Do you love Skottie Young's I Hate Fairyland? Well, so does Skottie - and he's bringing it back with not one but two new series.
Marvel's resident comedy artist Skottie Young is returning to his creator-owned fairy tale parody I Hate Fairyland with a new ongoing series coming from Image Comics, as well as a digital-first anthology series (with a print edition from a publisher to be named later) featuring him and some of his talented friends.
"Creating I Hate Fairyland and working on those 21 issues was some of the most fun I've had in my 20 years as a comic book creator," Young tells Newsarama. "I always knew I'd come back after I scratched a few other itches, and here I am! Back at it!"
The original I Hate Fairyland was a 21-issue series that ran from 2015 to 2018, following a young girl name Gert as she's transported to a fairyland straight out of classic children's literature such as Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz. The twist is that after two decades there, Gert is fed up with fairyland life (and being stuck in her six-year-old body) and has declared war on her new home.
The all-new, ongoing I Hate Fairyland series by Young and artist Brett Parsons will launch in July 2022 from Image, and pick up right where Young left series star Gert at the end of the previous series - transported away from Fairyland, back into the doldrums of real life.
"I left Gert in a pretty odd situation in the last issue of my original series. So, the first task is to get her out of that situation," says Young. "And wow, did we come up with a funny, over-the-top way to do that. Things are going to start off very… weird."
What could also be weird is seeing I Hate Fairyland not drawn by Young. Although he'll be doing covers here and there, Young has passed the main artistic duties over to Parsons, best known for his years of work on Tank Girl.
"I've been a fan of Brett's for a long time and had already put the possibility of him drawing some I Hate Fairyland in his head a few years back. Luckily for me, he was happy to come aboard," says Young. "Now I get to write my favorite characters and world and get excited and surprised by the art I get back. It's so fun!"
In advance of the new ongoing I Hate Fairyland series, Young launched a digital-first anthology series digital-first featuring shorts in the universe created by him and some collaborator friends. That series is called… wait for it… The Unbelievable, Unfortunately Readable And Nearly Unpublishable Untold Tales of I Hate Fairyland. The series debuted earlier this month on Young's Substack newsletter, under his company name of Stupid Fresh Mess.
"These are short stories that take place here and there throughout Gert's time in Fairyland," Young tells Newsarama. "Some are written by me, some are written and drawn by some really great cartoonists from all over the world! They'll be a new short every month leading up to the release of I Hate Fairyland at Image. It's awesome to watch these creators play pretend with my toys."
The first story from The Unbelievable, Unfortunately Readable And Nearly Unpublishable Untold Tales of I Hate Fairyland is a short from Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá called 'I Hate Gert!'
"It's amazing. I get to keep moving forward with those characters and the world I love so much while getting to draw new projects to release later. It's the best of both worlds," says Young.
"That's the hardest thing about trying to do everything yourself all the time…is time. I love I Hate Fairyland, but I also have other projects that I'm dying to draw," he continues. "I had to come to terms with that fact. I can't draw everything. But I can team up with some of the best creators I know and have some fun."
The first five volumes of I Hate Fairyland is available now in comic shops, bookstores, and on digital platforms.
