Oz Comics Deconstructed

Over on his blog, Dan Piraro talks about yesterday's Ozzy edition of his comic Bizarro. More Ozzy fun comes in the title header, a portion of another Oz cartoon from 2009 (which I probably blogged back in the day).

The Latest Oz Reading

Yes, I've gotten through all of those boring non-Oz things that I regress into at times and got started on my latest cycle of Oz reading this weekend! This time, I started with the program book for this year's OzCon International, AKA the 51st Winkie Convention. As in the past, I was too busy this year to actually sit down and read it during the con itself, so I saved it for later. Unlike previous years, I got around to reading it not long after the convention! It has some interesting reminiscences about the Scarecrow and The Scarecrow of Oz, since that book is being celebrated this year for its one hundredth birthday. If you attended the convention you also probably knew it's the thirtieth anniversary of Return to Oz this year as well. In fact, if you attended the convention you may not have known that it was the anniversary of anything else! So if you were wondering where the celebrations were for the anniversaries of The Wiz on Broadway or the novel Wicked, the program book was the place to look, as there were essays in there, as well as a vintage interview with the late Geoffrey Holder, director and costume designer of The Wiz. There's also plenty of photos and advertising art for Return to Oz. All in all, another successful book complementing the convention. It sure has given me a lot to think about, as I'm co-chairing next year's convention, and so I'd better figure out what needs to be in it!

Today's OTHER Oz Comics!

When it rains, it pours!

• After finding the other two earlier today, I had a hunch that there might be more in my newspaper. But I thought that would be silly, as there's no way there would be three Oz comics in one day. How wrong I was! One Big Happy came through with a possible real world encounter with an Oz character. (This one reminds me a bit of some of the problems Elphaba had in the original novel version of Wicked.
• Then my man in Japan, Michael-sensei, came through with two more published yesterday. Could Chuckle Brothers be a possible alternate version of the excellent (and soon-to-return) comic book, The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West?
• And finally, in one of his editorial cartoons, Mike Peters pokes fun at some recent comments by John Kasich, Ohio governor and one of the roughly 3,926 people running for the Republican nomination for President. (As a teacher myself, I can tell Mr. Kasich that if he got his way, then the nearest bar would then become the de facto teachers lounge!)

Today's Oz Comics

Yes, folks, you read that right, today is another two-fer!

• First, in Bizarro, we see some of the hazards of flying when there are no monkeys involved. (Dorothy, at least, could have used her shoes.)
• And over in Adam@Home, Katy invokes a particularly familiar mantra to keep summer going just a little bit longer.

The Latest Oz Short Story

My attempt to read a short story every weekend continues, this time with the next one from I Didn't Quite Make It to Oz, "Over Oz" by Zoanne Leavy. This one was rejected for three reasons. The first two, that it was long and dark, we've seen before, but the third is interesting, in that the editor was familiar with Leavy's work, and therefore knew she could do better. Selina Rosen admits that, had the same story come from a writer whose work she wasn't as familiar with, it may have made the main collection. Ah, but what of the story itself? Of course, once Dorothy gets back from Az everyone thinks she's nuts, so she learns to keep it quiet as she grows up, goes to business school, and becomes a secretary. Once Aunt Em and Uncle Henry die and she inherits the farm, however, things get a little more complicated in her life. This one is probably set in the aftermath of The Movie (provided the year was 1939-ish in The Movie), as it's a lot easier for Dorothy to strike out on her own, and it just seems more modern.

And after reading all of the last book and most of this one, I can see that one of the big problems Rosen might have is that the premise is too limiting. There are only so many things a writer can do with, "Dorothy is back in Kansas and wants to go back to Oz." This may be why she got so many dark submissions about Dorothy being, or at least labelled as, crazy.

Today's Oz Comic

Well, I guess the final appeals ran out on the Witch in today's edition of The Argyle Sweater.

The Latest Oz Short Story

"Pins and Needles" by Melinda LeFevers was rejected from the main book and relegated to I Didn't Quite Make It to Oz for a number of reasons. It was long-ish, and the story was on the border with a writer without a proven track record, but maybe the biggest reason is that Dorothy didn't actually want to go back to Oz, which was the book's main theme. It is, however, a charming little story, and I'm glad that it found a home so that people can read it. Dorothy, having received the latest news from Oz through her mirror (a clever way to start the story), finds out that the Scarecrow is suffering from a mysterious malady and the Tin Woodman is under arrest, suspected of doing the deed. Dorothy figures out right away what's happened and finds her way back to Oz to help her friends. A nice bonus is Ozma getting a name check, so LeFevers knows more than just the original book and its most famous film adaptation.

The Latest Oz Comic Book

Strictly speaking, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency #2 is not an Oz comic. But if you know anything about Dirk, you know how odd things can unexpectedly flit in and out of his life. So it should come as no surprise that, while leading a spontaneous walking tour around San Diego*, Dirk leads them to the famous Hotel Del Coronado and mentions that L. Frank Baum once threw a legendary party in room 3502 for the movie Munchkins. Oh, yeah, not a word of that is true, but L. Frank Baum got a name check! That's pretty cool, isn't it? It's especially cool if you are aware of Frank's connections to the Del.

* (Hey, it can happen, especially if you're Dirk!)

Today's Oz Political Cartoon

My man in Japan, Michael-sensei, found another cartoon about Hilary Clinton, this one by Randy Bish. I suspect we're going to see a lot more based on the same basic premise over the next fifteen months. (We have got to figure out a way to shorten the election cycle in this country!)

Today's Oz Comic

I think some of its roots are showing in today's Wizard of Id. (But we all know the Tin Woodman doesn't actually eat, right?)

Today's Oz Comics

Another two-fer!

• First, over in The Wizard of Id*, it looks like Highboy has come for a visit. (If you don't know who Highboy is, you really need to read The Giant Horse of Oz).
• Savage Chickens has a much more straightforward Ozzy tilt today. Yes, that would be a problem for the Wicked Witch, wouldn't it?

* It is extremely difficult for someone who types "The Wizard of Oz" as often as I do to have to switch gears at the end and change the name to Id!**

** Yes, this is definitiely one of those first world problems you hear tell about.

The Latest Oz Short Story

Another one from I Didn't Quite Make It to Oz, stories rejected from another anthology. Like the previous story, "Free Dorothy" by Jimmy Holloman was rejected because it's a dark story centered around a Dorothy everyone thinks is crazy in an asylum, being evaluated by a psychiatrist. The original anthology had a couple of those already. Unlike the previous story, this one was short—very short! The editor didn't want stories that short, but allowed one into the original collection because it was funny, and the book needed some funny stories. This one was just short and dark. But it does have a nice twist that wasn't in the other, similar stories: What happens when the doctor finds out Dorothy isn't crazy? (One other bit: Holloman also drew the book's cover!)

Today's Oz Comic

Today in Rubes, I think a couple of different late-1930s movie witches are getting conflated here. But it works. (Did I mention that The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West will be back soon?)

The Latest Oz Comic Book

Yes, the new comics order is in! Not a lot that's Ozzy, so I'll just jump in with the first thing I read, Oz: Reign of the Witch Queen #3 from Zenescope. Queen Dorothy and the gang realize they've been letting Warlord dictate how the war unfolds for too long, and decide to take the next battle to him. And the issue ends with them trying to spring the trap on him. But the first two-thirds or so was just an awful lot of talking. There are some good ideas here, but it really isn't anywhere near the real Oz, so it just doesn't even register much for me. Heck, I'd completely forgotten about one of the few characters introduced in earlier issues who is about the only nod to the later books, a wily nome named Rho'kat. Oh, well, we're halfway through this series, which should be the last from Zenescope (their Oz has long been billed as a trilogy), so it will likely be over pretty soon. By then, it looks like The Legends of Oz: The Wicked West may be up and running again, which is excellent news!

Today's Oz Comic

My man in Japan, Michael-sensei, comes through again with another episode of Pop Culture Shock Therapy. In this outing, The Wizard of Oz crosses with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. (That is supposed to be Jack Nicholson's character, Murphy, on stage, right?)

Today's Oz Political Cartoon

My man in Japan, Michael-sensei, found another one, this one of a more political bent. I think it's fair to say that Glenn Foden is not a fan of Hilary Clinton (or at least her perceived inevitability). As usual, I remind my readers that all political cartoons presented in this blog are for Oz content only, and represent neither endorsement nor mockery of any political, social, economic, or other views.

The Latest Oz Short Story

I know, I know, I was going to put this off for a while. But I couldn't resist, and bought a copy of I Didn't Quite Make It to Oz, the companion volume to the last set of short stories I read, I Should Have Stayed in Oz. This second volume is the stories that were rejected for the first one, but for various reasons were not accepted. I Didn't Quite Make It to Oz started off life as an e-book, which is perfect for this sort of thing, but for whatever reason it was decided to also put out a print edition. The book starts off with an introduction by editor Selina Rosen about the many reasons as to why a story may be rejected. Some are pretty obvious, like not following the guidelines or just being a jerk (although Rosen doesn't say it as nicely as that). Then there are the more esoteric ones, like there just not being enough room in the book and something has to go. Rosen also prefaces each story with the particulars as to why it was rejected, and in the case of "Dorothy Flies the Coop" by Dion Mayes-Burnett, it was that there was another story about a grown-up Dorothy in an asylum, and as the other story was by a more established author, his name would probably sell more copies. (Rosen makes it very clear that publishing is still a business, and she still has to keep an eye on the bottom line!) Mayes-Burnett's sees Dorothy about to turn eighteen and ready to leave the asylum, but a doctor with an axe to grind and a point to make sabotages her final examination and won't let her go home to Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. It's a good thing Dorothy's friends have an alternate way for her to get out! Extra kudos to Mayes-Burnett for making Dorothy's famous footwear silver shoes. She also does a pretty good job of creating the new characters Dorothy meets and giving them personalities, but her Dorothy ends up being a bit of a cipher as a result. Still, it was a fun read, and I'm glad Rosen found a way to get this one out to readers.

More Oz Comics

My Man in Japan, Michael-sensei, has found two more Oz comics for our reading pleasure and amusement:

• First, the inevitable lion hunting cartoon, courtesy of editorial cartoonist Steve Kelley.
• Second, a day in the life of a tin teenager, in today's Break of Day.

Today's Oz Comics

No, that's not a typo. This is one of those rare days when we get a double dose of Ozziness in the funny strips.

• First, in Bizarro, all I will add is that those are some extremely talented ducks!
• Then, in Over the Hedge, we get a glimpse of the avian gender bender theatrical community.

Today's Oz Comic

I'm not sure why the Scarecrow is even using a hair dryer in today's Rubes, but it does appear to have unintended consequences.

Wicked Cosplay in Tampa

I'm at the Oz convention in San Diego this wekend (hey, how come you're not here?), and I'll be hosting the costume contest this afternoon. I wonder, however, if I'll see any as spectacularly authentic as what Jen over at Epbot saw last weekend at Tampa's Fanboy Expo. It sounds like the con itself was pretty badly handled, but as you go through the report and the cosplay photos she took, you'll see that that didn't stop the enthusiasm. And then you get towards the end and the whole reason I'm telling you about it here...