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Alice and the Nightmare, Vol. 1
Curiouser & Curiouser!
In the Queendom of Wonderland, the dreams of sleeping humans are the main resource. Dreams power and shape everything in the homeland of Alice Heart. Protégée of the Red Queen, Alice is a new student at the prestigious Phantasmagoria University, where oneironauts learn to navigate and harvest dreams.
After growing up alone in the Heart Church, Alice is ill-prepared for her new competitive academic home where students are sorted into the four Suits of Wonderland—Spades, Hearts, Clubs, and Diamonds. Thanks to the enthusiastic teachers, her classmates, and her enigmatic new roommate, Edith Diamant, Alice is determined to grow and learn. And the mysteries of the school don't stop at Edith—between odd salesman of enchanted contraband, fearsome Jabberwocky lurking in the shadows, and a strange girl who exists just out of the corner of Alice's eye, the school year promises to be exciting... to say the least.
In the Queendom of Wonderland, the dreams of sleeping humans are the main resource. Dreams power and shape everything in the homeland of Alice Heart. Protégée of the Red Queen, Alice is a new student at the prestigious Phantasmagoria University, where oneironauts learn to navigate and harvest dreams.
After growing up alone in the Heart Church, Alice is ill-prepared for her new competitive academic home where students are sorted into the four Suits of Wonderland—Spades, Hearts, Clubs, and Diamonds. Thanks to the enthusiastic teachers, her classmates, and her enigmatic new roommate, Edith Diamant, Alice is determined to grow and learn. And the mysteries of the school don't stop at Edith—between odd salesman of enchanted contraband, fearsome Jabberwocky lurking in the shadows, and a strange girl who exists just out of the corner of Alice's eye, the school year promises to be exciting... to say the least.
234 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 19, 2020
OH MY GOD, WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE?
Listen, I'm not much of an "Alice" fan; I've never really been keen on the original works by Lewis Carroll, and I struggle at times to really appreciate or get into books or comics that are inspired by them. But when I fall into anything inspired by "Alice", I fall pretty hard, and this one is probably my favorite by far.
I can add to this review, and I eventually will, because BOY do I have some things to say about this, but for now you're going to have to make do with just this, because there's a lot here in just these four chapters that I really need to digest and process first. In the meantime, I can tell you that I'm stupidly happy I took a chance and backed the Kickstarter to get this published in physical form, and if you feel so inclined to read the original webcomic, GO DO IT.
Listen, I'm not much of an "Alice" fan; I've never really been keen on the original works by Lewis Carroll, and I struggle at times to really appreciate or get into books or comics that are inspired by them. But when I fall into anything inspired by "Alice", I fall pretty hard, and this one is probably my favorite by far.
I can add to this review, and I eventually will, because BOY do I have some things to say about this, but for now you're going to have to make do with just this, because there's a lot here in just these four chapters that I really need to digest and process first. In the meantime, I can tell you that I'm stupidly happy I took a chance and backed the Kickstarter to get this published in physical form, and if you feel so inclined to read the original webcomic, GO DO IT.
April 3, 2023
A wonderful amazing retelling-ish of the Alice in Wonderland stories!
There was a fun sale at Hiveworks Comics and I decided to buy a couple of ebooks/graphic novels. This is one of them and boy I had to have it. I love the Alice in Wonderland stories and retellings, especially a tad darker and more mysterious? Sign me up.
Alice was such a fun and interesting character. We see so many sides of her, but for most she is just a lovely and sweet girl who does her own thing and is kind and friendly. I loved how hard she studied and how dedicated she was to have a good time at the university/school. I loved that Alice was chubby. I hope that this doesn’t sound wrong, but we definitely need more variety. Not everyone is thin, skinny. Plus, I loved her dresses/clothes, they were all so fun and I just want that one that is on the cover!
The twins? Dum and Dee? I LOVED those two. Mainly because they REALLY reminded me of Kaoru and Hikaru! In how they acted, how they talked, how they looked. Everything screamed Hitachiin twins to me and it just made my day. I hope to see more of these two in the next volume or maybe they could get their own graphic novel? I would absolutely love a full story with just them!
The nightmares, we see that it is very important and that apparently Wonderland (+ Looking Glass Territories, yes, loved that these were also mentioned) were almost destroyed because of nightmares, and especially the Jabberwocky. We read how these kids will be trained to defeat nightmares. To defeat baddies. I really loved the nightmares. I mean, not in the way of yay, destruction, but more that I just love a story a bit more if everything isn’t just hunky dory. I like it when we have just a dash of darkness. Something to fear. Something that should be defeated. We also see that Alice is having something around her. Lurking. Mostly in her nightmares, but we also get to see in the simulation thing that something is there. A darker Alice and boy, you definitely don’t want to meet that Nightmare Alice.
I love that oneironauts (I still cannot for life pronounce that) gather energy from dreams and try to protect humans from nightmares.
I loved the anchors and what it means. And that there are various places to get it to pop up in. From less rare places to Alice’s ultra rare place, her eyes.
We also read about suits and the racism/bad stuff that come from it. How Diamonds are treated like shit because they are, according to the Wonderland stuff, in the last place. They have their talents, but apparently people don’t care about that much. How Hearts are second in line and so treated with a ton of respect, as we can clearly see many times.
I loved Edith and Alice’s friendship. Even if they have to keep it low-key due to how people react to a Diamond and a Heart being together. Which just broke my heart because these two were just such good friends.
I am still so very curious about many things! About the magic items and how they draw in Nightmares. How the school was started. What Alice her secret is that she herself doesn’t even know (I mean, I can think of a few things given the original, but I have no clue if those are correct, because after all this is a retelling). Why she has to drink these horrible and disgusting looking potions each day. What is up with the queen. And some others. I hope that in next volumes we get some more clarity! That would be fantastic.
The art in this book was gorgeous, I love love the style.
All in all, I hope that my review made sense, haha, this was just such a good book and I really enjoyed it. Dark + light + awesome with fantastic characters and tons of magic and questions. I love the lore that we get presented. I would definitely recommend this one!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
There was a fun sale at Hiveworks Comics and I decided to buy a couple of ebooks/graphic novels. This is one of them and boy I had to have it. I love the Alice in Wonderland stories and retellings, especially a tad darker and more mysterious? Sign me up.
Alice was such a fun and interesting character. We see so many sides of her, but for most she is just a lovely and sweet girl who does her own thing and is kind and friendly. I loved how hard she studied and how dedicated she was to have a good time at the university/school. I loved that Alice was chubby. I hope that this doesn’t sound wrong, but we definitely need more variety. Not everyone is thin, skinny. Plus, I loved her dresses/clothes, they were all so fun and I just want that one that is on the cover!
The twins? Dum and Dee? I LOVED those two. Mainly because they REALLY reminded me of Kaoru and Hikaru! In how they acted, how they talked, how they looked. Everything screamed Hitachiin twins to me and it just made my day. I hope to see more of these two in the next volume or maybe they could get their own graphic novel? I would absolutely love a full story with just them!
The nightmares, we see that it is very important and that apparently Wonderland (+ Looking Glass Territories, yes, loved that these were also mentioned) were almost destroyed because of nightmares, and especially the Jabberwocky. We read how these kids will be trained to defeat nightmares. To defeat baddies. I really loved the nightmares. I mean, not in the way of yay, destruction, but more that I just love a story a bit more if everything isn’t just hunky dory. I like it when we have just a dash of darkness. Something to fear. Something that should be defeated. We also see that Alice is having something around her. Lurking. Mostly in her nightmares, but we also get to see in the simulation thing that something is there. A darker Alice and boy, you definitely don’t want to meet that Nightmare Alice.
I love that oneironauts (I still cannot for life pronounce that) gather energy from dreams and try to protect humans from nightmares.
I loved the anchors and what it means. And that there are various places to get it to pop up in. From less rare places to Alice’s ultra rare place, her eyes.
We also read about suits and the racism/bad stuff that come from it. How Diamonds are treated like shit because they are, according to the Wonderland stuff, in the last place. They have their talents, but apparently people don’t care about that much. How Hearts are second in line and so treated with a ton of respect, as we can clearly see many times.
I loved Edith and Alice’s friendship. Even if they have to keep it low-key due to how people react to a Diamond and a Heart being together. Which just broke my heart because these two were just such good friends.
I am still so very curious about many things! About the magic items and how they draw in Nightmares. How the school was started. What Alice her secret is that she herself doesn’t even know (I mean, I can think of a few things given the original, but I have no clue if those are correct, because after all this is a retelling). Why she has to drink these horrible and disgusting looking potions each day. What is up with the queen. And some others. I hope that in next volumes we get some more clarity! That would be fantastic.
The art in this book was gorgeous, I love love the style.
All in all, I hope that my review made sense, haha, this was just such a good book and I really enjoyed it. Dark + light + awesome with fantastic characters and tons of magic and questions. I love the lore that we get presented. I would definitely recommend this one!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
March 7, 2024
"She’s dreaming now
Eyes full of glittering dust
What do you think
She dreams about?
Nobody can guess that
Why - about you! About me.
We are only a sort of thing
In this dream.
If she wakes, we'd go out
**BANG!**
Just like a candle!"
Alice and the Nightmare
By Michelle Krivanek
I was drawn to Alice and the Nightmare first by it's art. It's so gorgeous.
Alice and the Nightmare is a very intriguing first volume to an ongoing graphic novel series originally published online and currently running on the author's patreo n. Currently this is the only physical volume, but I'm really hoping the rest of the series is published physically! Alice and the Nightmare has loose inspirations from Alice and Wonderland.
Alice is the protégé to Rougina (Queen of Wonderland), currently entering into Phantasmagoria Academy in Wonderland. She grew up alone in the Heart Church under Queen Rougina (a very intriguing woman with questionable motives and character, but who seems to genuinely care for Alice).
At the academy, students are sorted into suites, where they develop talents to capture dream energy and work together. Dreams dreampt by humans are dangerous and can kill you or make you dissappear. The four different suites have different abilities and roles in the world and they're structured in a sort of caste system. It was very interesting and well thought out.
This first volume introduced several characters, some history, the dream system, and more. I really enjoyed this novel. It is really an introduction, but I love graphic novels and I enjoy magic schools, so I'm excited for more.
Alice befriends several characters, including Edith, her new roommate. The characters are all enjoyable, intriguing, and / or fun. Edith is my favorite so far, but I also love Alice, Mabel, Hatter, Dee, Dum, and I find Rougina and Azalea very intriguing. Can't forget the cat too!
Alice also has dreams with a nightmare self and a strange nightmare tree. She takes potions for a special condition, made by Rougina and Azalea, which is likely related.
Anyway, I love Alice and the Nightmare so far! This volume is mostly an introduction to the world building (which is very interesting) and the characters (whom I love so far).
Is there queerness (since I'm a queer reviewer)? Yes, there's some subtle queerness. Dee and Dum are nonbinary. You can almost miss it. There's some potential queer subtext between two characters (I think, at least?). There's a hinted at queer crush. The main character's sexuality isn't really clear yet; she's had a straight crush. The author is a lesbian. So far, it's mostly just friendships, classes, world building, and some family-esque dynamics.
Eyes full of glittering dust
What do you think
She dreams about?
Nobody can guess that
Why - about you! About me.
We are only a sort of thing
In this dream.
If she wakes, we'd go out
**BANG!**
Just like a candle!"
Alice and the Nightmare
By Michelle Krivanek
I was drawn to Alice and the Nightmare first by it's art. It's so gorgeous.
Alice and the Nightmare is a very intriguing first volume to an ongoing graphic novel series originally published online and currently running on the author's patreo n. Currently this is the only physical volume, but I'm really hoping the rest of the series is published physically! Alice and the Nightmare has loose inspirations from Alice and Wonderland.
Alice is the protégé to Rougina (Queen of Wonderland), currently entering into Phantasmagoria Academy in Wonderland. She grew up alone in the Heart Church under Queen Rougina (a very intriguing woman with questionable motives and character, but who seems to genuinely care for Alice).
At the academy, students are sorted into suites, where they develop talents to capture dream energy and work together. Dreams dreampt by humans are dangerous and can kill you or make you dissappear. The four different suites have different abilities and roles in the world and they're structured in a sort of caste system. It was very interesting and well thought out.
This first volume introduced several characters, some history, the dream system, and more. I really enjoyed this novel. It is really an introduction, but I love graphic novels and I enjoy magic schools, so I'm excited for more.
Alice befriends several characters, including Edith, her new roommate. The characters are all enjoyable, intriguing, and / or fun. Edith is my favorite so far, but I also love Alice, Mabel, Hatter, Dee, Dum, and I find Rougina and Azalea very intriguing. Can't forget the cat too!
Alice also has dreams with a nightmare self and a strange nightmare tree. She takes potions for a special condition, made by Rougina and Azalea, which is likely related.
Anyway, I love Alice and the Nightmare so far! This volume is mostly an introduction to the world building (which is very interesting) and the characters (whom I love so far).
Is there queerness (since I'm a queer reviewer)? Yes, there's some subtle queerness. Dee and Dum are nonbinary. You can almost miss it. There's some potential queer subtext between two characters (I think, at least?). There's a hinted at queer crush. The main character's sexuality isn't really clear yet; she's had a straight crush. The author is a lesbian. So far, it's mostly just friendships, classes, world building, and some family-esque dynamics.
October 5, 2020
I don't read webcomics because I can't do that. I mean, I get distracted and I need to scroll up and down to look at the whole page. I know my attention level is not the same when I read webcomics or when I read a hardcopy.
I backed this project because it had the Hivemill brand and they usually offer good stories.
And this was good. I'm not a big fan of Alice in Wonderland. I've read a couple of retellings but they weren't my cup of tea. I mostly disliked them. But this one was extremely good.
First of all, I adore the art: the lines are round and the colors are very bright, which is a combination I love.
Then I started reading the book. At first I was a bit confused but the story is very linear and the author does a good job in presenting the world-building, which is a bit complicate. The story is a bit slow and after 230 and something page we're still at the beginning.
Love it, though. And I'm already looking forward to the next volume.
I backed this project because it had the Hivemill brand and they usually offer good stories.
And this was good. I'm not a big fan of Alice in Wonderland. I've read a couple of retellings but they weren't my cup of tea. I mostly disliked them. But this one was extremely good.
First of all, I adore the art: the lines are round and the colors are very bright, which is a combination I love.
Then I started reading the book. At first I was a bit confused but the story is very linear and the author does a good job in presenting the world-building, which is a bit complicate. The story is a bit slow and after 230 and something page we're still at the beginning.
Love it, though. And I'm already looking forward to the next volume.
July 28, 2025
An interesting (first part of a) retelling of the classic Alice in Wonderland novel. Alice has been the Red Queen's protégé since she was 7, planning to become a dream energy harvester when she grows up. Now it's time for her to attend her dream school (ba dum) but she has some concerning health conditions. Is she really who she thinks she is?
Cute art, fun reinventing of characters, inclusive with LGBTQ folks represented in several ways
Cute art, fun reinventing of characters, inclusive with LGBTQ folks represented in several ways
June 18, 2021
Un webcomic que j'adore suivre, j'aime beaucoup l'univers qui est créé, les personnages, les intrigues. C'est vraiment bien imaginé, construit et je ne pense pas jamais m'en lasser (je les lis depuis 2015. C'est fou, 6 ans déjà!)
May 25, 2025
This is such a cute comic. I love the reimagined world of Alice in Wonderland. The use of dreams as energy is such a fun twist.
Looking forward to seeing how the story of Alice Heart continues. Edith seems like a fun, if a bit secretive character as well.
Looking forward to seeing how the story of Alice Heart continues. Edith seems like a fun, if a bit secretive character as well.
October 20, 2020
Great book loved the art and the story. A fun fantasy/scifi twist on the Alice in Wonderland tropes we are used to.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews