Book Review: Hatter M: The Nature of Wonder by Frank Beddor and Liz Cavalier, Illustrated by Sami Makkonen

Written by Caballero Oscuro

After his lengthy jaunt across 19th century Europe, royal bodyguard Hatter Madigan takes a trip to the New World in the latest installment of his ongoing “geographic” adventures, The Nature of Wonder. It’s a refreshing change of scenery for the character and readers, but Madigan’s principal quest remains the same: locate the missing heir to the Wonderland throne, Princess Alyss Heart. What originally started as an idea for a brief web comic to expand upon and promote the Looking Glass Wars trilogy of prose novels has turned into a monumental project that has taken on a life of its own and will shortly eclipse its source novels in total volumes.

The latest adventures are chronicled by series creator Frank Beddor along with co-writer Liz Cavalier, ensuring cohesive continuance of the ever-evolving tale of Madigan’s adventures in our world. As in past volumes, Madigan continues his search for Alyss by attempting to follow the Light, better known as White Imagination, a particular strain of good magic native to Wonderland. This volume starts in 1865, marking it as the approximate midpoint of Madigan’s 13-year quest in our world.

This time Madigan’s search leads him across the U.S., with notable stops along the way. In Washington D.C. , he briefly encounters President Lincoln (who greatly admires Madigan’s similar choice in haberdashery), as well as members of a paranormal investigation bureau founded by Lincoln , something like an X-Files precursor. Then it’s off to Arizona where he meets an Indian shaman with a particularly strong affinity for White Imagination and helps her defend her tribe from soldiers corrupted by Black Imagination. Finally, he journeys further into the wild west in California where he meets a milliner from Wonderland, providing him a brief respite and full rejuvenation of his otherworldly weapons. Unfortunately, still no sign of Alyss, but it appears from the included sneak peak that he will continue his search in the Far East in Volume 4, Zen of Wonder.

Article Author: Cinema Sentries

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