Happy has returned and she’s anything BUT happy. She’s actually quite upset. And she’s been quite upset about some very specific issues that have quite a lot to do with Gert. Various incarnations of Gert are all quite happy to help Happy, who must form a coalition of her own in I Hate Fairyland #18. Writer Skottie Young artist Brett Bean and colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu march ever-closer to the next climax of their current series in an issue that provides a certain amount of emotional development for its main character in another oddly satisfying issue of a very distinctive series. 

Gert’s looking for a few friends. She hasn’t been too terribly good with the friends that she’s had, so she’s going to have to find a few new ones. Thankfully, she’s got the ability to go to some pretty cool places. So why is she going to Kansas? Well...there’s this woman there named Dorothy who has been in through events that would only happen to be very, very relatable to Gert. The only catch is: Dorothy hasn’t met Gert before and might not be too terribly receptive to the idea of leaving home again after all SHE has been through.

Young continues an admirable amount of character development for Gert. She’s been through a lot and she’s beginning to really grow as a person in a way that feels really natural and believable...which is more than a bit strange given just how whimsically surreal the plot, setting and everything else has been over the course of the series. It’s a really interesting balance that Young is striking in the course of the series. Gert continues to be a strangely likable character as the events of the current series continue to move forward quite enjoyably. Quite an accomplishment.

Bean and Beaulieu have developed a deep understanding of each other’s work that fits tgether quite well on the page. It’s been a great deal of fun diving into the strangeness of Fairyland over the many issues that the two have been working together for. THere’s a profound snese of weird and strangely appealing exaggeration that seems to permeate every panel in the series. The exaggerated sort of a thing that’s been going on with respect to the ridiculously amplified emotions of the characters and they way that those emotions are pounded into the area around the edges of the action. Everything in the frame seems to beautifully whimsical on so many levels. 

The natural progression of things seems to be moving along quite well as Young and Bean continue to increase tensions towards the inevitable climax of the current series. There’s a very natural feel to the way it all flows across the page which is really weird considering how bonkers surreal that story is at its center. It’s been a lot of fun so far and it’s been really interesting seeing how everything has progressed. There continues to be a great deal of potential in a series that continues to be every bit as charming as it had been in its early issues.

Grade: B+