The Latest Baum Bugle

Last Friday, I got the latest issue of The Baum Bugle.

The always wonderful cover featured a piece of artwork by William Stout, which was going to be the cover of The Winged Monkeys of Oz by Sherwood Smith, before it became The Emerald Wand of Oz. How this happened is explained in the issue, so I won't talk about it here, but the artwork is beautiful.

The main topic of the issue is Sherwood Smith and William Stout's contributions to the Oz series, The Emerald Wand of Oz and Trouble Under Oz. Marcus Mebes has articles on both author and illustrator. I haven't read or bought the Smith and Stout books, but from reading these articles, I think I'd like to.

There's a bit about Oz comics in this issue too. The webcomic Chesire Crossing (featuring Dorothy, Alice from Lewis Carroll's Alice books, Wendy Darling from Peter & Wendy/Peter Pan, as well as Mary Poppins as their "nanny") is covered in Oz & Ends (I already knew about this, thanks to Eric Gjovaag's blog), along with Illusive Arts' Dorothy calendar (which I don't own), as well as the interesting fact that the writer of Oz Squad is putting this series on the Internet.

In the reviews, there's a review of Eric Shanower's Adventures in Oz book, and the first collected volume of Oz Squad. I didn't find the review on Adventures wasn't terribly interesting, but perhaps that's because I wrote my own. (A link is in one of my previous blog entries.) It did, however, mention that IDW Publishing is putting an idea of mine into action: in late April this year, the hardcover edition will be available again, except it will not have the signed limitation plate. (I own that one!) In case you're wondering where I mentioned it, it was on a thread in the International Wizard of Oz Club's message board.

Eric Gjovaag reviewed the Journey Back to Oz DVD for this issue. He only briefly reviewed the movie, but had a lot to say about the DVD presentation, which, I suppose, is what he was reviewing after all. He also shares my problem with finding no DVD-ROM content on the DVD. Um, should we start e-mailing Andy Mangels or Ink & Paint about this?

There is also a review of a documentary called Yellow Brick Road, which I hadn't heard of until I read this review. There is also a review of Trouble Under Oz and The Scream of the Sacred Ape, the latest addition to Hungry Tiger Press' Pawprint series. And speaking of which, the series will continue, and as long as I can afford to, I'll keep buying! They're also still planning on reprinting John Dough & The Cherub, and, as far as I know, Fate Of A Crown, two Baum books, one indirectly related to Oz (John Dough appeared at Ozma's birthday party in The Road to Oz) and one that has nothing to do with Oz, except the fact that Baum wrote it.

Jane Albright walks us through the Wonderful Art of Oz exhibit at the Eric Carle Museum, Sherwood Smith takes us with her to the Winkie Convention, we're given a tour of the Ozmapolitan Convention by Scott Cummings, and Scarecrow Sean Barrett takes us down the Yellow Brick Road through Banner Elk's Land of Oz park. John Fricke also donates some interesting advertisements for TV airings of MGM's The Wizard of Oz.

Sadly, two features that were in the last two issues I got were not here: Oz in the News, covering Oz media references or coverage of Oz-related material, and the usual rare short piece by L. Frank Baum. Don't tell me they ran out of things to put in after 50 years!

All in all, even though I missed those two, the Baum Bugle is something I always look forward to. It always makes for good reading.

And come to think of it, if I want to get the next issue, I need to renew my membership!

Ooh! There's the mail man! I wonder if my check from Disney is here...