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Marvel's Oz Comics #1
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The premier American fantasy adventure gets the Merry Marvel treatment! Eisner Award-winning writer/artist Eric Shanower (Age of Bronze) teams up with fan-favorite artist Skottie Young (New X-Men) to bring L. Frank Baum's beloved classic to life! When Kansas farm girl Dorothy flies away to the magical Land of Oz, she fatally flattens a Wicket Witch, liberates a Scarecrow and is hailed by the Munchkin people as a great sorceress...but all she really wants to know is: how does she get home? COLLECTING:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz #1-8
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz #1-8
216 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2009
104 people are currently reading
16175 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 689 reviews
September 22, 2015
Wonderful work indeed!
Creative Team:
Writer: Eric Shanower (based on the original works by L. Frank Baum)
Illustrator: Scottie Young
TAKE THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD
I love these adaptations published by Marvel Comics about the original books by L. Frank Baum.
Without a doubt the creative team of, Eric Shanower writing and Scottie Young drawing, are the right choice to this wonderful task.
They did a perfect job showing the classic tale as L. Frank Baum would make it, if he would be in the comics' business nowadays.
If you are only familiar with the classic film (that by the way, it was my first contact with the OZ world), it will be an excellent experience to read this graphic novel, since you can appreciate the original story by Baum, only adapted in a graphic presentation.
Shanower is doing a masterful job taking the original texts of the prose novel and adaptating them into a comic book format without losing anything of the original tale.
Scottie born to illustrate stories like this one and I can't think of anybody else better suited to this task.
I am sure that projects like this one will be able to create a whole new generation of fans for the wonderful world of Oz along with charming quite again to the already fans of it.
Highly recommended for readers of all ages.
Creative Team:
Writer: Eric Shanower (based on the original works by L. Frank Baum)
Illustrator: Scottie Young
TAKE THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD
I love these adaptations published by Marvel Comics about the original books by L. Frank Baum.
Without a doubt the creative team of, Eric Shanower writing and Scottie Young drawing, are the right choice to this wonderful task.
They did a perfect job showing the classic tale as L. Frank Baum would make it, if he would be in the comics' business nowadays.
If you are only familiar with the classic film (that by the way, it was my first contact with the OZ world), it will be an excellent experience to read this graphic novel, since you can appreciate the original story by Baum, only adapted in a graphic presentation.
Shanower is doing a masterful job taking the original texts of the prose novel and adaptating them into a comic book format without losing anything of the original tale.
Scottie born to illustrate stories like this one and I can't think of anybody else better suited to this task.
I am sure that projects like this one will be able to create a whole new generation of fans for the wonderful world of Oz along with charming quite again to the already fans of it.
Highly recommended for readers of all ages.
June 18, 2021
Eric Shanower is a Frank L. Baum obsessive. Long before adapting the first 6 Oz books for Marvel starting in 2009, he was creating original Oz comics for First comics back in the 80's that he drew himself. Shanower brings a quite faithful adaptation to the table, bringing in all the scenes and characters that were cut from the movie. He also stays faithful to the Baum novel with details like changing Dorothy's shoes back to the original silver over the movie's red.
Skottie Young and Jean-Francois Beaulieu absolutely nail the artwork. Young mutes his over the top exaggerated cartoony style while still maintaining his signature look. Beaulieu's color work pops off the page while giving the art a storybook feel.
Skottie Young and Jean-Francois Beaulieu absolutely nail the artwork. Young mutes his over the top exaggerated cartoony style while still maintaining his signature look. Beaulieu's color work pops off the page while giving the art a storybook feel.
February 13, 2018
A long time passed since I read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and this graphic novel did a great job of reminding me just how wonderful the story was. If you're a fan of the original book, I recommend giving this graphic novel a try.
December 21, 2022
7.3/10
A great adaptation of Baum's classic. Young's playful art is perfect for this story. If you are someone who prefers reading comic books, this is a great way to witness the adventures that Dorothy and the rest of the gang have in the land of Oz.
A great adaptation of Baum's classic. Young's playful art is perfect for this story. If you are someone who prefers reading comic books, this is a great way to witness the adventures that Dorothy and the rest of the gang have in the land of Oz.
March 18, 2017
Vrlo lepa interpretacija originalne price. Lepi crtezi i boja, tempo i sve manje vise bitno za strip. I jako mi se svidja kako koriste kolorit da uticu na emocije, da bude suptilno a opet efektno.
Odlican posao.
Odlican posao.
March 30, 2012
In comics, a successful adaptation is ridiculously difficult to pull off. Actually, amend that: in any medium, a successful adaptation is ridiculously difficult to pull off. A good adaptation requires the successful transposition of a story's essence from one medium to another in a way that, while not damaging the source, makes uses of the new medium's unique properties in a way that justifies the new product. And it doesn't matter if a story is being transferred from stage to film or from film to book or from book to film or from non-fiction to novel or from videogame to film: good adaptation is a rare commodity. And these are adaptations into established mediums, disciplines that have been explored and researched and tried and examined for a century or more. Comics don't have that luxury.
The American graphic novel only began to approach being taken seriously by anyone outside its self-sustained genre-ghetto in the mid-'80s and only began to stretch its use and purpose in earnest around the turn of the 21st century. (Certainly there were efforts in the '60s and '70s—and even some interesting work in the Nineteen-Aughts—but these were exceptions within a medium largely uninterested in growth.) So it makes sense that comics would have far less grasp of its unique toolset than the cinema, which has been studied critically since the '40s at least. And with so light an understanding of what powers the medium of comics, we should expect successful adaptation in comics to be far more rare than successful adaptation in film.
And so it is the case. While it is rare to see film adaptations that are both superlative works of cinematic genius and successful adaptations, we still see a handful of films like Fight Club, Rashomon, A Thousand Clowns, Snow Falling on Cedars, and Ran. Sadly (but not unexpectedly), the diligent and lenient might be able to count successful comics adaptations on the fingers of a single hand. Maybe on those of two, if generous. Of course, I may be here speaking from ignorance. It's entirely possible there are a host of excellent adaptations available, books that a) avoid the trap of overly scrupulous devotion to the source while b) pushing the use of the unique tapestry of tools the comics form suggests. I just can't really think of many. Edginton and Culbard's Sherlock Holmes adaptations have been getting increasingly better and Jiro Taniguchi's adapted excerpt from White Fang was exciting though not exceptional. Almost certainly the best I can think of is Eric Shanower's continuing work adapting the siege of Troy in Age of Bronze. His juggling of characters and judicious excising of the gods from that story prove his hand as a revisionist. So it was with some measure of excitement that I cautiously approached his Marvel adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Unfortunately, Shanower's Oz does not succeed so well as his Troy.
At this point, a brief history of my acquaintance with Oz may be valuable. I'm not in any way a fan of Baum's world—frankly, I don't know enough about it to declare myself either friend or foe. I had, therefore, the vaguely unique opportunity to approach this adaptation without any immediate familiarity with its source material. I had neither read Baum's original work nor seen the Judy Garland vehicle. A couple years back, I did have the misfortune to read Maguire's Wicked for a book club, but I understand that work to be largely apocryphal.
[I like to imagine that the speaker in this panel is the Wicked Witch herself, realizing too late and a little bit surprised that there is now a house monopolizing her torso.]
Still, some of the Oz mythos has filtered down into society at large over the years and I am broadly aware of some of the first story's more famous bits. I knew of the yellow brick road—upon which I presumed the entire tale took place. I knew of the ruby slippers, though little more than that such shoes were extant. I knew that Dorothy arrived in a house that crushed a witch and have in mind the image of two spindly legs clothed in candy-cane-striped socks emerging from beneath its deadly weight. I knew of a quest for a heart, a brain, and some other thing. Perhaps a bladder. I knew that the villain melted and suspected it was due to some sort of molecular aquaphobia. And I knew that one ought pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
Beyond this, however, my affinity for Oz lore runs dry, so my approach to Marvel's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is almost as if it were not an adaptation at all, but instead an actual story. Which, when one thinks about it for a moment, is probably how all adaptations ought to be approached anyway. And so it is on this count—as a full-fledged story—that I judge The Wonderful Wizard of Oz diminished.
The problem unfortunately falls squarely on Shanower's shoulders because there can be no fault at all found in Skottie Young's artwork. Young reimagines (so outside texts have informed me) Oz in such vibrant colour and form that it becomes glorious and beautiful and any number of other expressions one might hear an eager youth group director employ in describing heaven to his young charges. I was blown away by the forcefulness of Young's vision for Oz—the animals, the flora, the geography, the civilizations. These drawings were all so plainly wonderful that the failure of the text to capture a compelling story to go along with Young's visions is nearly tragic.
The problem with Shanower's text is that despite having no predisposition toward reading The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as an adaptation, the book reads like an adaptation—and one requiring perhaps thirty more pages. The most glaring difficulty is the book's staccato rhythm of jolting from one point to the next. This is most evident in the first quarter of the book, from the touchdown of the twister through the gathering of Dorothy's quest companions. These pages are stilted and never fall into any kind of comfortable story tempo, as if there are a list of story points that must be met in a limited page count else the whole enterprise fail.
And that may very well have been the fact of the matter. Perhaps Marvel could not spare an extra chapter to their series. Perhaps Shanower was unfairly hampered by editorial mandate. Whatever the case though, the result is a book that could have perhaps been excellent but instead suffers from potential unmet. The more I think on it, the more I believe that an extra chapter's worth of pages could have saved the book. As it is, Shanower relies too heavily on dialogue to exposit his story. There are a lot of word balloons filled with a lot of text. More pages may have allowed Shanower to judiciously pare down his text and allow Young's very able visuals to carry more of the story-load.
Still, despite the obvious feeling that I was reading an adaptation, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz kept me interested. Some may even find the book worthwhile on the strength of the art alone. For my part, I'm interested to see how later volumes in the series of adaptations will play themselves out. Whether Shanower will grow more accustomed to the limitations of the medium and begin capitalizing more readily on its strengths remains to be proven, but I am excited to see how he fares—even if chiefly for the pleasure of witnessing more of Oz through Skottie Young's imagination.
_________________
[Review courtesy of Good Ok Bad]
April 1, 2023
UPDATE: Wanted to slowly reread - i.e., bask in - this outstanding series of books, which IMHO (and with only the lightest touch of hyperbole) are not only the best thing MARVEL has ever put out, but also the most charming interpretation of Baum's original books and characters EVER. Sumptious artwork throughout - and when you think that with an average of six panels per page, Skottie Young had to produce over 1,000 unique drawings for just this one book; each one of which I can happily study for far more time than I ever spent looking at the Mona Lisa, (which frankly isn't much larger than this book).
ORIGINAL REVIEW: After reading the I Hate Fairyland series, I'm on a bit of a Skottie Young jag, and this was a wonderful follow-up to those beautiful but much darker volumes. Another joint production of Young and colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu, this is considerably different in artistic style and tone from Fairyland, but no less gorgeous.
Having seen that damn movie every Thanksgiving for about a dozen years as a child, I thought I'd breeze through this first story pretty quickly before reading the other "Oz" stories in this series, all of which I was totally unfamiliar with. But turns out that as with so many film adaptations (and I'm thinking of you, Disney), the movie version merely skims the surface of a much deeper tale. This retelling, however, is much more faithful to the original novel, and so introduced me to a large cast of previously unknown characters such as the Winkies and the Quadlings; the China Princess and Mr. Joker; the Hammer-Heads; the Queen of the Field Mice; the Kalidahs...my goodness, there were a lot.
I'm not sure if our library has all the books in this 6-book series, but I'll certainly take whatever they have. This is a beautiful and relatively quick way to get caught on this classic literary world.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: After reading the I Hate Fairyland series, I'm on a bit of a Skottie Young jag, and this was a wonderful follow-up to those beautiful but much darker volumes. Another joint production of Young and colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu, this is considerably different in artistic style and tone from Fairyland, but no less gorgeous.
Having seen that damn movie every Thanksgiving for about a dozen years as a child, I thought I'd breeze through this first story pretty quickly before reading the other "Oz" stories in this series, all of which I was totally unfamiliar with. But turns out that as with so many film adaptations (and I'm thinking of you, Disney), the movie version merely skims the surface of a much deeper tale. This retelling, however, is much more faithful to the original novel, and so introduced me to a large cast of previously unknown characters such as the Winkies and the Quadlings; the China Princess and Mr. Joker; the Hammer-Heads; the Queen of the Field Mice; the Kalidahs...my goodness, there were a lot.
I'm not sure if our library has all the books in this 6-book series, but I'll certainly take whatever they have. This is a beautiful and relatively quick way to get caught on this classic literary world.
October 20, 2018
I never realized how condensed the Wizard of Oz movie was till I read this. I read the excerpt at the beginning from the creator and about all that went into the World of Oz over the years and I have a whole new level of respect for the series. I really enjoyed this more than I thought I would and have a whole new understanding to OZ and how dark it is.
May 31, 2023
I am finding this book altogether and entirely too personally daunting and painful (not only because Eric Shadower's Oz: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a graphic novel and I am just neither a fan of graphic novels in general nor do I tend to even be able to understand them as well and as throughly as traditional textual novels, but also, and perhaps even more importantly for me personally, the font size of the text there is, is just so miniscule that I am having huge vision and thus concentration issues even whilst wearing my strongest reading glasses). I did quickly and cursively skim through Oz: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and while Scottie Young's illustrations are, indeed, expressive and intense, I also find them more than a bit creepy and potentially frightening, so much so that the combination of for me too creepy illustrations, miniscule font size and the fact that I simply do not like graphic novels all that much anyhow is making me abandon this (I have always loved L. Frank Baum's Oz series of novels, but reading them without illustrations, or at least, without massive amounts of illustrations being thrust at me is much more, is in fact, vastly more enjoyable, and I do not see why I should continue and risk eye strain reading something that is proving to be simply a pain and not at all a pleasure). I do grudgingly appreciate the concept, but this is just not my cup of tea at all, and I respectfully, but gladly bow out. And I am also now even more leery of trying more graphic novels (and am certainly going to try to avoid those that sport minuscule fonts).
November 12, 2011
It was after finishing reading this comics adaptation of the beloved L. Frank Baum tale that I realized that Eric Shanower has earlier done well received Oz graphic novels. He was most suited for this new release from the Marvel Illustrated line of comics adaptations of classic literary works. But I came to read this graphic novel because of the work of Skottie Young.
Young’s art, almost ephemeral and whimsical will carry you through Oz as if you are part of Dorothy’s party of odd friends. His art suits the story, an American fairy tale, and gives it a modern edge as well. It evokes the timeless story of its origin and appeals modern sensibilities and new fans with its playfulness with a style that reminds you of underground art and wall graffiti.
This adaptation is great way to introduce new young readers to Baum’s classic.
Young’s art, almost ephemeral and whimsical will carry you through Oz as if you are part of Dorothy’s party of odd friends. His art suits the story, an American fairy tale, and gives it a modern edge as well. It evokes the timeless story of its origin and appeals modern sensibilities and new fans with its playfulness with a style that reminds you of underground art and wall graffiti.
This adaptation is great way to introduce new young readers to Baum’s classic.
October 1, 2012
I am as devoted an Ozite as any you are likely to see. I've read every last one of the Famous Forty, plus most of Baum's more or less related side books. I've seen the Judy Garland movie more times than I could count. (Yes, I love the books and the movie more or less equally.) One of the surest ways to get me to read or watch something is to tell me it has references to Oz. And so here I am.
Shanower's adaptation is remarkably faithful, following the basic storyline rather closely. This may be a bit of a failing. Baum was already showing the tendency to have brief episodes about such and so strange Ozite town, never to return to them again, most noticeably with the town made of china. I honestly expect this chapter to be cut from adapations, and yet here it is. Considering how clipped the overall action has to be to accomodate nearly every twist and turn of Baum's original, it might have made a better adaptation to cut out scenes like that. (Much as I like them in the original book.) For a hardcore Ozite (and it looks like Shanower is one of us), it's fun to see even the minor episodes in comic format, but probably less so for the casual fan.
The art is exactly as on the cover. This I wasn't sure about when I started reading, and it took most of the book for me to warm up to Skottie Young's style. I did eventually end up liking it, but he's no John R. Neill.
I will definitely be following the rest of the Oz adaptations, and I'd like it if Shanower would keep going through the rest of the Baum books. I'm especially excited about Oz: The Marvelous Land of Oz, since that's one of my favorites.
Shanower's adaptation is remarkably faithful, following the basic storyline rather closely. This may be a bit of a failing. Baum was already showing the tendency to have brief episodes about such and so strange Ozite town, never to return to them again, most noticeably with the town made of china. I honestly expect this chapter to be cut from adapations, and yet here it is. Considering how clipped the overall action has to be to accomodate nearly every twist and turn of Baum's original, it might have made a better adaptation to cut out scenes like that. (Much as I like them in the original book.) For a hardcore Ozite (and it looks like Shanower is one of us), it's fun to see even the minor episodes in comic format, but probably less so for the casual fan.
The art is exactly as on the cover. This I wasn't sure about when I started reading, and it took most of the book for me to warm up to Skottie Young's style. I did eventually end up liking it, but he's no John R. Neill.
I will definitely be following the rest of the Oz adaptations, and I'd like it if Shanower would keep going through the rest of the Baum books. I'm especially excited about Oz: The Marvelous Land of Oz, since that's one of my favorites.
January 11, 2016
This graphic novel is an excellent adaptation of the L. Frank Baum classic. The story is faithful to the original tale, and the artwork is beautiful and imaginative. Highly recommended for all Oz fans!
February 9, 2012
1939's The Wizard of Oz is an all-time movie classic. Anytime a new Oz movie, book, or in this case, a graphic novel, come out, they're compared to that as the original. Which is funny, since the 1939 movie is itself an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's "American fairy tale," first published in 1900. One of the most tireless promoters and defenders of Baum's vision of Oz has become Eric Shanower, whose books and comic books have both revived Baum's original stories and characters, and created new directions for those characters to run.
In 2009, Marvel Comics published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, first as an eight-issue run of comic books, and then as a collected graphic novel/trade paperback. I read the first five issues, then couldn't find the remaining three, but just came across the collection in the store and re-read the entire thing.
Shanower faithfully adapts the original story, and about half of it would be familiar to anyone who's seen the 1939 movie. Which is like, the whole planet. Dorothy Gale gets swept up in a tornado, leaving Kansas with her house and Toto, lands on and kills a witch in Munchkinland, and gets sent on the yellow brick road to the Emerald City. Along the way, she meets the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion, they meet the Wizard, kill the Wicked Witch of the West, etc.. All of which you should already know.
If you've never read the original book (and you really should, being literate and all), there are other adventures along the way, including several things that happen to Dorothy and her pals after the Wicked Witch of the West is killed, but before Dorothy returns home. This includes confrontations with wild beasts, the Kalidahs (part tiger, part bear, and monstrous in size); alliances with field mice to save Dorothy and the Lion from the poisonous poppies; chasms and rivers to cross; attacks by the Hammerheads; and a remarkable land of China, where everyone is made of porcelain. There are also characters who are either conflated or left out of the 1939 movie--there are two good witches, one of the North, one of the South--in the movie they're both combined into the bubble-riding Glinda.
You get more background on the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion, finding out why each is where they're at when Dorothy finds them. Details are a little different too--Dorothy's magic slippers are silver, not ruby; the Flying Monkeys don't have allegiance to the Wicked Witch of the West, they're under control of a magic helmet that ends up in Dorothy's hands, and the monkeys, creepy as they are, end up helping our friends more than hurting them.
The illustrations by Skottie Young are beautiful. They're a different take on the Wizard of Oz than we usually see, and don't seem influenced much at all by the movie version, but are still familiar. Dorothy is a very small farmgirl, with a big head and eyes and tiny feet and hands that almost don't exist. The Scarecrow is the one who looks most familiar, because he's...a scarecrow. In an appendix, we see some alternate sketches for some characters, and the Tin Man is the one who got the most changes. At first he was an "Iron Giant"-like robot, but Young brought him down to size, and in fact he looks like a tin version of L. Frank Baum himself, bald head (no funnel hat) and oversized moustache. The Cowardly Lion is a big fluffball--huge in size, but the cuddliest thing you've ever seen. The designs are wonderful, the coloring exquisite, and even if you're not usually a fan of graphic novels or comic books, you'll get into this book quickly.
In 2009, Marvel Comics published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, first as an eight-issue run of comic books, and then as a collected graphic novel/trade paperback. I read the first five issues, then couldn't find the remaining three, but just came across the collection in the store and re-read the entire thing.
Shanower faithfully adapts the original story, and about half of it would be familiar to anyone who's seen the 1939 movie. Which is like, the whole planet. Dorothy Gale gets swept up in a tornado, leaving Kansas with her house and Toto, lands on and kills a witch in Munchkinland, and gets sent on the yellow brick road to the Emerald City. Along the way, she meets the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion, they meet the Wizard, kill the Wicked Witch of the West, etc.. All of which you should already know.
If you've never read the original book (and you really should, being literate and all), there are other adventures along the way, including several things that happen to Dorothy and her pals after the Wicked Witch of the West is killed, but before Dorothy returns home. This includes confrontations with wild beasts, the Kalidahs (part tiger, part bear, and monstrous in size); alliances with field mice to save Dorothy and the Lion from the poisonous poppies; chasms and rivers to cross; attacks by the Hammerheads; and a remarkable land of China, where everyone is made of porcelain. There are also characters who are either conflated or left out of the 1939 movie--there are two good witches, one of the North, one of the South--in the movie they're both combined into the bubble-riding Glinda.
You get more background on the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion, finding out why each is where they're at when Dorothy finds them. Details are a little different too--Dorothy's magic slippers are silver, not ruby; the Flying Monkeys don't have allegiance to the Wicked Witch of the West, they're under control of a magic helmet that ends up in Dorothy's hands, and the monkeys, creepy as they are, end up helping our friends more than hurting them.
The illustrations by Skottie Young are beautiful. They're a different take on the Wizard of Oz than we usually see, and don't seem influenced much at all by the movie version, but are still familiar. Dorothy is a very small farmgirl, with a big head and eyes and tiny feet and hands that almost don't exist. The Scarecrow is the one who looks most familiar, because he's...a scarecrow. In an appendix, we see some alternate sketches for some characters, and the Tin Man is the one who got the most changes. At first he was an "Iron Giant"-like robot, but Young brought him down to size, and in fact he looks like a tin version of L. Frank Baum himself, bald head (no funnel hat) and oversized moustache. The Cowardly Lion is a big fluffball--huge in size, but the cuddliest thing you've ever seen. The designs are wonderful, the coloring exquisite, and even if you're not usually a fan of graphic novels or comic books, you'll get into this book quickly.
May 15, 2015
Vendían estos comics en la Feria Internacional del Libro a un precio completamente accesible, y cuando lo hojee me encantaron las ilustraciones que tiene. Se trata de uno de los clasicos ilustrados Marvel, la popular historia de la pobre Dorothy, quien fue alejada de sus tíos; Toto, el pequeño perrito de Dorothy; el hombre de hojalata, quien no tiene un corazón con el cual amar; el león, quien por ser el rey de la selva no cuenta con suficiente valor; y mi preferido en esta preciosa edición, el espantapájaros, es cual no tiene un cerebro para pensar por sí mismo. Éste último personaje resultó de mis predilectos ya que tiene características que se asemejan enormemente a las de los personajes de Tim Burton, y como sabrán, amo el arte de Tim. Fui leyendo un número por noche hasta que francamente no resistí y terminé por leerlos todos juntos, porque la historia es genial y quería conocer más el trazo del artista que le dio más vida a estos singulares personajes. Plus, el comic es una fiel adaptación a la historia original. Amé que respetaran tanto los diálogos y las ideas generales.
June 2, 2021
Shanower’s reimagining of Dorothy’s journey in the land of Oz is no doubt, a magical but pretty eerie piece of work with a little steampunk and some surprises that still makes her story shine like her silver shoes 👠. A- (91%/Excellent)
January 11, 2018
Loved it.... Found it because I love Skottie Young. If you love Oz or Graphic novels you can't go wrong. If you love both, you'll be enchanted! I need to read the others in the series. I meant to do so...
March 11, 2017
This comic adaptation of the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is rare on many levels. It might actually be better than the book itself! Most people have enjoyed the movie as a kid, but the book is a much more complicated story and in my mind much better than the movie. Shanower is able to keep the complexities of the original story while Young's art keeps the story on a whimsical level that all ages will enjoy.
I've met Shanower a couple of times at comic conventions and he is a gifted storyteller. His Age of Bronze comic series is a great retelling of the Trojan War and is a must read for anyone interested in Greek Mythology. His experience in adapting this longer epic must have helped him greatly in taking Frank Baum's much shorter story, allowing him to pull out just the right pieces to keep the original flavor while also being new and fresh. I'm not as familiar with Skottie Young's art, but I'm impressed. All the characters in Oz stories are so iconic it's a difficult task for any artist to provide just the right amount of uniqueness while still keeping all the expected details. Young's Dorothy and Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow are just about as perfect as you could get - very stylized but no doubt still representative of the original characters.
This is a great adaptation of a children's classic. If your kids have read the book, this is a great companion book to give them a visual interpretation of the story. If they haven't read the original book or have only seen the movie, I'd actually think reading this adaptation would be more enjoyable as a starting point into the Oz world.
I've met Shanower a couple of times at comic conventions and he is a gifted storyteller. His Age of Bronze comic series is a great retelling of the Trojan War and is a must read for anyone interested in Greek Mythology. His experience in adapting this longer epic must have helped him greatly in taking Frank Baum's much shorter story, allowing him to pull out just the right pieces to keep the original flavor while also being new and fresh. I'm not as familiar with Skottie Young's art, but I'm impressed. All the characters in Oz stories are so iconic it's a difficult task for any artist to provide just the right amount of uniqueness while still keeping all the expected details. Young's Dorothy and Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow are just about as perfect as you could get - very stylized but no doubt still representative of the original characters.
This is a great adaptation of a children's classic. If your kids have read the book, this is a great companion book to give them a visual interpretation of the story. If they haven't read the original book or have only seen the movie, I'd actually think reading this adaptation would be more enjoyable as a starting point into the Oz world.
December 31, 2018
"It seems to me that a body is just a machine for brains to direct, and those who have no brains themselves are liable to be directed by others"
Haha! This is too relevant for today's culture!
The Wizard of Oz has always been close to my heart thanks to my dads works as the Tinman in a travelling theatre group when I was a kid so this had big shoes to fill in my tiny childhood heart. Thankfully it delivered and was an excellent adaptation of a truly magical book. I loved the art style and the thought that went into it as depicted in the last few pages by Skottie; The circular lion to de-kingdomise him, the pot belly stuffed scarecrow, it was all just fantastic and I could really sense the thought behind it. The exerts from Skottie at the opening of the book were a pleasure to read which really outlined his passion for the piece, setting a tone at the start of my experience. I had no idea the Oz series existed until I saw this sitting on the shelf in the YA section of my local library (I know, shock horror for all the classic lit fans!) Having now read, and thoroughly enjoyed the first installment I'm eager to get my hands on the next.
A cute ending to 2018 indeed.
Haha! This is too relevant for today's culture!
The Wizard of Oz has always been close to my heart thanks to my dads works as the Tinman in a travelling theatre group when I was a kid so this had big shoes to fill in my tiny childhood heart. Thankfully it delivered and was an excellent adaptation of a truly magical book. I loved the art style and the thought that went into it as depicted in the last few pages by Skottie; The circular lion to de-kingdomise him, the pot belly stuffed scarecrow, it was all just fantastic and I could really sense the thought behind it. The exerts from Skottie at the opening of the book were a pleasure to read which really outlined his passion for the piece, setting a tone at the start of my experience. I had no idea the Oz series existed until I saw this sitting on the shelf in the YA section of my local library (I know, shock horror for all the classic lit fans!) Having now read, and thoroughly enjoyed the first installment I'm eager to get my hands on the next.
A cute ending to 2018 indeed.
October 2, 2010
My favorite comic book store is Atomic Comics in Mesa, right next to Bookman's. It can make for a fun but wallet-draining day to make a trip down there and stop at both stores. Last time I was at Atomic Comics, I picked up an introduction to this and the Joe Hill comic book series Locke & Key. They were part of the $1 collection on the wall, of introductions and special issues put out by publishers for a buck. After I read that, I knew I had to read the whole thing.
At first, I thought the drawings were going to be a little too cutesy, too little-kiddy. But there's much more to the artwork than that. It manages to be cute, dark, and unsettling all at once. I haven't read the novel, but from what I have read and seen of Oz, this comic stays very close to it. I really enjoyed it.
At first, I thought the drawings were going to be a little too cutesy, too little-kiddy. But there's much more to the artwork than that. It manages to be cute, dark, and unsettling all at once. I haven't read the novel, but from what I have read and seen of Oz, this comic stays very close to it. I really enjoyed it.
January 23, 2018
Après avoir lu Rocket & Groot et I Hate Fairyland de Skottie Young, j’avais besoin d'en lire plus de cet auteur et dessinateur incroyable. C’est pour cela que j’ai sauté sur l’occasion lorsque j’ai vu le tome 1 de l’adaptation de l’œuvre de L. Frank Baum, Le Magicien d’Oz dessiné par Skottie Young, écrit par Éric Shanower et mis en couleur par Jean-François Beaulieu...
[CHRONIQUE] -> http://pugoscope.fr/1231-oz-review/
[CHRONIQUE] -> http://pugoscope.fr/1231-oz-review/
December 15, 2012
Una auténtica joya. Muy fiel al relato original, manteniendo su sentido del humor y completado con unos estupendos dibujos de Skottie Young, al que hay que aplaudir especialmente los diseños de los personajes. Dibujos cargados de expresividad que ayudan a encariñarse con unos personajes únicos.
January 10, 2025
Kétségeim támadtak, hogy végül is olvastam-e gyerekkoromban az Ózt, vagy csak feldolgozásokból ismertem, mert meglepett milyen izgalmas és gazdag fantasy mese ez. Ezt a képregényt a vizuális élményért vettem meg magamnak - tényleg mint egy művészeti album, szinte minden képkockáját kitenném a falamra. Az egy külön hozadéka ennek a kiadásnak, hogy bár újrafordítás, egészen szorosan követi a meseregényt szövegileg is, tehát arra is tökéletesen alkalmas, hogy az eredeti történettel ismerkedjen meg az olvasó.
A mezei egerek, a szárnyas majmok... egyszerre rémisztőek és elképesztően menők. És itt mindenkinek van egy királya, illetve egy saját története, amit bizony nem habozik el is mesélni :)
De mindig is tetszett az az egyszerű allegória is, amire felépül az egész mesebeli utazás. Szóval remek évkezdő olvasmány és nézegetnivaló volt.
A mezei egerek, a szárnyas majmok... egyszerre rémisztőek és elképesztően menők. És itt mindenkinek van egy királya, illetve egy saját története, amit bizony nem habozik el is mesélni :)
De mindig is tetszett az az egyszerű allegória is, amire felépül az egész mesebeli utazás. Szóval remek évkezdő olvasmány és nézegetnivaló volt.
October 28, 2017
Great twist on a classic story. Amazing illustrations by Skottie Young. Can’t wait to read the rest of the series!
January 22, 2023
Sophie’nin Baladı ile beraber, son dönemde okuduğum en güzel çizgi romanlardan biriydi. Marvel’dan böyle güzel işler görmek hem şaşırtıyor hem de umutlandırıyor.
Read
May 9, 2022good version of the movie. Longer.
December 24, 2018
Shanower and Young were directly responsible for drafting me back into Oz, and getting me to read the complete Baum series a few years back, but I didn't start with their first adaptation, so that makes this the first time I've read it. Their Oz should by all rights take its place alongside Baum's and, I reluctantly add, the famous Judy Garland musical.
For most people, Judy Garland's movie is Oz. I get that. I also appreciate its remarkable artistic achievement, as much evident now as it was in 1939, but as I grow older I suspect more and more that it's an experience best appreciated by children. It's not just that I know a lot more about Garland's real world problems now, but that her performance, outside of her remarkable singing and iconic "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," is more and more difficult to watch, and that's a huge hurdle to leap over. It's just not good acting, a one-note warble that comes very close to canceling out the considerable charms around it.
And also because I have the original book, with its original character. I'd read a little of Baum's material when I was younger, and so I had an inkling before Shanower and Young as to what it was like without Garland, without the songs. I know it's popular to say movie adaptations can never really do justice to the literary source material, but Wizard of Oz always seemed to be an exception, as with many children's books (Mary Poppins, Winnie-the-Pooh, Pinocchio) and assorted others (Planet of the Apes, M*A*S*H) that have been virtually forgotten thanks to their screen versions. Baum's material has often been difficult to find in stores, but not as difficult as some of that other material I mentioned, so it's been easier to keep in vague cultural memory.
What Shanower and Young did was explode it back into the popular consciousness. With all due respect to Shanower, it was really Young's art that did the trick. Skottie Young actually later seemed to bitterly resent his time adapting Oz books (the first six, anyway), writing and drawing a vicious satire called I Hate Fairyland that was a demented hackjob of everything he'd come to be known for. But his work in the Oz comics will hopefully endure that punishment with aplomb, because it perfectly encapsulates, as previous generations were entranced by Disney movies, the childlike wonder of the source material.
But astonishingly, in Wonderful Wizard of Oz, he actually seems to have considered a more subdued approach. Dorothy Gale looks cartoonish, but not as much lunatic as Young's later overall style tended to be. The trademark curlicues are there, and the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow are certainly fashioned in whimsy, but it quickly becomes apparent that Young didn't start out in the mode he would later lampoon, and that was its own discovery.
The fact that this happened at all is thanks to a period in which Marvel comics gave, for its line, unprecedented creative leniency to its publishing line. This was also the period where Marvel was producing its Dark Tower comics, based on the Stephen King novels, and even the superheroes had considerable free rein. Marvel fans these days complain about the company's apparent lack of imagination, but it was in taking all that freedom as far as it could go that resulted in fans ultimately rejecting the idea that Marvel could really deviate from its famously insular approach, which had served it so well for decades, and eventually produced hugely popular Avengers movies, which themselves have begun to wobble off the axes, with probably the same eventual results (the fans who now profess a great love of Thor: Ragnarok, for example, will likely be howling with further examples of such results).
Bottom line is, if you think you know Oz because you've seen Garland's movie dozens of times, or read any of the many, many later Oz books, seen and/or read Wicked, you don't know Jack (Pumpkinhead; he shows up in Marvelous Land of Oz, the second book, which when I came across it in comics form was fairly convinced Marvel had taken some liberties, but it really is the second book's title).
Do yourself a favor. If you don't want to read Baum's book, read this. And then you'll be right and properly hooked...
For most people, Judy Garland's movie is Oz. I get that. I also appreciate its remarkable artistic achievement, as much evident now as it was in 1939, but as I grow older I suspect more and more that it's an experience best appreciated by children. It's not just that I know a lot more about Garland's real world problems now, but that her performance, outside of her remarkable singing and iconic "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," is more and more difficult to watch, and that's a huge hurdle to leap over. It's just not good acting, a one-note warble that comes very close to canceling out the considerable charms around it.
And also because I have the original book, with its original character. I'd read a little of Baum's material when I was younger, and so I had an inkling before Shanower and Young as to what it was like without Garland, without the songs. I know it's popular to say movie adaptations can never really do justice to the literary source material, but Wizard of Oz always seemed to be an exception, as with many children's books (Mary Poppins, Winnie-the-Pooh, Pinocchio) and assorted others (Planet of the Apes, M*A*S*H) that have been virtually forgotten thanks to their screen versions. Baum's material has often been difficult to find in stores, but not as difficult as some of that other material I mentioned, so it's been easier to keep in vague cultural memory.
What Shanower and Young did was explode it back into the popular consciousness. With all due respect to Shanower, it was really Young's art that did the trick. Skottie Young actually later seemed to bitterly resent his time adapting Oz books (the first six, anyway), writing and drawing a vicious satire called I Hate Fairyland that was a demented hackjob of everything he'd come to be known for. But his work in the Oz comics will hopefully endure that punishment with aplomb, because it perfectly encapsulates, as previous generations were entranced by Disney movies, the childlike wonder of the source material.
But astonishingly, in Wonderful Wizard of Oz, he actually seems to have considered a more subdued approach. Dorothy Gale looks cartoonish, but not as much lunatic as Young's later overall style tended to be. The trademark curlicues are there, and the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow are certainly fashioned in whimsy, but it quickly becomes apparent that Young didn't start out in the mode he would later lampoon, and that was its own discovery.
The fact that this happened at all is thanks to a period in which Marvel comics gave, for its line, unprecedented creative leniency to its publishing line. This was also the period where Marvel was producing its Dark Tower comics, based on the Stephen King novels, and even the superheroes had considerable free rein. Marvel fans these days complain about the company's apparent lack of imagination, but it was in taking all that freedom as far as it could go that resulted in fans ultimately rejecting the idea that Marvel could really deviate from its famously insular approach, which had served it so well for decades, and eventually produced hugely popular Avengers movies, which themselves have begun to wobble off the axes, with probably the same eventual results (the fans who now profess a great love of Thor: Ragnarok, for example, will likely be howling with further examples of such results).
Bottom line is, if you think you know Oz because you've seen Garland's movie dozens of times, or read any of the many, many later Oz books, seen and/or read Wicked, you don't know Jack (Pumpkinhead; he shows up in Marvelous Land of Oz, the second book, which when I came across it in comics form was fairly convinced Marvel had taken some liberties, but it really is the second book's title).
Do yourself a favor. If you don't want to read Baum's book, read this. And then you'll be right and properly hooked...
March 8, 2018
I picked up this book solely for Skottie Young's art, and I was not disappointed.
Having never actually read the Oz novels, I can't speak how this adaptation compares to the source material--though I get the impression it is pretty close. I don't have strong feelings on the story itself. There's a lot of childhood nostalgia associated with the film, but the books are their own thing in a lot of ways--darker, wilder, sillier. I had not problems with the story overall, and it was interesting to encounter pieces of it that have been largely forgotten by popular culture.
But the real triumph of this adaptation is in the art. I am a huge fan of Young's work. His illustrations here are cartoonish and whimsical in perfect accompaniment to the story, but with a definite creepiness at times that is also well suited to the content. Young brings the tale to life with excellent flair and detail, bringing his own flavor to the characters in a way that also feels true the basics of who they are.
This book is a visual delight, especially for those who enjoy Young's artistic style.
Having never actually read the Oz novels, I can't speak how this adaptation compares to the source material--though I get the impression it is pretty close. I don't have strong feelings on the story itself. There's a lot of childhood nostalgia associated with the film, but the books are their own thing in a lot of ways--darker, wilder, sillier. I had not problems with the story overall, and it was interesting to encounter pieces of it that have been largely forgotten by popular culture.
But the real triumph of this adaptation is in the art. I am a huge fan of Young's work. His illustrations here are cartoonish and whimsical in perfect accompaniment to the story, but with a definite creepiness at times that is also well suited to the content. Young brings the tale to life with excellent flair and detail, bringing his own flavor to the characters in a way that also feels true the basics of who they are.
This book is a visual delight, especially for those who enjoy Young's artistic style.
February 23, 2022
I have read this to my children a handful of times since the beginning of the year, and I have to admit that I found the first read-through a bit of a chore.
But, their eagerness to re-read this every other night has worn me down.
I originally found the mix of Baum’s turn-of-the-century text and modern illustrations to be rough to read aloud, but over time, I have settled into a groove of performance.
Honestly, to a certain degree, most media created around 1900 was highly theatrical. So, reading about a nonsense world with nonsense creatures with nonsense rules, requires a bit of performance to truly appreciate.
I have only ever taken part in the Land of Oz via the quintessential film from ‘39; a twisted-but-great follow-up of Return to Oz in ‘85; and now this graphic novel, I have come to realize that Frank’s got a lot more still hiding in the original story that I may need to check out.
But, their eagerness to re-read this every other night has worn me down.
I originally found the mix of Baum’s turn-of-the-century text and modern illustrations to be rough to read aloud, but over time, I have settled into a groove of performance.
Honestly, to a certain degree, most media created around 1900 was highly theatrical. So, reading about a nonsense world with nonsense creatures with nonsense rules, requires a bit of performance to truly appreciate.
I have only ever taken part in the Land of Oz via the quintessential film from ‘39; a twisted-but-great follow-up of Return to Oz in ‘85; and now this graphic novel, I have come to realize that Frank’s got a lot more still hiding in the original story that I may need to check out.
September 25, 2015
*Book source ~ Library
So, a synopsis. It’s the freakin’ Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Do I really need to recap this? Ok, I will. Dorothy lives with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em on a farm in Kansas. She has a dog named Toto. A tornado (called a cyclone here) comes along sweeping Dorothy and Toto to the Land of Oz where Dorothy spends her time making unusual friends and trying to get back to Kansas.
First off, omg, the artwork is fantastic! It’s so adorable and the colors are perfect. I loved it. The story is pretty good, too. I hate to admit that I’ve never actually read the book (it’s on my TBR, honest!), so I’m not sure how faithful the adaptation is. And I haven’t seen the movie in quite some time, but the graphic novel does differ a bit from it. If you liked the movie and the book then this graphic novel is a must read. The art alone is worth it. Trust me.
So, a synopsis. It’s the freakin’ Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Do I really need to recap this? Ok, I will. Dorothy lives with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em on a farm in Kansas. She has a dog named Toto. A tornado (called a cyclone here) comes along sweeping Dorothy and Toto to the Land of Oz where Dorothy spends her time making unusual friends and trying to get back to Kansas.
First off, omg, the artwork is fantastic! It’s so adorable and the colors are perfect. I loved it. The story is pretty good, too. I hate to admit that I’ve never actually read the book (it’s on my TBR, honest!), so I’m not sure how faithful the adaptation is. And I haven’t seen the movie in quite some time, but the graphic novel does differ a bit from it. If you liked the movie and the book then this graphic novel is a must read. The art alone is worth it. Trust me.
December 25, 2018
Ich gestehe, ich habe die Original-Geschichte von Baum zu lange nicht gelesen, um zu beurteilen, ob alle dortigen Etappen enthalten sind, mein Bauchgefühl sagt aber ja. Ich selbst bin mehr mit der Wolkow-Nacherzählung vertraut, in der jedenfalls keine Porzellanleute enthalten sind (und ich war angenehm überrascht, dass "Volkov" im Vor- und Nachwort erwähnt wird).
Die Story mochte ich - ach was :) - und die grafische Umsetzung im Wesentlichen auch: Allerdings war mir alles was in der Smaragdstadt passiert zu ... "dunkel". Mir fehlte die Sonne, das Strahlen, das Glitzern und die Pracht der Stadt, die ich hier nicht so recht gefunden habe. Und die ersten Audienzen bei Oz waren ganz schön düster (und erinnerten mich, ebenso wie das Brillendesign und die Vogelscheuche mit Verstand wieder an Borg ;) ) Insgesamt gefiel mir dieser Comic aber sehr.
Die Story mochte ich - ach was :) - und die grafische Umsetzung im Wesentlichen auch: Allerdings war mir alles was in der Smaragdstadt passiert zu ... "dunkel". Mir fehlte die Sonne, das Strahlen, das Glitzern und die Pracht der Stadt, die ich hier nicht so recht gefunden habe. Und die ersten Audienzen bei Oz waren ganz schön düster (und erinnerten mich, ebenso wie das Brillendesign und die Vogelscheuche mit Verstand wieder an Borg ;) ) Insgesamt gefiel mir dieser Comic aber sehr.
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