‘malice in ovenland’ comic series adds a black girl magic spin to the rabbit hole

You don’t need a looking glass to see that most of the childhood stories we are inundated with in America—at best—ignore the imaginations of children of color. Enter Micheline Hess, whose comic series Malice in Ovenland offers a whole new world to these overlooked children, and Black girls in particularly, playing off the tropes of Alice in Wonderland to magical effect!

Malice follows Lily Brown, a bright, curious and energetic young girl from Queens, New York. Brown lives with her mother and loves reading and writing and spending time with her friends, but has a huge problem with cleaning the house. One day her mother forces her to stay home for the summer instead of going off to an exciting camp, and Lily is disappointed that she will miss out on adventure. Little does she know that all the adventure she could possibly desire would be found in her kitchen oven, filled with grease-feasting monsters whose world has been turned upside down by Lily’s mother’s shift to healthier foods.

You can buy Malice in Ovenland here!