Wonderful Wizard of Oz #1 review

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

WRITER: ERIC SHANOWER
BASED OFF OF CHARACTERS BY L. FRANK BAUM
ART: SKOTT YOUNG
LETTERED BY: JEFF ECKLEBERRY
PUBLISHED BY: Marvel


By now you should be familiar with the story of Dorothy Gale, the young girl from Kansas that is whisked away to the magical land of Oz where she encounters Munchkins, Good Witches, Wicked Witches, a tin man, a scarecrow, lions and tigers and bears... Sorry. I got a little carried away there, but you get the gist. Unlike MGM's legendary film, this mini-series is a more faithful adaption of the actual "Oz" lore, created by L. Frank Baum.

The issue is written by "Oz" enthusiast Eric Showaner and calling him a fan of the world of Oz is an understatement. His first major published works were the OZ graphic novels, which were released by First Comics and Dark Horse between 1986-1992. He has also written [i]and[/i] illustrated a full-length "Oz" novel, "The Giant Garden of Oz," and a collection of short Oz stories, "The Salt Sorcerer of Oz". Like I mentioned, the man knows his stuff.

The art is done by Skott Young, and it's exactly what this book needs. It is kid-friendly, cute, cartoony and I am an adamant supporter for comics aimed for a younger audience. The time line of this first issue (the book is a nine issue mini-series) spans from right before the twister that takes Dorothy to Oz up to right after she meets the Scarecrow.

Those of you who are only familiar with the Judy Garland version, should really try to pick this up. If not for yourself, then perhaps for a young reader in the household. He or she won't be disappointed, but possibly a little confused since the movie has a lot of differences. It's nice to see the original novel getting the comic treatment.