REVIEW: 'I Hate Fairyland' #2 by Skottie Young, Brett Bean, and Jean-Francois Beaulieu

 

I HATE FAIRYLAND #2

Writer: Skottie Young

Artist: Brett Bean, Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Lettering, Logo, and Series Design: Nate Piekos

Publisher: Image Comics

Release Date: December 21, 2022

Cover Price: $3.99

Gert is more jaded than ever when she discovers the secret behind the mystery man offering her a mission he doesn't think she can refuse.

Eisner Award-winning writer SKOTTIE YOUNG (MIDDLEWEST, TWIG, THE ME YOU LOVE IN THE DARK) and artist BRETT BEAN (Marvel's Rocket & Groot) continue the triumphant return of I HATE FAIRYLAND!

Score:

★★★★☆ 4/5

Fans of the original series will be happy to know Gert is back and better than ever. Sure, she's older and more jaded but on the way back to Fairyland to wreak havoc once again. But how? Well, thanks to a wealthy figure she's on a rescue mission to the only place she fits in. 

'I Hate Fairyland' #2 is still ramping up Gert's return to Fairyland by laying the foundation of the how and why. Frankly, as selfish fans of the series, we don't care so long as she's back. The setup feels like the start of a video game where she has to go through a gauntlet of obstacles through Hell no less to even get a chance of reentering Fairyland. She's assigned a talking rat to "chaperone" her through the quest and keep tabs on her. The rich guy has made it so that she can go back to rescue something very important to him and with few prospects in the real world, Gert is more than willing to do it. 

Issue one was especially sad to see how down on her luck Gert was. A childhood of trauma and violence had taken its toll and made her ill-equipped for reality outside of Fairyland.  Now, with this opportunity to return she seems reenergized and motivated to go back to a life where she's more in control. Things are as dangerous and as cartoonishly outlandish as before. Brett Bean and Jean-Francois Beaulieu do an outstanding job of making a wondrous and visually captivating landscape of color and design that has always been a staple of the series. 

'I Hate Fairyland' gears up for an adventure back to Fairyland with an offer Gert can't refuse. Fun and mayhem are just ahead as Skottie Young takes fans back for more carnage and conflict. 'I Hate Fairyland' is as diabolical and fun as ever.