WONDERLAND BEGINS

WONDERLAND BEGINS 1. Overview Spoiler warning: original Wonderland trilogy and early Grimm Fairy Tales reading order. No later Wonderland outcomes. Wonderland Begins contains two different reading paths in my collection: the Return/Beyond/Escape trilogy with its Tales material, and Grimm Fairy Tales #21–43. These paths overlap in publication, so Sela's #21 doesn't happen after the whole trilogy simply because this guide discusses Wonderland first. Wonderland follows a continuing cast and carries its consequences from one book into the next. That gives this branch a different rhythm from the early Grimm anthology issues. The original trilogy can be read in substantial blocks without switching to Sela every month. For a first read, keep the trilogy's reveals ahead of the extra origin material. [Wonderland reading guide](https://t.co/uWZHnmeqr6) 2. READ ORDER: the Wonderland route Here's the full route using the original series and companion titles. “Optional” means optional to the trilogy's central progression, not that the story is outside continuity. 1) Return to Wonderland #0–6. Start with #0, then read #1 through #6. 2) Optional: Tales from Wonderland Volume 1 material: Queen of Hearts → The Mad Hatter → Alice, following their original release order. These are the three named one-shots, not three more issues of Return. Include the connected backup material collected as “The Experiment.” 3) Beyond Wonderland #0–6. 4) Optional: Tales from Wonderland Volume 2 material: The Cheshire Cat → The Red Queen → Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum → The Mad Hatter II, including the “The Arrangement” backup material. 5) Optional: Wonderland Annual 2009, the first House of Liddle annual. 6) Escape from Wonderland #0–6. 7) Optional: Tales from Wonderland Volume 3 material: The White Knight → The Red Rose → Queen of Hearts vs. The Mad Hatter, including the “The Redemption” backup material. 8) Optional: Wonderland Annual 2010. 9) Optional: Wonderland Annual 2011. The shortest version is Return #0–6 → Beyond #0–6 → Escape #0–6. The fuller version gives the supporting characters and the house history room between and after the three main books. Some guides put the 2009 annual just before Tales Volume 2 instead. It belongs in this Beyond-to-Escape interval either way; there isn't a numbered crossover that requires switching between those individual one-shots. [Trilogy and companion order](https://t.co/uWZHnmeqr6) 3. Backstory, annuals and the script book The Tales collections also preserve the connected backup stories: “The Experiment,” “The Arrangement” and “The Redemption,” respectively. If using the one-shots, read their backup pages too; if an edition omits them, use the matching trade to fill that gap. The trades can also carry previews of other issues, which you should count at their proper place rather than read twice. [Volume 1 contents](https://t.co/5d6AmprwvZ), [Volume 2 contents](https://t.co/TjWH9y9tnr), [Volume 3](https://t.co/zIpUOJab60) Some of the Tales stories look backward. Reading those before Return because they occur earlier is a different experience from meeting the characters through the trilogy. For this route, the names on the three Tales volumes give you convenient stopping points without rebuilding the whole branch into a flashback timeline. The House of Liddle collection is another way to read the 2009, 2010 and 2011 annuals. It doesn't become a fourth annual after those three. If you're using that collection, take the relevant annual at its stop above without rereading the individual annual too. [House of Liddle mapping](https://t.co/uWZHnmeqr6) Escape from Wonderland Script Book is optional production material. Its solicitation describes scripts and development material for Escape #0 and #1. It is not Escape #7, and reading it after the finished miniseries avoids treating a behind-the-scenes extra as the next chapter. [Script-book contents](https://t.co/EXf3g119nF) 4. READ ORDER: Sela's parallel route The main Grimm series continues independently through most of this group. This is the practical route, with the useful branch points identified: 1) Grimm Fairy Tales #21. Optional: “Timepiece” from the original Volume 2 trade afterward. 2) Grimm Fairy Tales #22–24. 3) Optional branch: The Piper #1–4. Read the four-issue story as a block, then return to Sela. 4) Grimm Fairy Tales #25–32. 5) If following Sinbad too, read 1001 Arabian Nights: The Adventures of Sinbad #0–6 here. Optional: “The Lamp” from the original GFT Volume 4 trade. Then read Grimm Fairy Tales #33 and Sinbad #7 together. If you are staying strictly with Sela, #33 remains part of the main spine. 6) Grimm Fairy Tales #34–37. Optional: “Pawns” from the original Volume 5 trade. Continue with GFT #38–40. 7) Grimm Fairy Tales #41. Optional branch: original Inferno #1–5 afterward, then return to the main series. 8) Grimm Fairy Tales #42. Optional: “The Gift” from original Volume 6 and “The Collection” from original Volume 7. Then GFT #43. The bonus-story placements keep them near the relevant main-series period rather than forcing you to reread their entire trades. “The Lamp,” “Pawns” and “The Gift” also appear in the six-story Short Story Collection; “The Collection” is an additional Volume 7 bonus. [Six-story collection](https://t.co/H3utpstOdL), [Volume 7 contents](https://t.co/3JPjfyr8h0) The Piper and Inferno have their own four- and five-issue stories. Their later Dream Eater chapters are separate books. Finishing these original minis supplies background before that event; it doesn't mean you've already read their event appearances. GFT #41 is explicitly the Inferno prelude. [Issue #41 solicitation](https://t.co/KzLSMT4kt5) 5. The Sinbad #7 / GFT #33 ordering problem This is one place where publication order and backstory order genuinely differ. GFT #33's solicitation calls it part one of the crossover and points readers to Sinbad #7. For that reason, the route above uses #33 → Sinbad #7. A continuity-oriented list reverses them to arrange the history differently. Either approach should keep the pair together and identify what it is doing. [GFT #33 solicitation](https://t.co/lfQvMrmhky) Once both are read, continue Sinbad with #8–13 when taking the Expanding Realms route. GFT #33 counts once across these two guides. 6. The early specials and the collection boundary Several early Sela extras are worth placing beside these issues: • GFT 2008 Annual and Giant-Size 2009 belong with the late-#20s/#30s publication period. For a simple catch-up route, take both after #33; use 2008 Annual before the original Neverland miniseries. • GFT Halloween Special 2009 and Las Vegas Annual 2010 are optional additions around the end of this early run. A continuity-oriented placement puts them after #42 and before #43. • GFT Holiday Edition 2009 can follow #43. Those are suggested reading stops for the extras, not claims that they were all published between the numbered issues beside them. None requires breaking up a two-part main-series story. [Independent placement guide](https://t.co/lCCc6xDIR2) 7. Collections and stopping points The trilogy's #0 issues are real story entries. The cover galleries and Script Book serve different purposes. The three Tales trades collect the ten individual one-shots and their accompanying material. Repeated main stories can be skipped, but check the backup stories and extras before treating a whole trade as redundant. The original Grimm trades also cross these collection-group boundaries: Volume 4 contains #19–24; Volume 5 #25–30; Volume 6 #31–36; Volume 7 #37–42; Volume 8 #43–50. That means #43 starts a trade which continues into the next collection group. Read the issues once, whichever format you use. [Original trade listing](https://t.co/P7RZwqvjgo) The collection group's “2007 to 2009” label is approximate. Escape finishes in 2010, and the annual lane reaches 2011. Finish the branch in story order rather than cutting it off because the year changes. After this guide, Sela continues with #44; Wonderland's next shared-universe junction is its Dream Eater chapter, which belongs inside that event's reading order.