What happens when you take a sweet, innocent little girl, trap her in a magical candy-colored fairy world for twenty-seven years, and refuse to let her age a single day? You get Gertrude—the most violent, foul-mouthed, delightful terror comics have ever seen. And after she finally gets her escape key, she does the one thing that will keep her trapped forever: she listens to her murderous impulses one last time.
In this episode, we break down I Hate Fairyland, the black comedy fantasy series by Skottie Young that redefined the "isekai" genre [citation:4]. When six-year-old Gert falls into Fairyland, she's told all she needs is a magic key to return home. Twenty-seven years, countless dismembered fairy creatures, and one deceased sentient moon later, she's no closer to escape [citation:9]. Instead, she's become a psychotic, misanthropic warrior who leaves destruction everywhere she goes. When her naive rival Happy nearly steals the key, Gert gains monstrous new powers, defeats her rival, and obliterates Queen Cloudia—only to learn the ultimate cruel twist: "Killing the Queen makes you the Queen" [citation:1]. Watch as we explain how this psycho was forced to rule the very paradise she hates, why her reign ends in disaster, and how Young's creative genius—influenced by Mad Magazine, Lobo, and fatherhood—turns bloody fairy tale tropes into pure, brutal gold [citation:4].
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24 mins