Alice is among the second wave of comics I started reading (the first being CotC and CRfH), and it was thanks to CotC that I was introduced to it. Still, when I first started reading it, it wasn’t quite my cup of tea. I didn’t succumb quickly to reading dozens of web comics until several years in. (And considering I started back in 2000… well I had the opportunity to start reading quite a few comics from the ground floor. I still don’t know why I resisted so long…) It took me half a year or so before I succumbed and started reading all of the strips (after work on company computers to utilize that high speed internet) And it was good. Damn good. But after a bit, updates got intermittent. Michael McKay-Fleming tried different formats for the comic and it just didn’t work. And finally Alice went onto hiatus, tried to pull itself out of hiatus, and floundered back into it.

I’d check occasionally to see if it was back. Hey, I’ve not given up hope on Purple Duck Mambo, damn it! I want my purple ducks back! (Not to mention Framed!!!… come on, Damonk, you know you want to start comicking again… it’s in your blood man…) Anyway, one day I found that Alice had returned. The format had returned to the “traditional” format and the storyline continued… with Alice a year older, in the next grade. She’s now starting to grow up top slightly, like young teenage girls do. Not a sudden buxomness or anything unrealistic or unbelievable. Just a sign that Alice is starting to grow up. Physically, at least. And the comic is funny again. She’s still our wild crazy Alice, with an overactive imagination that allows her to talk to skunks and moose, or imagine the strangest of situations. But there’s also Joanne recently going out on a date with one of Dot’s older brothers (a year older I presume). And Alice and Dot of course plan on sneaking after them to be in the same theater, chaperoning them without permission.

From time to time I get this sensation like this isn’t as easy for Michael as it used to be. Times have changed. Back 3-4 years ago, when comics were still fairly new, once a comic started updating regularly, there was this feel like you never missed an update. That changed after the great KeenCrashes (not to mention the more recent Modern Tales crash). But Alice… for all that she’s changed… is still the same lovable blonde (er, red-head! Whoops, my bad!) girl that reminds us of the child lurking within most of us (and undoubtedly not lurking with a few of us). It’s good to see Alice back. :)

Addendum Note: Unfortunately, Alice stopped updating and has mostly vanished from the web. I don’t know what the state of the site is (if it’ll be rebuilt or relaunched or what), but currently to read the comic you need to go to its folder and click on each individual comic (without using any navigation). Hopefully this sweet and enjoyable comic will return, even if only in archive-form.