Classics Illustrated #3: Through the Looking Glass

by Kyle Baker, Lewis Carroll

In a graphic-novel adaptation of the sequel to Alice in Wonderland, Alice journeys through a mirror to a strange and wonderful world where curious adventures await her.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comic Book, Comics

56 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2008

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Kyle John Baker is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series Plastic Man.
Baker has won numerous Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards for his work in the comics field.

Reviews

[Cynda Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

GR group Catching up on Classics reads Through the Looking Glass this month. I took advantage of the group read to freshen up on the story. In this illustrated edition, all the events and meeting with other characters are retained. An enjoyable memory device.

I read this group read to freshen some of my memories of Alice before reading Alice in Quantumland: An Allegory of Quantum Physics by Robert Gilmore. Looking forward.

[Lia C · Rating 4 out of 5]

An abridged graphic novel version of the original sequel to "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" that captures all the whimsy of the source material.
The vibrant, loose abstract illustrations work well with the selected text. However, following sequential art fashion, it's mainly dialog of the characters, and all introspection is lost. It's this disconnect from Alice's dismay, which hinders it for me. I still highly recommend it, but be sure to read "Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There" for the full story.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Admirable attempt at adapting Through the Looking Glass into a graphic novel format, though this works better as a supplemental piece. Baker attempts to remain true to the original work by leaving the dialogue mainly intact, though the transitional writing that he removes tends to cause confusion, especially in Carroll's world of fancy, imagination and nonsense. Baker also makes a stylistic choice to eschew word bubbles; dialogue is instead placed under panels and directly under characters to which they belong. This takes some getting used to, even from seasoned graphic novel readers. Baker's loose art style reflects the mood of this world, and his characters are drawn with great expression. However, small panel size detracts from appreciation of the art and comprehension of the story, though this may be well worth the sacrifice for a portable trim size that children associate with books they can read independently.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't like the original novel but I went into this hoping for a new perspective on the classic. I have appreciated some graphic representations of classic lit. when I didn't enjoy the originals. However, I found this plain tedious. Baker has chosen to use only dialogue with this retelling. Now this book is utter nonsense to begin with and taking out any and all narrative leaves us with a complete script of puns, riddles and talking in circles. I didn't want to finish it, but made myself do so. I'm also not fond of Baker's art; Alice looks downright ugly at times. So it really was a lose/lose situation for me. Only bright spot is this contains the poem "Jabberwocky", which I simply adore!

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the great illustrations I love. Still a good story - even distilled