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.

Two short books of Oz

 And I read both of these in 24 hours.

Up first is the privately printed picture book Dreaming in a Scarlet Slumber by Jeffrey Rester, with artwork by Denslow, Neill, Milt Youngren (The Laughing Dragon of Oz) and some original art by Luciano Vecchio.

The story takes place during The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, revealing a dream Dorothy had while in the Deadly Poppy Field. It gives her a peek into the future of Oz, some we've seen, and some we've yet to see. (And maybe we'll never see it.)
The story is short, thought-provoking and a little disturbing. Overall, it's an interesting side-piece to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and when read in the story, helps it feel more like the beginning of the great adventure series it developed into.

If you want to get a copy, contact Jeff at ozmusofoz@gmail.com

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Next up is The Bouncy Bunnies in Oz by Marin Xiques and illustrated by Ashley Akers.

This seems to be a follow up to a previous story with the Thists from The Lost Princess of Oz. I wasn't really sure exactly who the characters were, but I didn't get lost. Apparently a dignitary named Thora is vacationing outside of Thi, and taking care of her is Thornton, who has three adopted rabbit children: Jodie, Risa, and Amanda.

Thornton gets digestive troubles and is forced to stay in bed, so Thora must take care of him, but the rabbits are quite a handful! They try to help with the limited food source and are soon aided by none other than the Cowardly Lion.

However, Jodie runs away and visits with the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman. Thornton and Thora soon have to go off after her and have a short adventure of their own, but don't worry. There aren't any big baddies wanting to prevent a happy ending for anyone here.

In addition to the main story, Marin retells myths and legends through books the rabbits have access to. She tells them in a very engaging fashion, and I quite enjoyed the little book.

You can get a copy here.

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.

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!