The second tale in the 1986 edition of Oziana is "Much Ado About Kiki Aru", written and illustrated by Sean Patrick Duffley. This is pretty much a sequel to The Magic of Oz, in that it deals with the aftermath of that book. Bini and Mopsi Aru are distraught over their missing son, so Bini breaks the law and uses his old magic— namely the magic word pyrzqxgl—to find him and bring him home. Meanwhile, in the Emerald City, its newest resident, an amnesiac Munchkin boy named Jem, is dissatisfied with his lot and wants to know who he really is. Dorothy takes pity on him and decides to look in the Magic Picture to help him—only to find a beautiful maid already looking in the Picture! Of course the maid is Bini Aru, disguised by the magic word. There is a lot of confusion and transformation that takes place before everyone gets things sorted out and everything is resolved in a most satisfying manner. But then the question comes up, why is pyrzqxgl magic anyway, and how did Bini Aru discover it? The resolution to that answers the question why pyrzqxgl was never used in the Oz books again. This is, frankly, one of my all-time favorite Oziana stories, as it works so well on so many levels, and all the characters are well written and true to their own natures. Even the mistrust shown in Bungle when she does the right thing feels very much like how it should play out.
I am going to skip the third and final story of this issue for a little while, as it will be more appropriate in a few weeks. You'll understand when I get there! So I will just add that the cover is a charming portrait of Tik-Tok, Billina, and the Hungry Tiger by Blaire Boudreau, and that's about the only extra here. Next week, 1987 begins!
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