Bucketheads in Oz

Bucketheads in Oz has been a long-time project for Chris Dulabone. As one may gather from the title (if they know a little about Dulabone), it started when Dulabone was still issuing books under Buckethead Enterprises of Oz, but as it was, it came out under the Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends imprint.

One might expect the book to be a real mess since it's written not only by Dulabone, but also by Greg Gick, Melody Grandy, Greg Hunter, Phyllis Ann Karr, Chuck Sabatos, Deen Shumate, and Jim Vander Noot. (Shawn Maldonado took the job of illustrating the book.) The book largely tells a nice, cohesive story that only gets a little muddled in switching between plot lines between chapters. (My advice is alternate chapter by chapter.) Early on, there's a little bit of "Cliffhanger for the next writer to figure out!" but that quickly disappears.

The book is a classic travel, multi-plot thread Oz story. Most of the characters are original. Two of them—Kericot the Considerate Kalidah and Terrence Oldshell the Tortise—had previously appeared in Oziana and other books Dulabone published. However, since Kericot's introduction story is found in this book as a chapter, it appears she was created for this book, and the chapter published as a standalone short story in Oziana when the book was delayed.

The book finds several characters heading to get help from Zim Greenleaf, the Wizard of Munchkinland. There's a woman trapped in a ring they found, a strange river serpent that claims to be Professor Nowitall, transformed by Mombi, the Bubble Bird needs to be restored, Tekouri the troll accidentally resurrected Mombi, and on the journey... he ate a little girl...

The story is kind of slow-moving until the travelers meet Zim, who sends them to the Emerald City, where things really pick up! Unfortunately, then the book is over in just a few chapters...

This isn't a book for a newcomer to Dulabone's take on Oz. This is more of a celebration of about 25 years of wacky, humorous additions to the Oz mythos by fans who love it but aren't too serious about it.

You can order your copy here.

"Take Me Back to Oz" and "And Justice for Oz"

I finally got some new books from Chris Dulabone's Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends. I have the credit for illustrating the second one, And Justice For Oz, but that actually came about by accident. I'm no artist, but I did sketch several non-human Oz characters around an Oz logo on some mail I sent to Chris, and he wound up asking if he could use it in a book. I gave the go-ahead, and it appears as a chapter heading on each chapter.

These two books are supposed to follow up Dulabone's The Marvelous Monkeys of Oz, which I haven't read, but it turns out these two form a story well enough on their own, although it seems the first one might have helped if I wanted a better introduction to the characters. As it is, these two actually tell a pretty interlocked story and really should have been published together as a single book.

The books are by Lisa McFauh-Queppe and Lark Vandergrace respectively, but if it wasn't for the names on the covers, I would've thought this was Dulabone's work.

Take Me Back to Oz features the disappearance of Queen Diamond Ann of Anapeland, the elected ruler of the Flying Monkeys. Her mischeivous sons take the throne as two flying monkeys are joined by the Scarecrow and Scraps to find Diamond Ann. Along the way, they are joined by an enchanted princess.

Diamond Ann is actually trapped on another in the distant future, and is given a number of slave jobs she fails at for being too considerate. She finally escapes and gets a lift back to Oz. Except, Oz is not around anymore in the future... (At least, not where or how it is in the present.)

Take Me Back tends to overindulge in the goofiness and spends little time in Oz and doesn't really feel like an Oz book. ...And Justice for Oz spends little time with Diamond Ann and does spend more time in Oz as the Scarecrow, Scraps, the monkeys and the princess search odd little Ozian kingdoms for the missing Monkey queen before returning there to confront her sons. It's still a goofy book (and has a nifty tribute to the Wizard of Oz Returns record), but is nicely toned down from the last one. Justice made for a nicer read than Take Me Back.

While the story ended well, I couldn't recommend putting these high up on your list of Oz books to pick up. If you're a fan of Dulabone's humor, then you know what to expect and should enjoy them. As with most of Dulabone's publications, this is one for those who don't mind their Oz getting a little wacky.

Winkie Reading 2013 Part 2

Now for the rest of the books I read on my trip. There's a few others I've read since, but we'll get on them soon.

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Fwiirp in Oz: An Anthology by Nate Barlow, Jeff Barstock, Ryan Gannaway, Greg Hunter, Phyllis Ann Karr, R. K. Lionel, Marcus Mebes, Hugh Pendexter III, and Chris Dulabone. Surprisingly, this is a collection of non-Oz stories. A freak accident happens in Oz due to some living paper going to the outside world and a poorly-researched Oz story being written on it, the true Oz altering to match it! Many Oz characters wind up outside of Oz, while Fwiirp (a skeezique) and his friends find stories in the Mys-Tree of Oz and have to discover what the stories are telling them to help restore Oz as Jellia Jamb and her friends work towards the same goal.

Seemingly, the book began as Nate Barlow's Jellia Jamb of Oz and the Mys-Tree plot was added to flesh out the book. The main plot is rather thin, but the short stories are rather fine, if a few take some odd turns: a teddy bear who comes to life after being buried with his boy and a vampire who finds religion. Overall, a fun book that shows off many of the writers' strengths by letting them work outside of Oz.

Get your copy here.

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A Foolish Fable from Oz by Chris Dulabone and Marin Xiques. Going back to the time when the Wicked Witches of the East and West were still in power, two elephants from the Isle of Kenra are helped by some Orks to get to Oz to find more sugar cane. Meanwhile, the Wicked Witch of the East needs some ivory to finish a nasty spell, but someone has stolen her Silver Shoes! Can she and the Wicked Witch of the West (both sporting some very long names) recover them?

The cover shows photos of Chris and Marin goofing around with a large ceramic elephant who must have inspired the story. As you can guess, they also do not take a serious approach to this story, making for one of many of Chris and Marin's silly but fun Oz stories.

Get your copy here.

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The Haunted Castle of Oz by Marcus Mebes. A ghostly knight is spotted in the Emerald City's palace, and Dorothy and her friends investigate and discover Prince Terrence, his page Christian and a magician named Necronominus and a curse that's been placed over these three. Some surprising magic is at play here and our friends in Oz have to help save the day.

Marcus himself informed me that he isn't exactly proud of this book, but the story—though it makes rather a thin book—is very well-written. The pictures are very good as well.

Get your copy here.

Winkie Reading 2013 Part 1

Huh, I read a number of books on my trip to and from the Winkie Convention this year and have yet to write about any of them, aside from The Law of Oz. Guess I need to get on that...

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 Up first is The Three Imps of Oz by Chris Dulabone. The story is based around Ozma and the Little Wizard from Little Wizard Stories of Oz. A slight rewriting of the tale is part of Chapter 1.

This book answers the question of why these were the only Imps we met in the Famous Forty Oz books: Imp Olite, Imp Ertinent and Imp Udent were too much for the King of the Imps (Imp Ossible), so he banished them, telling them that they may return if they found the Enchanted Ruby of the Imps. However, they took to annoying the nearby people in Oz. This led to the events of Ozma and the Little Wizard, which ended with them transformed into buttons by the Wizard, who promised to restore them when they decided to reform.

Chapter 2 has Tik-Tok help the Wizard find the jacket with the buttons on it, and he discovers that the Imps have reformed. Restoring them to Imp form, the Imps take new jobs: Erinent becomes the Wizard's new assistant, Udent becomes a baker, and Olite becomes a gardener. They soon embark on new adventures and misadventures that eventually lead to them on the trail of the Enchanted Ruby!

It's a fun little story. The book is also whimsically illustrated by Kimberley Frodelius.

Get your copy here.

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Next is Ridiculous Rivals in Oz by Chris Dulabone and Marin Xiques. An abused hunting dog named Casey winds up in Oz and soon becomes friends with the animals of the Springbok Forest, which is under the thrall of a wicked witch and her panther friend!

A lot of magic, including body-swapping, happens before Casey and his new friends finally deal the Witch and the panther their comeuppance. Luckily, the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman and Cowardly Lion arrive on the scene to help out as well.

The book is beautifully illustrated by Randy Clark (whose work does not grace the front cover), but I found the typeface for the text rather distracting. It's in a decorative font, which mainly uses capital letters. Otherwise, it's a fun book, even if they do have to admit that it's a rather silly story.

Get your copy here.

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Finally is the sequel to Ridiculous Rivals, I Want To Grow Up In Oz by Chris Dulabone and Marin Xiques.

The story follows Devia, the daughter of the Wicked Witch's panther in Ridiculous Rivals. She wants to grow up into a adult so she can take revenge for her father and take over the Springbok Forest. However, she's been enchanted to not age at all.

Starspoof the Bear Wizard and his little friend Little Bear decide to swap forms, and Devia manages to use this switch to her advantage, and in a little while, she has stolen Starspoof's wand? Can Starspoof and Little Bear manage to stop Devia before she brings serious harm to the Forest?

The story is rather fun, and is comically illustrated by Derek Sullivan.

Get your copy here.

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Three books down, four to go!

More Oz books!

 Now to go ahead and finish this box of Oz books that I've read...

Pegasus in Oz by Annie Brzozowski — Many people from the Emerald City head to Ev to free a pegasus (a winged horse) from a cyclops! Meanwhile, a boy named Don Mullinquy finds his way to Ev from Wyoming.

This story isn't really one of the best. There are far too many characters going to Ev from Oz, and few of them do anything. Nathan wrote about it over a year ago, and I agree with his assessment: there's a good plot, but it's not fully developed. If the writer is still writing, it may be something for her to try again.

The illustrations by Steve Burt are cartoony and fun, but there's far too few.

Buy Pegasus in Oz here.

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The Magic Chest of Oz by Donald Abbott — Donald Abbott wrote a number of Oz stories set before and just after The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This is one of them, set some time before The Marvelous Land of Oz. (It is also the only book in this blog that Chris Dulabone didn't publish.)

The Scarecrow, Tin Woodman and Cowardly Lion are all doing their duties around Oz, when a number of Munchkins accidentally free the shadow of the Wicked Witch of the East. She locked it away when it came to life, taking the name Malvonia. With some help from the Good Witches, can the famous trio defeat Malvonia before she takes on a real body?

The story is actually pretty good, though rather direct. The illustrations on the other hand, I really wish Abbott had tried to find his own style. It's obvious he prefers Denslow over Neill, and there's no problem with that, but I'd like to see Abbott work out his own style. If he's managed to develop a style like Denslow's, then that's amazing, but I'd like to see what he'd develop on his own.

Buy The Magic Chest of Oz here.

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A Mystical Magical Super Adventure in Oz by Chris Dulabone and Marin Xiques — This is a follow up to A Silver Elf in Oz, detailing how the people of Ciudad del Nino adjust to living in Oz after being relocated from New Mexico. Approximately the first half of the the book tell how Faith and Gideon Shelcore deal with snobby (formerly) rich girl Delilah Summers.

In the second half, Delilah gets transported while trying to pull a prank during a school field trip to the Springbok Forest of Oz. She winds up going on a quest to find the golden Pylowe of Huwlanne.

I won't spoil the ending, but it was far from the re-defining character moment for Delilah that I thought it would be at the end, wiped out with a next-to-last page twist.

Melody Grandy provides a few illustrations, but there's far too few. There's exactly 100 pages between the first illustration in the text and the second one. Melody's illustrations are beautiful, but there's far too few.

Get A Mystical Magical Super Adventure in Oz here.

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Finally, The Magic Topaz of Oz by Carol P. Silva, Marin Xiques and Bob Evans — This story follows up on The Forest Monster of Oz, which left Tweaty the Canary transformed into a cat-sized, orange elephant. After being advised to try to be happy, in case he can't ever regain his former shape, he meets Judy the Rhinoceros, who gives him the Topaz Topsaz, which allows him to do the things he wanted to do.

Tweaty goes around the forest, trying to help whoever he meets by using the topaz to grant their wishes. But is giving the other animals exactly what they want good for them? And will Tweaty ever be restored?

The story makes a really good point and is a lot of fun, though its entire premise is built on an unresolved issue in Forest Monster.

The illustrations by Lauren Marie Finley are actually more like poster art, depicting the animal characters, but they're very nicely done, very realistic.

Get The Magic Topaz of Oz here.

Bob and Chris

I have been taking it easy on blogging lately. Sometimes, you just need a break and when you have it, it takes awhile to come back.

It's been bugging me, though, because I have a number of Oz books that I've read...

Here are two by Chris Dulabone and Bob Evans. Up first is The Forest Monster of Oz. The giant spider the Cowardly Lion defeated in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is back and is stealing the life essence from the animals in the Lunechien Forest of Oz. It's up to a small band of brave animals to seek help from Ozma of Oz—the new ruler of the Emerald City—herself.

The story is set shortly after The Marvelous Land of Oz and follows the usual quest pattern, though the conclusion is a bit of a surprise and leaves everyone with a happy ending.

The other one is Abducted to Oz. Young Graham is suddenly grabbed by the Wicked Witch of the West and taken to Oz. This isn't the real Wicked Witch of the West, instead it's a parade float version that was brought to life, and thanks to a thought of Graham's at the moment she was brought to life, she looks a lot like Margaret Hamilton's version from the MGM movie. However, she believes she's the real thing, and that's bad enough!

Graham must escape the witch and get back home, but can he do it without letting everyone in Oz down now that they have a new Wicked Witch to deal with?

These two books are a lot of fun, but there's an issue with both: they each have a chapter that could easily be removed where the characters meet some form of a real historical figure who tells them their story. I can appreciate trying to be educational, but I don't feel it was integrated so well here. This is like reading The Lord of the Rings and suddenly finding a chapter where Frodo and Sam meet George Washington.

The chapter in Abducted works better than the one in Forest Monster. In Abducted, Graham finds an illusion airport where he boards a train and he meets a number of historical figures, such as William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. Since we're still wandering around Oz, this doesn't interrupt the story much. However, in Forest Monster, this happens midway through the resolution of the story. Literally, it is the next to last chapter. We're almost at the climax, but before we get to it, we meet the shadow of a baseball player from the future who tells us about his owner's career. It would have been much better if these meeting had been integrated into the plot.

However, like I said, these chapters can more or less be ignored. The rest of the books still make for great Oz stories.

Get The Forest Monster of Oz
Get Abducted to Oz

The Fantastic Funhouse of Oz

And here's an earlier book by Chris Dulabone featuring Egor's Funhouse!

For those who don't remember, Egor is a furry monster who is actually quite friendly. He runs a funhouse in alternate dimension, but allows people to visit.

In this story, Egor and his friends recall a visit to Oz, and while they can't go back to Oz on their own, they decide to create a new funhouse that will have spectacular rides that take you through animatronic re-enactments of the Oz stories! The animatronics are so lifelike that an Oz character could imitate one and no one would know the difference.

And unfortunately, that's what happens. Allidap, the Wicked Witch of the West, takes the place of the animatronic Wicked Witch, and when groups of children come through, she occasionally turns one into an insect. Eventually, the missing children get reported to Egor, who has no idea what's going on.

Things change when Allidap turns a girl into a bag of ice to be used in drinks. The other transformed children manage to get a note to Egor revealing their predicament. Now, Egor and his friends have to find the ingredients for the spell to restore the children, but Allidap is onto them. Will she stop them? Are the children doomed to remain insects forever?

Again, Chris only loosely ties the tale to Oz, but honestly, this is one of his wacky humorous stories and is not meant to be taken too seriously. It's a lot of fun, which, I know by now, is what to expect from Chris.

Definitely one if you enjoy an off-beat Oz book.

Get a copy here.

The Fairy Circle in Oz

And next up in the Oz reading is the follow up to Wooglet in Oz by Hugh Pendexter III. Except this is by Chris Dulabone himself.

It also follows up on the "Egor's Funhouse" series of books by Chris, but I've yet to read any of those yet.

The Fairy Circle in Oz finds Wooglet returning to Oz years after her last visit, and she joins Jellia Jamb on a mission to help the Love Fairy Amouretto recover the magic mirror from Egor's Funhouse that served as a portal from Egor's dimension to Oz.

They discover the mirror was taken by a slug-monster from the Sluggarden, an anti-magical place. The effect this could have if it is not recovered right away could destroy the entire earth.

After a ride in a hot air balloon (which involves a humorous tipsy scene), they must take Egor's rocket ship, which sends them to a planet inhabited by birds with surfboard-shaped bodies. Can anyone help Jellia, Wooglet, the Love Fairy and Egor off this planet? Ozma? Egor's friends at the fun house?

The story is a wild and rollicking fantasy by Chris and a lot of fun, though I would suggest that one familiarize themselves with some Chris' other work first. The illustrations by Anon E. Mouse (Marcus Mebes) are some of his better work. He manages to pull off elegant human forms and remarkably funny humanoid forms.

Something I found surprising was that there's what could be considered a gay couple in this story, though I'm not sure that's correct. King Genovarma was made a very handsome man due to a gift from the Love Fairy herself. He became vain and jailed a man he thought was handsomer named Xwingline, as he wanted no competition in selecting a bride. However, due to his overwhelming envy, he decided to marry Xwingline instead. The two admired each other until one day they were transformed into the slug monster in the Sluggarden. It is written in a way that depicts an unhealthy obsession with physical beauty rather than an actual love.

I find the Fun House to be quite a fun idea indeed and look forward to reading about it in some of Chris' other books.

Get your copy of The Fairy Circle in Oz here.

Do It For Oz

I haven't talked about any Oz books for awhile, and the reason is...

...hold on, there's something at the door.

...

Hey! Shipping from Belen is really fast! Got a new box of Oz books from Chris Dulabone!

Huh, which one to read next... Hmmm... Ah, Do It For Oz looks fun, and I recall reading Eric Gjovaag's review of it on his website. Let's try that one!

One day later...

Do It For Oz isn't a long Oz story. It was written in 1990, but wasn't published until 2002. Partly because Chris really doesn't like publishing Oz books without pictures, and considering this one is illustrated by Luciano Vecchio, it was worth waiting for!

Do It draws from a number of Baum books: The Road to Oz, The Enchanted Island of Yew and Dot and Tot of Merryland chiefly.

The book starts on the pleasantly titled Island of Malaria in the Nonestic Ocean, where the jolly Duke reigns with his not so jolly wife Madame Innador. Since they have no children, the Duke put Madame in charge of the orphanage, where his favorite orphan is a little girl named Duit. Duit, however, is also the target for most of Madame's cruelty.

One day, though, Duit is given a gift by a centaur: she can turn into a cat and escape punishment. Duit manages to do this until one day she is finally caught.

Then we catch up with Johnny Dooit, who made a brief appearance in The Road to Oz, as he finally gets a little break from his ongoing work. There are some fun misadventures along the way!

Then we go to the Island of Yew, where we find what became of the Red Rogue of Dawna (I believe I have yet to blog about that book), whose backstory Chris expands on, giving him the name Stora. He wishes himself to America, where he gets a job in a grocery store and decides he wants to find Johnny Dooit to help him find Prince Marvel. Who he does meet is Madame Innador. When she hears he's looking for "Dooit," she thinks of "Duit" and assumes they must be one and the same person. So off they go to find her!

So, while Do It For Oz is short, it makes for a delightful book, that is, if you're used to Chris' writing style. And Luciano's artwork make it quite a visually pleasing book as well.

Buy Do It For Oz here!

Oziana 2012 is out!

After a long wait, Oziana 2012 is finally here!

Normally, Oziana consists of short pieces of work by members of the International Wizard of Oz Club. This year, editor Marcus Mebes decided to do something a little different: do an issue-length Oz story, Round Robin style. Appropriately enough, the person starting the story would be none other than L. Frank Baum himself!

You remember the unfinished Oz story fragment (which might not be by Baum) that features Ozma ice-skating? That was the launching point. And to further help, Robert Baum supplied an introduction and afterword, in which he supplies all the information he knows about the fragment.

Several Oz fans wrote fourteen new chapters including Marcus Mebes, S.P. Maldonado, Jared Davis (yours truly), Kim McFarland, Sam Milazzo, Chris Dulabone, Jeff Rester, Dennis Anfuso, Mycroft Mason, Nathan DeHoff, Paul Ritz, Mike Conway, Paul Dana, and Atticus Gannaway. In addition, S.P. Maldonado, Dennis Anfuso and Kim McFarland all provided artwork to illustrate the story.

Ozma's outing to go ice-skating is interrupted by the appearance of two visitors from Hiland and the Nome Kingdom, who tell her how their respective kings have been acting strangely. Glinda soon discovers that a cruel and powerful witch is at work, making people all over Oz do and believe peculiar things. Can our friends in Oz (including the Wizard, Scraps, Percy, Kabumpo, Jinnicky, the Scarecrow, and of course Dorothy) discover the witch's plot and stop her, or has she sunk her claws into Oz too deeply?

I was one of the early writers who helped the story get rolling by setting up the villain, allowing the remaining writers to work with and deal with her. (My chapter is also the shortest.) While the story didn't reach its fullest possible potential, the story does not disappoint in the least! And also, almost everyone in the blog team contributed to it as well.

One might think the nature of the story's writing might lead to an uneven pace and jarring writing styles, but while some writers can't help but put on their little flourishes, the editors made sure the narrative flowed very well.

This one's an exciting story with some great twists and turns and quite a formidable new foe! Add it to your collection!

Your traditional-style Oziana will resume in 2013.

Winkie Trip Reading, Part 3

And the final books read on the home stretch!

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A Million Miles From Here is Oz by Chris Dulabone, illustrated by Arthur Clip and Marcus Mebes.

Something disastrous is happening, and no one knows what it is! The fairy magic of Oz and the surrounding countries is disappearing! Animals are reverting to natural forms, some of the Immortals are dying! What happened, who can stop it? It's up to Queen Zixi of Ix (gorgeously depicted by Marcus) and a few animals from Oz to find out and do what they can before it's too late!

A very enthralling tale about imagination, possibly one of Dulabone's best! I was almost moved to tears, and Oz books don't do that to me often!

Buy your copy here.

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The Roots of Wonder in Oz by Gil S. Joel, illustrated by Chris Dulabone.

We go back to the earliest days of Oz, before humans (and humanoids) ruled the land and look at how some of the magic of Oz was set into motion.

This one was kind of a slow read. Because it's set in such an early part of Oz history, there are no classic Oz characters for readers to already know. Also, it's more of history than story, often going through prose rather than dialogue and getting to know the characters as they develop.

Well, it's an interesting non-traditional Oz prequel.

Buy your copy here.

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Kaliko in Oz by K. Kline and illustrated by Michael Goldman.

First off, thanks to Eric Gjovaag for making sure I noticed this one at the Swap Meet Table at the Winkie Convention!

Kaliko's Nomes are bored, so he decides to declare a little war so they can blow off steam. But when his entire army are turned into diamonds, he can only sheepishly go to Ozma for help, but he gets a new friend who he wishes would go away: Eggy McShell, a giant walking, talking EGG.

But Ozma has her own problem! A woman named Bel-Sor-T claims she rented the Magic Belt to the old Nome King and now it's time for it to be returned. Ozma refuses, so Bel-Sor-T captures Ozma and most of the palace citizens!

Can Ozma get free from Bel-Sor-T? Can Kaliko get his Nomes back? And how can Kaliko tell Eggy "HANDS OFF"?

A very enjoyable story!

Buy your copy here.

The Colorful Kitten of Oz

What color is Eureka, Dorothy's kitten? Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz says she's white, but under the colored suns of the Mangaboos, she changes colors, as does everyone else, but Baum notes when she turns pink. Later Oz books have her permanently pink, and Glinda of Oz has Dorothy mention her purple kitten.

How did Eureka's color change? Chris Dulabone offers an explanation in The Colorful Kitten of Oz, gorgeously illustrated by Melody Grandy.

The story jumps around in time a lot. The King of Pinkaree desperately wants a son to be his heir, but he's only had daughters. However, when a mysterious cat is rescued, it speaks to him and grants him a wish. He wishes for a son, and with a time-twisting turn, that's what he gets.

However, things aren't so easy, and by the time he dies, the catlike Prince Jeremy is missing. A grievous wrong has been committed, and only Queen Karen and a mysterious kitten hurled into the future can set everything right! Plus, the Mouskas are being invaded by the Catamarans!

Overall, Chris writes a very engaging and entertaining story that gives us an idea why Eureka might suddenly have an odd hue. However, she does drop out of it for quite a bit. However, the overall fun of the story makes up for it.

I'd normally link you to where you could get a copy, but it seems Chris sold out and the book is not listed on his site. Looking at Bookfinder.com turns up nothing. Unless Chris wants to do a second printing, looks like you might have to do quite a bit of searching to find this one!

A Silver Elf In Oz

You know, there aren't a lot of Christmas Oz books. I wasn't really expecting this to be one. When I heard of A Silver Elf in Oz, I thought of Himself the Elf from Handy Mandy in Oz.

Turns out, the elf is one of Santa's elves who help him in his secondary base in the North Pole. (A little explanation to reconcile Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus with Thompson's The Curious Cruise of Captain Santa.)

John the Silver Elf is fed up with working in a non-profit organization like Santa Claus' gift giving outfit, and decides to start business for himself. He leaves the North Pole for a little town in New Mexico called Ciudad del Nino.

Two children named Gideon and Faith left their Ciudad del Nino home to go to Santa Claus to see if he can do anything about all the crime. However, they meet John who has them help him steal a wagon and start his business. Back at their home, their parents are frantic with worry.

Meanwhile, in Oz (because Oz is in this book!), Glinda is following the events in her Book of Records and begins to inquire as to how the people in Oz might help.

Oz isn't in the story much, and despite the title, John doesn't go to Oz, but it makes for a very enjoyable read. Chris Dulabone and Marin Xiques have a style that would normally seem a little irreverent, but it actually works great for an Oz book. Chris even has John say that Santa couldn't publish and sell Oz books at cost, which was Buckethead Enterprises' business model.

The book is illustrated by "Anon E. Mouse," who the back blurb identifies as Marcus Mebes. ... Funny thing is, it says Marcus is "late," meaning... dead... The book is even dedicated to his memory... But... isn't he editing Oziana now? Didn't he send me those color plates for Outsiders? How was he dead in 1996?

Marcus says: "Alternate realities and time warps are dangerous things."

Anyway... I really like his work in this one. His child characters look great in this one! And his John is lovably villainous, and his Santa Claus is very friendly.

The book is also very nicely produced. Right on the cover, the grey you see is actually silver accents. The text has a bit of an odd look for an Oz book, but after you get used to it, it's charming for a Christmas story.

You can order a copy here.

Another Bucketheadful

Here's three more books from Buckethead Enterprises of Oz!

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Dagmar in Oz by Chris Dulabone

This short Oz book is partly meant to reconcile the events of Dorothy and the Magic Belt with the Famous Forty. It explains that Nikidik left the youthened Mombi and young Nikidik with a couple who emigrated to Oz so they could have a family while he could leave Oz and work on his magic. Young Nik and Mombi bathe in the Truth Pond, restoring Nik's memory and Mombi's true age and form. Mombi leaves, but young Nik (going by Putnam) decides he'll reform.

Meanwhile, Dagmar, Queen of the Scoodlers, wants revenge on the Shaggy Man for tossing the Scoodlers' heads into the gulf back in The Road to Oz. Developing a paste that makes people do her bidding, she heads to Oz! Can she be stopped before she reaches the Emerald City?

The book is pretty short and ends rather abruptly, but it's also a rather fun read. You can get it here.

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And The Case of the Framed Fairy of Oz by Gil S. Joel brings us a crossover story. Perry Mason and his friends go to Oz to deal with a nasty rumor that Ozma is practicing witchcraft.

I am not familiar with Perry Mason, but the story didn't really suffer from that. The Oz characters stay in character, though I was surprised by the character Allidap, who is said to be the Wicked Witch of the West. I wasn't aware she'd been resurrected! Guess I missed that one...

The book isn't illustrated, and ends with a little surprise and lesson for the people in Oz. It was a very enjoyable story.

You can get a copy here.

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Finally, here's The Magic Ruby of Oz by Julia Inglis. A wicked Sorcerer and a Sorceress named Krinkle make a magic metal mockingbird to steal the magic treasures of Oz, turn Glinda and her entire palace into glass, and then set their sights on conquering the Emerald City!

Dorothy, Betsy, the Sawhorse and the Scarecrow set out to find help, and meet Miss Dickshon, a lady who deals in words, and eventually meet Ozmella, Ozma's aunt.

The story is quite a full-blown Oz adventure and wraps up rather nicely. However, I felt the writer did a little too much name-dropping where not needed. Quite surprisingly, a number of characters from still-copyrighted books appear, including Notta Bit More and Jenny Jump. Overall though, it was a lot of fun!

You can order a copy here.

Havenly Dreams Beneath Oz

Okay, when I got The Green Goblins of Oz and The Land Before Oz, they came in a 3-pack with Havenly Dreams Beneath Oz. (Still available, by the way!) And that's not my copy scanned. My copy's cover got a little damaged when I was carrying it while walking and sweat made some of the cover get raw as my hand rubbed against it.

The connecting theme of the three books is the Goblin characters from Goblin Grotto, which was explored extensively in Green Goblins. Land Before Oz followed the two leads from that story on a new adventure.

Havenly Dreams (by Chris Dulabone and Marin Xiques) takes us back to Goblin Grotto to look at another side of life in that land of Goblins: specifically, the lives of Goblin children.

We meet two Goblin girls: Raspberry and Soulae. Raspberry lives with her rude mother and is teased and picked on by the other kids in school. She has read many of the Oz books and dreams of Oz all the time. She also misses her father who left when she was very young.

I was wondering if it would turn out that Raspberry's father was Yawner or Dumper, but no, it seems that Goblin women are so nasty, fathers eventually have to leave and never look back.

On the other hand, Soulae is the adopted daughter of a Goblin baroness, except her arrival at her home was delayed by several years and by the time she did arrive, the baroness had adopted from elsewhere and didn't want anymore children, so Soulae becomes a Cinderella-esque character, made to work while her lazy sisters enjoy life.

Soulae's life gets a surprise from Oz when Eddie Bear grants her wish to visit the Land of Oz (which she heard of from Billy Hill), and she has an exciting and perilous adventure with Dorothy, the Hungry Tiger, the Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Woodman before she finally returns home.

And one day, two little Goblin girls eventually meet...

Havenly Dreams Under Oz was a very enjoyable book, though I couldn't help but think the stories of Raspberry and Soulae were unevenly balanced. We follow Raspberry for several chapters, then Soulae, then Soulae's trip to Oz, which is almost a completely different story altogether. Finally, we get back to Goblin Grotto, where the story returns to its former form and concludes. Still, this is more of how the authors chose to write the story than an actual flaw. Being a writer myself, I would likely have approached the different storylines differently, but in the end, I enjoyed the story as it flowed.

Dennis Anfuso illustrated the book with his whimsical style.

So, I'd recommend Havenly Dreams, whether or not you also want Green Goblins and Land Before. It stands on its own as a very sweet story about how friendship and love can make a difference, even in a land of goblins.

You can get Havenly Dreams Beneath Oz here.

The Land Before Oz

What was Oz like before it was a fairyland? Well, The Land Before Oz doesn't exactly tell you. It tells you what Oz was like back in the time of the dinosaurs. So, yeah, we're looking at Oz before it was a fairyland, just much further back than you may have thought.

The main part in prehOZstoric times deals with a group of friendly herbivore dinosaurs who are planning a charity for two orphaned iguanadons. Since this is Chris Dulabone and Marin Xiques writing, you can expect that instead of a fantasy based on fact, these dinosaurs live a life loosely based on modern life, even with property ownership and a currency. So, rather than complain about it being unrealistic, you take the story on its own and enjoy it.

Meanwhile, in present-day Oz, King Nibble of Giant's Peak (Baum's "The Littlest Giant") sets out to use his Golden Dart to make more trouble for the people of Oz. However, the way he leaves Giant's Peak causes him to be reduced to human sized, and he soon meets the Tin Woodman and the Woozy, who have befriended Yawner and Dumper, the titular characters from The Green Goblins of Oz. However, when Nibble tries to use the Golden Dart on the Tin Woodman, he catches it, and to make itself return to Nibble, the Dart sends the Tin Woodman and his friends back in time to our friendly herbivores.

And not only do we have Nibble roaming present-day Oz with the Golden Dart, back in prehOZstoric (okay, that word is not in the book, I made it up, though I can swear I saw it before) times, all attempts at making the charity succeed are being sabotaged by a saber-tooth tiger named Suzy and a dull-witted raptor named Boggus who want the baby iguanadons dead!

So, can Suzy, Nibble, and Boggus be foiled before their wicked schemes come to fruition? And can the Tin Woodman and his friends get back to present-day Oz?

Overall, The Land Before Oz is quite a fun little story! Just remember to have fun with it! It's also illustrated by Aaron Almanza, who can be goofy, but definitely enjoys drawing dinos!

You can get the book here!

Another Bucketheadfull of Books!

Buckethead Enterprises launched in 1986, and one of the first titles was Toto in Oz by publisher Chris Dulabone. Of course now, Buckethead is Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends, and right now I'll look at three books published while they were still "Buckethead Enterprises." Except my copy of Toto in Oz is the 20th anniversary edition, released under the TOTCLAF imprint.

Toto in Oz—one of Dulabone's first Oz books—finds Toto unhappy with how people treat dogs and talk about them, so he sets off to give dogs a better name as he becomes magistrate of the little country of Arfrica. Soon, the Wizard, Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Woodman and the Sawhorse go looking for Toto, when they are suddenly placed under an enchantment.

This was definitely a strong start for Dulabone and I'm surprised at how well it flows. Also, Dulabone did quite admirably with the illustrations.

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Mr. Flint in Oz by Ray Powell was a follow-up to The Raggedys in Oz, but as both books were published posthumously, this was published first. Hardas Flint (a man made of quartz) goes looking for his father Steely with the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow in tow. After some annoyances, they soon discover this adventure is bigger than any of them imagined.

While it was a fun, fine story, again Powell is a bit too heavy handed with his imagined mythology, making other Oz stories a little difficult to fit in. Long exposition scenes drag on for a little too long.

The book was illustrated by students in a Japanese school. Some of the pictures are excellent, some are passable, and a few are downright silly. Overall, it's rather pleasing, and some of the best artwork is the most prominent.

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The Green Goblins of Oz by Chris Dulabone and Marin Xiques seems to pick up from Ryan Gannaway's A Clock Strikes in Oz (which I haven't read). Overall, the book tells about two goblins (friends of the narrator, a goblin himself), who leave the land of the goblins and head to Oz. Although they've heard of some of the people of Oz, no classic Oz characters appear, except a brief appearance by Polychrome.

The book, on its own, is a little unsatisfying as it cuts off right after the two goblins (Yawner and Dumper) get to Oz. This makes sense from the narrator's perspective, but for the reader, it's a little disappointing as we don't get a payoff.

However, I know now their story is picked up The Land Before Oz, so if you get that one, get this one, too. I'm reading The Land Before Oz right now, so I'll be writing about it soon.

The artwork isn't the greatest artwork ever, but it fits the funny nature of this oddball Oz book very well!

A Bucket(head) of Books

Here's reviews of four books published by Chris Dulabone under the imprints of Buckethead Enterprises of Oz or Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends.

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Up first is A Viking in Oz, from 1988. Dulabone wrote and illustrated it. A Viking named Victor lives with the Sea Fairies until present day, when he surfaces and winds up in Noland and soon, Oz.

Dulabone writes humorously, and also did a bit of research about Vikings, making this Norseman convincing. But the plot isn't very stong. However, strong plots aren't always a trademark of Oz stories. (The Road to Oz, for example.)

Being one of the earliest Buckethead Enterprises books, the typeset is weird. Chapters are not numbered, and sometimes the text is tilted. Sometimes typos have been corrected by hand. Many of the illustrations are actually photographs, sometimes with hand-drawn addition. (A picture of a woman in a cave, for example, has a mermaid's tail drawn over her legs to turn her into a mermaid under the sea.)

Altogether, it's a fun, early attempt at a new Oz story, though far from one of the best. It's from a time when the great rush of new and unauthorized Oz books were just beginning. Times have changed and work has gotten better, but it's still worth looking at just for that purpose. And you might even enjoy it. I did.

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11 year old Ryan Gannaway's A Wonderful Journey in Oz appeared in 1990. This is another case where author also illustrated.

The story takes many elements from Baum's Oz books and Sky Island and puts them together. Throw in some time travel, thanks to Button-Bright's newly-reacquired magic Umbrella, and it's a story that, while not especially notable, is a lot of fun.

Discovering the magic Umbrella can travel through time as well as space, Button-Bright, Trot, and Cap'n Bill head back to meet Queen Ozara, Ozma's grandmother. They also bring her forward in time to meet Ozma. However, more adventures involving the Wizard, Dorothy, Toto, and the recently-restored Ruggedo occur.

Time travel stories are tricky bits of business (people debate endlessly about Back to the Future, or how the Doctor got out of the Pandorica in Doctor Who), and frankly, 11 year old Ryan didn't care. There's one little misadventure that does have some time-travel risks, but I won't spoil that. Ryan set out to write a fun adventure, and it was fun. Not especially plotted extremely well, but fun.

The illustrations are definitely by an 11 year old, however.

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A Small Adventure in Oz appeared in 2001, after the re-branding of Buckethead Enterprises of Oz as Tails of the Cowardly Lion and Friends. By this time, Dulabone's methods of printing had improved greatly. His books looked more like proper books you'd find at a bookstore rather than something that screamed that it was self-published. And it wasn't just the covers and design that improved, so did the stories. I've already blogged about Melody Grandy's books which Dulabone also published.

Peter B. Clarke's book finds the people in the Ozma's palace playing a grand game of hide and seek. To make the odds fair, magic is not allowed to be used during the game, animals who can dig cannot go underground, anyone capable of flight cannot fly, and those who'd run fast must keep to a normal pace.

Dorothy and the Scarecrow find a mysterious map of Oz and suddenly are transported to a strange, alternate version of Oz that is quite unlike anything they'd imagined with little idea of how they'll get back.

Back in the Emerald City, no one can find Dorothy and the Scarecrow, and as time drags on, it becomes apparent the magic of Oz is stopping due to the rule that no magic can be used during the game. But the game won't be over until Dorothy and the Scarecrow are found. But how can they be found? And can that happen before Oz loses its magic forever?

A Small Adventure in Oz is a very good story. The story is compelling and neatly plotted, with high stakes for our friends in Oz.

Marcus Mebes illustrated A Small Adventure, and the artwork's really good, though I'm not a huge fan of the child characters.

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Finally, The Cloud King of Oz was published in 2002. Apparently, one of the problems Dulabone had with getting books out was that he didn't want to do text-only books. Oz books needed pictures. However, finding illustrators willing to illustrate for a small, non-profit press wasn't easy. Dennis Anfuso, who has since risen to a more prominent artist, finally helped out. Cloud King was by Amanda Marie Buck, who was eleven by the time of publication.

The Cloud King, who lives on a Gillikin Mountain, has kidnapped many residents of Ozma's palace and the Magic Belt. Dorothy and the Wizard lead a rescue party, but soon, Thunderhead the Cloud King takes them as well. It's up to Ozma to rescue everyone!

Cloud King reminds me a lot of Invisible Inzi of Oz, now that I think about it. However, the Cloud King is a decent villain, and the story doesn't wander so much and flows very well, even if it is rather short. It's quite obvious that Amanda was very young when she wrote it. Dennis Anfuso's art complement's the writer's style very well.

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Altogether, these four books represent the pure heart of Oz pastiches. Maybe the stories aren't the greatest ever. Maybe the printing isn't perfect. But the writers love Oz and want to share the stories they've invented. When that is apparent in an Oz story, that's the most important element for other fans. To be sure, these books might not be the best to hook in new fans, but established fans are sure to find a kindred spirit in the writer's style.

Thorns and Private Files in Oz

Little confession. I got The Seven Blue Mountains of Oz trilogy by swapping for them. However, when I was making the deal, they asked if I had Thorns and Private Files in Oz. I said, "No," so they threw it in. The illustrator of the book at hand, Marcus Mebes, confirmed that it should be read as The Seven Blue Mountains of Oz Book 2.5. So, I did.

The book is by Melody Grandy and Chris Dulabone. Writing styles of both are clearly evidenced in the text. According to the introduction, Marcus' pictures of some friends as a prince and princess bore a big resemblance to Jo Files and Ozga from Tik-Tok of Oz, inspiring the story. (You never know when you might influence someone to write an Oz story!)

You might think it's called Thorns and Private Files in Oz because Files is in it, right? Well, he is. But it turns out thorns and files that are private actually come into play in the story. How, I won't tell you exactly why.

Files and Ozga are living happily ever after in Oogaboo, reading and tending the book trees. However, when some of the stories on their trees prove to be Oz stories about the future, they and Hank the Mule (who's visiting) have to keep them away from Queen Ann. They manage to make the tree grow fiction, but not before Ann steals a few books. After they trick her with a copy of Dorothy Returns to Oz, they hide out in the forest, where they find a deserted castle full of overgrown rose bushes and thorns. However, Ozga disappears and Files and Hank must trust a gander and a curious old hermit woman to get her back.

The story feels incomplete. As it seems the plotline will resume in the final volume of The Seven Blue Mountains of Oz (the final illustration, by Melody Grandy, shows Files, Ozga and Hank with Dinny and Zim, which was later reused on the last book of the trilogy), it was a very odd piece on its own. At least it says "To Be Continued."

I guess I'll see if The Seven Blue Mountains of Oz: Zim Greenleaf of Oz closes this story suitably.