Comic Book Review - Alice In Leatherland

Rob reviews Alice In Leatherland...

Alice In Leatherland is a 5-part mini-series that follows fairy tale writer Alice as she takes a giant leap out of her comfort zone to start life afresh in San Francisco. It's a bawdy LGBTQ+ comedy that's full of heartfelt moments, great writing, and some truly stunning artwork. 

Alice In Leatherland is the creation of real-life couple Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli, who both created this tale during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. If anything the pandemic has produced some impressive stories that wouldn't necessarily have seen the light of day - if we weren't all stuck inside.

Anyway, the story follows fairy-tale writer, Alice as she deals with sudden heartache to venture on a journey of self-discovery - whilst attempting to write her story. Zanfardino does a great job in pulling you into Alice's world that comes to the ending to the opening issue you're fully invested in the character's journey as well as hoping she gets her "happy ending". 

Alice isn't alone on this journey and is joined by plenty of unique characters who all ooze their personalities and wit. It's certainly a story that's not afraid to pull on the heartstrings, to then hit you with a comedic moment the next. 

As mentioned earlier, Zanfardino brings plenty of flair to her script. The whole story flows effortlessly from panel to panel and is heavily grounded within the real world. There's plenty of relatable moments that will have you laughing - and crying - along with Alice as she experiences life. There's plenty to love here and it's certainly a great distraction from the usual comic book tales. 

Elisa Romboli's artwork is something wonderful. The artist does an incredible through the series and each page is truly a wonder to look at. There's plenty of detail packed into each scene that builds upon the spoken - and unspoken of each character. The use of a red and white colour palette brings a sense of uniqueness to proceedings and somehow brings the art to life in a sombre - yet - vibrant way.  

Alice In Leatherland isn't so much a story, it's a journey that you take with the title character. Come the series' end Alice is a vastly different character from that of the start. She goes through a somewhat awakening as she becomes comfortable with who she is and what she wants from life. Both Iolanda Zanfardino and Elisa Romboli have crafted something great here. Everything from the tight and grounded script, to the gorgeous art, just flows together in an effortless style. You can tell that Zanfardino and Romboli had fun creating Alice In Leatherland and that it makes for a much greater story. 

Rating 9.5/10

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