Those darned LOL cats in Oz

Aaron Adelman sent me a few more LOLcats, including one he put his own caption on.

First off, here are some new takes on the Lollipop Guild here, here, and here.

Second, could this have happened if Dorothy took Eureka instead of Toto on that famous first trip to Oz?

And finally, Aaron provides the caption for this news picture. Yes, only a true-green dyed-in-the-wool Ozzy would think of that one, but it is good!

Today's Oz comic

It seems the flu-induced trip to Oz is reaching its end in today's Full Frontal Nerdity. (And no, I don't quite get everything they're saying there, either, but at least I got the general gist. Oh, and I'm not sure all of those Chinese dish names are quite safe for work or sensitive family members...)

Today's Oz comic

It seems last week's Full Frontal Nerdity was just the start of an arc, because this week's edition picks up where they left off. Sweet! And don't worry if you don't get all of the gaming references. I don't either!

The latest Oz reading

I finally got around to reading The Return of Oz by Daniel H. Sundstrom. For such a short little book, it was really hard to read! First off, this goes where I don't think any Oz book should go: Movie territory. Yes, it's a sequel to the famous MGM movie version — and not a very good one, either. Dorothy's daughter, Emily, has been hearing her mother's tales of Oz all her life. So when she finds a pair of ruby slippers in the attic, she has to try them on, and the next thing she knows she's in Oz helping the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion defeat the Witch of the South. Further throwing things askew is a character called "the profesor," who is clearly meant to be both Professor Marvel and the humbug wizard from The Movie. He helps them out, but it turns out there was a real Wizard of Oz, the rightful ruler of Oz. Oy...

In his author note on the back cover, Sundstrom claims to have researched Baum's early works and incorporated them into this book, but he's extremely circumspect about it. There are a few tiny nods here and there, and an unnamed magic land that Dorothy visits at one point is most likely Mo. Also, somehow Glinda has a sister in the south, who sure sounds like the Glinda of the books, but she isn't given a name. This was just a patchwork hodgepodge of little incidents, it comes to no real resolution (leaving things open to a sequel, I imagine), the Witch of the South is defeated all too easily, there's no strong characterization or growth, the dialog is dull, and the author needs more practice in the general conventions of writing, or at least needs a good copy editor. Most Oz fans can give this one a pass and not miss much of anything at all.

Oz in Jeopardy! calendar edition

My Jeopardy! daily calendar has this clue today, in the category Pets in Fiction:

A CLASSIC 1900 BOOK
SAYS HE "WAS NOT GRAY;
HE WAS A LITTLE BLACK DOG,
WITH LONG, SILKY HAIR"

Turn the page over to see the correct response, and of course it says, "WHO IS TOTO?"

I Can Goze to Oz Now?

If that title means anything to you, then you're familiar with the phenomenon of LOLcats. Well, thanks to Aaron Adelman, we now have a couple of Oz ones to share with you. So go ahead and take a look here and here (admittedly, that last one is only slightly tangentially Ozzy, but it's still fun). Thanks, Aaron!

The latest Oz reading

Also in our latest comics order was The Marvelous Land of Oz #2, continuing Eric Shanower and Skottie Young's bets-selling adaptation of the Oz books. This one's pretty straightforward: It covers the original novel from the awakening of the Sawhorse to one of the funniest incidents in all of the Oz books, Jack Pumpkinhead meeting the Scarecrow and the ensuing confusion when Jellia Jamb has to come in and translate. It's still a fun read, and I still like Young's artwork, even if it's not quite what some people think Oz should look like. I especially liked his take on the Scarecrow on his throne, almost buried by a huge crown and green goggles. There's also something very appealing in his version of the Sawhorse.

Oz in the comics

No, this is not a daily comic strip, but a reference to the latest appearance of my favorite new superheroine, Cyclone. In JSA All-Stars #2, the villains are making Oz cracks about her! Here's the set-up (which shouldn't contain spoilers): Cyclone, wearing her green dress and red-and-white-striped socks and with her long red hair flying around her head, is zapping a couple of bad guys with little mini-tornadoes. Here's the dialogue:

Villain #1: Who are you supposed to be?
Villain #2: I know, right? It's like Billie Burke put on Margaret Hamilton's costume by mistake."
Villain #1: Nobody gets your pretentious references, [Villain #2].
Cyclone: I got it.
Villain #2: Shut up, kid. I'm going to kill you now. Doesn't matter what you're wearing when you're dead.

Needless to say, Cyclone doesn't die, but beyond that, I won't say any more so as not to spoil the story.

I really like this character! It doesn't hurt that she's also the granddaughter of one of my wife's all-time favorite characters, the original Golden Age Red Tornado, Ma Hunkel.

Today's Oz comic

When you combine the flu, hardcore gamers, and a beloved movie that turns seventy-one this year, you get today's edition of Full Frontal Nerdity! (Honestly, this niche webcomic would be one of the last comics I'd expect to see an Oz reference in, which just goes to show you how much I know about the versatility of Oz...)

The latest Oz reading

I just finished two more books over the weekend.

First was The Widow of Oz by Kathryn Lasky Knight. Other than the name, there is very little Oz content to it, and I won't recommend it to most Oz fans. But I did enjoy it as a different kind of book than what I usually read. Dorothy Silver (guess what literary heroine she was named after?) has just become a widow, and the book is about the aftermath, and how she copes and manages to get on with her life. She's very resilient and resourceful, and I couldn't help thinking as I read it that it might make for an interesting little slice-of-life television series. My only real gripe is that it just seems to end, there's no real resolution of any sort.

Then last night, I also got to read the latest graphic novel retelling of The Wizard of Oz. First off, it's based on the book! The shoes are silver, there are two good witches, and a lot of incidents come straight from the novel. However, because this book is aimed at a younger audience, and they compressed the whole story into fifty-some pages, a lot of it was abbreviated. There were some clever ways of doing this, however, such as the Winged Monkeys taking Dorothy and friends straight from the Emerald City to Glinda. I was completely won over by Jorge Break's art. It's original without being too avant-garde, with a definite manga influence, but it all still looks very Ozzy. This is also one of the most colorful Oz adaptations I've seen in a while. And a big plus for those of us used to John R. Neill's version of Dorothy from the books: she's blonde! I gather this is Break's first major American publication (he's already well established in Mexico), and I hope we get to see more.

Oz in Jeopardy!

Remember the post about a week and a half ago where I promised a new Jeopardy! clue? Well, I'm sorry to say that time got away from me and I'm a little behind, but now it's here! On the show for December 30, 2009 in the Jeopardy! round category of Broadway Musicals, the $800 clue was:

Jessica, at the right-hand lectern, rang in first and correctly responded with, "What is Wicked?" She went on to win the game.

But wait, it gets better! Two days later, on New Year's Day — in fact, the very first clue of the year 2010 — we got this $200 clue in the category Name The Film:



Jessica was still champion, but Neel, at the center lectern, rang in first and gave the correct response of, "What is The Wizard of Oz?" He went on to win the game, which goes to show that it really pays off to know your Oz trivia.