulgar and deconstructive of many fairy tale stereotypes. I also love how all the curse words are censored (kinda) with fairy tale slang like son of a biscuit and muffin hugger but doesn't shy away from constant gore, death and little girls flipping people off.

[Whitney Jamimah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely did like book 2 more than book 1.

In the second half of our journey though Fairyland and beyond with Gert and Larry we get back to the main story which was my gripe for the first book, that in the last 3 issues of book 1 we got too far away from the main story line of Gert trying to get the H-E-double-hockey-sticks out of Fairyland, but Young found his way back home to the main plot. Obviously, plenty of hilarity ensued.

I am still marveled by how accessible this comic is. I read each of these books in a day. I know comics read lightyears faster than novels but I find that a deluxe hardcover comic usually takes me two days to read unless it’s the weekend and I just binge it all day. The ease of the layout and flow of the story is really good and would make this a comic I would highly recommend to new comers to comics. I keep saying this but some comics can be confusing to read. They’ll mark flashbacks with different color schemes or other random things that can take a reader a minute to catch on to for instance. Young didn’t do any of that to the reader here, it’s just a straightforward good time.

Not that I didn’t care for Gert in the first book, but I really kind of got attached to her in the last one. She started to come around a little in her own Gert-ish way and it made it more endearing without getting too mushy because Gert just couldn’t allow anything cute to spoil her day. I also grew more fond of the side characters in the final book too, Larry and Duncan. (I need Duncan’s exact dragon suit by the way)

There was no lack of imagination in regards to the art and the magnificent color work here either. Young did such a good job playing around with all the various and endless characters that could inhabit Fairyland. We also got some cool cameos in this one too. Oh and the “I Hate Image” extra issue at the end was AWESOME. What a treat.

I don’t really have any big complaints for book 2 aside from the fact that they read so fast I wonder if this series will be something that I just sort of forget about as time goes on and quite frankly only time will tell on that front but I did enjoy the bright and bold read that was I Hate Fairyland

[Yany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ame por completo está serie de cómics, no sé porque no lo leí antes.
Este libro contiene los volúmenes 3 y 4 (del #11 al #20) dando por finalizada está historia.
¿Lo puedo volver a repetir? Amo las ilustraciones de Skottie!!! La historia me encantó, esta mujer atrapada en cuerpo de niña, sanguinaria, sin remordimientos ni culpas, con un gusto por la destrucción y la violencia ahhh me encantó. Toda esta historia es el rompimiento de los clichés y arcoiris de los cuentos de hadas, un mundo bastante hipócrita. Las ilustraciones son tan perfectas, los colores! Los escenarios! Que genialidad.
Super entretenido para mí, me han quitado un par de risas. El primer volumen se lo leí a mis peques y hemos acordado que la voz de Gertrude sería como la de Janice (la ex de Chandler de Friends) jajaja
Si bien se los leí a mis peques (11 y 8) no es recomendable para esa edad, por la violencia y su humor negro, pero que va! Con supervisión sí 😂

Va con Spoilers:
Resumiendo la historia
Vol.1: Madly ever after: Gertrude no es buena en las aventuras, luego de estar 27 años en la búsqueda de la llave mágica para volver a su casa se ha vuelto una despiada asesina, media psicópata que no le importa nadie ni nada, su única motivación es encontrar esa llave. Pero aparece Happy para complicarselo todo y termina siendo la reina de Fairyland.

Vol.2: Fluff My life: es la peor de las reinas cómo es de esperarse. Deja de ser reina y sigue su búsqueda de la llave mágica. Por otro lado hay nuevo personaje: Duncan, un niño que cayó en Fairyland. En este tomo Gertrude tiene un encuentro con su yo del futuro venida de un postapocaliptico Fairyland.

Vol.3: Good girl: Gertrude cree que quizás el mejor camino es el del bien así que eso es lo que intenta ser, cosa que no consigue muy bien y termina en el infierno.

Vol.4: Sadly Never After: aparecen viejos personajes, y Larry tiene más historia. Está vez Fairyland necesita la ayuda de Gertrude.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

There might not be a more fun way to kick off the second book than to spoof comic conventions. At least for me, someone who simply LOVES the experience of meeting the creators and those who make it all happen. Skottie Young is both artist and writer on this second volume. Upon it’s end…I feel it unofficially ends Skottie not only as the artist of the series, but as an interior artist. In the years since, it’s been almost exclusively covers…which are super cool and now have their own niche in comic book society (lots of Skottie Young appreciation pages and collectors who get every cover he does) but this is probably the last super volume of sequential art I have come across that he’s done. It’s vibrant and fun and my older daughter like it as well….but she didn’t rave about it or want to read more after consuming the first and now this the second book. This volume cover issue #11-20 and while the first 10 issues felt more connected, these next couple issues feel more like one off stories (which to me with the subject matter works better and is easier for anyone to immediately jump into the series with). After the first 4 issues of this, it begins to connect in another bigger story. Overall I actually think I enjoyed this volume even more than book #1.

[L.ivresse.des.mots · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fou fou fou

J'ai pas d'autres mots. Ce conte contient des expressions aussi fleuries qu'il contient de scènes subtiles et gores. À chaque page une liste d'étapes plus loufoques les unes, que les autres à réaliser.

Tout est orchestré à la perfection par Skottie Young. La frontière entre réalité et fiction est quasi invisible. Gertrude est barrée, folle, déterminée, intraitable. Elle rendra au centuple ce qu'elle a vécu. Je plains ses ennemi.e.s !

Lu avec avidité. L'univers exploite d'ailleurs certaines séries mais aussi les périples d'une Comic-con. Un destin rondement mené. L'auteur promet d'autres aventures. Même si ce dernier tome signe le final imaginé par son humble serviteur.

Vous devriez découvrir ce petit bijou qui vous entraînera dans les dessous des contes. Multiples jeux de mots, attrape nigaud, franc-parler, un goût prononcé pour l'humour noir et l'efficacité d'un tranchant de lame. Amateur du genre n'attendez plus.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series and was sorry for it to end, but what a fluffin' good time! I can definitely relate to Gert because there are days where I feel like her and age with the reality of real life will do that or in Gert's profound moment of wisdom, if you feel obligated to do something eventually you resent it and then hate it, it's not word for word, but it's truth. Author and artist did a fantastic job on this series and may look into more.

[Danial Azman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most fun I've had reading a Western comic in years

There needs to be more of this stuff. A violent, axe-crazy, meta and sometimes insightful Gert plowing through Fairyland and all its absurdities. This comic is FUN. Remember fun? Before "deconstruction", "social commentary" and ret-cons ruined things? Just read this for fluff's sake. You won't regret it.

[tomlindrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

4'5*

encantoume 🥹🥹🥹🥹 moito mais redondo que o primeiro e ainda que non me pareceu perfecto de todo (a primeira metade e simplemente sublime pero nas ultimas paxinas perdeume un chisquinho) a experiencia para min foi moi, moi positiva. e por suposto as cores e o mundo seguen a ser o mellor da historia. moi recomendado, se hai mais vou a seguir lendo 100%

[Matthew WK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short run, but perfectly timed. I loved Gert and would love to see her story continue, but extending it would only diminish the fun this series created. Inventive, funny, beautifully drawn, original - a very fast, light-hearted, enjoyable read.

[Rosalie Hawks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gore e splatter ma in colori pastello e su scenari pastello, tanto sarcasmo, disincanto, battute sboccate e colpi d'ascia. HO AMATO. Credo che più che altro resterò molto affezionata a questa storia perché mi ha regalato un sacco di risate in un periodo in cui ne avevo davvero tanto bisogno...

[Jaime Guzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skottie Young does it again with Fairyland.
Whimsical character designs and expertly drawn pages that pop with brilliant colors.
I laughed to myself at Gert's crude attitude and violent ways as she tries to escape Fairyland and make it back home.
Definitely not for the kiddies but oh so much fun!

[Chrys · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so sad to finish this, it's my all time favourite comic book and I've reread part one numerous times.
The ending was perfect and I love Gert even more because of it.
Beautiful, dark and gloriously gory IHFL is forever in my heart.

[Ada · Rating 5 out of 5]

***dinsdag 11 juni 2024***
⭐️4.5 (rounded up) - really liked it

WHAT ABOUT DUNCAN?!

The ending is somewhat bittersweet yet very fitting. Although I wish the best for Gertrude. Which is weird to say considering she is kind of a mass murderer? 😅

[Naz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love everything about this. Just so good. What a talent!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, it kinda had to end that way. :(

[Chloe Palfrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this!! Sooo entertaining!