The Latest Oz Comic Book

Right before Laura and I left for the Winkie Convention, our latest box of comic books came. Naturally, there were a few Oz ones in there, so I'll be writing about those in the coming days. But this is not one of those! One of the few items I picked up at the convention was the brand new Ozopolis #4, concluding the first story arc. (How new is it? It isn't even in the Ozopolis store yet.)

One of the few drawbacks to Ozopolis is that Kirk Kushin can't put it out more rapidly, so it's hard to follow the story when you buy an issue at a time. But the short of it is, Glinda's cousin, Synlinda, who has been entrusted to look over many of the magic treasures in Glinda's possession, has instead taken them for her own use. She has the Silver Shoes, access to the Great Book of Records (which she's been rewriting!), and the Golden Cap, as well as a case of dynamite! Synlinda decides it's time to play her hand, and she tries to take over Oz with some help from the Giant with the Hammer. (It turns out he can walk!) I won't give anything away, of course, but let's just say chaos ensues before some semblance of order is restored. Even then, all is not as it should be, and it doesn't end with the typical celebratory party at the end.

From what he says in his afterword, and from talking to him at previous conventions, I know that Kushin really knows his Oz backwards, forwards, and sideways, and it shows. There are appearances by many characters from The Wizard of Oz, of course, but also Tik-Tok, Scraps, the Woozy, and even a character only mentioned in Ozma of Oz. And he's also set things up very nicely for the next arc, which I hope will happen soon. Gonzalo Martinez also does a great job on the art, making everybody look like they should while given then a modern flair. I especially liked Dorothy and Trot airboarding over the Emerald City, in Capri pants and goggles. Now if we could only get these in color. (Hey, guys, I'd pay more for the trade collection if it's in color!)

So, in short, yes, I liked this one very much, just like all of the previous issues. As soon as you can order it, I hope you will.