Skottie Young takes a battle axe to fairy tales in 'I Hate Fairyland'

Skottie Young’s art is a bit like Looney Tunes on speed, with big, manic chaos inflicted by and on impish and adorable characters. Having brought his trademark energy to characters all over the Marvel Universe and the world of L. Frank Baum’s Oz, Young is branching out to his first creator-owned book: I Hate Fairyland. It’s the story of Gertrude, a “slightly deranged” little girl trapped in Fairyland, a Candyland-esque magical place full of all sorts of things little kids ought to like. Except—despite her appearance—Gertrude isn’t a little girl anymore. She’s 40, and has been stuck in Fairyland for 30 years.

She’s quite fed up with it.

“I Hate Fairyland started from me reading countless children’s books to my son and wondering ‘how do these kids in these fantasy worlds NOT want to kill every character they come across?’ Or characters in kids shows that have to listen to talking maps sing songs consisting of only the word I’M THE MAP over and over and over,” Young explained in a press release. “And from that, Gertrude was born. I’ve been driving my friends nuts for years with the different versions of this tale. Jason Howard probably wants to kill me with a giant battle axe for the number of hours I’ve made him listen to me brainstorm.”

Courtesy of Image Comics, take a look at some exclusive preview pages for I Hate Fairyland, which will see Young reunite with his Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz collaborator Jean-Francois Beaulieu. I Hate Fairyland will be in stores this fall.