Erotic Alice

October 14, 2009 4:34 PM

Erotic illustrations of Alice in Wonderland by Marvel legend Frank Brunner (Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, Johnny Quest). Color versions here: Title page ll Alice and Dragon ll Mad Tea Party ll Humpty Dumpty ll Looking Glass ll Mirror ll Jabberwocky ll White Knight ll Hookah ll Alice
posted by vronsky (60 comments total)

They're erotic just because Alice is naked?
posted by namespan at 4:40 PM on October 14, 2009 [9 favorites]

Is there something to this besides naked fairy tale figures being gawked at by fully-dressed male characters?
posted by headspace at 4:40 PM on October 14, 2009 [4 favorites]

Hey!?
posted by Mike Mongo at 4:41 PM on October 14, 2009

Erotic for guys, and guys who like blond Playboy types at that. She's just a naked object to be goggled at.

(Not crapping on your post -- which is fine and to be encouraged -- just on the art.)
posted by Countess Elena at 4:42 PM on October 14, 2009 [5 favorites]

Is there something to this besides naked fairy tale figures being gawked at by fully-dressed male characters?

I'm not fully-dressed.
posted by gman at 4:42 PM on October 14, 2009 [34 favorites]

Is there something to this besides naked fairy tale figures being gawked at by fully-dressed male characters?

You need more?

I dig Alice, like to see it reinterpreted, this don't exactly work for me though. Maybe if I saw them in a book and not on a website.
posted by cjorgensen at 4:45 PM on October 14, 2009

What Countess Elena said.

My subscription to Playboy has been inactive for years, so I couldn't quite put my finger on why I didn't find these remarkable, but that's it - these could be one-panel cartoon illustrations in that fine magazine, which I TOTALLY read for the articles.
posted by yiftach at 4:46 PM on October 14, 2009

I'd like to see Alice in Wonderland re-written as a young woman's erotic adventures first, as in my mind she's still this little girl in a pinafore.

Come to think of it, that could be really good. Sorta like Anne Rice's Beauty series.

And YES, she does look like a Playboy heroine! Spot on, everyone.
posted by misha at 4:52 PM on October 14, 2009

Alice illustrations other than Tenniel (including Brunner's),
previously
(Tennial)
posted by carsonb at 4:53 PM on October 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

It's not terribly erotic, more of a "okay, so I arrived in Wonderland with nothing but an extravagant hair ribbon; if I play this like it's not a big deal, nobody will comment on it" mood.

I think what differentiates it from Playboy is that he's kind of into the backside, isn't he? Probably a staggering difference for the time.
posted by adipocere at 4:55 PM on October 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

Hmmm...in re-writing Alice's erotic exploits, it goes without saying, the heroine definitely needs to be clearly established as over the age of consent. Otherwise, the whole, "Eat me", "Drink me" scene has a creepy Roman Polanski feel to it.

and yes, I'm aware of the Lewis Carroll rumors.
posted by misha at 4:56 PM on October 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

misha, I understand that Alan Moore did this in his Lost Girls, but I don't really know because I'm afraid to buy it. It may or may not be against federal law at some point, although I do not believe it is illegal now. And it ain't exactly in the library.

Personally, I think Johnny Depp fully dressed as the Mad Hatter is hotter than all those pictures put together. But then I'm that kind of girl.
posted by Countess Elena at 4:56 PM on October 14, 2009

For my money, Lost Girls is the definitive Alice in Wonderland porn comic.
posted by shammack at 4:58 PM on October 14, 2009

And it ain't exactly in the library.

It's in the library here. Other libraries may vary.
posted by Artw at 4:59 PM on October 14, 2009

I initially read the post as "Epic illustrations" and when I saw them though "they're OK I suppose, why is she naked and how about warning me about the nudity?"

And then, you know, I re-read the post.

Please post when you find some EPIC ILLUSTRATIONS.
posted by GuyZero at 5:00 PM on October 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Wow, this takes me back. This stuff screams 70's, notice the reasonable breasts and realistic butt. And it just marginally sexualized, with her being realistically naked amid a distorted, freak-out environment. When I was a teen in the 70's, this stuff would have been like a bolt from heaven, combining two dominant memes, naked girls and monster movies.

oh, yeah, almost forgot: "these kids today..." :)

posted by djrock3k at 5:08 PM on October 14, 2009 [2 favorites]

Oh wow, boobs on the Internet.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:16 PM on October 14, 2009

Here are a few contemporary risque webcomics:
Curvy
Oglaf
Chester5000XYV

Very much not the "naked woman to be ogled at" aesthetic.
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:24 PM on October 14, 2009 [4 favorites]

Alice never actually encounters the Jabberwock. (And the name of the creature is "Jabberwock"; the poem about is "The Jabberwocky", as in like "Jabberwockiad" or like that there.)
posted by kenko at 5:27 PM on October 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

I like these. I don't actually think they're all that erotic by themselves, they're actually rather tasteful. The only erotic content is that Alice is a nude adult in these, and nudity, by itself, is perhaps suggestive but not necessarily erotic. They're a lot nicer than what usually passes for pornography, which I tend to find somewhat squicky.
posted by JHarris at 5:30 PM on October 14, 2009

"Not crapping on your post -- which is fine and to be encouraged -- just on the art."

Well it is comic book art elena, not fine art, isn't that rather obvious? More nostalgic Marvel fanboy stuff which I thought would be clear from the doctor strange and silver surfer links.



Oh wow, boobs on the Internet.
posted by Brandon Blatcher

Oh wow, cliched response in a mefi thread! Color me impressed.
posted by vronsky at 5:31 PM on October 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Speaking of 1970's porn comics, this reminds me a bit of Mayfair's "Carrie".
posted by aeschenkarnos at 5:35 PM on October 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'd like to see Alice in Wonderland re-written as a young woman's erotic adventures first...

It's been done, by famous Japanese all-female team CLAMP: Miyuki-chan in Wonderland
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:35 PM on October 14, 2009

Also, if you scroll to the bottom of my first link, there are hundreds of other Alice illustrations.
posted by vronsky at 5:42 PM on October 14, 2009

I think they're pretty.
posted by dragonsi55 at 5:49 PM on October 14, 2009

Those Doctor Strange and Johnny Quest pictures are totally not erotic. Hell, there's not even any butt shots in the Silver Surfer pics!
posted by ErWenn at 6:21 PM on October 14, 2009

I'd like to see Alice in Wonderland re-written as a young woman's erotic adventures. . . YES, she does look like a Playboy heroine!. . . screams '70s. . .

Folks, yer hitting all around the target but missing the bullseye. Doesn't anyone remember this movie (SFW IMDB page) from 1976? An R/X-rated "musical" "comedy" based on Alice in Wonderland, starring an actual Playboy model.

Best line: "We used to have a towel, but it was stolen by a hotel."
Sorry.
posted by Herodios at 6:57 PM on October 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Didn't Wally Wood also do an erotic Alice?
posted by cazoo at 7:17 PM on October 14, 2009

Are you referring to the Disneyland memorial orgy cazoo?
posted by vronsky at 7:29 PM on October 14, 2009

Reminds me of mid-1970s National Lampoon stuff. Which I realize is neither here nor there.
posted by Ron Thanagar at 8:02 PM on October 14, 2009

This stuff screams 70's

Yeah; you could use about half of these only slightly altered as illustrations for John Varley's _Titan_.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:08 PM on October 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Reminds me of mid-1970s National Lampoon stuff.

I was thinking a less-pneumatic Vaughn Bode's Cartoon Concert, so, yeah.
posted by Herodios at 8:20 PM on October 14, 2009

Lost Girls FTW. I asked for it for Christmas from my mom without knowing how raunchy it really was. SO GLAD my roommate got it for me instead...
posted by hermitosis at 8:22 PM on October 14, 2009

It's funny that people have become so desensitized by internet pornography that the most controversial aspect of this post was the use of the word "erotic."
posted by vronsky at 8:24 PM on October 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

And also a little sad.
posted by vronsky at 8:25 PM on October 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

The Humpty Dumpty is terrible too—you're not supposed to be able to tell whether he's wearing a cravat or a belt.
posted by kenko at 8:28 PM on October 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

Here are some other Alices I like after digging through those Russian links: puzzle land, original, River of Tears, blossoms.



"The Humpty Dumpty is terrible too..." well aren't you the literalist.
posted by vronsky at 8:58 PM on October 14, 2009

Metafilter is always good at finding things I can print out onto sticker paper and slap on a bong.
posted by not_on_display at 9:02 PM on October 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

Lots of great pics throughout that whole thread. Worth investigating!
posted by stinkycheese at 9:41 PM on October 14, 2009

Now here's something erotic.
posted by stinkycheese at 9:48 PM on October 14, 2009

I'm a huge sucker for artistic AinW interpretations, and I'm lucky because almost no artist can resist trying their hand at a new version. I'm not too crazy for the Brunner Alice because to me, it's just cheesecake in a Wonderland setting, and one of the things I look for is if the viewer can identify the character as "Alice" when she is removed from her support props. If the artist can preserve enough of the identifiers or otherwise establish that she is unmistakeably "Alice" while still doing something new and different, I really appreciate that.

I loved looking at the collection in the thread, though - I saw a few I haven't come across before... plus there's even more if you search the Alice tag, including a couple of Mervyn Peake illustrations, which, to me... well Peake and Alice = a natural match.

Ralph Steadman did an Alice book (some images here), and I love that his Alice is so mean and cranky looking. She's every bit as scary and twisted as all the other Wonderland characters... like maybe they're in more peril than she is. Ha! And his is probably my favorite White Rabbit.

btw, you all probably already know this, but Tim Burton is having a go at a cinematic Alice, which should be interesting (wikipedia; some images), and American McGee's Alice (video game) is getting a sequel.
posted by taz at 11:22 PM on October 14, 2009 [3 favorites]

Metafilter: cheesecake in a Wonderland setting...

What I actually came in here to say was that after what seems like maybe 100,000 man hours of staring at the little bow on the back of her dress and wacking card guards with the vorpal blade, I'm now pretty much an Alice in Wonderland clinical fetishist and am only going to respond if Alice is wearing a patent leather corset with alchemical symbols.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 11:47 PM on October 14, 2009

Bill Osco's Alice in Wonderland starring a real life Playboy bunny.

wiki

"Released at Osco's suggestion by Fox on the same day as Star Wars, Osco having realized that the film was going to be a hit and convinced Fox to book Alice in every venue that played Star Wars. As a result, Alice went on to gross over $90 million worldwide, thus making it one of the most successful adult films ever. Two years later the film was recut to add some reshot hardcore scenes, using some of the original actors, with an added credit scroll explaining the demand for the hardcore version."

It was Andy Warhol's all time favorite film.
posted by vronsky at 12:39 AM on October 15, 2009

clips (R rated) -- 1, 2, 3
posted by vronsky at 12:47 AM on October 15, 2009

Nicely drawn, but it lacks the real charm of Alice in Wonderland, which is the interaction between a young girl and surreal, but biting commentary on the current culture of the day. The intelligent disbelief/cynicism of Alice was the real draw of the story. These drawings show an Alice completely removed from the story - in fact, she is looking back at us throughout the entire set of pictures - she's completely removed from every scene. Nice tits, nice ass, bad interpretation.

But hey, I don't have a Y chromosome, so YRMV.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 12:54 AM on October 15, 2009

Needs more Wicked Wanda.
posted by bwg at 2:03 AM on October 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Too old! Girl that age wouldn't pursue a clothed rabbit. Should have been done by Balthus or von Bayros. And no facial expressions! Even supermodel Natalia does it better.
posted by RichardS at 5:15 AM on October 15, 2009

Also, where did that dragon come from?
posted by taz at 5:36 AM on October 15, 2009

The dragon came from the autumn mist in a land called Honah Lee.
posted by vronsky at 6:13 AM on October 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm not positive, but the lettering on the book the Alice is reading is pretty spot on for the early Dragon Magazine. A quick search says he might have worked with TSR. Interesting.
posted by khaibit at 6:14 AM on October 15, 2009

vronsky: It's funny that people have become so desensitized by internet pornography that the most controversial aspect of this post was the use of the word "erotic."

And also a little sad.

While I do realize that images of naked people are pretty much the definition of pornography, I don't think putting this in the same category counts. At best these are R-rated, and if I had a teenager and walked in on him looking at these, I'd probably not be too concerned.

These images are no worse that 80% of the stuff that's in Heavy Metal magazine. It has nothing to do with the internet. Pictures of naked people have been around since there have been people.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:15 AM on October 15, 2009

Pictures of Naked people have been around since there have been people.

FTFY
posted by bwg at 6:44 AM on October 15, 2009

kenko: Alice never actually encounters the Jabberwock. (And the name of the creature is "Jabberwock"; the poem about is "The Jabberwocky", as in like "Jabberwockiad" or like that there.)

And it was in Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, not in Alice in Wonderland. (All the best Wonderland poems are in Looking-Glass.)
posted by shakespeherian at 7:00 AM on October 15, 2009

I can look at these without too much guilt because of the "Mirror" illustration, in which Brunner is clearly metatextually* commenting on the male gaze via the White Rabbit's tongue hanging out, the Rabbit clearly signifying the Playboy Bunny. See, I'm ogling ironically, just like all those hipsters going to neo-burlesque shows.

*That word probably doesn't mean what I think it means, I know.
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:47 AM on October 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

This makes me want to get off my butt and do something with my own series of dirty Alice illustrations that I was thinking about a while back. But I have too many projects I'm more interested in to get through first!
posted by egypturnash at 8:53 AM on October 15, 2009

See, I'm ogling ironically, just like all those hipsters going to neo-burlesque shows.


Speaking as someone who goes to those neo-burlesque shows, I can attest that there's nothing ironic about the ogling. We ogle because it's hot! Especially next Friday up at the Palace of Wonders in DC, when the Hellcat Girls are performing with the Olde City Sideshow. <>
posted by FatherDagon at 9:50 AM on October 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Whups, formatting removed my /shamelessplug tag. But it's there in spirit!
posted by FatherDagon at 9:51 AM on October 15, 2009

To quote Ursula Vernon: "so many people have done evil Alice in Wonderland that probably the edgiest thing you could do with it is play it completely straight and cute." (Link is worth taking a look at if you're familiar with Little House on the Prairie)
posted by Hactar at 2:40 PM on October 15, 2009

Cool, it was reposted at boing boing :) (funny how the comments mirror each other)

Haruhi in Wonderland

Alice by Czech animator Jan Svankmajer
posted by vronsky at 3:18 PM on October 15, 2009

Yeah, the wonderland setting seems incongruous. Like a nude adult female leaped from the side of a custom van into the mad hatter's tea party. And the style of it... needs more hawk helmeted Aztec warriors, or loinclothed axe wielding barbarians.
...there's an idea.
Cheshire Cat: "We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad..."
Conan: "Enough talk!" *hack*
posted by Smedleyman at 5:56 PM on October 15, 2009 [1 favorite]