Young took his creative Etch-a-Sketch and shook that fluffer until everything went back to normal, where a homicidal and deranged 40-year-old in a 12-year-old's body drinks and fights her way through a magical world of wonder and supreme cuteness with reckless and wild abandon. Ya know, normal. There's not a lot to this issue, as there's no driving arc to the story. It's really a mop up and reset, but the gags are all right in keeping with what this series has become known for, and he sets up some great, long-form gags that pay off rather spectacularly. I don't mean to sound harsh about it at all, it's just like pizza. This isn't the greatest pizza you're ever going to taste, but it's still pizza.
Jean-Francois Beaulieu is still giving glorious color to Young's wacky, little world, and the pair work together ridiculously well. Where I found the story to be a bit "between arcs," the panels still shine wondrously. I'm eager to see the continuing adventures brought to life by these two and see if they now allow themselves a little more room for the stunning splash pages that had graced the first five issues. Now that things are "getting back to basics," I think we're in store for some real fun going forward.
I'm intrigued to see where Mr. Young decides to toss young Gertrude next. I'm intrigued to see if we'll get another peek or two at the adult Gertrude from the little daydream we had presented to us here. I'm intrigued to see how the new ruler of Fairyland will deal with the human cataclysm that is our foulmouthed, little antagonist and how much effort she'll put into getting home this time. Basically, I can't wait to see what's next.
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