I like the artwork for this volume a lot more then I liked the artwork for the previous volume. It's really gorgeous to look at. Unfortunately while it's pretty to look at, the hazy free flowing style does make the action difficult to follow. I really love the story line and I like how the author weaves real historical figures and actions into the story line. (I'm a sucker for good historical fiction/fantasy interweavings). ( )

I like the artwork for this volume a lot more then I liked the artwork for the previous volume. It's really gorgeous to look at. Unfortunately while it's pretty to look at, the hazy free flowing style does make the action difficult to follow. I really love the story line and I like how the author weaves real historical figures and actions into the story line. (I'm a sucker for good historical fiction/fantasy interweavings). ( )

I like the artwork for this volume a lot more then I liked the artwork for the previous volume. It's really gorgeous to look at. Unfortunately while it's pretty to look at, the hazy free flowing style does make the action difficult to follow. I really love the story line and I like how the author weaves real historical figures and actions into the story line. (I'm a sucker for good historical fiction/fantasy interweavings). ( )

I like the artwork for this volume a lot more then I liked the artwork for the previous volume. It's really gorgeous to look at. Unfortunately while it's pretty to look at, the hazy free flowing style does make the action difficult to follow. I really love the story line and I like how the author weaves real historical figures and actions into the story line. (I'm a sucker for good historical fiction/fantasy interweavings). ( )

Interesting offshoot of the Alice in Wonderland story. Great artwork. ( )

Much better than the first graphic novel (and that is quite a rarity). This one has Sami Makkonen doing the art instead of Ben Templesmith, and I think that contributed quite a bit. The story is easier to follow and just in general better. ( )

This is the second volume in the story of Hatter Madigan's search for Princess Alyss.

I liked the artwork in this one even less than the first. The faces of the figures was cruder and less realized and I have always found the overuse of blacks, browns and grays to be annoying, making the artwork harder to connect with and the story harder to get involved in normally. And unlike the first volume I felt none of the art or images really worked for me at all. None of them stand out really, except for the depiction of some tarot cards, and that probably has more to do with my interest in the tarot vs the art.

At least this time the story was strong and for the most part interesting all the way through, the only bump in the road was a brief stop at a Souther Plantation that just felt like it came out of nowhere and went back to nowhere.

Artwork aside, I am really enjoying the story in this series and am looking forward to reading more. ( )

Hatter Madigan continues his quest to find the Princess Alyss and his quest leads him to the Civil War in America.

This volume I didn't enjoy as much as the first, the art was almost as good but it was the story itself that was weaker and hence my lower rating.

I felt that the author's spent too much time with Hatter being embroiled in the civil war and not enough time on the quest itself, it felt like a side journey that had little relevance to his mission and while still a good read, not up to par with the impact that the first volume has on readers. ( )

Mad With Wonder continues Hatter's journey to find Alyss, parallell to her adventures in the looking Glass Wars series. As the second in a trilogy, Hatter M: mad with wonder suffers a bit from what i call 'middle book problems'. There isn't much to build up, as that has already happened, and there is no real climax, just hints of answers to come. Nethertheless, this is a lovely addition to the Looking Glass Wars universe of comics and books, beautifully illustratwed and with lots of great extras at the end including pictures of the wonderland cards and background detective work into how Beddor found out about Hatter's story. Overall, recommended, but maybe to buy with the last one when that is published in order to get a bigger sense of the whole story. ( )

Mad with Wonder, the second volume of Hatter M's journey across Earth searching for the lost Princess Alyss of Wonderland, was not quite as engaging as the first volume of the series. There seemed to be too many interludes trying to tie in the events of the Wonderland civil war with event going on in our world, such as the American Civil War. Don't get me wrong, as a huge fan of The Looking Glass Wars series as a whole, I enjoy seeing the 'lost' adventures of Hatter M as he traveled our world in search of Alyss, but this volume seemed detached from the rest of the story somehow. Again, characters were tied into the story that eventually make their way into the main part of the series, but the story itself just didn't seem to mesh in my mind with what would be going on in the main novels.

I also felt that the art seemed a little hard to follow. Not that Ben Templesmith's (the artist of the first graphic novel) is all that clear, but I felt that Sami Makkonen's shifts in scenes were a little hard to follow and unclear as to what was always going on in the frames. His characters were a little to indistinguishable from each other, making it hard to figure out who was who throughout the volume.

As in the first volume, the supplemental material in the back of the volume is interesting, but even more so than in the first volume, you need to read this material to really make clear what is happening in the volume. I personally just don't think it should be a necessity to read the supplemental material in order to fully understand what is happening in the story. The story itself should be able to stand on its own, with the supplemental information adding to the already existing story. I guess it could be argued that these graphic novels are the supplemental material to the main novels, but it just felt like the story could have been presented a little better in the main part of the volume.

Not necessarily a bad volume, but not the best either. Only die-hard fans of The Looking Glass Wars will find this interesting, however. All in all, I'm still going to pick up the final volume in the Hatter M series when it is released. ( )

Hatter M: Mad with Wonder is the continuation of Hatter Madigan’s search for Princess Alyss in 19th century England. This graphic novel starts at the fifth year of his adventure. He hears of an exceptional young girl in the southern United States and continues his quest there. On his adventures, he encounters a circus sideshow, an insane asylum, and the Civil War. This series of graphic novels is an addition to the story in The Looking Glass Wars, not merely a retelling, like so many others are.

Hatter Madigan is one of my favorite characters from The Looking Glass War series. I enjoyed seeing other sides of him, as well as some glimpses of his childhood. He is a mysterious character and his narrative sheds more light on his character and his motivations. Not only is he constantly vigilant, but he cares very deeply for his friends and is genuinely good at heart.

The change in scenery was one of my favorite parts of the book. In The Looking Glass Wars, the story only takes place in Wonderland and Victorian England. This book takes it to the United States where the Civil War is raging, leading to a new cast of characters, a new backdrop, and a different color scheme. It kind of expanded my view on the series to encompass more of our world, instead of limiting the story.

The blending of fact and fiction made this book very magical. It had fantastical elements, but was grounded with aspects of reality. The treatments that Hatter Madigan undergoes in the insane asylum were actually used in that time period. At the insane asylum, Hatter Madigan drew a set of playing cards. At the very end of the graphic novel (please keep reading after the preview of the next book!), there’s a section called “Greetings from the Hatter M Institute for Paranormal Travel,” in which Hatter’s playing cards are found to match the original illuminated playing cards that inspired Frank Beddor to write The Looking Glass Wars! The way that fact and fiction intertwine is very unique in this series.

I loved Mad with Wonder. The ending made me wonder what happens next and made me anxious for the next book! ( )