Comic books 06 Jan 2009 06:32 am
Off to see the Wizard
Eric Shanower and Skottie Young’s new adaptation of The Wizard of Oz (Marvel Comics, 8 issues) is a joy. Shanower has long been affiliated with Oz, adapting the various books into comics and illustrating L. Frank Baum’s novels. Here, he writes a faithful version of the first story, not as it has become enshrined in our collective memories through the movie, but as Baum originally penned the tale in the beginning of the twentieth century.
As good as Shanower’s script is, it is artist Skottie Young who really shines. His Dorothy and his Oz are revelations. Dorothy doesn’t so much follow the Yellow Brick Road as sail above it, her exuberant embodiment of late-frontier America perfectly captured by the artist’s confident line. Oz appears both beautiful and slightly dangerous, a place that could easily provide the lighted match the Scarecrow so fears. And little Toto is the perfect dog companion – cartoonish, but not too cartoonish, able to hold his own with Young’s versions of Munchkins and good and evil witches.
Only the first issue has been published so far, but Marvel’s Oz looks to be a hit. The big question is should readers buy it monthly or wait for the inevitable hardback and paperback collections that will do more justice to the work? Many fans doubtless will do both. A great all-ages effort from Marvel Comics.










