My first 2 reads in honour of #freecomicbookday yesterday come courtesy of @skottieyoung. I picked up Middlewest because of a tiktok recommendation, and I Hate Fairyland because of that cover art (the @neilhimself rec didn’t hurt either!)

First, Middlewest. Abel lives in an average, ordinary, boring town – until one day, it’s levelled by a storm. And the storm knows his name. He flees to find safety, from both the storm and his volatile single father, and ends up searching for a solution to the weird glowing mark that has suddenly appeared on his chest in a quirky travelling carnival. This was really enjoyable, and the artwork balances charming and terrifying beautifully.

Speaking of terrifyingly charming – I HATE FAIRYLAND. I freaking love this, and currently have a @kingscomics cart building with the rest of the series. Gertrude finds herself sucked into Fairyland through an Alice-esque portal. She needs to find a magic key to get back home. Easy, right? Well, it’s been nearly 30 years, and she’s now a badass pissed-off grownup in a six-year-old body, and has had enough of this shit. So has the Fairy Queen, who wants Gertrude gone, and is frustrated by the rules of the land but is determined to get rid of this green-haired girl once and for all. This comic combines artwork and colouring beautifully reminiscent of Alice In Wonderland and other candy-coloured fantasies, with a healthy (or unhealthy?) dose of blood and gore. Imagine Deadpool trapped in Disneyland, and you’ll get the gist. Fantastic, and I can’t wait to read more.

I also just discovered, as I dived down the “Tamara obsesses over a newly discovered creator” rabbit hole, that Skottie Young has done a Wizard of Oz series with Marvel. Get. In. Mah. Cart!!!!