The Latest Oz Reading (and Watching)

Despite the lack of posts, I have been busy reading a bunch of Oz things. In fact, I'm just about done with one of the longer ones — bu I'll tell you more about that later. So here are a few other things I've read and watched lately:

• Bride of Fury by Rachel Cosgrove Payes. My latest reading from the author of The Hidden Valley of Oz. This one reminded me an awful lot of the last Rachel romance I read, in that it has a lusty young woman torn between two men from the same family (brothers, this time) in a historical setting, etc., etc., etc. I'm sure many of you are familiar with some of the tropes of the genre. What makes Bride of Fury fun, however, is that it opens with our heroine, Kate, patrolling the West End of London looking for Jack the Ripper! The rest of the book then flashes back to how Kate got into the situation she's in, and comes to a satisfying conclusion for both her and the reader. Rachel sets up the mystery of who Jack the Ripper is well throughout the book, and leaves everyone dangling until the last possible moment. I enjoyed it, but I think I'm already a little weary of her romances. Thank goodness the next book I have lined up from her is something different!
  
• The comics order came, need I say more? And it was a busy month. First was Grimm Fairy Tales Presents The Library #4. Things are looking pretty bad, which of course forces Sela's father to reexamine his life and finally connect with his daughter. But the Wicked Witch is overpowering every ally Sela can throw at her, and it looks like the Wicked Witch now has the power to take over the world! (Good thing there's one more issue to this series, or I'd be worried.)
  
• Fables #114. Yay, back to Oz at last! No, we don't learn how Bufkin escaped from that cliffhanger. In fact, it looks like we've gone back a few days, before the events of #101. The good news is, now the Oz part of the story looks like it will be a permanent part of the book, at least for a while, as "A Revolution in Oz" is now the second story of the book. Did I also mention that someone pilfered the vault containing all of the magic items in Oz?
  
• Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz #5. The Gargoyles. Need I say more? Again, Eric, Skottie, and Jean-Francois have put together another winner. Sadly, it will have to hold me for a while, since issue #6 isn't due out until May.
  
• No Place Like Home #1. Where have I seen this before? A grown-up goth Dorothy (is she?) gets caught up in events that may or may not be at all related to The Wizard of Oz. This one is aiming to be a horror comic, as Dee Dee and her friends stumble across a murder. I'm not sure where this one's going at all yet, but it's early. Definitely not one for the kids, Oz purists, or sensitive readers.
  
• And finally, I watched the second part of The Witches of Oz a few weeks ago, and just forgot to tell anyone. It's definitely not one for the purists again, but it's fun and Ozzy in its own way. Dorothy confronts her past, and finds both friends and foes coming to New York City to get something they all think Dorothy has. This was definitely based on the first Oz book, but there were plenty of nods to later Oz books that you know the creators did their homework. I was especially taken with Mia Sara's portrayal of Langwidere. I just hope the film version comes to my neck of the woods sometime soon.