Comics Crux

   

Wander: Olive Hopkins and the Ninth Kingdom strongly appeals to both the cynic and Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast in me. 

When you’re a kid and you have the opportunity to explore some fantastic realm AIW-style you’re obviously going to be overjoyed. But what if you’re a 26-year-old recently failed grad student with a nicotine habit and strong inclination to just get your life back on track? As Olive, the titular character proves, you probably wouldn’t be that pumped. Especially if your gateway into Wonderland was waking up face down in the grass with a shiny-obsessed Elf and overly-patriotic Dwarf standing over you. 

I’m most familiar with Kevin Church’s writing through his Agreeable Comics projects, particularly Lydia and The Loneliest Astronauts. I’m a big fan of Church’s work, he has the ability to do the character of the bespectacled, vaguely alternative gal justice (which I appreciate) and his tone clicks with me, whether in space or in The Ninth Kingdom. Grace Allison’s art is adorable (she has a Derby vs Kraken piece on her portfolio site that I am in love with). Her colors are warm and her characters make the world seem welcoming. I want to go there and also complain about lack of pizza. 

Wander: Olive Hopkins and The Ninth Kingdom definitely deserves your attention. It’s fun, it’s pretty, and it’s smart, plus it’s only $1.99 which is a pretty small price to pay for supporting indie creators. To encourage you even further Monkeybrain has posted an eight page preview on their site, which you can view here. 

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You can buy Wander: Olive Hopkins and The Ninth Kingdom here, see Kevin Church’s other works here, and peruse Grace Allison’s portfolio here.