Ozma of Oz by Eric Shanower

Oz #1. Marvel (Sept. 2011) Library
Dorothy Gale plunges into adventure again, this time with a talking chicken named Billina. Dorothy and Billina are washed off their sailing ship to face drowning, starvation - and screaming Wheelers, strange men with wheels instead of hands and feet. The multiple Eisner Award-winning and New York Times-bestselling team of Shanower and Young returns to Oz with this comics adaptation of L. Frank Baum's third Oz book! 

             

The tale of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a classic loved by many. I personally love Judy Garland's portrayal of Dorothy Gale and the journey she takes on the yellow brick road to get to get back home to Kansas. I read the original story a while back and I saw quite a lot of editing done in the movie compared to the book. I felt it was much needed editing after I finished reading it. There was just too much filler. But, I decided to give Ozma of Oz a try because generally comics make stories seem better - at least I think so.


Ozma of Oz is the third book in the Oz series. The second one, like the introduction explains, didn't have Dorothy but this one does. I was curious who Ozma was and happy I could read a different Dorothy book so that's why I landed on this one to read out of all the graphic novels available for this series.

The story starts off with Dorothy Gale on a ship that's in the middle of a storm. She's trying to visit relatives in Australia with her uncle before this storm hits her. She gets thrown out of the ship and into this box crate - getting herself stuck with a hen named Bill who remarkably talks (probably not so remarkable based on Dorothy's past experiences). That's when the real adventure begins through this island full of creatures named Wheelers, to a castle with a collector of heads, to meeting new characters including the ruler of Oz herself - Ozma, and finally, onto the journey to save children from the evil Nome King. All done with animated characters and illustrations. Skottie Young, the artist, and Jean-Francois Beaulieu, the colorist, have great style. They made the characters come to life with their expressions and the beautiful colors across the page.


The problem I found with this story was the same I felt with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - there is too much packed in. Plus, there are too many new characters. I know that's not Shanower's fault. He includes what's in the original story presumably. I did like elements of the comic like the main plot where Dorothy had to find the children who were turned into objects by the Nome King. If you really loved the original book, then you don't have the problem I have so I would recommend Ozma of Oz to continue your adventure - comic book style.

Who's your favorite character in The Wizard of Oz?

Comments

  1. My eight-year-old daughter loves loves loves the Wizard of Oz. She watches the movie, reads books about it, and has a poster over her bed. I honestly can't remember if she's read this book or not, but I know it's on her radar. She loves graphic novels, too.

    I can't keep up with her! She reads so fast. She'll come home from school and finish two or three books in one night. It takes me two or three days to finish just one of those same books! Ha ha.

    Dena @ Batch of Books

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    1. Your daughter is awesome! She sounds like me when i started to really get into reading. Good job Dena!

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  2. This sounds interesting and I love comics and graphic novels. I read The Wizard of Oz a few years ago and was surprised by how many other parts were included in the book that weren't in the movie. Definitely a lot more characters! I am not sure who my favorite it- maybe the Scarecrow or Dorothy. :)

    ~Jess

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    1. I like both of those characters too. I think I like Dorothy more because she's the main character.

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