Oz: The Marvelous Land of Oz [Hardcover]

Eric Shanower and Skottie Young's graphic novel is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's 2nd book about the Land of Oz written in 1904. Shanower does a wonderful job of taking the original novel and turning it into a comic, and Young's drawings give the characters new life. The book is the story of what happens after Dorothy and the Wizard leave Oz. So neither of them are in this story.

Baum used the first book's publishing success to turn it into a successful musical that made stars of the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow. This second book was written with the idea of a second musical using these two characters but starring a giant talking bug called The Wogglebug. While the second musical was not a success, Shanower was able to use some of the added dialog of the musical to enhance this comic.

The story is about a young boy named Tip who is living with a mean witch named Mombi and runs away with her most prized magic, the Powder of Life, that can give life to inanimate objects. He creates a pumpkin headed wooden man and a living sawhorse, and they travel to the city of Oz to see the Scarecrow who is its ruler.

A story element that was timely over 100 years ago about a revolt of the women of Oz under the leadership of General Jinjur is a bit dated today. Jinjur loses a bit of her spicy independence to be just self-centered. Over all though, this is a delightful second collaboration between Shanower and Young to bring the Baum Oz books to life for a new audience.

Marvelous Land of Oz graphic Novel sticks to the original story.

Marvel adapted L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz into a series of comics now collected into a single Graphic Novel. Eric Shanower faithfully retells the tale, which has been adapted many times over the years since Baum first wrote the book in 1905, certainly with a stage show in mind. Shirley Temple starred in a TV version as the lead, the recent series Tin Man borrowed from the concepts, but Shanower simply tells it the way Baum wrote it.

Set shortly after the events in the first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the protagonist is a boy named Tip, who nearly enslaved by a sorcerous (she dare not become a full blown witch or Glinda will come after her) named Mombi. Tip plans to frighten her with a scarecrow he has made out of wood and a pumpkin for a head, naming him Jack Pumpkinhead. Mombi is not fooled, and she takes this opportunity to demonstrate the Powder of Life that she bought from another sorcerer. She sprinkles the powder on Jack, bringing him to life and startling Tip, whom Mombi catches and threatens to turn him to stone in the morning and place him in her garden.

Tip leaves with Jack that night and steals the Powder of Life and they head for the Emerald City. On the way Tip uses the Powder to animate a Sawhorse so Jack can ride him - for even though his wooden body does not tire, his joints are not made well enough to keep hi walking well. Tip loses them as the tireless Sawhorse gallops faster than he can run. In the Emerald City the animated pair meet the Scarecro, now King of Oz, just as General Jinjur's all-girl Army leads a Revolt. Marching in with the Army, Tip meets again with Jack, the Sawhorse, and now the Scarecrow as they flee the Emerald City in Jinjur's wake.

They seek help from the Tin Woodman, who now rules the Winkie Kingdom, and plan to retake the Emerald City. On their way back they are diverted by the magic of Mombi (whom Jinjur recruited to help her apprehend them), joined by the Highly Magnified and Thoroughly Educated Wogglebug, and aided by the Field Mice and their queen. Jinjur and her soldiers are scared by the Field Mice out of the main palace, but they still occupy the Emerald City itself. The Scarecrow proposes manufacturing a flying beast called a Gump by which they can escape through the air. Tip animates this collection of palace furniture with the Powder of Life, and they fly off, with no control over their direction.

Artist Skottie Young draws on images reminiscent of the original artwork in the books drawn by John R. Neill, and with Shanower, creates a fine setting that feels very faithful to the original tale. It's not a sequel to the Movie, so don't expect a Technicolor landscape here, the feel is more rustic and comic. The creatures within Oz seem every alien, not humans in weird garb, and in doing facilitate the fantasy. Thus is a safe one to put in front of the kids, but brief them that there is no Dorthy or Toto in this part of the story (they do come back in book three Ozma of Oz).

As a long time fan of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, when i heard my favorite artist, Skottie Young, was working on my favorite childhood story, my mind exploded with joy. Then i read it and found that Eric Shanower was the best man for the job of adapting Frank Baum's wonderful story to the comics medium. I anticipated every issue, and then it ended, and i was worried that i wouldn't get to experience the magic of their collaboration any longer. So when i heard that Skottie and Eric were continuing with the rest of Baums Oz tales i was both delighted and confused. I had never heard of the Marvelous land of Oz, or Ozma, or any of it before, and the most amzaing part of the comic series was the feeling that every time i looked at a panel, it was exactly how i imagined the story as a kid, and i was worried that i wouldn't enjoy the experience as much without having read the source matter first. So i bought every issue, but abstained from even reading them until i read the whole book. It wasn't easy with Skottie's amazing art, which never ceases being wonderful and marvelous. But once i was done i dove right in, and it was the same feeling all over again. It had nothing to do with the source material because i never read the series before so the magic wasn't nostalgia, this series' powerful impact come from the talent and love this team brings to every page and every panel. Whether your a 20 something like me or a kid or a parent looking to bring some the magic and imagination of Oz into your child's life, as masterfully adapted by Eric Shanower, i highly recommend The Marvelous Land of Oz. If your merely a collector of amazing art, then nothing compares to the brilliance of Skottie Young when paired with colorist Jean Francois Beaulieu, and I highly recommend The Marvelous Land of Oz. This product is well worth the price of admission and the story stands the test of time.

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