[BOOK REVIEW] I Hate Fairyland Volume 3: Good Girl by Skottie Young

Title:  I Hate Fairyland Volume 3:  Good Girl

Author:  Skottie Young

Genre:  Thriller / Comedy / Fairy Tale / Action

Year Published:  2017

Year Read: 7/15/2018

Series: I Hate Fairyland #3

Publisher: Image Comics

Source: Purchased

Content Rating: Ages 16+ (Gory Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Introduction:

So, after I finished reading “I Hate Fairyland Volume Two: Fluff My Life,” I just had to read the third volume of Skottie Young’s hilarious “I Hate Fairyland” series called “Good Girl” and I was curious about why the cover was showing a HAPPY, CUTE EYED Gertrude and what that was all about!  Well, I must say that “I Hate Fairyland Volume Three: Good Girl” was definitely an unexpected step up from the second volume!

What is this story about?

It seems like after the events of the last volume (her future self comes and tells her that if she does not change her ways, she could possibly doom Fairyland), Gertrude still has not learned her lesson that if she continues to kill people left and right, she could be heading for some big trouble.  That is until she meets up with a girl named Maddie, who is Gertrude’s biggest fan and Gertrude decides to teach Maddie everything about killing people to get what she wants.  But, when Maddie proved to be even worse than Gertrude, Gertrude then realizes what a terrible person she has been and she decides to try to become a better person in the long run.  However, knowing Gertrude, that is not going to be easy!

What I loved about this story:

Skottie Young’s writing:  As usual, Skottie Young has done a fantastic job at writing this story as the story is both hilarious and shocking at the same time (especially, with that twist of an ending)!  I really loved the scenes where is Gertrude trying to become a better person by helping people, but since she is violent by nature, she cannot help but destroy the many things she comes across to.  It was a nice change of pace for the series as we finally get to see Gertrude actually act (a little) nicer towards the people she comes across to and it was also hilarious still seeing Gertrude destroy things, even though she tries really hard not to!  I also loved the way that Skottie Young further developed Larry the Fly’s character as we get to see that Larry actually does care about Gertrude, despite constantly snarking at her. We also get to see what his life would have been like without Gertrude and it was both sad and hilarious seeing his alternative life from his perspective.

Skottie Young and Dean Rankine’s artwork:  Skottie Young’s artwork is as usual hilarious to look at as all the characters look exaggerated and I especially loved the appearance of Gertrude herself as she looks like an evil version of “Shirley Temple!”  I also loved the artwork done by Dean Rankine in the issue where Larry the Fly starts dreaming about how his life would have turned out if he did not meet Gertrude as the artwork is even more cartoonish than most of the artwork in this volume and the art style actually reminds me of the art style from “Rocko’s Modern Life!”

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who does not like gory violence, there is some gory violence in this volume, mainly during the scenes where characters are ripped apart and blown up in extremely bloody ways (all courtesy of Gertrude herself, of course)!  Also, this is a bit of a nitpick for me, but the narrative is a bit all over the place in this volume as Gertrude and Larry go on many different adventures in this volume and the narrative tends to jump from one situation to the next.  This would often confuse me as I was trying to figure out what the main plot of this volume was, although I will admit that the narrative is a bit more straightforward here than in the second volume.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “I Hate Fairyland Volume Three: Good Girl” is a truly fantastic volume that is full of hilarious (and violent) adventure along with a shocking twist of an ending that fans of the “I Hate Fairyland” series will definitely enjoy!

You might also like:

• I Hate Fairyland Volume 1: Madly Ever After by Skottie Young

• I Hate Fairyland Volume 2: Fluff My Life by Skottie Young
• The Little Red Wolf by Amélie Fléchais

[BOOK REVIEW] I Hate Fairyland Volume 2: Fluff My Life by Skottie Young

Title:  I Hate Fairyland Volume 2:  Fluff My Life

Author:  Skottie Young

Genre:  Thriller / Comedy / Fairy Tale / Action

Year Published:  2016

Year Read: 6/23/2018

Series: I Hate Fairyland #2

Publisher: Image Comics

Source: Purchased

Content Rating: Ages 16+ (Gory Violence and Brief Strong Language)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

Introduction:

So, years ago, I had read the first volume of “I Hate Fairyland” on Netgalley and I loved the graphic novel so much that I just had to pick up the rest of this series and put it in my ever-growing bookshelf!  So, I finally got around to reading the second volume of the series called “I Hate Fairyland: Fluff My Life Volume Two” and it was just as entertaining as the first volume!

What is this story about?

After Gertrude kills Queen Cloudia in the last volume, she is then forced to become Fairyland’s next Queen since the law stated that if something were to happen to the Queen of Fairyland, then another person must become Queen in their place.  This upsets Gertrude since she spent most of the first volume trying to get out of Fairyland and once she becomes Queen, she is doing such a horrible job at ruling Fairyland that she ends up getting fired from the position.  This then allows Gertrude to continue her journey to escape Fairyland and along the way, she gets into lots of crazy situations such as meeting Duncan Dragon, who is actually a young boy in a dragon suit, fighting with a princess who is actually more than she seems and possibly changing the fate of Fairyland for the worse!

What I loved about this story:

Skottie Young’s writing:  Skottie Young’s writing is just as witty and hilarious as it was in the first volume and I really enjoyed the chaotic adventures that Gertrude goes on!  I like the way that Skottie Young continues to make Gertrude into the same rambunctious and violent character that she was in the first volume as it made the story quite entertaining! I also liked the fact that Skottie Young started to gradually give Gertrude some character development in this volume as we start seeing some repercussions of Gertrude’s actions in Fairyland and I hope to see where Gertrude’s character arc goes to in the next volume!  Also, this may sound a bit sadistic of me, but I did enjoy the way that Skottie Young incorporated the over the top violence in this volume as it made the volume so hilarious and entertaining to read through!

Skottie Young and Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz’s artwork:  Skottie Young’s artwork is just as hilarious here as it was in the previous volume as Gertrude continues to look like a young girl with a crazy expression on her face and having messy green locks for her hair. I also enjoyed seeing the carnage that Gertrude wrecks on Fairyland as it looks so exaggerated and comical at the same time!  Jeffrey “Chamba” Cruz’s artwork for issue eight was so hilarious and creative to look at!  I loved the scene when Gertrude ends up going inside an arcade game and the art style is done in an anime style that really fits well with the video game setting of that story and it made me really enjoy that issue!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

Even though I still enjoyed this book, one of my main problems with this volume was that there were too many things going on in the story that I found myself being confused about some of the arcs in this volume (even the ending of this volume was a bit odd due to it coming out of nowhere).  Also, for readers who do not like gory violence or strong language, there is lots of gory violence in this volume that might be uncomfortable for some readers to handle.  Also, even though it was only one instance of this, there is the mention of the “s” word in this volume that anyone who does not like strong language should watch out for.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “I Hate Fairyland: Fluff My Life Volume Two” is a great continuation of the first volume that anyone who is a huge fan of this series should definitely check out and I definitely cannot wait to check out the third volume to this series!

You might also like:

• I Hate Fairyland Volume 1: Madly Ever After by Skottie Young

• Jughead Volume 2 by Chip Zdarsky and Ryan North
• The Little Red Wolf by Amélie Fléchais

[ARC REVIEW] I Hate Fairyland Volume 1: Madly Ever After by Skottie Young

Title:  I Hate Fairyland Volume 1:  Madly Ever After



Author:  Skottie Young

Genre:  Thriller / Comedy / Fairy Tale / Action

Year Published:  2016

Year Read: 4/19/2016

Series: I Hate Fairyland #1

Publisher: Image Comics



Source: eARC (NetGalley)



Content Rating: Ages 16+ (Gory Violence and Some Gross Humor)

I would like to thank NetGalley and Image Comics for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

Introduction:

“Alright, now let’s get the fluff out of this cutesy nightmare!”

Now, judging by that line alone, you just know that you are going to get into one doozy of a tale!  Now, even though Skottie Young’s name is familiar to me at this point, especially since I am an avid comic book reader, I will admit that I did not actually get into his work until I read Neil Gaiman’s children’s book “Fortunately, the Milk” which Skottie Young had done the artwork for.  So, when NetGalley gave me this free copy of Skottie Young’s newest graphic novel series “I Hate Fairyland,” the title alone got me interested and I just had to check this graphic novel out for myself!

What is this story about?

The story starts off with a young girl named Gertrude who wished to be in a place that was full of wonder, magic, laughter and joy.  Unfortunately, once Gertrude finds herself sucked into this world, which is called Fairyland, she discovers that she really wants to get out of this place.  But, in order for her to leave Fairyland, she has to find a key that would unlock the door that leads her back home and she enlists the help of Larrigon the Fly (or Larry for short) to help her find the key to the door.  Unfortunately, Gertrude spends the next twenty-seven years still trying to find that key with no luck and even though she has the mind of a thirty year old woman, she still retains the body of a little girl.  Now, Gertrude is more determined than ever to get out of Fairyland, even if that means she has to murder every single person she comes across!

What I loved about this story:

Skottie Young’s writing: Oh my gosh! If there was any fairy tale like story that has the protagonist actually killing everyone she or he comes across, then this is definitely the story to look out for!  I seriously never would have thought that Skottie Young would come up with such a violent yet hilarious concept about the main character murdering every single cute creature that comes across her path (even though said cute creatures are out to stop her from getting back home), since I have always associated Skottie Young’s works with mostly comedic stuff.  Skottie Young’s humorous qualities in his works are still prevalent in this graphic novel. But in this story, the humor actually crosses into black comedy territory as Gertrude kills everyone who stands in her path, but you cannot help but laugh out loud at how ridiculously exaggerated her violent actions are, such as one scene where a hunter is hired to kill Gertrude, but a few pages later, Gertrude is seen talking to the decapitated head of the hunter she had just kill a few pages before!  I just loved the way that Skottie Young is able to make everything so exaggerated within the story, despite the fact that the story is about a serial killer trying to find her way home, as it made the story so hilarious to read!

Skottie Young’s artwork:  Skottie Young’s artwork truly shines in this graphic novel as all the characters look so cartoonish and exaggerated and yet, you cannot help but cringe a bit at all the violent and gory scenes of Gertrude murdering all the characters in the story.  I loved the way that Skottie Young drew Gertrude to be a cute green haired girl who happens to wear a slasher smile on her face every time she murders someone!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who does not like extreme violence, this volume contains many gory and bloody scenes that might be uncomfortable for people who do not like seeing violent images in any graphic novel.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “I Hate Fairyland Volume One: Madly Ever After” is seriously one of the COOLEST, BLOODIEST, FUNNIEST, CRAZIEST, and CREATIVE  graphic novels I had ever read and I am definitely looking forward to reading the second volume once it comes out!