The 1985 edition of Oziana wraps up with "The Ice Cream Man of Oz" by Jim VanderNoot, with illustrations by Robert Luehrs. Leonard, the freezer (yes, there's backstory explanation as to what this is and why) in a Quadling town near the Emerald City, decides to create an ice cream sculpture for Ozma's birthday. But in order to keep it solid, he needs a little help from the town pharmacist, Erba Liss. Erba gives him some help, but her failing eyesight causes her to misread some labels, with the result being that Leonard unintentionally brings his statue to life just as dessert is about to be served! It causes some issues, and Leonard is almost arrested for practicing magic without a license, but all gets straightened out in the end, the Emerald City has gained a new celebrity (whose fingers grow into scoops of ice cream, then regrow, which is handy), and Erba gets some additional training and new glasses before she takes up being a pharmacist again. This is a fun little slice-of-life story that holds together very nicely, and wraps up the issue on a fun note.
The only other item to mention about this issue is a cover illustration of Ruggedo by Eric Shanower, so next week it looks like I'll be starting the 1986 issue.
And hey, if you want the newest issue of Oziana, the 2017 issue is now available.
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