And we are finally up to the first story of the 2001 issue of Oziana—because it's Oziana's first cliffhanger! It's even called "An Oz Cliffhanger, Part 1". Gina Wickwar wrote this story in part to spur interest in the next issue of Oziana. It kind of backfired, however, when the 2001 issue kept getting delayed, and it finally arrived at the same time as the 2002 issue. Oh, well. Anyway, on to the story! Troy and Cap'n Bill go for a row down the Winkie River, looking for an adventure. They meet up with Ding-a-Ling, a clockadial (Trot mistakes him for an alligator at first), and Boo-Koo, a cuckoo who can keep time. They all go ashore and explore some mountains, where they meet some hibernating polar bears. Naturally, the clock-based animals end up waking them up, and the bears chase our friends off a cliff. Cap'n Bill ends up hooked on a branch, the others are hanging onto him—and that's it! Wickwar left us all hanging with a literal cliffhanger!
Want to know what happens next? Well, guess what my story is going to be next week?
A handful of other extras to mention from this issue are Oziana's first ever color cover, a study of several characters by Marcus Mébès; a pair of dancing Emerald Citizens by Melody Grandy; and John R. Neill's illustration of Randy and Planetty picking items from the trees in the Box Wood from The Silver Princess in Oz, newly colored by Mébès.
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