Today's Oz Comic

Today's edition of Pearls Before Swine makes an interesting revelation about a character that ties in with a character first introduced in the Oz books in 1931. Which raises the question, has Pearls Before Swine actually been an Oz comic this whole time???

Today's Oz Comic

It's tax time again! And in today's Bizarro, we see how that affects one Oz character in particular.

The Latest Oz Short Story

One of the perks of being a teacher is the breaks. And since this is my spring break, I already read the next story from the 2024 edition of Oziana so I can share it with you early. "A Tenebrous Tower in Oz" is by D. J. Tyrer with illustrations by Chris Diket, and is about an adventure the Tin Woodman had not long after becoming the Emperor of the Winkies. Nick Chopper receives reports of a dark tower near the Oogaboo mountains that is freaking people out. He goes to investigate, and meets up with Zim Zalah, a wooden man who claims to be an explorer, along the way. They get there, and enter. They don't find much at first, but some mysterious three-legged creatures seem to be caretakers. Zim Zalah claims that the tower contains great power, and then claims it for himsolf and his creator, the Wicked Witch of the West! Zim believes he can use the towor's power to resurrect the Wicked Witch. Reluctantly, Nick uses his ax on Zim Zalah to stoop him. The tower dissipates, and all is right again. It's a nice little adventure, even if we don't get a clear picture of the nature of the tower, and it's unusual to see one of the Oz celebrities on a solo adventure. Zim Zalah is an interesting character who hides his true nature well before he reveals his true allegiance. A series of stories about the Tin Woodman cleaning up after the Wicked Witch in the early days of his reign might make for some interesting tales.

The Latest Oz Short Story

The next story from the 2024 edition of Oziana is "Hope Melts Eternal" by Suren Oganessian, with illustrations by Mel Vavaroutsos. This tells the story of a pivotal portion of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the point of view of Lan, the assistant to the ruler he calls the Wise Woman of the West, and he does not take at all kindly to anyone who calls her the Wicked Witch of the West! He and his brother, Arook, are two of the only Winkies who are actually loyal to her, and work for her of their own free will. So naturally, as soon as the Wizard and the Wicked Witch of the South, Glinda, send the assassin Dorothy into Winkie Country, things start to go wrong. Lan and Arook are two of the dozen soldiers who try to destroy Dorothy and her accomplices, but they are frightened off by the Lion. At one point, after she is captured, Lan interrogates Dorothy and tries to find out why she is the cunning mastermind that she is, and has his view of her shaken up. But after she liquidates the Wise Woman, he realizes that she is just a clever actress, and he and Arook decide it would be best to leve Winkie Country before any of the freed slaves realize where their loyalties actually lie — and that's where things end, although it's implied that both men would take up with other would-be conquerors of Oz later. That might make for an interesting series, seeing the operations of General Jinjur or Ugu the Shoemake from the inside. It makes sense that even someone like the Wicked Witch would have her followers, and their own point of view. If we've learned anything from Wicked, it's that the nature of good and evil is not so cut and dried.

Oz Comics Weekend Roundup

There were three this past weekend, one in the comics I least expected to ever post about here:

• Saturday, Strange Brew had this strakly simple one.
• Sunday had two. One was this episode of In the Bleachers, which just goes to show that you should always listen to your caddy.
• The big surprise was yesterday's edition of The Lockhorns, a comic that seems so far from Oz. Nevertheless, they snuck an Oz reference into the upper left panel.

Oz in Jeopardy!

All kinds of technical issues, plus just plain time, make this former regular series of posts here a challenge. But now that Jeopardy! is posting Final Jeopardy! on YouTube, I can revive it every once in a while when something like this happens:

The Latest Oz Short Story

Ooh, it's time for another tale from the 2024 edition of Oziana. This time it's "The Wicked Witch of the West" by Kathleen Murphey, illustrated with pictures by W. W. Denslow from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It's a pretty simple, straightforward retelling of a portion of Dorothy's initial trip to Oz, told from her own point of view. It opens with her first meeting with the Wizard, as a giant head, and conclusdes with the immediate aftermath of the liquidation of the Wicked Witch of the West. There isn't a lot of variation from the book, although Murphey adds a few Winkie slaves who befriend and assist Dorothy in the Witch's castle. We also get new names for some of the other witches ("Nana North" for the Good Witch of the North, and "Elvira East" of the Wicked Witch of the East). This story doesn't really add much, but it is another perspective on familiar events.

Today's Oz Comic

Hmm, it kind of seems a waste to publish this particular installment of The Argyle Sweater on a Sunday, when you can use a lot more colors. But hey, it's a choice, I guess.

The Not-So-Latest Oz Comic

Reality Check is not one of my regular comics, so my thanks to my man in Japan, Michael-sensei, for discovering this episode of the comic which probably would have been more appropriate for Halloween than Pi Day.

The Latest Oz Comic

Well, an appearance by Oz characters, at least, in today's edition of Pickles.

The Latest Oz Short Story

Oh, hey, it's time to do some of these again! Well i did just get the 2024 edition of Oziana, the annual literary magazine of the International Wizard of Oz Club, so there's new material to write about. This issue is about the early history of Oz, and the first story is "A Green Fix" by Kelsey G. Kappel, with illustrations by Anna-Maria Cool. Ozana Ozina is a contractor from the Winkie Country looking to score a major project in creating a roadway to the Emerald City. Her unique take earns her the job, but in the end it turns out the bricks she are using are not what the people of the Emerald City expected. It's too late to change it, so what to do? It's a short but clover story that explains not only the origin of the yellow brick road, but also an early characteristic of the Emerald City. And it shows just how packed a very short story can be.

Today's Vintage Oz Comic

Today, thefarside.com ran this vintage and very Ozzy cartoon.

Today's Oz Comics Roundup

I've fallen a little behind, so here's me catching up.

• I think this edition of CowTown is a rerun. But it's still Ozzy, of course.
• And today in Over the Hedge, the eternal song debate rears its head. Since I don't even think they got the best Beatles song into it (come on, it's "Eleanor Rigby"), the other one must be the best by default.

Today's Ozzish Comic

This may actually be one of the least Ozzy comics I've ever posted. But in today's edition of Gasoline Alley, Walt and guest stars Mutt and Jeff are on their way to the Old Comics Home. So I have no idea why Jeff says what he says in the first panel, but it does have a familiar ring to it.

Today's Oz Comics

Yes, I said comics! Because there were two today.

• First up, The Argyle Sweater swaps out one character for a very interestnig and unusual crossover.
• Second up, Close to Home deals with one character's lack of an organ in perhaps a more realistic way than the Wizard just handing it to him.

Oz Comics Roundup

Yeah, I've fallen a little behind. So here we go!

• On February 7, Thatababy paid this tribute to one Oz fan. No, there's not actually anything Ozzy in it, but Lynch used so much Oz imagery (especially in Wild at Heart), and a documentary was made about his love of The Wiard of Oz that I felt this was appropriate.
• There's no money in Oz? Not according to the February 9 edition of Frank and Ernest. Warning: Puns abound. So it's Ozzy in that way, too.

Today's Oz Comic

Many, many, many years ago, I ran a short-lived newsletter called Computerozzed, all about the then-new home computer phenomenon and using them for Ozzy purposes. (Yes, it was very niche! I think I put out two whole issues.) One cartoon I created was Denslow's illustration of the Wizard giving the Scarecrow a brain, but doctored to show the then-new Macintosh computer in the Wizard's hand. I think today's edition of Eek! is the early-twenty-first century successor to that long-ago comic.

Today's Oz Comic

Well this is a different take on what happened to Dorothy after The Wizard of Oz in today's edition of Cornered…

Today's Oz Comic

Today in Non Sequitur, Dorothy has her suspicions confirmed.

This Week's Oz Political Cartoon

Here's one from Monte Wolverton about whateer the latest thing bugging Elon Musk is. (I am so glad I never even got started on Twitter…)