Skottie Young Puts 'I Hate Fairyland' On Pause After #50

Posted in: Comics, Image | Tagged: i hate fairyland, Skottie Young

Skottie Young Puts 'I Hate Fairyland' On Pause After #50

Skottie Young puts 'I Hate Fairyland' from Image Comics on pause after #50... but promises #51 is still to come...

Published Fri, 15 May 2026 13:58:09 -0500
by Rich Johnston
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Article Summary

• Skottie Young has put I Hate Fairyland on pause after issue #50, but says Image Comics readers will return with #51.
• I Hate Fairyland #50 plays as a meta finale, with Young cycling through wild parody ideas before breaking the fourth wall.
• Young reveals the break follows Derek Laufman’s family loss, praising the artist for continuing to work through grief.
• The hiatus is framed as a chance for the I Hate Fairyland team to recharge, regroup, and map out Gert’s next chapter.

I Hate Fairyland is a black comedy fantasy comic by Skottie Young, published by Image since 2015 that follows Gertrude, a woman who was transported to a mystical world called Fairyland as a child. Thirty years later, Gertrude is now an unaging, violent misanthrope who, alongside her reluctant guide and friend Larry, constantly tries and fails to return to the real world. A revival series written by Young and illustrated by Brett Bean began in November 2022, then drawn by Derek Laufman.

In the latest – and last issue – I Hate Fairyland #50, the comic showed Skottie Young trying and failing to come up with ideas for the comic, cycling through Absolute, Sin City, The Exorcist, Tomb Raider, Ultraman, Naruto, to find something that sticks…

… before addressing the reader directly.

Which is what he does. But then goes into more detail in the back…

"Over the course of the last few issues, Derek found himself facing a loss in his family that would stop most of us in our tracks. His mom was diagnosed with cancer and, sadly, time was not on their side. While he knew we would hit the pause button and delay issues as long as he needed as soon as he raised his hand, his hand never came up. Instead, he would send me photos of him inking at her bedside. He said it helped to get lost in his art, and I'm sure it helped his mom to be near her son doing what he loves in her last days. I understood this more than I want to admit. My dad passed away unexpectedly in 2011 while I was working on Oz. Marvel told me to take as much time as I needed. I was inking pages two days later. I can't remember what I ate on that day, but I can remember the first page I inked afterwards. Art is a part of our hearts, and not just when it's fun. It's also there to help us when they're broken.I didn't tell you any of that to get you all up in your feelings. I told you that because doing this, making comics, is like breathing or walking for most of us. No matter what life throws at us, we're going to do this. That being said…we're taking a break."
"We are going to take a small break and recharge the batteries. Let everyone get caught up with life and take a few breaths that aren't being snuffed out by deadlines. Jean is coloring, like, 345 books, and 300 are for me, so I've got to give that man a break. Derek lost a damn parent and didn't even ask for a week break. I'm MAKING HIM! Nate…well, even when Nate says he's not gonna work he's working. And me, I'm going to stack up the plan for the next leg of Gert's journey for you all! See you in issue #51"

It'll go fast. It always does… I Hate Fairyland #50 was published by Skottie Young and Derek Laufman through Image Comics last week. #51? Who knows.

I Hate Fairyland #50 by Skottie Young and Derek Laufman
It's an issue ten years in the making… That's right, muffin fluffers: I HATE FAIRYLAND is hitting the monumental milestone Issue #50! Join Skottie Young, Derek Laufman, the IHF team and a roster of the best cover artists in the industry for a celebration of all things Gert, and a tantalizing tease at the NEXT ten years of our cutesy green-haired psycho's adventures in Fairyland…

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