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.

April 25, 2016
Reynolds has a friendly, frolicksome tone that helps children engage with Carroll’s verbal antics, delightful silliness, and the very amusing concept of moving through and maneuvering in the reverse world of a mirror. Reynolds actually manages to recite the book’s famous verse “Jabberwocky” backward, as though reading it in mirror writing. “It seems very pretty,” Alice says, “but it’s rather hard to understand!” Children familiar with the game of chess will take giggly pleasure in Alice’s maneuvers on the squares and her encounters with the red and white kings and queens and other characters familiar from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Reynolds’ vocal antics help children interpret words and actions and enhance the many pleasures of Alice’s post-Wonderland journey while managing to keep adult listeners entertained.