I can't resist stories told in the Buffy universe, but they're not all full of Joss Whedony goodness. This one just didn't have that zip. There were a few good lines here and there, but this book was pretty much just Willow monologuing/dialoguing through her issues. Meh. ( )

First one I read that actually feels like the show. ( )

I got a number of kicks out of this sequence. It was a spiritual journey on many levels with all the bells and whistles, and I can't help but be impressed by the messages. I could tell that a good amount of love went into these, and I share the feeling. Very archetypal. Very cool. ( )

I can't emphasize how much I enjoyed this graphic novel. Like most people, I was a bit let down by season 8 Buffy comics. I have been following season 9 but not as ardently as I followed season 8. I admit that season 9 has been a improvement; but one thing was seriously lacking in both season 8 and 9 -- Willow! Willow is one of my favorite characters, and I was sad when she was pulling away from Buffy.

I also have to mention that the cover to this? Gorgeous. So stunning, I find myself staring at it for moments at a time. I love the fact that this is a one-shot. So anyone can read it-- even if you haven't read season 9 at all you could follow this story. I was super surprised at the introduction of Marrak, and really had no idea who he would be from Buffyverse! Definitely didn't see that coming! I just love how they incorporate, like, all the previous characters (no matter how small) and put them in the comics. It's always amazing, and yet also believable.

In season 8 of the comics I remember Willow's magical guide was the gorgeous green woman/creature/mermaid thingy. We never learned what happens to her or exactly who she was; we just knew she guided Willow and also was her lover for a bit. It was amazing to see her again and find out more about her! I was a little worried, was she truly good or did she have sinister interests?

As a huge fan of Buffy and Joss Whedon I have to say...Joss, you're doing a wonderful job. Wonderland was spectacular. I'm going so far as to say it's my favorite comic you've made since season 8 (not counting [b:Tales of the Slayers|271367|Tales of the Slayers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Comic #1)|Joss Whedon|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1385180391s/271367.jpg|1689787] & [b:Tales of the Vampires|199915|Tales of the Vampires (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Comic #2)|Joss Whedon|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327190190s/199915.jpg|193402] and other Omnibus shorts). But that's saying something. I can't wait to read more of Willows story and how she incorporates magic in the world. ( )

It pains me to rate anything in the Buffy verse this low, but I was really disappointed with this one. There were just some glaring issues with this series that really ruined it for me. The main thing being that Willow says and does things in this series that seem incredibly uncharacteristic of her. Her dialogue seemed more like young high school Willow from the first two seasons of the show rather than the mature and often troubled adult that she has become. While I was reading, Willow would say something that would just strike me as being way too young and also made it seem like she was being a little blasé about the whole mission that she is on. This obviously doesn't ring true with Willow since even though she sometimes cracked a joke during tense situations, never did she make or treat events as less important than they were.

Her actions also never rang true for me. Very soon after Willow reaches this other dimension, she meets a creature named Marrak who helps her out my destroying a giant worm monster. It almost seems that immediately afterwards, Willow is willing to trust the guy with her life. To me, this seems very non-Willow. One: She is in a dimension that is obviously violent and creepy and she doesn't think to maybe wait a while to trust this thing with her plans? Come on. Two: This is so not something Willow would do. Despite being a very nice and easygoing person, Willow also knows when to put her trust in someone, and when to be weary. This situation, even to someone not as logical and smart as Willow, would set off some alarm bells and lead someone to at least be careful of what they tell this guy. Nope, not Willow apparently.

It was stuff like this that really bugged me throughout the entire series. On top of that, I wasn't a fan of the art. There were times when Willow looked a little inconsistent with the rest of the series, and there were also a few panels where the facial expressions either didn't seem to fit with the current situation or they just looked kind of off in general. The chapter break art was all right except that, in my opinion, a couple of them sexualized Willow a little more that I believe was needed. However, the section break art for part two was really nice.

Overall, this is not the best work in the Buffy universe and it probably could be skipped in the grand scheme of things. While it explains what happened between the time Willow leaves in Angel and when she comes back in Buffy, I think you can get the basic idea of what happens from the little bit of information given in those two. While some soul searching happens for Willow, it wasn't really anything we haven't seen already (Willow fighting her inner self) and wasn't really handled has well as it could have been. So, don't feel that you need to read this one to really understand Willow or anything for that matter. Maybe stuff will come up later where events in this volume come up, and then I will feel bad for telling you to skip it, but for now, it's not something to make a point of reading. ( )