Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Some new Oz merchandise

I'm very pleased to say that Colonial Radio Theater will be releasing all six of their Oz dramatizations in one package at a very affordable price next month. I was sent a couple CDs to review, and bought The Emerald City of Oz, but I went ahead and preordered this set. At about $17, it costs less than buying two sets individually, so it's a really good deal! And if you want to get it purely digital, you can knock off $3. As I've said, these are some of the best Oz adaptations out there period, and with The Patchwork Girl of Oz expected to be recorded this summer, it's a good way to catch up on the collection. (I also like this cover art better than the individual sets, except for The Emerald City of Oz.) The set is released June 28.
Also, we mentioned that Oz the Great and Powerful will be released on home video in four physical editions June 11th. Due to the outcry against a 3D Blu-Ray solo release, Disney will be offering buyers of that edition to send off for a regular Blu-Ray for $6. This means that if you want all three disc versions, you'll have to buy the 3D Blu-Ray and the DVD and send off for the Blu-Ray. Disney will likely use this title to decide if they should do more 3D Blu-Ray solo releases in the future or continue with combo packs. (And if you really want to save, wait for sales or used copies.)
Also, while Warner Brothers has yet to release a press release for their new editions of MGM's The Wizard of Oz, rumor has it that this will be a new print. And thanks to a press release our friend Ryan Jay shared about a new John Fricke book, we have a release date of October 1st announced. That means you have time to save up for the big box release.
And speaking of that new John Fricke book... It's called The Wonderful World of Oz: An Illustrated History of the American Classic. The book's press release says: "The deluxe pictorial chronologically travels through more than eleven decades of Oz books, productions, and memorabilia." John Fricke, being a former International Wizard of Oz Club president and editor of The Baum Bugle, knows Oz quite well (finding his 100 Years of Oz at a bookstore helped get me back to Oz after the first time I read Wicked), so we can likely expect quite a good book here. The press release says it will be published October 1st, but Amazon is saying October 7th.
Other Oz books are expected soon. Chris Dulabone will be releasing a new book soon, I hear, and Marcus Mebes expects to release the third volume of The Royal Explorers of Oz this summer.
All images are for illustration purposes only and may not reflect the final products offered for sale.

1 comment:

Ryan Jay said...

Great update Jared, thank you!! Just for the record, this is not, nor any other associated images, the official design of the book cover which has yet to be released.