Today's Oz Video Review

Yes, I can do more on this blog than find comics! Things have been hectic lately, however, so I've been putting stuff aside until I can devote b-more time to them (so yes, some comic book overviews, book reviews, and Jeopardy! clues are on the way). But I had a little spare time last night, and thought I'd watch one of my most recent video acquisitions, Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Brick Road. Yes, this is a compilation of two episodes of Strawberry Shortcake's eponymous cartoon series (and this is the 2003 reboot, not the current CGI version of the show). It's a pretty straightforward kiddified adaptation of the book, and kudos to Strawb and her writers for having her read the story from the book, and even giving L. Frank Baum a name check (even correctly pronounced!). Strawb and Pupcake are whisked off to Oz, of course, where they knock the witch out of the shoes and into her dungeon. The story pretty much progresses as normal from there for a while, with Pupcake providing some bridging narration to move things along (hey, it's only a half-hour cartoon). Once they get close to the Emerald City, however, the witch, having gotten out of her dungeon, comes after them, and whisks the crew to an old forest. More adventures, and a clever and original way to defeat the witch before everyone gets back to the Emerald City (which looks really nice and Ozzy, I will add, although with a few too many yellow highlights). Glinda comes in, Strawb clicks her heels, and we're done — with the first half! It turns out there is an original sequel story in here as well, about glowing gemberries that are disappearing. Glinda sends a dragonfly to fetch Strawb and bring her back to Oz to help with the problem.

It's all very cute and girly (the DVD even comes in a bright neon pink case), and it actually has some very positive Girl Power messages. I am, therefore, clearly not the demographic they're marketing this towards! But it was a harmless, fun version of Oz and certainly not the worst way I've spent an hour.

The Latest Oz Reading

I may not have said a lot about what I'm reading lately, but I have been reading. So here's the latest recap of all kinds of Oz and related works I've read recently:

• My weekends have become clearer (although still way too busy) recently, so I'm back to reading a short story from Oz Reimagined. First was "One Flew Over the Rainbow" by Robin Wasserman. As you can guess from the title, this one is set in an asylum, where three inmates help Dorothy escape. This ine just felt like an excuse to write a story set in an asylum, to be honest, with the Oz motifs tacked on.
• The other story is "The Veiled Shanghai" by Ken Liu, and while it does the same as the previous story (basically retelling The Wizard of Oz in another setting), this one is so much richer and interesting. In 1919 Shanghai, Dorothy Gee lives with her Uncle Heng and Aunt En. Caught up in one of the riots during the May Fourth Movement, Dorothy is whisked away on a bus, only to wake up in the Veiled Shanghai, a parallel version of the city just out of reach of consciousness for most people. It's a little different, with magic, steampunk, and other aspects that confuse Dorothy, but she goes along with things anyway. The rest of the story is, as is traditional, the journey of her trying to get home and helping those she meets to achieve their goals. Scarecrow is an Iowa farmboy who stowed away on a freighter in San Francisco and wound up there. Tin Woodman was a woodchopper who allowed himself to be roboticized so that he could become more productive. Lion is an old Boxer who fled a battle during the Boxer Rebellion. And the Wicked Warlord is keeping China under his thumbs, until Dorothy comes along. It's a clever use of a very different background to tell the story, and I feel like I learned a little bit more about early twentieth century China as well, at a time when it was dominated by European, American, and Japanese imperialism. There are lots of fun little nods to both the book and The Movie, and everything turns out for the best in the end, of course. I think both of these stories were the first to truly embrace the idea suggested by the book's title, reimagining a different version of The Wizard of Oz rather than just telling a new story set in a version of Oz. Anyway, this is still a fascinating book, and I still have seven more to go, so I may finish some time over the summer.
• I'm not sure I can exactly review The Wizard of Oz Mad Libs, just because it's not complete without folks supplying words for it. We did have some fun with it at our last Oogaboo Rendezvous, but it didn't last too long. Although it's mostly based on The Movie, the first one is a background one that talks about the book (by L. [Name of Person in the Room (Male)]). It's not to be taken terribly seriously, of course. It's just nice to have a little fun with. Incidentally, for old fuddy-duddies like me who haven't played Mad Libs for a long time, they now have a solo version built in where you can supply the words yourself, and then see how they fit, so that you don't need a whole gang of friends to enjoy this.
• The big fiction read of the current spate of Oz reading was The Law of Oz by Paul Dana, and the first offering (of what looks like will be several) from The Royal Publisher of Oz. This book has had a long genesis, as parts were started over twenty years ago, and it shows. It's actually a series of three novellas and a short story, all starring Ojo and Button-Bright. The two friends go out seeking adventures, and Ojo persuades Button-Bright to teach him how to get lost. He does a little too well, however, and travels back in time to the enchantment of Oz! Fortunately, all goes as it should have (unlike what happened in Paradox in Oz), but through the course of events, Ojo acquires magic powers. Traveling back to their own time, Ojo is sent off to Lureline's home in the Land of An to train, while Button-Bright ends up exploring his own family background, which proves to be a lot different than anyone expected. Dana's writing matures and grows confident as the book progresses, and it all unfolds logically, but with many interesting twists. The title, incidentally, refers to Ozma's law against practicing magic, and the consequences when she tries to enforce it.
• Then there are the comics. Surprisingly, there was only one Oz comic in this month's order, and that was issue #17 of the always awesome The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West. Glinda confronts Gale about possessing more than one of the guns of power, but it does not go well. (It seems Gale may truly be embracing her new title of Wicked Witch of the West.) Meanwhile, Dr. Pipt enlists the help of the Field Mice to destabilize the tunnels that General Jinjur is digging, but that proves to be exactly the wrong thing, and it appears that the Nome King may soon be freed. Oh, yeah, this is a good one!
• That wasn't my only recent Oz comic, however. I recently picked up a copy of Graphic Classics Volume 15: Fantasy Classics, which includes an adaptation of "The Glass Dog", a story from L. Frank Baum's American Fairy Tales. It was a decent and faithful adaptation, and fun to see. I can't help thinking, however, that Baum wrote better short stories that may be more deserving of this treatment. The rest of the book is good, too, with the main event being an adaptation of Frankenstein, as well as works by Nathaniel Hawthorne and H. P. Lovecraft.
• I also picked up the hardback collection of Marvel's The Emerald City of Oz, by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young. There's not much to add from my comments about the original single issue releases, but this adds a cover gallery, an introduction by Shanower, and reminiscences and farewells from Shanower and Young, as they confirm that this is their final trip to Oz, at least through Marvel.
• And finally, a comic book I haven't even gotten yet! Zenescope was kind enough to send me a digital edition of the entire first issue of Warlord of Oz, their upcoming new OZ miniseries. While the Witches have been vanquished, their influence still lingers, and the King and his advisors (including the Scarecrow) have much to do to make Oz and its subjects happy. Meanwhile back in Kansas, Dorothy is still having dreams about Oz a year after her return. When the Scarecrow and Lion set out to find out what's happening to the Lion's people, things are starting to look bad as an ancient evil from the early history of Oz is awoken, and Dorothy and Toto find themselves transported back. This version of Oz is clearly not influenced by the books, and not even that much by The Movie, as they make up just about everything from scratch. And it must be pretty warm in this version of Oz, because those poor women barely have anything to wear! (Hmm, it might be interesting to see Zenescope's take on Jinjur and the Army of Revolt!)
• That's all for the reading, but I have one more quick review, as I also managed to get Minnie's The Wizard of Dizz, a story from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse series. This version of the story is clearly aimed at a lot younger viewer than me, and the computer animation is a bit crude, but it was fun. When a windstorm hits the clubhouse, Minnie and Pluto are caught outside and are whisked away to the Land of Dizz, where everyone tries to help them get home. Chip and Dale are the Chipmunchkins, Clarabelle the Cow is the rather forgetful Good Witch, Goofy is the Scarecrow (of course), Mickey is the Tin Mouse (who needs to be wound with a key, so he's a bit more like Tik-Tok than Nick Chopper), Donald is the Lion, Pete is the Wicked Witch of the West (who reforms rather than getting melted, which is probably in keeping with the very young demographics this show is aimed at), and Professor Ludwig von Drake is the Wizard. It's all fun, but probably not for everybody (including my wife, who went off to do something else after about five minutes).

That's about it for now. I don't anticipate a major Oz reading any time soon, but I suspect there will be comics here and there. I'll likely also get some new stuff that just can't wait at the Winkie Convention in August.

The Latest Oz Reading (and Watching)

Despite the lack of posts, I have been busy reading a bunch of Oz things. In fact, I'm just about done with one of the longer ones — bu I'll tell you more about that later. So here are a few other things I've read and watched lately:

• Bride of Fury by Rachel Cosgrove Payes. My latest reading from the author of The Hidden Valley of Oz. This one reminded me an awful lot of the last Rachel romance I read, in that it has a lusty young woman torn between two men from the same family (brothers, this time) in a historical setting, etc., etc., etc. I'm sure many of you are familiar with some of the tropes of the genre. What makes Bride of Fury fun, however, is that it opens with our heroine, Kate, patrolling the West End of London looking for Jack the Ripper! The rest of the book then flashes back to how Kate got into the situation she's in, and comes to a satisfying conclusion for both her and the reader. Rachel sets up the mystery of who Jack the Ripper is well throughout the book, and leaves everyone dangling until the last possible moment. I enjoyed it, but I think I'm already a little weary of her romances. Thank goodness the next book I have lined up from her is something different!
  
• The comics order came, need I say more? And it was a busy month. First was Grimm Fairy Tales Presents The Library #4. Things are looking pretty bad, which of course forces Sela's father to reexamine his life and finally connect with his daughter. But the Wicked Witch is overpowering every ally Sela can throw at her, and it looks like the Wicked Witch now has the power to take over the world! (Good thing there's one more issue to this series, or I'd be worried.)
  
• Fables #114. Yay, back to Oz at last! No, we don't learn how Bufkin escaped from that cliffhanger. In fact, it looks like we've gone back a few days, before the events of #101. The good news is, now the Oz part of the story looks like it will be a permanent part of the book, at least for a while, as "A Revolution in Oz" is now the second story of the book. Did I also mention that someone pilfered the vault containing all of the magic items in Oz?
  
• Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz #5. The Gargoyles. Need I say more? Again, Eric, Skottie, and Jean-Francois have put together another winner. Sadly, it will have to hold me for a while, since issue #6 isn't due out until May.
  
• No Place Like Home #1. Where have I seen this before? A grown-up goth Dorothy (is she?) gets caught up in events that may or may not be at all related to The Wizard of Oz. This one is aiming to be a horror comic, as Dee Dee and her friends stumble across a murder. I'm not sure where this one's going at all yet, but it's early. Definitely not one for the kids, Oz purists, or sensitive readers.
  
• And finally, I watched the second part of The Witches of Oz a few weeks ago, and just forgot to tell anyone. It's definitely not one for the purists again, but it's fun and Ozzy in its own way. Dorothy confronts her past, and finds both friends and foes coming to New York City to get something they all think Dorothy has. This was definitely based on the first Oz book, but there were plenty of nods to later Oz books that you know the creators did their homework. I was especially taken with Mia Sara's portrayal of Langwidere. I just hope the film version comes to my neck of the woods sometime soon.
  

The Latest Oz Acquisitions

I've picked up a few things recently, and thought I'd share:

• First, the comics order came. The only Oz comic was Fables #108 — and this time it really is an Oz comic, at least in part. There are a whole bunch of storylines going on right now, but for this overview, I'll skip the ones about Rose Red returning to the Farm to see what's been happening there (not much, yet), the death of the North Wind and the attempt to find a successor, and Mrs. Spratt's warrior training. In the Restored Pan-Ozian Empire (ruled over with an iron fist by Roquat the Red), Blufkin the No-Longer-Flying Monkey is trying to get Jack Pumpkinhead, the Sawhorse, and Bugle across the desert and back into Oz. The good news is that there are now roads across the desert. The bad news is that they are heavily guarded, and travelers need passes. It's going to take all of Blufkin's wiles to handle this!
  
• The Witches of Oz. Thanks to my latest bit of credit from Amazon.co.uk and owning a multi-format region-free DVD player, I snagged the DVD of the miniseries version of this story (I gather there will be an American movie release of this in the not-too-distant future). So far, I'm impressed with the background of this version of Oz, as I think the producers tapped into the rest of the books. Hey, when the first character mentioned is Bini Aru, you know someone's paying attention. I hope to get a chance to sit down and really watch this before too long.
  
• And finally, there's a story behind my latest acquisition. I found out about The Uplift of Lucifer from reading The Book Collector's Guide to L. Frank Baum and Oz by Paul Bienvenue (I talked about that book in a recent post). This was a privately printed publication of one of L. Frank Baum's skits for the Uplifters Club, which he belonged to when he was living in Hollywood. From what I gather, Manuel Weltman published only five hundred copies, and gave them to any Oz or Baum enthusiasts who were interested. I'd heard of the story, but hadn't realized it had been published until I read Paul's book. So I idly poked around on the web to see if any copies were available — and more importantly, affordable. Sure enough, they are both. But one copy in particular caught my attention. It wasn't the cheapest out there, but it was still not too bad, considering it was the personal copy of one of my heroes, Martin Gardner. Gardner was one of the sixteen founding members of the International Wizard of Oz Club, wrote many essays and introductions about Oz, wrote The Annotated Alice, and his mathematics column in Scientific American helped to popularize mathematics for everybody. This edition has a postcard from Weltman to Gardner, and Gardner's own annotations. I hemmed and hawed and talked to Laura, and she said, "I'm surprised you haven't bought it already." So I punched a bunch of buttons on my computer, and a few days later it arrived. So now I not only have a rare piece of Baumiana, it also has a history in Oz fandom. And yes, I'll actually read it soon, too.
  

Santa Claus was good to me!

This year was delayed gratification Christmas, but I got a couple of nice goodies today from Santa Cl-Oz. The first thing I opened was the five-DVD collector's set of the seventieth anniversary edition of The Wizard of Oz. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the extras in this set that are new, particularly The Dreamer of Oz on DVD at last! The second gift was the other big Oz item I was hoping for this year, the new book, Victor Fleming: An American Movie Master. Directing both The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind (and receiving an Oscar for the latter) would be enough to make him a Hollywood legend, so it's curious that it's taken this long for a book about his work to come out. I know Fleming had a long and varied career even before these movies, and worked a lot with Clark Gable, so this should be a good read.

My latest Oz readings, and a viewing!

Woo-hoo, another nice big block of Oz fun under my belt. So let's dive in, shall we?

• The Autumn 2007 issue of the magazine Paradox — or to be more specific, the story "The Wizard of Macatawa" by Tom Doyle. An interesting little tale of time getting tangled up on a Michigan beach, with a girl from the 1970s helping to influence L. Frank Baum as aliens invade. This one is not for those who want their Oz to be pure and just as Baum wrote it (not that he was too concerned with that himself).
  
• Dunkiton Press #16, Ruth Berman's latest reprint of vintage newspaper material by Oz-associated people. This one celebrates Thanksgiving, with poems and a story by Ruth Plumly Thompson and advertising art by W. W. Denslow.
  
• The Art of Reading, a collection celebrating the fortieth anniversary of RIF (Reading is Fundemental). Sure, I got this for Robert Sabuda's page on The Wizard of Oz, but the rest of it was pretty good, too, seeing what books have influenced famous artists. Some are obvious and well-known, while others are more obscure.
  
• Denslow's Humpty Dumpty by W. W. Denslow, of course. This is a paperback reprint from Applewood Books, and a lot of fun. Humpty Dumpty's son gets himself hard-boiled so as not to share his father's fate, and goes off and has all kinds of adventures. More, please, Applewood!
  
• The Mystery on the Stage by some anonymous author. This is book number forty-three in the Boxcar Children series. Some of the kids get involved with the local theater group's production of The Wizard of Oz, but someone is sabotaging the show to shut it down. Will the show go on? It's a sweet, slight little book, definitely a mystery for younger readers.
  
• Recipe for Change: The 2nd Edition Wicked Cookbook. Cast and crew from the Broadway production of Wicked contributed recipes for a charity cookbook, benefiting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. It's a lot of fun (I particularly liked Edina Menzel's recipe for bagels, which is essentially call the local bagel shop to have some delivered), and I just wish it were still available, along with the first volume.
  
• Classic Fantasy Writers, edited by Harold Bloom. This is a collection of short biographies and critical excerpts on fourteen writers, some of whom I am familiar with and some I'd never heard of before. Of course I was most interested in the L. Frank Baum section, but some of the others were interesting as well.
  
• Adventures in Oz by Eric Shanower. Strictly speaking, this was not a new read for me, as I'd read these before when they were first printed as individual graphic novels. But it was great revisiting these stories, and the upgraded art and color look terrific. The extras in the hardcover edition were mostly new, and well worth the price for obsessive Oz collectors like myself. I've known Eric for almost thirty years now, and it's great having all this stuff in one collection.
  
• And on the DVD player, Veggie Tales: The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's, a much-appreciated Christmas present from my sister-in-law. It's a charming little retelling/satire of The Wizard of Oz that also slips in the parable of the prodigal son (hey, it's Veggie Tales, they're going to adapt a Bible story). These guys clearly had a lot of fun creating this. As a bonus, there's also the Monkey song. Anyway, here's the trailer for the DVD:
  
  

I also — finally — started in on reading The Collected Short Stories of L. Frank Baum, which will be fun to dip into over the next few months as I tackle the rest of my readings as well.