Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Marvel Books (2009), Edition: 1st, Hardcover, 192 pages
Description
The premier American fantasy adventure gets the Merry Marvel treatment! Eisner Award-winning writer/artist Eric Shanower (Age of Bronze) teams up with fan-favorite artist Skottie Young (New X-Men) to bring L. Frank Baum's beloved classic to life! When Kansas farm girl Dorothy flies away to the magical Land of Oz, she fatally flattens a Wicket Witch, liberates a Scarecrow and is hailed by the Munchkin people as a great sorcerer...but all she really wants to know is: how does she get home?
User reviews
LibraryThing member Jazz1987
Really good comic version based on the book with little to no errors. Makes you wonder why there has been no film to have an accurate version with it's various characters and places. Also, reading this, it made me realize the Wicked Witch of the West has a much smaller part than modern-day
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adaptations lead you to believe. Show Less
LibraryThing member gfurth
The classic tale of Dorothy being transported to the land of Oz where she befriends a lion, a scarecrow, and a tin man in their quest to find a brain, a heart, courage, and home. Along the way there are many adventures that lead to the meeting with the great and powerful Wizard of OZ.
LibraryThing member jyasinchuk
A version of one of my all time favourites that measures up extremely well against Baum's original masterpiece. This is due in no small part to Skottie Young's whimsically delightful illustrations. Recommended as a companion resource for students with special needs and reluctant readers.
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Recommended for Grades 4 through 9. Show Less
LibraryThing member mikemillertime
Beautiful art fairly reminiscent of "Calvin and Hobbes" accompanies a faithful translation of Baum's original Oz story. It's impossible not to compare this story to the movie, and it's numerous differences feel odd and out of place. The fact that each of the 4 heroes needs to remind the reader
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every page why they are on this quest might not annoy a child, but definitely grates on the average adult reader. Sorry, but the movie is the quintessential version, so this story feels like a solid rough draft missing the final magical touches on the road to become a masterpiece. Show Less
LibraryThing member aethercowboy
For the most part, I am wary of comic book adaptations of works of literature. And for the most part, I am wary of adaptations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which happens to be one of my favorite Children’s books.
However, when I cam across the comic book adaptation done by Shanower and Young, I
The illustrations are crazy. A less-educated person might say they’re “Burton-esque.” What they mean to say is: “since I am an uncultured cur who has no understanding of anything beyond big-budget film adaptations of popular literary source, I automatically associate anything that has an atypical art style with wavy lines and jagged edges as looking like the art of Tim Burton, even though I’ve never actually seen anything actually drawn by him, but instead, things that have been drawn by people with more aesthetic strength than him or things touched up by computers after a very rough illustration, based loosely on something he may have sketched or otherwise explained to the artist at hand while waving his arms wildly in the air and pointing to Johnny Depp.”
If anything, the art style is more Watterson-esque.
Young does a wonderful job capturing the oddball world of Oz, introducing believable, quirky characters who totally fit their personalities. Some of the full-panel illustrations are mind-blowing in their complexity, and may cause weaker physicists to weep openly. And Shanower? Well, he stays perfectly true to the book, one thing many adaptations fail at (how many Oz adaptations have you seen with red slippers?).
I know I said it before, but it’s worth mentioning again: The character illustrations for this book are wonderful. Young truly excelled.
It’s wonderful that there exist other self-proclaimed fans of Oz such as Shanower, who have the drive and determination to bring the real Oz to the masses.
I strongly recommend this book if you are in any way a fan of anything to do with Oz, be it the original book by L. Frank Baum, the 1939 Victor Fleming film, Wicked (the book or the musical), or any other adaptation you may have encountered.
However, when I cam across the comic book adaptation done by Shanower and Young, I
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was intrigued, and eventually bought it when it came out in a single volume edition. There it sat on my overburdened bookshelf until at last, I freed myself from my backlog and finally got around to reading something not sent to me by an author or publisher for to review.The illustrations are crazy. A less-educated person might say they’re “Burton-esque.” What they mean to say is: “since I am an uncultured cur who has no understanding of anything beyond big-budget film adaptations of popular literary source, I automatically associate anything that has an atypical art style with wavy lines and jagged edges as looking like the art of Tim Burton, even though I’ve never actually seen anything actually drawn by him, but instead, things that have been drawn by people with more aesthetic strength than him or things touched up by computers after a very rough illustration, based loosely on something he may have sketched or otherwise explained to the artist at hand while waving his arms wildly in the air and pointing to Johnny Depp.”
If anything, the art style is more Watterson-esque.
Young does a wonderful job capturing the oddball world of Oz, introducing believable, quirky characters who totally fit their personalities. Some of the full-panel illustrations are mind-blowing in their complexity, and may cause weaker physicists to weep openly. And Shanower? Well, he stays perfectly true to the book, one thing many adaptations fail at (how many Oz adaptations have you seen with red slippers?).
I know I said it before, but it’s worth mentioning again: The character illustrations for this book are wonderful. Young truly excelled.
It’s wonderful that there exist other self-proclaimed fans of Oz such as Shanower, who have the drive and determination to bring the real Oz to the masses.
I strongly recommend this book if you are in any way a fan of anything to do with Oz, be it the original book by L. Frank Baum, the 1939 Victor Fleming film, Wicked (the book or the musical), or any other adaptation you may have encountered.
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LibraryThing member Kellswitch
A wonderfully whimsical version of the Wizard of Oz story.
The beginning of the story was a bit stiff seeming, though that probably has a much to do with the original source as well as needing to give the background of a story that is already so well known, but once Dorthy is in Munchkin Land and
The art is an absolute delight, the character design and use of color makes it feel like it fits the era the books were first written in without making it feel dated. My personal favorite is the Lion, his face is so expressive and adorable without being silly. Each land has it's own sense of design and color making each unique while still fitting with the rest of the book. Nothing is jarring, everything feels like it's part of the whole.
I also enjoyed the character sketches at the back of the book where the artists goes into a little bit of detail on the development of the main characters. Not a lot of detail but a nice little behind the scenes look.
The beginning of the story was a bit stiff seeming, though that probably has a much to do with the original source as well as needing to give the background of a story that is already so well known, but once Dorthy is in Munchkin Land and
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begins her journey down the Yellow Brick Road the story picks up it's pace and begins to flow a bit more naturally. The art is an absolute delight, the character design and use of color makes it feel like it fits the era the books were first written in without making it feel dated. My personal favorite is the Lion, his face is so expressive and adorable without being silly. Each land has it's own sense of design and color making each unique while still fitting with the rest of the book. Nothing is jarring, everything feels like it's part of the whole.
I also enjoyed the character sketches at the back of the book where the artists goes into a little bit of detail on the development of the main characters. Not a lot of detail but a nice little behind the scenes look.
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LibraryThing member Angie.Patterson
Baum, Frank L. (original author from which graphic novel was adapted); Eric Shanower (writer); Skottie Young (artist); Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colorist); Jeff Eckleberry (letterer) The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. New York: Marvel Entertainment, LLC, 2010
Characters: Dorothy; Toto; Scarecrow; Tin
Setting: Various places in the Land of Oz
Theme: follow your heart; be true to yourself; never give up; good vs. evil;
Genre: Children’s graphic novel
Golden Quote: “And oh, Aunt Em! I’m so glad to be home again!”
Summary: When Kansas farm girl Dorothy flies away from the magical Land of Oz, she fatally flattens a Wicked Witch, liberates a living Scarecrow and is hailed by the Munchkin people as a great sorceress…but all she really wants to know is: how does get home?
Audience: Children’s ages 7 and up
Curriculum ties: science- study of tornadoes, cyclones, natural disasters; health- study of the heart and brain; geography- find Kansas on a map, compare Kansas to students’ state; language arts-compare and contrast characters, write your own story if you ended up in the Land of Oz
Awards: Eisner Award Winner: Best Limited Series and Best Publication for Kids, 2010
Personal response: This is a great introductory graphic novel for children who want to experience a classic novel in a visual format. The art work is absolutely phenomenal; reminiscent of the whimsy of Tim Burton in style and color palette. Staying true to the original story, it is dark and violent at times, but not over the top or gory; thus maintaining its appropriateness for children in middle to upper elementary grades. As with all high-quality graphic novels, the visual imagery moves the story along in a fun and engaging way; bringing the story to life by capturing the characters’ feelings, perspectives, and back stories with vivid imagination.
Characters: Dorothy; Toto; Scarecrow; Tin
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Woodman; Lion; Aunt Em; Uncle Henry; the Witch of the North; the Munchkins; Queen of the Field-Mice, the Field-Mice; the Wizard of Oz; the people of Emerald City; Guardian of the Gates; the Wicked Witch of the West; the Winkies; the Winged Monkeys; the people of the porcelain china city; animals of the forest; Glinda (the Good Witch of the South)Setting: Various places in the Land of Oz
Theme: follow your heart; be true to yourself; never give up; good vs. evil;
Genre: Children’s graphic novel
Golden Quote: “And oh, Aunt Em! I’m so glad to be home again!”
Summary: When Kansas farm girl Dorothy flies away from the magical Land of Oz, she fatally flattens a Wicked Witch, liberates a living Scarecrow and is hailed by the Munchkin people as a great sorceress…but all she really wants to know is: how does get home?
Audience: Children’s ages 7 and up
Curriculum ties: science- study of tornadoes, cyclones, natural disasters; health- study of the heart and brain; geography- find Kansas on a map, compare Kansas to students’ state; language arts-compare and contrast characters, write your own story if you ended up in the Land of Oz
Awards: Eisner Award Winner: Best Limited Series and Best Publication for Kids, 2010
Personal response: This is a great introductory graphic novel for children who want to experience a classic novel in a visual format. The art work is absolutely phenomenal; reminiscent of the whimsy of Tim Burton in style and color palette. Staying true to the original story, it is dark and violent at times, but not over the top or gory; thus maintaining its appropriateness for children in middle to upper elementary grades. As with all high-quality graphic novels, the visual imagery moves the story along in a fun and engaging way; bringing the story to life by capturing the characters’ feelings, perspectives, and back stories with vivid imagination.
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LibraryThing member SebastianHagelstein
This graphic novel is the comic adaption of the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It's actually a collection of the comic book series Oz. The illustrations are awesome and go well with the story.
LibraryThing member krau0098
I was browsing the library graphic novel section and found this little gem. This is a book I’ve picked up a number of times in bookstores but wasn’t quite sure I wanted to read it. It ended up being an excellent book with beautiful artwork and now I want to read all the books in this series.
Most people know the story of Oz. Dorothy gets whisked away by a tornado and her house lands on a Wicked Witch. In her quest to get back home she finds a Tin Man, a Scarecrow, and a Cowardly Lion. They must confront Oz the Great and Powerful. He gives them a quest to go on to destroy another Wicked Witch, which they must do if Dorothy is ever going to get home.
I read many of Frank Baum’s Oz books with my mom when I was younger. That was decades ago, so I don’t remember them completely, but I do remember them pretty well. This graphic novel does an excellent job following the first book accurately (based on my somewhat faulty memory). I really enjoyed the characterizations and depictions of Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion a lot.
The artwork here is full color and absolutely stunning. Skottie Young does it and he does a fantastic job.
It was fun for me to revisit the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I enjoyed the way the graphic novel stuck to the original novel’s storyline while improving on characterization and giving the story some style. I really enjoyed how beautiful the illustration was. This is a book that can, like the original book, be enjoyed by all ages.
Overall I loved this graphic novel. It’s an excellent retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with beautiful full color illustration. I loved how this story was translated into graphic novel format while still staying true to the original story. Highly recommended to everyone and a great way to get familiar with the original story!
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Right now there are five trade paperbacks total in this series.Most people know the story of Oz. Dorothy gets whisked away by a tornado and her house lands on a Wicked Witch. In her quest to get back home she finds a Tin Man, a Scarecrow, and a Cowardly Lion. They must confront Oz the Great and Powerful. He gives them a quest to go on to destroy another Wicked Witch, which they must do if Dorothy is ever going to get home.
I read many of Frank Baum’s Oz books with my mom when I was younger. That was decades ago, so I don’t remember them completely, but I do remember them pretty well. This graphic novel does an excellent job following the first book accurately (based on my somewhat faulty memory). I really enjoyed the characterizations and depictions of Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion a lot.
The artwork here is full color and absolutely stunning. Skottie Young does it and he does a fantastic job.
It was fun for me to revisit the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I enjoyed the way the graphic novel stuck to the original novel’s storyline while improving on characterization and giving the story some style. I really enjoyed how beautiful the illustration was. This is a book that can, like the original book, be enjoyed by all ages.
Overall I loved this graphic novel. It’s an excellent retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with beautiful full color illustration. I loved how this story was translated into graphic novel format while still staying true to the original story. Highly recommended to everyone and a great way to get familiar with the original story!
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LibraryThing member tapestry100
OK, so I'm not going to go into the story here, as I think most everyone is a least marginally familiar with Dorothy and her adventures in Oz. What I will say is that Eric Shanower did a fairly decent job adapting L. Frank Baum's story for the sequential art medium, but it's really the art of
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Skottie Young that makes this book worthwhile. Young's art is fresh and whimsical and just a little creepy and I think he really captures the essence of Oz and its quirky inhabitants perfectly. I don't know that Oz purists will appreciate this volume very much, but as a fan of the original book, I can say that I really enjoyed it. Show Less
LibraryThing member DanielleMD
This book was so much fun to read! It's a graphic novel so there's plenty to look at and it went pretty quick. The artwork is stunning. I love how these well known characters were reimagined while still remaining recognizable. There were some new story elements which were wonderful and kept it
I really enjoyed this book!
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fresh.I really enjoyed this book!
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LibraryThing member highvoltagegrrl
I have never read the original Wizard of Oz, so I can't compare it to that. I've only seen the movie, which I understand changed a lot from the book. This book seems to take each new challenge that comes up and solves it within a few panels. There is nothing there to make you care for or like any
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of the characters. Show Less
LibraryThing member AVoraciousReader
*Book source ~ Library
So, a synopsis. It’s the freakin’ Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Do I really need to recap this? Ok, I will. Dorothy lives with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em on a farm in Kansas. She has a dog named Toto. A tornado (called a cyclone here) comes along sweeping Dorothy and Toto to
First off, omg, the artwork is fantastic! It’s so adorable and the colors are perfect. I loved it. The story is pretty good, too. I hate to admit that I’ve never actually read the book (it’s on my TBR, honest!), so I’m not sure how faithful the adaptation is. And I haven’t seen the movie in quite some time, but the graphic novel does differ a bit from it. If you liked the movie and the book then this graphic novel is a must read. The art alone is worth it. Trust me.
So, a synopsis. It’s the freakin’ Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Do I really need to recap this? Ok, I will. Dorothy lives with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em on a farm in Kansas. She has a dog named Toto. A tornado (called a cyclone here) comes along sweeping Dorothy and Toto to
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the Land of Oz where Dorothy spends her time making unusual friends and trying to get back to Kansas.First off, omg, the artwork is fantastic! It’s so adorable and the colors are perfect. I loved it. The story is pretty good, too. I hate to admit that I’ve never actually read the book (it’s on my TBR, honest!), so I’m not sure how faithful the adaptation is. And I haven’t seen the movie in quite some time, but the graphic novel does differ a bit from it. If you liked the movie and the book then this graphic novel is a must read. The art alone is worth it. Trust me.
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LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
This graphic novel version of the Wizard of Oz is supposed to be true to L. Frank Baum's original tale. Having never read the original I can't tell you whether it does or not but you can definitely see how much the author and illustrator really loved the Wizard of Oz. The artwork is just gorgeous
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and bright and totally brings the story to life. All of the characters that we have come to know and love are there (including some I didn't know about). This book has inspired me to read the Baum's original tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
This graphic novel version of the Wizard of Oz is supposed to be true to L. Frank Baum's original tale. Having never read the original I can't tell you whether it does or not but you can definitely see how much the author and illustrator really loved the Wizard of Oz. The artwork is just gorgeous
Show More
and bright and totally brings the story to life. All of the characters that we have come to know and love are there (including some I didn't know about). This book has inspired me to read the Baum's original tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
This graphic novel version of the Wizard of Oz is supposed to be true to L. Frank Baum's original tale. Having never read the original I can't tell you whether it does or not but you can definitely see how much the author and illustrator really loved the Wizard of Oz. The artwork is just gorgeous
Show More
and bright and totally brings the story to life. All of the characters that we have come to know and love are there (including some I didn't know about). This book has inspired me to read the Baum's original tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member Rosa.Mill
This graphic novel version of the Wizard of Oz is supposed to be true to L. Frank Baum's original tale. Having never read the original I can't tell you whether it does or not but you can definitely see how much the author and illustrator really loved the Wizard of Oz. The artwork is just gorgeous
Show More
and bright and totally brings the story to life. All of the characters that we have come to know and love are there (including some I didn't know about). This book has inspired me to read the Baum's original tale. Show Less
LibraryThing member saroz
I first read this adaptation of Baum's Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 2010, when it was first available as a collected graphic novel, in preparation for an academic conference presentation on comics/manga adaptations of the famous story. At the time, I compared it unfavorably to Le Magicien d'Oz, the
That is not the case with the Eric Shanower / Skottie Young comic. To an older, more conservative audience, Young's art can look sketchy and unfinished, a mass of big simplistic circles and very straight lines. His characters have disproportionately giant heads and tiny features, with wisps of hair, fur, and straw frizzing out everywhere. His buildings and landscapes are equally cartoonish, with squared-off trees and an angled, monstrous moon that might be made out of some kind of cheese. The whimsy of Young's work is suffused with an enthusiastic energy that seems to electrify it and bounce it straight off the page. It's not pretty, per se, but it's enormously appealing, and I think it would much easier win the affection of a child.
Another point that plays only into a purist's favor is the Chauvel / Fernandez comic's amount of text. Yes, I love L. Frank Baum's narration as much as the next fan - in fact, I've memorized whole lines of it. But quoting it so often gives the pages a stuffy, overly complicated feel. Eric Shanower, a very famous Oz aficionado at this point, actually shows an admirable restraint in reducing the amount of narration from the book to a bare minimum. He lets Young's art tell most of the story, which is just as it should be. In fact, if I were to criticize Shanower at all, it's that he doesn't cut out enough of the actual dialogue, or modernize it; Baum's characters saying things like "I haven't the faintest notion" or "What must I do?" are perfectly reasonable in their original context, but alongside Young's art, it often seems incredibly formal and a real mouthful, to boot. Even some carefully modified contractions would probably have helped.
Yet there's a nice balance in the pace of the Shanower / Young graphic novel, too, which is only really apparent when you read it as a collection instead of individual issues. I've read the original novel any number of times, including once just a couple of months ago, and I don't think Shanower's removed even a single event from the narrative. He's made some very clever choices in which episodes to emphasize, though, and that includes the most oft-forgotten material: the scenes that focus on the little details of Dorothy and her friends' journey. Whether it's finding a bed for the night, eating food, or using tools to make travel easier, including the smaller moments of the story helps to give it a sense of completeness, and not - as a comic could so easily do -portray it simply as a collection of edited highlights.
My review has focused on the critical aspects of the work, and it hasn't really touched on the hundred and one completely subjective charms of the piece. Glinda's hair! The Wizard's giant head! Everybody's teeth! The Lion drawn as if he's an enormous, frightened pussycat! The best thing to do with this comic is, quite simply, to wrap yourself up in it. It isn't the kind of artistic work you step back and admire in a museum; it's a world in which you get lost. Thankfully, since my original, overly purist judgment, Shanower and Young were able to lose themselves in that world over five more volumes and a total of over 1000 pages of fun.
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French adaptation by David Chauvel and Enrique Fernandez, which had been translated to English a few years earlier. Looking at the two adaptations now, I see immediately why: the Fernandez art is strongly based in the use of curved lines, exaggerated perspectives, and bold color choices. It's an incredible piece of design, a polished children's fairy tale storybook full of curves and forward motion. It seems built on the Art Nouveau-inspired shoulders of the original Oz artists, W.W. Denslow and John R. Neill, without actually mimicking either of their styles. In short: despite a few new visual interpretations of characters, the Chauvel / Fernandez comic is a very classical presentation of Oz. It is sure to appeal to people like me who are already enamored of that kind of art. That is not the case with the Eric Shanower / Skottie Young comic. To an older, more conservative audience, Young's art can look sketchy and unfinished, a mass of big simplistic circles and very straight lines. His characters have disproportionately giant heads and tiny features, with wisps of hair, fur, and straw frizzing out everywhere. His buildings and landscapes are equally cartoonish, with squared-off trees and an angled, monstrous moon that might be made out of some kind of cheese. The whimsy of Young's work is suffused with an enthusiastic energy that seems to electrify it and bounce it straight off the page. It's not pretty, per se, but it's enormously appealing, and I think it would much easier win the affection of a child.
Another point that plays only into a purist's favor is the Chauvel / Fernandez comic's amount of text. Yes, I love L. Frank Baum's narration as much as the next fan - in fact, I've memorized whole lines of it. But quoting it so often gives the pages a stuffy, overly complicated feel. Eric Shanower, a very famous Oz aficionado at this point, actually shows an admirable restraint in reducing the amount of narration from the book to a bare minimum. He lets Young's art tell most of the story, which is just as it should be. In fact, if I were to criticize Shanower at all, it's that he doesn't cut out enough of the actual dialogue, or modernize it; Baum's characters saying things like "I haven't the faintest notion" or "What must I do?" are perfectly reasonable in their original context, but alongside Young's art, it often seems incredibly formal and a real mouthful, to boot. Even some carefully modified contractions would probably have helped.
Yet there's a nice balance in the pace of the Shanower / Young graphic novel, too, which is only really apparent when you read it as a collection instead of individual issues. I've read the original novel any number of times, including once just a couple of months ago, and I don't think Shanower's removed even a single event from the narrative. He's made some very clever choices in which episodes to emphasize, though, and that includes the most oft-forgotten material: the scenes that focus on the little details of Dorothy and her friends' journey. Whether it's finding a bed for the night, eating food, or using tools to make travel easier, including the smaller moments of the story helps to give it a sense of completeness, and not - as a comic could so easily do -portray it simply as a collection of edited highlights.
My review has focused on the critical aspects of the work, and it hasn't really touched on the hundred and one completely subjective charms of the piece. Glinda's hair! The Wizard's giant head! Everybody's teeth! The Lion drawn as if he's an enormous, frightened pussycat! The best thing to do with this comic is, quite simply, to wrap yourself up in it. It isn't the kind of artistic work you step back and admire in a museum; it's a world in which you get lost. Thankfully, since my original, overly purist judgment, Shanower and Young were able to lose themselves in that world over five more volumes and a total of over 1000 pages of fun.
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LibraryThing member bobbybslax
I wasn't very interested in the story, but I couldn't resist the artwork. Scottie Young's drawing is delightful, and the colors are cozy.
LibraryThing member inkyphalangies
This graphic novel is so much closer to the original story than any other adaptations I have come across. It has been a while since I read the original book, but this brought those memories back for me. Skottie Young's art is, of course, amazing and I think his style works really well for the story.
Awards
Original publication date
2009
Physical description
192 p.; 7.24 inches
ISBN
0785129219 / 9780785129219
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