Retro Review: Classic Wizard of Oz

Okay, so what do I know about this 2-cassette set? ... Next to nothing that's not on the case. Classic Wizard of Oz has a copyright of 1975 from the Cutting Corportation (I can't find an audio producer by that name, but there is an audio archival company, so maybe they changed businesses), so I would be unsurprised if it had been originally available on vinyl records.

For whatever reason, these were re-released on cassette, and are also available digitally. If your local library has digital lending services, they might have it. Mine did. That's how I first heard it. Later, I found the cassettes on PaperBackSwap.com, and decided to pick it up with a few extra credits.

The cassettes are "full cast recordings," based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz. However, they are loose adaptations. And by loose, I mean ... they tell almost the same story as the books, but use next to none of the dialogue or prose found in the books. Usually, audio books offer a taste of the author's writing style read aloud, even if it's abridged, and a full cast recording either does away with or minimizes the work of a narrator by letting the listener hear the story as it would have happened.

Classic Wizard of Oz does neither. This is, without a doubt, the worst audio adaptation of Oz I've heard. The narrator is overused, and in one case, says the Scarecrow's dialogue for him. The voice acting isn't too hot. One small clip I find hilarious is Dorothy's "Hey, Aunt Em! There's a cyclone coming!" She sounds like she's excited about it. Even sillier is Aunt Em's line, "Let me see, Dorothy. Oh, that's a bad cyclone!"

... As opposed to good cyclones?

Tip sounds like a girl. I guess they had a girl do his voice, as sometimes they do that, but here, it's obvious. (It reminded me of Shirley Temple's Land of Oz, another loose adaptation which worked better as it was a TV version.) Jack sounds terrible, and the Sawhorse is mute. The Scarecrow is a jerk: "Hey, Tip! If you're Ozma, I don't have to be king anymore!"

Now for story changes—it could be considered "abridged," but as none of Baum's writing, aside from the actual plot, is present, I just consider it an adaptation—the Queen of the Field Mice is cut again, the Lion is just pulled out of the Poppy Field by the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow. The Poppy Field itself is said to have an odd odor like "leftover spinach," which doesn't make sense considering that Dorothy falls asleep there. The Wizard sees them all at once, as the giant head. (Sound familiar?) The Wicked Witch of the West, instead of getting her wolves, crows, bees, and Winkies, summons the Fighting Trees and the Hammerheads to fight instead. Because of that, the journey to Glinda's (suggested by the Wizard as he flies away) has only the Dainty China Country as an event. As it is, they might as well have left it out, especially as the narrator leads us through it mostly.

The Land of Oz is even looser: it begins with the kidnapping of Ozma, which is simply telling us Ozma as a little girl went to pick lilies and never returned. Later, Mombi was seen by a soldier with a little boy holding a lily. (OBVIOUS.) The incantation for the Powder of Life is changed to something really ridiculous: "Bingo bango bongo bive, a cherry, a lemon, an apple, a chive, birds make nests, bees make hives, now powder, now powder, bring ____ alive!" (Never thought "Weaugh! Teaugh! Peaugh!" would sound good? Well, now it does.) Jack remembers being a lifeless pumpkin and stories the animals would tell, including some about Ozma, and it is overhearing Tip and Jack talking about Ozma that makes Mombi decide to turn Tip into a statue.

The Sawhorse runs off with Jack to the Emerald City almost immediately after he is brought to life, and the meeting of the Scarecrow and Jack is reduced greatly. (Jellia's translation scene is gone. A CRIME!!!) Jinjur's army is a marching brigade who get convinced to revolt by Mombi. The Tin Woodman's castle is also captured by Jinjur and Mombi, and it is here the Gump is created. The Jackdaw's nest is left in, but it lacks the battle and the Scarecrow losing his straw, so it could have been left out easily. Glinda is suddenly said to be the ruler of the RED GILLIKINS IN THE NORTH. (I thought she was south, like in their Wizard.)

One change I did like is that Jinjur does not want to defy Glinda and immediately surrenders and turns Mombi over to Glinda right away. Not that I like they changed what happened in the book, but I always felt that this was the true nature of the relationship between Mombi and Jinjur. (Jinjur being afraid of Mombi.)

Overall, it might be an interesting take on Oz, if only it wasn't for the low production quality and over use of narration. The character voices are unconvincing and the music is underwhelming to say the least. I never thought of "Arkansas Traveler" (or, as us later generation kids know it, "Baby Bumblebee") as music that defined the Emerald City.

The package is nice, with a hard plastic case that opens to securely hold two cassettes. A Denslow color plate decorates the front, while the back gives us a weird summary: "Join Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion as they journey down the yellow brick road in search of the great and powerful Wizard of Oz. Marvel at the magical ruby slippers, shudder at the evil Wicked Witch of the West, and giggle along with the munchkins. This full-cast production brings new life to one of the best known stories of our time." The shoes are silver, the Witch hardly gets to be evil, and we don't hear the Munchkins giggle. I'd suspect whoever wrote the summary hadn't heard it and wrote something up quickly. (It'd match the MGM movie just fine, though.)

Really, unless you're curious, or really want it to complete your collection, I wouldn't recommend picking it up. But, if you do, physical copies are used on Amazon for under $20. Audible did have it once, but it is no longer in their catalog. Any other place that sells a download of it is rather pricey. ($13 is too much for a non-physical copy.) And, as I said, you can check if your library has digital audiobooks for check out, and if it uses the OverDrive system, chances are, they'll have it and you can hear it for free. (Which is how it should be!)

And speaking of that, you should be able to see this page from my library's OverDrive site that has an audio sample in WMA format.

It figures

All right. This blog isn't a podcast, a review, or me saying that I'm seven issues away from a complete 1971-2011 run of the Baum Bugle or seven issues away from a complete run of Oziana, or an update about my Oz stories (we're just waiting for the rest of the illustrations for Outsiders, I promise!).

I haven't talked much about my custom Oz action figures here. I started making them in March, and I've made a few...

• Toto
• Aunt Em
• Scarecrow
• Tin Woodman
• Cowardly Lion
• Wizard
• Wicked Witch of the West
• Glinda
• Sawhorse
• Jack Pumpkinhead
• Woggle-Bug
• Billina
• Tik-Tok
• Hungry Tiger
• Nome King Roquat/Ruggedo
• Kaliko
• Shaggy Man
• Scraps
• Woozy
• Cap'n Bill
• Captain Fyter

Of course, you see some important missing characters here: the girls of Oz! I had to wait to find a good base to make a figure with. I started with the Scarecrow, who was a figure from the Doctor Who line. Those are all in scale with each other, so I often look to that line. However, I have found other in-scale toys to go with them. But the kids of Oz were hard to find. Up until 2011, the only child figure made was "The Empty Child," who's a little boy with a gas mask. (It's also an old release, so it fetches some higher prices.)

The best place to get Doctor Who figures in America is WhoNA.com, due to bargain prices and great service. They also have a forum where collectors can trade stuff, so that is where I got most of my custom fodder. (Seriously, I bought a bunch of odd little bits of figures from one user, and traded two pairs of hands from it for two figures from a generous customizer.)

So, at the forum, we got news about the Doctor Who Experience getting an exclusive figure of Amelia Pond, the child version of current companion Amy. It was cool to see them finally do a child figure, but it wasn't available in the United States, and this version had a coat, mittens, and a hat. If I was going to customize with that, I'd have a lot of work to do, so I wrote it off as a possible base for the girls of Oz.

However, we soon heard that the first wave based on the new series would contain a different Amelia Pond without the coat and hat, and she would have regular hands. We waited for MONTHS for them to come out over here, but they finally did. I wasn't home when they went on sale, so I texted my brother, who had the day off, all the information he'd need for the order. He placed it for me. I could have waited until I got home, but the Amelias still sold out in 12 hours.

The next Monday...

This photo was not taken upon receipt. Out of the four, only one is still in packaging. Of the three out of packaging, only the one not intended for customs remains unaltered. Still, just imagine two more and you get the idea.

Finally, I had a base to make Dorothy, Trot, and Betsy! (Ozma I am working on, but I'm using a different base. She'll be taller.) I started on Trot and Dorothy because they'd be the most difficult of the girls (aside from Ozma, that's a different story) to make. Trot required trimming hair and a repaint, and a hat that has yet to be made.

Dorothy is the first of the girls to be completed. I also trimmed her hair, and removed the little jacket Amelia wears (note: the sleeves do NOT come off, they are part of the arms, so I had to shave them down a little), then carefully used a mat knife to carve or shave off other unnecessary bits. (This is hard work, and you will likely get minor cuts, so please, kids, don't try this!)

I needed some modelling putty to fill in the gaps in Dorothy's shoulders, back and sides had after removing the jacket. However, the shop where I could buy them, Hobby Lobby, is closed Sundays, and I didn't have many days off, so I'd have to wait. I went ahead and painted what I could on Dorothy. Her dress would be flat blue, and her shoes would be black to make the figure non-story specific. Following Neill's designs, her hair was blonde. A flat yellow looked awful, so I did an orange wash over it, creating a slightly more realistic hair color. ("Wash," in this case, means I added water to my brush to make the paint water-thin.) A real ribbon was tied into a bow and glued on her head.

Today I went out and got some modelling putty. (I had to scour the aisles from my usual polyclays and acrylic paints all the way to model cars before I found it.) Getting home, I immediately went gung-ho on filling in the gaps on Dorothy. This stuff is wet, but it dries instead of needing baking like I did with some other figures (that is why Cap'n Bill and Jack's arms are so awkward). After getting enough putty on and letting it dry, I finished painting Dorothy.

Something I recently started doing is spraying my customs with a resin finish. This seals in the paints, so I don't have to touch them up, and they don't feel sticky. Sadly, this is glossy and not matte, so when I take a photo, they shine. Still, considering how they'd be without the finish, it's something I can live with. (It's also a lot easier than using clear nail polish. And a lot less weirder to buy...)

So... here's Dorothy! Right next to the unaltered figure she was made from.

Mister Flint in Oz, by Ray Powell

I'd been wanting to read this one for a while now, and I finally got a chance to purchase it on eBay a few weeks ago. Written in 1969, it stars Hardas Flint, the unfortunately named miner made of quartz from Powell's earlier crossover The Raggedys in Oz. With Glinda's help, he learns that his father Steely is being kept as a slave by the evil magician Peeramyd, who is using the tireless metal man to construct a tower to the stars. In some way, reaching the stars is supposed to help Peeramyd conquer the world, but it's not really clear how. Mr. Flint teams up with the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman to reach this tower, and they visit the typical assortment of odd communities, including an underground land where bankers go about their financial business despite it having no meaning and the friendly Tissue Town (I believe Powell worked for a paper company, and so probably had some knowledge in this area). When it gets strange is when Mr. Flint and Ozma pay a visit to the wizard Zon, who shows the two scenes from the history of Oz. According to this history, the Land of Oz was named after Ozma's grandfather Boz, which contradicts the Ruler's statement in Dorothy and the Wizard that there had been multiple monarchs named Oz or Ozma. What's even more troublesome is that, through Zon, Powell makes the Wizard of Oz a more sinister character. While there are some hints in Land that the Wizard usurped the throne from Pastoria, L. Frank Baum seems to have disregarded that by the time of DotWiz, and Ruth Plumly Thompson's Lost King makes it clear that Pastoria had already been enchanted by Mombi prior to the Wizard's arrival. In Zon's moving picture show, however, not only is Pastoria still around when the humbug shows up in his balloon, but the Wizard uses magic he obtained from Mombi to enchant Pastoria's wife Ozette, who is then given over to Peeramyd by the witch. The strange thing is, even though Ozette is rescued and the Wizard plays a role later on in the story, no one ever confronts him about his role in her disappearance. Even if Ozma decides to forgive the Wizard, she'd still presumably want him to answer for his crime. And it's not like she doesn't believe Zon; in fact, the text is clear that she trusts him implicitly. This really strikes me as sloppy plotting on Powell's part.

After the encounter with Zon, Powell takes a few pages to make fun of hippies. Actually, "make fun of" is far too light for his portrayal of the peaceniks as "carrying signs that protested against everything good." While there's certainly plenty about hippies that can be validly criticized, wasn't the main thing that they were protesting the Vietnam War? In what way could that have been considered "good"? I guess it's just something we'll have to chalk up to the time period, since I suppose the war was still popular in 1969. Looking at it from a modern perspective, though, it comes across as a rather bizarre political statement to find in an Oz book.

These points aside, did I like the story? Well, parts of it. Powell had a good knowledge of the Oz series and a clever imagination, which showed throughout the tale. Mr. Flint and the enchanted bird Quoztal were likeable enough characters. It was mostly just Zon who really struck me as being out of place. In addition to his contradictions of what Baum and Thompson told us about the history of Oz, Powell's presentation of him as basically a godlike entity in whom the others had to have faith didn't really seem appropriate for an Oz character. It was all too weirdly quasi-religious.

The Mysterious Chronicles of Oz

I recently got a copy of this little Oz book. I don't know much about the author, James E. Nitch, who wrote under the pen name Onyx Madden, so, really, I'll just do a straightforward review this time around.

Ozma decides she wants one last adventure before settling down as ruler of Oz, so she sets off with the Sawhorse in the clothes she wore as Tip to have an adventure in the Quadling Country. While there, she runs into a sky blue dragon named Quox.

The story is set after The Marvelous Land of Oz and manages to serve as a bit of a prequel to Ozma of Oz.

While the writing is good and the concept is nice, I found a major flaw: there is far too much exposition. Entire chapters are spent on Nitch's concepts for Oz, including an origin of the Nome King, who doesn't even appear in the story. An entire chapter is spent explaining a vendetta Quox has, which is resolved in a few paragraphs. Near the end, Glinda remembers Ozma's restoration by Mombi, which is then retold by Nitch in his own style. I confess to peeking at the end and thought that perhaps Tip's clothes had gradually changed Ozma back into a boy, especially when Glinda advises her to burn the clothes and never wear such things again. Since that wasn't the case, it was a little disappointing. To be honest, Ozma's trip isn't really an adventure at all, just a travelogue, explaining how Ozma obtained the Red Wagon and Magic Picture.

Would I recommend this book? It's worth a read to see how a fan might develop their personal version of Oz. But the real big feature of the book is the artwork by J. Noel. It is especially Neill-influenced and is excellent line art. Also, there are color plates that are actually mounted on pages. If the book is a travelogue, it's a pretty one!

Oh, and Ray Bolger (an old Scarecrow of Oz, he calls himself) wrote an introduction.

So, while the story isn't one of the most impressive non-Famous Forty + stories out there, I'd suggest picking it up.

Weekly Update

As you've probably (hopefully..) noticed, I didn't do a blog last week. And that's because there really was NOTHING to blog about!

Oz, the Great and Powerful showed off some early footage and concept art at the D23 Expo last weekend. Read IGN's very descriptive report on the presentation here.

Leigh Scott has revealed two new stills from the upcoming The Witches of Oz movie via Facebook. Check them out here and here.

Albert L. Ortega Photography wrapped a Witches of Oz photoshoot last week with Paulie Rojas (Dorothy), Eliza Swenson (Billie Westbrook), Sasha Jackson (Ilsa), Noel Thurman (Glinda), Brooke Taylor (Locasta), and Chanel Ryan. Check out some behind the scenes photos from that shoot here, and look out for the Royal Blog of Oz EXCLUSIVE first look at the stunning cast photo here in the next few weeks!

Speaking of The Witches of Oz, I will be attending the film's premiere in New York City next month! I will definitely take my camera with me and hopefully will have some great pictures from the event to share on the blog.

Retro Review: The Emerald City of Oz

About 15 years ago, there was a little company called Piglet Press who had ambitions to do big things with Oz. Their website, which is still online, speaks for that. However, it seems they were a bit too dependent on checking with their user base and didn't get very far. Their only output that wasn't online were two unabridged recordings of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Emerald City of Oz on audio cassette.

Now, these were not a straightforward reading of the books by a narrator. They had a cast providing voices for the characters, just like a certain podcast does when they present a story...

I saw a copy of their Emerald City of Oz for sale when I attended the 2010 Winkie Convention, so I bought it. Considering the number of copies that were available, I presumed that Piglet Press is no longer a business and had sold their stock to the International Wizard of Oz Club to sell off. (It was on their table.) I managed to find another copy on Paperbackswap.com and donated that to the Winkie Swap Meet this year.

Overall, this is a suitable unabridged recording. There is no music or other added sound effects, however, I thought the voice for the Nome King was too deep and gruff, and Billina and Glinda (and possibly other characters) had an echo in their voice. All together, as admirable as this is, I can't really think of a reason to recommend it over a free Librivox audio book. While it's a good audio book, the multi-voice cast is still obviously just reading their dialogue.

The four cassettes come in a clamshell illustrated with Neill art and Denslow-style lettering. The back offers a summary and some information about Piglet Press as well as a cast list.

If you want a copy, this is one case where I've had trouble locating copies for sale, except Amazon, where the prices are well over the original price of $20, and frankly, that would be the maximum asking price for it. If you must add it to your collection, keep an eye on eBay or even Paperbackswap.com. Or perhaps someone who isn't thinking "rare equals valuable!" will put one on Amazon at a reasonable price.

Shanowerthon: The Blue Witch of Oz

After the excellent The Forgotten Forest of Oz, Shanower decided to take a break from the Oz graphic novels. Any writer who works on one thing for awhile often wants to get away from it. (Like Baum and Thompson...) But finally, he decided to come back and do a fifth, which would, like Forgotten Forest, mix some mature themes with classic Oz. Also, Shanower decided this would be the final graphic novel. He wanted to get away from Oz.

However, before First Comics could publish it, they ceased operations, but luckily, Dark Horse decided to pick up The Blue Witch of Oz, and published it in late 1992.

The story finds Dorothy and the Scarecrow visiting Glinda. Dorothy is wondering why, if there were Wicked Witches of the East, West, North (Mombi), South (Enchanted Apples), and Good Witches of the North, South, and West (Gloma from The Wishing Horse of Oz), why isn't there a Good Witch of the East? Glinda seems to recall something, and researches the Great Book of Records, where she discovers the unfortunate tale of Abatha, which she relates to Dorothy and the Scarecrow.

Abatha was a Munchkin girl who married an astronomer named Dash, and they had a son named Star. Dash had researched how to travel to the nearest star, and did so, promising to return in ten days, but when he did not, Abatha began to study his magic and became a Good Witch, hoping to one day either find or follow her husband. However, one day, Star was magically kidnapped by magic stronger than her own. She left to find her son, and was eventually advised to talk to Flinder, a magician who lived in the Great Gray Gillikin Swamp with his son Javen. Flinder was Dash's brother, so Abatha went to see him, but while she was there, she was sure she'd found Star when an enchantment was placed on them.

Well, we know what Dorothy does when she hears a story like this, time for an adventure! She and the Scarecrow head to the Great Gray Gillikin Swamp, where their way to Flinder's castle is impeded by moving islands, flamingo-like birds that look like bushes, and alligator logs. In the swamp, they meet the Glass Cat, who leads them to a ruined castle that restores each night. Inside, they find Abatha confronting Flinder, but they seem completely oblivious to Dorothy and her two companions. The two magicians are interrupted by Javen, who Abatha thinks is Star, especially when she sees a star-shaped scar on his face. Suspicious of Flinder, Abatha prepares to cast a spell on him, while Flinder tells her stop, casting a spell himself. Suddenly, the three people freeze and the castle turns into ruins again.

The next morning Dorothy and the Scarecrow discover that the same thing happens every night from a bush-bird. Dorothy finally realizes that Flinder and Abatha's spells combined, making them repeat that night over and over, and then stopping. The Scarecrow suggests that maybe they could turn the magicians away from each other, since they're oblivious to any observers. That night, they find they cannot budge them, but the Glass Cat jumps in between the spells at the right time, making them deflect from each other, breaking the enchantment.

Surprised at their present state, Abatha and Flinder continue their argument, until Dorothy tells them to stop and mentions Glinda. Flinder grabs Javen and runs, creating a magic vine to escape over the alligator logs with, but trying to battle Abatha, Javen falls into the water. Abatha rescues him with a magic thread, and Flinder returns, confessing tearfully that Javen is, in fact, Star.

Flinder reveals that he and Javen were going to go to the nearest star the same night Dash left, but something went wrong and only Javen was taken. However, despite this revelation, Star still sees Flinder as his father. Flinder rejects him, but Dorothy convinces them to go with her to the Emerald City where Ozma can settle the matter.

Ozma assures Flinder and Abatha that she will do all she can to find Javen and Dash, and will allow Abatha to practice magic as a Good Witch. Flinder will become the royal wainwright for the Red Wagon. As for Star, she leaves the decision of who he will go with to him. Star chooses Flinder, because he has been a father to him for many years. However, he says he will visit Abatha sometimes, and recognizes her as his mother.

Once again, the story had a revised ending. Originally (and yes, this can be seen in the hardcover edition of Adventures in Oz, you should have bought a copy when it was still in print!) Star decides to go with Abatha, but really, this feels a bit too much like a standard happy ending. And as the ending Shanower went with shows, it doesn't make sense considering that Flinder raised Star as his own son. The final version's ending isn't the entirely happy one we're used to in Oz, but it does make sense character-wise, and brings up the question of child custody. Perhaps the ending isn't entirely Ozzy, but it definitely is good.

The story leaves a big loose end with the unknown fates of Javen and Dash. Glinda says she can find no record of them, suggesting they may still be traveling, which makes some sense considering what we know about space travel. I once had the idea that maybe the two would meet on the star they were heading to and Dash would mistake Javen for Star, but that seems a bit repetitious to me now. Maybe someday Shanower might resolve it, or maybe not. Personally, I think having it open isn't a fault, just a tantalizing mystery.

Now, while Shanower had planned to get out of Oz, it didn't happen. History has proven that if you write or illustrate Oz stories that people love, you're in it for life. (Baum, Thompson, Neill and Snow are prime examples.) It's not that Shanower didn't go on to do other things, he did, but he has still turned out a lot of Oz output since the five graphic novels, and even before and while they were running. And yes, we'll continue looking at more of his Oz stories.

An Idea

As if I don't do enough...

I just had an idea of an audio visual group among Oz fans who can digitize and preserve Ozzy video and audio rarities. Oz and Oz-related books and art have been preserved both digitally and by reprints. Oz-related video and audio are worthy of preservation, even if they're not so good.

Note, this would not be a way to obtain bootleg movies, music, or other copyrighted media, though if there is not a commercially available digital version, a digital copy should be made for preservation, but digital versions should only remain with the owner of the actual media.

Now, it's just an idea. And as I said, I do quite a bit already. I haven't even mentioned it all. But I've heard Oz fans mention they have video and audio from Oz events recorded onto obsolete media and it would be a shame to let this material just degrade on the old analog media it's on. Of course, some of them may already be preserving them, so good for them! But whether they'd ever want to share this is up to them, I just think it would be cool if people in the Oz fandom who care about these just as much as the owner could handle it.

Shanowerthon! The Forgotten Forest of Oz

Like The Ice King of Oz, The Forgotten Forest of Oz had seen a previous version before becoming Shanower's 1988 Oz graphic novel. "The Story of Nebelle" was a comics story he had begun in art school, however, it was never finished. The version included in the hardcover Adventures in Oz collection consists of four pages of pencil art and rough sketches of the last two pages, with no dialogue or narration within.

"The Story of Nebelle" finds the Queen of Fairyland banishing the fairy Nebelle for kissing a mortal man. She flees and marries Chungash, King of the Demons and Lord of the Underworld, who reveals he was the mortal man disguised. Seeking revenge against the fairies, Nebelle helps the Demons plan an attack on the fairies. Nebelle is among the first sneak attack on the fairies, but she changes her mind and regrets her anger when she sees a fairy baby. She kills a Demon about to attack the baby. Chungash, seeing this, kills Nebelle, whose dying words warn her fairy sister Nelanth about the Demons.

As it turned out, the titular forest of The Forgotten Forest of Oz would not be actually in Oz. Shanower quickly changed the Queen of Fairyland to the Queen on the Wood Nymphs, Zurline, from The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. The offending fairy Nebelle was changed to the Wood Nymph Nelanthe (however, another nymph that has pity on Nelanthe is named Nebelle). However, as Nelanthe leaves Burzee as a mortal, the story quickly expands from what was in "The Story of Nebelle."

Nelanthe is found by the King of the Trolls, who takes pity on her and offers to make her his queen. She accepts and soon decides to make war on the other wood-nymphs. However, when the night of the attack draws near, she realizes she misses the forest, but her memories also remind of her of why she wants revenge. She finally decides she just wants to forget everything and start fresh. Then, she finds an entry about the Water of Oblivion in a book. (Coincidental? Maybe, but after reading Thompson and Neill, this is so far from a stretch of the imagination.)

Now, where is Oz? Well, Chapter Two takes us there. Dorothy is awakened by Toto and they go out on the balcony to investigate something Toto can hear. Toto accidentally slides off the balcony but Dorothy sees a giant bat fly up and Toto is holding onto its collar with his teeth. Dorothy tries to grab him, but they both get carried away.

The Scarecrow is riding to the Emerald City on the Sawhorse, and they spot Dorothy and Toto being carried away by the bat and they follow, even when it flies over the desert. (The Sawhorse reasons that neither of them are made of flesh, nor do they need to breathe.)

Nelanthe receives the water, but discovering Dorothy and Toto, she makes them her guests, since if they are harmed, Ozma will surely find out and do something to avenge them. She decides to have them returned the next day. When Dorothy realizes what Nelanthe had Nightshade (her bat) do, she stops her from drinking the water right away, and Nelanthe is forced to go prepare for battle without drinking.

Meanwhile, the Scarecrow and Sawhorse have sneaked into the Troll King's castle and they find Dorothy and Toto and help them escape, Dorothy taking the Water with her.

The Trolls are calling the Dragons, their long-time enemies, to help them destroy Burzee. The Dragons accept, but a Troll runs in and tells Nelanthe and the Troll King of Dorothy's escape. Hearing that there are now people from Oz involved, the King is furious and tells Nelanthe that this is what he'd been planning all along: he was the "mortal" man Nelanthe had kissed. Nelanthe runs to her room to get the Water, intending to get on Nightshade and fly away somewhere, to drink the Water and begin fresh again. But the Water is gone, so she has Nightshade fly after the Sawhorse, who is heading to Burzee.

The Scarecrow and Toto fall off the Sawhorse, so Dorothy goes on alone to Burzee. She reaches it, but Nightshade crashes into a tree. Nelanthe, realizing the Troll King is to blame for her unhappiness, decides that she must stop the attack herself. She tries to convince the Dragons that the Troll King has led them into a trap, and they are convinced when the Wood-Nymphs, alerted by Dorothy, arrive on the scene. The Dragons turn on the Trolls and all scurry back to their underground homes.

Nelanthe swoops in and takes the water from Dorothy, but the Wood-Nymphs make the trees catch Nightshade and Nelanthe falls to the ground, hard. She is hurt badly and will die if nothing is done. Zurline feels she cannot break the laws of the Forest, as she has no idea that Nelanthe has repented of her hatred of the Forest, nor of the Troll King's plot. However, the Scarecrow arrives with Toto and reveals that Nelanthe did turn the Trolls and Dragons back.

Dorothy realizes that Nelanthe has nothing left but the Water, and feeling sympathy of the former Nymph and Queen, offers her the water, but it is rejected. All Nelanthe wants is the Forest. Deciding that she cannot allow Nelanthe to die, Zurline restores her immortality, making her a Wood-Nymph again as dawn breaks over Burzee.

(How Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Toto, and the Sawhorse return home is anyone's guess. Let's just assume the Wood-Nymphs or the Fairies of Burzee worked with Ozma to get them back home.)

This was actually not Shanower's original ending. In the hardcover edition of Adventures in Oz, rough sketches for the last two pages (that would have replaced the last three, actually) reveal an ending in which Nelanthe accepts the Water, her empty mind allowing her to be essentially reprogrammed by the Wood-Nymphs. Shanower decided he didn't like the ending after all and re-wrote it. I agree, it would be an ending suggesting that happiness can be found in a substance. The revised ending makes Zurline and Nelanthe much stronger characters.

And overall, the characters are quite strong and many Baum-influenced ideas make it into the story: the Dragons and Trolls hate each other, so at the first sign of trouble, they turn on each other. Yet again, Shanower keeps the classic characters in line: even Dorothy's eventual offering the Water to Nelanthe works with her caring and considerate manner.

The artwork is once again amazing, though, in my opinion, Shanower's Wood-Nymphs resemble Fredrick Richardson's Fairies of Burzee in Queen Zixi of Ix, one of Baum's non-Oz fantasies. It might be a niggle of mine, since I consider them to completely separate beings. Of course, Mary Cowles Clark's illustrations for Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus showed the Wood-Nymphs as looking quite similar, so maybe they do look alike after all, and there is little difference aside from their assigned duties.

So, once again, Shanower turned out another wonderful story, even though there wasn't a lot of Oz proper in it. However, back when I started this, I said he only did five graphic novels. Why that is, we'll find out next time.

Happy Birthday, Ozma!

Yep, it's Ozma's birthday! (Thanks, The Road to Oz for giving us two clues that spelled out the exact date!) The past few years I've made a video for Ozma's birthday, but this year, my plate was a little full, and I couldn't decide on a good concept.

So, here's something I whipped together. A number of years ago, I used a program called MusicMasterworks to carefully construct MIDIs of songs from Hungry Tiger Press' sheet music collection for The Woggle-Bug. I managed to do "What Did The Woggle-Bug Say?" and "The Sandman Is Near." The first automatically got a home on my website, while the second, after playing it a few times, got lost when our computer was sent off to be fixed and it got wiped. (Those were in the dark days of tech support...)

Last night, I scanned the music for "The Sandman Is Near" onto my computer and tried two music recognition systems to create MIDIs of it. Both programs understood all the notes, but SmartScore X didn't play all of them back. SharpEye 2 gave me better results, though the first verse's tempo seemed to be too fast. The chorus was just great, so I recorded that to an MP3.

And that MP3 is available for download HERE.

Or you can play it here:

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