Three Cheers For…Gert? — Reviewing ‘I Hate Fairyland’ #16

Gertrude the merciless is used to throngs of screaming Fairyland residents, usually as she ends up bathing in their blood. What she’s less familiar with are those screams being tinged with joy, and heroic worship.

It’s a whole new day for Gertrude and the land she now calls home as I Hate Fairyland returns with its sixteenth issue. Things aren’t actually all that happy as an endgame begins under the care of Skottie Young, Brett Bean, Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Nate Piekos.

Oh, how I’ve missed this title. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a fan of the method that Image Comics uses to give titles breathing room, but also allow trade-waiting folks a chance to catch up and become current. I still miss the titles I like when they take these little hiatuses.

In a way, it works out great here because, like Gert, we’re now trying to figure things out since she’s now the great hero of the land. What started with a firm foundation (Older, returned-to-Earth Gert brought back to the land she hates) began to shift and seemed to wander through a variety of stories. All of them worked but it would not have been odd for anyone to wonder if the focus had been lost. Except, this title is the baby of its creators and they know what they are doing to treat their baby well.

Young leads us to this point, a long time in the making, as Gertrude actually finds home and acceptance in this land. Just in time for an old face to be lurking in the shadows, ready to rip it all away. You remember Happy, the other little girl brought to this land to mess with Gert, who Gert ended up killing? Well she certainly remembers Gert and what she did, and is gathering the forces from Fairyland’s Hell who were all also killed by Gert.

Well, that can’t be good.

There is always room to talk about the mix of horror and whimsical joy that Bean creates visually every single issue. It’s powerful, makes things that should be dark feel much lighter, and remembers that comics can be this really joyous (albeit also gross in this case) thing. That’s all well and good, but it’s not what I’m focusing on most here.

Instead, I want to talk about the way that Bean masterfully paces and plots this issue. We’re thrown into the middle of things, per usual, but the way that the angles and focus come into play help sell things. From the wide shots that establish everything happening to the very close up, it really showcases the array of emotions running through the crowd and Gert. My favorite are the cut away bits, like where Gert declares this land her home and the crowd is silent, she is scared, and then everyone is cheering and happy.

It’s these choices that make sure that these bits and beats hit like they are supposed to. Just like when an actor has to hit the mark just right to sell us on the veracity of a line, the artist execution in this respect pays off.

Playing a hand in that, as always, is Beaulieu, still dropping all the glorious colors down with authority. Every issue, the way that the darker and lighter colors play together is so inspiring. Making sure that this fairy tale realm is just the right vivid level we should expect from it. Mixing and matching shadows and darker tones, so that it never loses that sharp edge it so needs.

Speaking of sharpness, Piekos is out here carving things up with all this word magic. Giving every single utterance their personality and emotional weight. Take the words of King Cloudius as an example. A royal introduction that is loud and bombastic, but the bold of the words also conveys the darkness of Gert and the man’s own conflicted feelings about her. He loathed her for all that she brought to the land (and did to his sister) but he’s not above getting on the winning side.

All the cheers flying through the air, the boldness of it all, and the ways the words just flow and take up space without actually detracting from anything else. Just solid lettering work that does what it must but also fifty times more just to make sure the right tone is found always.

I Hate Fairyland #16 is now available from Image Comics.