Through the Looking Glass

January 30, 1990
Classics Illustrated comics returns with this dismal adaptation of Carroll's second Alice tale. Most of the charming paradoxes and silly puns are salvaged in gs the text, arranged in columns beneath the artwork rather than in word balloons. Consequently, a lot of very small illustrations are needed to carry the dialogue between Alice and the many looking-glass characters--to the detriment of the visual appeal of the work. g Baker ( Why I Hate Saturn ) is a good caricaturist, but the drawings often appear perfunctory and the color choicesg flat, garish and awkward. At its best (the Humpty Dumpty scenes), the g sketchy linework seems more appropriate to a realistic narrative, a thriller or a political satire, and the g book lacks throughout the careful design and rendering that a children's classic requires.

Renée Raudman's straightforward narration of Carroll's beloved classic provides a pleasant alternative to other more theatrical renditions. LOOKING GLASS boasts many of the famous characters and poems that are at the core of the Alice mythology, such as Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Humpty Dumpty, "Jabberwocky," and "The Walrus and the Carpenter." Raudman's narration is reserved but tender. She performs the prose with all of Alice's awe as she rediscovers Wonderland. Raudman's character voices are understated and modestly effective. Still, her approach doesn't wholly fit the absurdity of Carroll's landscape. This sequel is even more bizarre and quirky than the original ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND, making a zany, kaleidoscopic narration almost obligatory. A.H.A. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine