Starred Review With so many reimaginings toying with the conventions of Alice's adventures, it's awfully refreshing to have one steal it right back into the delightful nonsense it so rightfully deserves. Riding in the wake of the "Alice monster" and her upending of Wonderland, this graphic novel iginally published as a six-part comic by SLG and collected in this handsome volume by Disney llows a minor character from the original, the White Rabbit's maid, Mary Ann. All of the classic folks figure into this story, from the near-psychotic, head-offing Queen of Hearts to a grandly refigured Cheshire Cat, who seems to play an almost Machiavellian role in the bizarre court intrigue of Wonderland. By imbuing Mary Ann with a dazzlingly prim sense of tidiness, decidedly at odds with the hopeless messiness of her absurd world, Kovac creates vast spaces for humor and imagination, and packs them full of weirdness and whimsy. Liew's gorgeous and lovingly crafted panels, almost quivering with frenetic exuberance, provide effervescent lift to the story, which doesn't so much ape the original's literary nonsense as much as it uses it as an excuse to take full ownership of its own nonsensical leaps. Readers who get nervous without a strong, coherent plotline to hang their attentions on should probably look elsewhere ough who looks to Wonderland for something as drab as normalcy? Just fantastic, in all senses of the word.

This Alice in Wonderland-inspired graphic novel focuses on Alice look-alike Mary Ann, the White Rabbit's housemaid referenced in Carroll's story. Mary Ann falls down a treacle well and encounters the Queen of Spades, who foments rebellion. Kovac and Liew have great fun with frenetic, nonsense-heavy text and illustrations. Hardcore Alice fans may appreciate the story's many referents, but others will be mystified.

A look at Wonderland just after the departure of the "Alice Monster." After clonking the Queen of Hearts on the head in a momentary fit of rage over a spot of soiling, the White Rabbit's housekeeper, Mary Ann, is forced to flee with her employer into the Tulgey Wood. Avoiding a Bandersnatch, Mary Ann proceeds to fall into a treacle well, rescue the Queen of Spades from sticky exile, stop for a nosh at the Mad Tea Party and then firmly scissor the two Queens and their playing-card courts into confetti. Inconsistently portrayed as obsessively fastidious but then not seeming to mind all that much about being continually covered with mud, treacle, dust and other substances, Mary Ann doesn't seem either quite zany enough to be a permanent resident of Wonderland nor ordinary enough to be a foil. Still, his color art closer to Disney than Tenniel in style and spirit, Liew shoehorns most of the nonstop chaos into discrete panels of various sizes and so manages to make the headlong plot reasonably easy to follow. Best enjoyed as an aperitif to Alice's twin outings. (Graphic novel. 10-12)

This wonderful graphic novel offshoot from Lewis Carroll's <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Alice in Wonderland need not worry those concerned about some crass Disney effort to strip-mine yet more revenue out of a beloved children's classic. Author Kovac and artist Liew's six-chapter novel is a droll and urbane imagining of the story behind a very minor character from Carroll's tale: Mary Ann, the White Rabbit's maid, who was mistaken for Alice. In Kovac's telling, dark-haired Mary Ann is a compulsive cleaner and follower of rules, who cares not a whit for the legendary “Alice monster,” as everyone terms the rebellious blonde, whom Mary Ann sees as little more than a “back-talking, stuck-up little prat.” Mary Ann tromps through Liew's lusciously colored landscapes, encountering all the expected characters (Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, Jabberwock) and getting into trouble with most of them. Although the mood is correctly tea party surreal, Kovac manages to add in unexpected elements, from courtly intrigue to fanaticism (Alice even has her own cult, known as “the Curious”), while never losing track of Carroll's hyperactive gamesmanship. It's a rare piece of literature that's been inspired by another yet deserves its own prideful place on the bookshelf. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Mar.)

Gr 4 Up-Ever wonder what happened in Wonderland after Alice left? Follow the quirky tale of Mary Ann, the meticulous and dutiful housekeeper for the White Rabbit, as she continues the tale. Her boss is now wanted for treason by the Queen of Hearts for allowing the Alice Monster to enter the kingdomoff with his head! On the run and fearing for their lives, Mary Ann and White Rabbit encounter the meddlesome Cheshire Cat, the ever-contentious troublemaker, sending the White Rabbit straight into the clutches of the queen and poor Mary Ann tumbling into the Treacle Well. When she discovers the Queen of Spades, an escape plan is hatched along with a meeting between the two queens. Chaos ensues, as it should in Wonderland, complete with a regime change and a happy ending for Mary Ann and her furry friends. This is a terrific look at a great classic. The energetic, action-packed illustrations complement the story in Disney-cartoon style, making for a great read for all ages. Ann Bailey, Wilde Lake High School, Columbia, MD

Wonderland after Alice is not a peaceful place. A brief incident from the original book relates how Alice was mistaken for the White Rabbit's missing housemaid, Mary Ann. When Mary Ann belatedly arrives at the Rabbit's house, she finds the twins, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, trying to save their own necks from the axe-happy Queen of Hearts by accusing the Rabbit of being Alice's confederate in an anti-queen plot. The White Rabbit is innocent, but others are not, for a band of furry conspirators calling themselves "The Curious" are planning a coup. And who fortuitously becomes their chosen Alice-substitute? Who else but Mary Ann? Nonsense is a way of life in Wonderland, and most of its known perpetrators are here, from the Cheshire Cat to the March Hare. Fortunately Mary Ann, a Wonderland native, is comfortable with the loops of logic which so befuddled Alice. Kovak and illustrator Liew make subtle, clever references not only to Lewis Carroll's story but also to the classic Disney film. The illustrations are dreamlike, gentler than Tenniel's originals but faintly menacing. Big-eyed Mary Ann could have stepped out of manga. Alice aficionados will enjoy the spin Kovak puts on the story. Readers who are not well initiated into the original may have trouble following the twists and turns. Having recently read Alice, this reviewer still had to go through Wonderland twice to grasp the plot. The background and patience needed for comprehension may discourage casual readers of this attractive riff on a classic.ùKathleen Beck.