The Latest Oz Reading

Oh, I have been vory busy lately—reading lots of Oz and Oz-adjacent books, but not much spare time to write about them here! But I've managed to carve a little time out rght now, so I'm going to see how many I can write about now.

• The Wonderful Arts of Oz by Daniel "Munch" Kinske. This is a big coffee table book that is pretty much what the cover says. This folio has many examples of art (Oz and otherwise) by W. W. Denslow, work done for the 1902 musical stage extravaganza version of The Wizard of Oz, photographs of Ozcot, L. Frank Baum's Hollywood home, the stage show of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, Oz illustrations by John R. Neill, and publicity material and photographs pertaining to both the 1925 silent film and the famous 1939 Technicolor film adaptations of The Wizard of Oz. It is a glorious book, and many of the pictures were new to me. Even the ones I knew could reveal new insights when reproduced at this size, however. It includes an introduction by Judy Garland's photographic stand-in, Caren Marsh-Doll. I do hove two complaints. One is that the font Denslow is used for many large blocks of explanatory text. Denslow works great for headlines and other short snippets of text, but it is very hard to read in extended passages. The other complaint is that it only goes up to 1939! So much Oz has come along since then, and there is plenty of material for a second volume. I would have also liked to see more from the books, as the Neill section is frustratingly brief. Still, this is a spectacular volume, and I very much appreciate having it.
• I picked up a whole bunch of fun items from Lulu Publishing, including a reproduction of the Fall 1961 Reilly & Lee catalog. It's brief, and there's really not even that much about Oz, but it's a fascinating look at what else the publishers of the Oz books sold. I'd love to see other catalogs from Reilly & Lee's history reprinted in a similar form.
• The Bashful Baker of Oz by Marcus Mébès reprints a charming tale from the 2003 issue of Oziana (which I talk about here). I was mildly disappointed that it wasn't expanded more into an even longer story, but it still works, and I'm happy to have this.
• Dorothy ond the Wooden Soldiers of Oz by Ken Romer is a brief little tale, adapting some characters and incidents from the second Magic Land book, Oorfeen Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers, published in Russia. This is nice because the pages are big and the illustrations are simple, allowing the readers to color them. I doubt many Oz scholars will take this seriously, but I will certainly enjoy having this in my collection.
• My reread of the Oz series continues with a slight sideways excursion to Sky Island, prepping the way for Trot and Cap'n Bill to make it to Oz in my next wave of Oz reading. Unilke The Sea Fairies, this is a tightly plotted tale, with Trot, Cap'n Bill, and their new friend Button-Bright having to deal with one obstacle after another in their efforts to reach home again once they reach the titular island. I couldn't help but thinking how much easier it would have gone for the Boolooroo if he had just let them go. But he had to have his way, which led to his downfall. Much is made in this book of the appearance of Polychrome, but it's little more than a cameo, as she just comes in for a few pages to straighten things out in the Pink Country, and then she's gone again.
• That wasn't the only Baum book I got to read over the past few weeks. I was asked to be part of the proofreading team for a new book, and I was happy to look at The Maid of Arran, believed to be the first widely published edition of one of L. Frank Baum's earliest works. This was a play he wrote and starred in as a young man. It was while he was touring with The Maid of Arran that he met, wooed, and married Maud Gage, in fact. This is much more than a reprint of the play, however. It has many essays of background and analysis of the play, its part in Baum's career, the other people involved, publicity material, contemporary critiques, and even an excerpt of the novel A Princess of Thule, upon which the play was based. It is, in my opinion, the best analysis of a single work by L. Frank Baum since The Annotated Wizard of Oz. Besides the color paperback version I linked to above, it is also available in black and white and a deluxe hardcover edition.
• I finally got to read a proper Baum Oz book with Tik-Tok of Oz. Having now seen a production of the play it's based on, The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, which in turn was based on Ozma of Oz, I can certainly see the throughline from one version to the next. Yes, a lot of this retreads Ozma of Oz, but there are a lot of original elements that make it nicely Ozzy in its own right. Quox the Dragon is especially fun.
• Finally (for now), my new job has given me the financial security to take up collecting the works of Rachel R. Cosgrove again, and I managed to pick up her second book (after The Hidden Valley of Oz), Forsythia Finds Murder. She was married by this time, and so this is also the firstbook to be published under her new name of Rachel C. Payes. Forsythia Brown is a successful young New York author who, faced with a case of writer's block, heads to a resort in the Poconos to work through it. There, she meets the usual eccentrics and other characters who inhabit a novel such as this. It takes quite a while for anyone to die, but even before it happens all the players have their backgrounds and motives aired out, and it really comes as no surprise when the titular murder finally happens. Naturally Forsythia becomes a suspect, and also provides the final clue that solves the issue in the end. She even manages to find romance amid all the turmoil! Aside from being a gripping, if perhaps too pat, mystery, this shows us a window into the upper crust of New York society of sixty-some years ago. Lots of alcohol and tobacco are at the center of much of the socializing, and some characters also prove to be incorrigible gossips. It is not a book I would recommend to most Oz fans, but if you are interested in this side of a Royal Historian, you may want to track down a copy. I had hoped to read all of Rachel's book (that I don't already have) in publication order, but acquiring them all is proving to be a scavanger hunt, so i may jump around a bit.

I have lots of other books in my current Oz reading cycle, both rereads and new stories, so I'll have a few more of these entries in the coming weeks.

This Week's Oz Short Story

The penultimate story in The Little Wizard Stories of Oz is "Jack Pumpkinhead and the Sawhorse", which features Ozmas first two friends from The Marvelous Land of Oz, as you can probably surmise from the title. Ozma sends the title pair off to the wilds of the Winkie Country to rescue two lost children. When they get there, Jack finds that the local squirrels have captured the children, punishing them for getting into the squirrels' stash of nuts to ease their hunger. Yeah, these are some bad squirrels! Jack unties the children, but by the time he's done with that task all the squirrels in the area have surrounded them, not allowing any of them to leave. In the process, Jack's head gets smashed in, and the Sawhorse steps up and takes control of the situation. He has the children get Jack's body into the saddle, then takes off with his legendary speed and gets them all out of there. The Sawhorse may have a lot of horse sense (a pun I'm surprised Baum didn't use), but his sense of direction isn't so good, and the little group gets lost. Luckily the Wizard arrives with the Cowardly Lion to straighten things out. He gets the children home at last (I have a sneaking suspicion that they're not going to go off wandering into the woods any time soon), then takes Jack to his pumkin home and carves a new head.

Like the rest of The Little Wizard Stories, this is pretty simple and straightforward, as Baum and the publishers were clearly aiming them at a younger audience. Jack may not be the smartest character in Oz, but he does show sense and compassion while he still has a head. Then the Sawhorse steps up and does what he's rarely been given the chance to do in the Oz books, and becomes a hero. True, he needs the Wizard's help in the end (I would have had the Sawhorse get the kids home and head to Jack's where the Wizard can meet them and carve the head), but his quick thinking at least got everyone out of immediate danger. And I'm concerned that the squirrels didn't suffer any consequences. While I think they were actually right to guard their nuts, I think the way they went about it was way over the top, and I'll bet Ozma or the Wizard would have come up with a clever compromise solution had they been there, maybe involving a new king.

Only one more story to go, and then it's back to Oziana! (Oh, you thought I was done with that, did you?)

This Week's Oz Short Story

Yay, it's back, at least for a while! With work demands easing up a bit, I thought I'd try reviving this feature, at least for a bit so that I can finish off The Little Wizard Stories of Oz, and then take care of my latest item. More on that in a few weeks. First off, though, is "Ozma and the Little Wizard", in which the title pair head off to hlp the people of Oz. They come to a village dealing with some mischievous imps, and Ozma and the Wizard go off to confront them. Sure enough, the imps shove them around, push the Wizard into the river, and so forth. The Wizard, now an experienced magic user, manages to transform them into prickly bushes. But they can still move around and hurt people that way, so the Wizard tries transforming them into piglets and doves, but they prove to be no better. Finally, thinking to transform them into something inanimate, he transforms them into buttons. He manages to put a little extra into the spell that will cause them to change color when they decide to reform, and so the Wizard will sew them onto his jacket and keep an eye on them that way.

Like the rest of these stories, this is short asd slight and, ultimately, kind of sweet, since Baum was writing for a younger audience than the rest of the Oz books. If the story hadbeen longer, I suspect Baum would have tried transforming them into all kinds of things, but he sure gives the impression with the small number of transformations he gives them here. It's too bad Baum never got the chance to write about their ultimate penance and what happened after that (altough I seem to recall Chris Dulabone publishing a book about them).

What Ozzy Thing Am I Doing Now?

I've had to sit on this one for a while, but now it's been made public and I can share it with the world. I'm sure I must have mentioned here that I recently acquired a copy of one of L. Frank Baum's rarer and more obscure titles, Father Goose's Year Book. I wrote to Pumpernickel Pickle, reprinters of old Oz items, to see if they were interested in a reprint. Much to my surprise, Marcus, the brains behind PP called me within minutes of sending the e-mail. Oh, yeah, he was interested! There were a few hoops to jump through, but it's out now, available in a nice hardcover edition. I don't know if the informative afterward that I wrote for it, talking about Baum's career and how the whole Father Goose phenomenon fits into it, is extra incentive to buy one or a reason to pause and say, "Do I really need this?" but it is there. But proceeds go towards funding OzCon International, so plese feel free to buy two or three copies.

The Latest Oz Short Story

Continuing L. Frank Baum's The Little Wizard Stories of Oz, I've come to what is probably the most comic story of the collection, "Tiktok and the Nome King". Needing some replacement parts (so much for his one thousand year warranty), Tik-Tok heads to the Nome Kingdom to acquire them. This was probably not the best idea anyone in Oz has ever had, considering the relationship between Oz and the Nomes. In a fit of temper (not a surprise to anyone), the Nome King breaks Tik-Tok. The Nome King commands Kaliko to throw the pieces away, but Kaliko instead reassembles Tik-Tok, replacing worn springs and cracked cogs as needed. Finally whole again, Tik-Tok wanders in to see the Nome King, who thinks he's seeing a ghost! Chaos ensues, but eventually the now-remorseful Nome King learns the truth, and sends Tik-Tok back to Oz with some jewels to appease Ozma, and vows never to get angry again—unless something annoys him, of course.

It's a fun story, maybe the best in the book, but it may have to be seen as an imaginary story, as the Nome King has never been this cordial to Ozma or her subjects. There's also the matter of timing, as there's very little space between the Nome King's appearances that make sense. (Maybe this was actually Kaliko, soon after he became king in, ironically, Tik-Tok of Oz, and it was Klik, from Rinkitink in Oz, who put Tik-Tok together again.) But just the whole ghost story aspect makes this story a gem, and so I can forgive the odd character juxtaposition.

The Latest Oz Reading

I still have a big stack of magazines to get through, and the comics order is supposed to be here soon. But I did manage to slip in one little bit of Oz reading recently, that being The Wonderful Mother of Oz by Sally Roesch Wagner, a publication of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation. I probably don't need to tell most of you that Matilda was L. Frank Baum's mother-in-law, but in cae you didn't know that, this pamphlet talks about them (and Maud Gage Baum, her daughter and his wife, of course). Matilda proved to be a huge influence on Baum, and their relationship was not the stereotypical antagonistic one between a strong woman and her possibly henpecked son-in-law. There's nothing really new or revelatory in here for most Oz readers, but I don't think we're necessarily who this is aimed at anyway. So, a pleasant little non-fiction read, extremely affordable, and if you buy a copy, the proceeds go to a worthy cause as well.

The Latest Oz Reading

I just finished Sam Steele's Adventures: The Treasure of Karnak by L. Frank Baum (originally published as The Boy Fortune Hunters in Egypt by "Floyd Akers") just moments ago. It was, like most of Baum's other juvenile adventure books, pretty American-centric. Sam and the boys come in and steal treasures from Egypt! Their justification is that no "true" Egyptians rule there now, so they may as well take it instead. I'm glad that attitudes have become somewhat more enlightened since then. But yes, lots of adventures, lots of treasure, lots of good guys and bad guys and the like. Since Laura and I have also been slowly getting through The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, I could very well see Indy and Sam Steele meeting up; however, Sam would be the bad guy, trying to steel the treasure that Indy is trying to learn about and preserve!

The highlight of this book for me, however (besides the chance to own and read an L. Frank Baum book I didn't have before) is the extra materials. Hungry Tiger Press always does well with the extras, but this one is extraordinary. The introduction is by noted Egyptologist (and my friend and roommate at the 2000 Oz Centennial Convention) David Moyer, who tells us just what Baum got wrong in the book. After the main story is Maud Baum's account of her trip to Egypt with Frank in 1906 (as published in In Other Lands Than Ours), just two years before this books publication. One can tell that Frank looked back at Maud's letters for some of the descriptions. I'd read this before, but it was good to read it again in context.

The Latest Oz Reading

Yup, I've hit my next cycle of Oz reading. So let's take a look:

• The Wizard of Oz: A Scanimation Book by Rufus Butler Seder. Not much to tell about this one: You open the book, wave the page in front of your eyes a little bit, and pictures from The Movie appear to move. Some of them are mildly clever, and fun if you move the page really fast, but overall not one you need, unless you're a big fan of The Movie.
  
• My classic read this time around was The Enchanted Island of Yew by L. Frank Baum. I had another book in mind originally, but I had a thought for a paper about this book and a deadline sort of looming, so I thought I'd better take a look at this. Yup, much of what I thought was confirmed, but mostly in the opening and closing chapters. The story itself is a lot of fun, even if it does read like a series of short stories rather than a unified whole story. I couldn't help thinking that many of Prince Marvel's adventures could make for a fun British pantomime. And that's one thing that really struck me about this book is the humor. There's a lot more silly stuff going on here than I remember.
  
• And of course the comics came. Pretty light for Oz stuff this month, however, including no Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz. The first "Oz" comic was Fables #113, but there's still no resolution to Blufkin's cliffhanger and no return to Oz, so what's the point? (Fortunately, it looks like that will take care of itself in the next issue.) The other Oz comic was The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West #2. Dorothy's now found all of her friends, and the wicked witch is now on her trail. The next issue box promises Kalidahs! This is a very freeform adaptation, as it doesn't much follow the structure of the story at all, but I am enjoying this take. Dorothy as a cowgirl sure has a lot of moxie!
  

And that's all for now. But there will be some more soon, never fear!

Happy birthday L. Frank Baum!

Yes, on this day, May 15, in the year 1856, L. Frank Baum was born. Forty-four years later, his first novel, a little thing called The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was published, and the rest, as they say, is history. I hadn't originally planned a special post for today, unlike some Oz bloggers, just because I didn't have anything to say. In fact, I still don't. But my friend Bully, the little stuffed bull (and his pet human John), who blogs about comics, had a very cool post to celebrate today. So, go read it! And I'm happy to say I have all of those comics!

How are you going to celebrate this weekend?

I've been meaning to pass along this message for a while now, and a recent re-send has spurred me to finally do so. This is from Jane Albright, one of the leaders of the International Wizard of Oz Club and a pretty darned good Oz fan to know. She's also coordinating events for the National Oz Convention this summer at the site of the old Wizard of Oz theme park near Banner Elk, North Carolina. So, take it away, Jane!

This weekend, please take your photo, showing something of your personal Oz interests, and send it to IWOCEvent@aol.com. The Oz Club's Banner Elk event this summer will be celebrating Oz fans — not just IWOC members or those fans whose names we all know, but all Oz fans — so we need to put together a look at...all of us! That includes you.

Think about "Oz fans" for a minute ... we have favorite collectibles, create our own artwork, wear sparkling red sneakers, and train our little dogs, too. We unpack cookie jars we got on eBay, produce our own Oz films, blog our Ozzy wisdom, travel great lengths to see our Munchkin friends, and appear in costume as favorite characters. Love of Oz leads us to organize events, write stories, loan materials to displays, plant poppies, sing, dance, solder and sew. With one thing in common — Oz — we are no two fans alike. Yet collectively we are the fans of Oz.

Consider this weekend is "A Day in the Life of Oz." Grab your air brushed Oz jacket, stand in front of your Oz collection, or sit down on that Yellow Brick path in your garden and get photographed. And if you're around other fans, get a picture of them, too. It's L. Frank Baum's birthday; let's make him proud.

Send photos to IWOCEvent@aol.com before the end of June to be sure you corner of Oz is part of the big picture.

What Jane failed to mention in there is the actual date, so I'll add it: May 15. That's this coming Sunday and, as she mentioned, L. Frank Baum's birthday. I have some thoughts about what I will do that day...

Happy birthday, L. Frank Baum

Today, were he alive, L.Frank Baum would be 154 years old. To celebrate, Jared Davis put together a celebratory podcast of a reading of Baum's short story, "Aunt Phroney's Boy". I have a very small part at the end (so small I wonder why Jared even mentions me in the credits), but I'm pleased as punch that I thought of my fellow Oogaboo and Queen Ann in Oz co-author Karyl Carlson to play Aunt Phroney when Jared couldn't find any other leading lady. I got the two of them together, and... Well, you can listen to the results for yourself right here.

The latest Oz reading

I was pleasantly surprised with the latest comics order, as it had both The Marvelous Land of Oz comic #1 from Marvel, and Alex Robinson's graphic novel adaptation of A Kidnapped Santa Claus.

First up, The Marvelous Land of Oz #1 picks up where the Eric Shanower/Skottie Young adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz left off. In this issue we meet Tip and Mombi, Jack Pumpkinhead comes to life, and Tip and Jack run away. I got all three covers, and they're all great. Tip is exuberant and feisty, as he should be, Mombi is creepy and sinister, as she should be, and Jack has one of the most expressive fixed pumpkin faces I've ever seen from the character. I'm looking forward to seven more issues of the same.

A Kidnapped Santa Claus is an adaptation of the short story of the same name by L. Frank Baum, and it is a fun little romp. Alex Robinson introduces a few modern twists, such as Wisk's crush on Kilter, Mrs. Claus and her famous Christmas cookies, and some updated language, but in general this is a straightforward retelling of the story. Robinson's art style is clean and looks great in black and white, and he has some different interpretations of the looks of some of the characters that work very well, in my opinion. I enjoyed this trip to the Laughing Valley, and other Baum fans probably will, too.

The latest Oz reading

I just finished my reading of Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz last night, and I'm still very impressed with this book. It's not just that this book has all of the 1904-05 Sunday comics pages in it — both Baum's and Denslow's — in their original forms and with the original artwork. It's not just that the comics are in color. It's that it has all that — for the first time — in their original sizes as well. It's not quite the largest Oz book I now own in area, but it's pretty close. I've already read the stories before, a few times, so this was just a cursory reading, especially the background material on Baum, Denslow, Walt McDougall, Oz comics. The John R. Neill material was also a nice bonus, but now I want a collection of "The Little Journeys of Nip and Tuck"! Any fan of Oz or L. Frank Baum who can afford this book should get it. We've needed this for years, and now the technology is available for it to actually happen. The only additions I would have made would be the original headers from the Philadelphia North American, which I gather were also Ozzy and drawn by McDougall, and Denslow's Father Goose comic pages, of which I gather there were only two. So get this book. The price tag may scare some collectors off, but it's worth it to get this material all in one collection.

More birthday blogs

I just couldn't get through this day without pointing out two more 152nd birthday blog posts. First up is Jared Davis's tribute, complete with two-year-old celebratory video. The second is Michael-sensei's newly discovered Oz comics in Japan post. (I have got to get that man a copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz so that he can find out how the book differs from the movie!)

Baum birthday bash with Bully!

Today (well, tomorrow, as I type this), May 15, 2008, is the 152nd birthday of L. Frank Baum, the creator of Oz—and also the official 108th birthday of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, come to think of it. I have no post for you about it, however, so I'll just let my friend and fellow blogger, Bully, do the honors today. Go take a look at his post for today and enjoy. It makes me want to break out the Oz/Wonderland War trilogy and reread it myself. Why wasn't this included as part of the Showcase Presents: Captain Carrot collection?

Happy birthday, L. Frank Baum

Were he alive today, L. Frank Baum would be trying to blow 151 candles on his cake today. (That would have to be a big cake.) Today is also the 107th anniversary of the publication of his most famous book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Oz in Jeopardy! yet again

I've seen lots of Oz clues on Jeopardy! before, but I'm not sure I've ever seen quite so many! On tonight's show, when the Double Jeopardy! category "Literature of the 19-Oughts" was revealed, I have a feeling Oz would pop up. Sure enough, the $400 clue at the top was:

Martin, the challenger on the far right, correctly responded with, "Who is Baum?" and Alex confirmed, "Yes, Frank Baum."