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.

The Winged Monkeys of Oz

Here's the first Oz book by Dennis Anfuso. Before this book—published in 1996—Anfuso was mainly known for artwork, including a humorous "What if?" panel on the back of Oziana 1979 showing Dorothy's house being carried away by the cyclone, with her and Toto peeking with Aunt Em out of the cellar, Dorothy noting how she and Toto had made it just in time. He has since illustrated books for Chris Dulabone and even written another Oz book.

The Winged Monkeys of Oz introduces us to a little girl named Melanie who finds a Winged Monkey on the beach in Tacoma, Washington. She befriends it and it is joined by another: they are named Nikko and Breeka. They carry her to the neighboring countries of Oz, where they have a series of strange adventures on Symma Island, Anna Mile Island, and Artisand Island.

Meanwhile, Ozma would like to do something for someone for her birthday. Eventually, it's decided to invite the Winged Monkeys to live in the Palace, so Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, the Lion, and Toto go to see the Monkeys and invite them. The Monkeys accept, but soon their mischievous nature rise and cause trouble. What is the solution, and can Breeka, Nikko and Melanie get back to Oz and Tacoma?

The plot in Oz is nicely done, but while the travels of Nikko, Breeka and Melanie are spiced with conflict, I actually had trouble noting where one island ended and the next began. It wasn't bad, but it was jarring.

Dennis writes charmingly and humorously and includes a good number of in-jokes for Oz fans (there's a painting competition by an artist named Dean Slow and Kneel). Overall, I rather did like this one.