[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!