Alice In Comicland!

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There are easily together one of the greatest influences on modern culture of any works from the 19th Century. Published in 1865 and 1871 respectively, both novels were written by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under his famous pen name of Lewis Carrol. Imagery and aspects of the two works are constantly being referenced time and again all across our culture have been for over one hundred and fifty years. Details of the works are so ingrained that people make reference to them and don't even really know they are doing so, not unlike Shakespeare. These stories have entered the genetic code of  society and are impossible excise, even if such a dreadful idea did occur to anyone. 

The two novels are highly visual and were illustrated originally by Sir John Tenniel, at the time a cartoonist for Punch magazine. With such a beginning it's no small wonder that these stories are ripe for adaptation in many a comic strip and comic book. The impact in film has been immense too, as without Alice Walt Disney might never have had the opportunity to make Mickey. There are more film and cartoon adaptations than I can muster the strength to list, but just to name a few there is Disney's later 50's cartoon version which offer versions of Carrol's character as strong in American society as Tenniel's. 

Craig Yoe's collection is pretty impressive, though it does allow a few rather lengthy adaptations to dominate the somewhat slender page count. This book could've have been half again the size and it would've been ideal. There are versions of the story here in which Alice (or a version of her) encounter the likes of the Man from Krypton and the teen from Riverdale. There are stories here by fantastic artists  such as Walt Kelly, Alex Toth, Jack Davis, Dan DeCarlo, Dave Berg, and Joe Shuster. 

Below are a few links to some of the more fascinating versions of Alice in this book such as two which showcase the character in vintage 50's horror tales and one a utterly riotous parody of the story. 

In this issue of the Ziff-Davis comic simply titled Alice (one of only two) she solves the flying saucer mystery among other things. To read it go here. 

Alex Toth does his usual outstanding artistic job on a very scary version of the Alice adventures, the story was tucked away nonchalantly in an issue of Standard's Lost Worlds. To read it go here. 

Charlton got into the act with another horror version of Alice in Wonderland which was done for the final issue of The Thing. To read it go here. 

Jack Davis knocks it out of the park with a delightful and raucous satire of the Alice doings in the pages of MAD. In this one Davis actually makes use of Tenniel's original drawings to give the story are real bizarre feeling of legitimacy. To read this masterpiece go here. 

There are many more images and stories in this tome, one purporting to tell the true story of how they came to be written and others adding whole worlds to Alice's misadventures. She even meets another 19th Century icon in the aptly named Alice in Wonderland meets Santa Claus (If you notice is the  rendition of Alice which is peeking out from behind the curtain on the cover of the Yoe collection.) Which reminds me to say have a Merry Christmas one and all. 

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