TITLE: The Marvelous Land of Oz
AUTHOR: Eric Shanower (based on the book by L. Frank Baum)
PENCILLER: Skottie Young
ISSUES: The Marvelous Land of Oz #1-8
PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics
GRAPHIC NOVEL RELEASE: Late September

By Lora Van Marel
Staff Writer, One-Woman Show

Last year Eric Shanower adapted L. Frank Baum’s timeless classic, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, into a comic book miniseries. This year, he tackled its first sequel, The Marvelous Land of Oz.

This story follows Tip, a young boy who has been raised by a back-woods witch in Oz  He’s bored with life and steals some of the witch’s Powder of Life and brings a scarecrow with a pumpkin-head to life. Together they set out to the Emerald City to escape the evil plans of the witch. Along the way they meet familiar faces like the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, but also encounter new characters like the Saw-horse and Mr. H.M. Wogglebug T.E.

The plot of Shanower’s version stays very true to that of the original book. In fact, in certain issues you can read exact quotes from the book. This is both a good thing and a very, very bad thing. It’s good in the sense that anyone can pick up this book and really grasp the classic story that Baum was telling. The bad part is the original novel was written in 1904, and the dialogue and story flow is so formal and stiff. It’s awkward to read in places, and what was supposed to be silly and funny over a hundred years ago just doesn’t translate the same in 2010.

The Marvelous Land of Oz #1, page 10. Image from 4thletter.net.

Many of the character’s inner thoughts are spoken aloud, depicting them talking to themselves in a very formal manner, and when the characters do speak to one another they say exactly what they are thinking. They have no filter, and often coming off as being rude. But because all the characters do this it is not mentioned or discussed, it is just how they communicate.  That’s how Baum wrote the books, but for today’s reader it can seem strange and uncomfortable.  This awkwardness is not Shanower’s doing because it follows the original story and he deserves credit for remaining so faithful to Baum’s work.

What really draws attention to this collection is the art. Where the story and dialogue fail to deliver the whimsical feeling that is associated with the land of Oz, the graphics succeed. Bright colors, disproportionate characters, over-the-top expressions, and detailed landscapes take the reader into another world. It would almost be more enjoyable for the reader to just look at the art and ignore the text, making up their own story as they go.

Translations of classic books into graphic novels is something a lot of publishers are doing lately in order to attract attention from children who are struggling with reading or just won’t read the classics on their own. The trouble with this trend is that when the books are adapted so closely to the original, as this one is, the text and art at a disconnect. The art is updated and very modern, whereas the text drags along making it difficult to really throw oneself into the story. My recommendation would be to read Baum’s original works and just flip through the comics to find an updated visual.  The art is so fantastic that it can’t be passed up, but let the original book speak for itself.

RATING: 4/10

Front page image from ComicRelated.com.