Hatter M, Volume 4
Zen of Wonder
Written by Frank Beddor and Liz Cavalier
Illustrated by Sami Makkonen
Lettered by Tom B. Long
Cover by Vincent Proce
Automatic Pictures Publishing
Release Date: May 21, 2013
Cover Price: $14.95

Hatter M, Volume 4: Zen of Wonder is the latest book in the Hatter M series from Automatic Pictures Publishing. Continuing the saga of Hatter Madigan in his journey through our world in the 19th Century, Frank Beddor, Liz Cavalier and Sami Makkonen manage a feat with this new installment that I had not thought possible: they made me enjoy Madigan’s tale.

It is 1870 and Hatter Madigan has been in our world searching for the lost Alyss””the rightful heir to the throne of Wonderland””for over ten years. Distraught over the fact that he has been unable to find the girl he was sworn to protect, Madigan’s luck is finally about to change. When he meets a mysterious young girl named Nekko who begins to teach him the art of Zen””being content and gaining enlightened understanding””Madigan is led on an expedition that begins with a quest to acquire a Samurai sword with sentimental meaning. This new voyage takes them from San Francisco to the Hawaiian Islands and finally to Japan where Nekko continues her guidance of Madigan. A notion that could be the key to helping him find Alyss becomes increasingly clear to him: “when you seek, you cannot find.” But it won’t all come easily, as Hatter Madigan must fight samurais, best fire breathing chicken demons and elude ghosts from his past if he is ever to reach a Zen-like state.