Beagle's odd fable has collected millions of fans since its 1968 publication and is considered a fantasy classic. Fearing that she's the last of her kind, a unicorn-accompanied by an incompetent magician and the former girlfriend of a cowardly outlaw-journeys to free the other unicorns from evil King Haggard. It's a mashup of quest tales, heroic and otherwise, about seeking family (the Unicorn), love (Haggard's son, Prince Lir), power (Haggard), competence (Schmendrick the magician), and adventure (Molly). Yet beyond archetypes, the engaging characters carry the narrative, which becomes a quasi-Rorschach for readers to find in it what they will. Gillis and De Liz's adaptation succeeds with overall visual loveliness and striking design and coloring, although some details don't quite fit. The Unicorn, for example, seems too My Little Pony about the head, while her human persona, Amalthea, looks childishly dim-witted. But De Liz shines with the ornamentally grotesque Mommy Fortuna and her harpy. VERDICT Many fans of the story should enjoy this comics version, and new readers will find it an easygoing and beautiful read. Recommended for tweens and up.-M.C. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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