ALL-AGES READS: ADVENTURES IN OZ

[MattBrady]

by Tracy, Shelby, and Sarah Edmunds

Adventures in Oz, by Eric Shanower (IDW)

Eric Shanower’s Adventures in Oz is so beautiful that I can’t take my eyes off of it. I find myself trying to work on other things only to have my gaze drift back to the cover, and soon I’m lost in Oz again. It’s kind of like having a bowl of jelly beans on your desk – you just keep taking another one and another one and another one…. Sometimes I even run through the pages like a flip book, just to see the colors go by.

This is a reprinted, collected edition of five of Shanower’s original Oz tales: “The Enchanted Apples of Oz,” “The Secret Island of Oz,” “The Ice King of Oz,” “The Forgotten Forest of Oz,” and “The Blue Witch of Oz.” The loving care that Shanower and the publisher have put into this edition is readily evident on every page, with Shanower having final approval over everything. The jaw-dropping colors alone make this book worth the price tag, and the large format really shows off the work to its best advantage. I recommend reading about the publishing process and at the IDW site – this was truly a labor of love.

I think I read a few of the original L. Frank Baum stories when I was little, and of course I grew up with the movie, but Oz just never captivated me – until now. These stories are odd and quirky, very much in the spirit of the originals, and there are a lot of deux ex machina moments, but I really don’t care because it’s the visual feast that keeps me coming back for more. Trying to choose pages to scan for this column was like trying to choose flavors of ice cream – I wanted them all. I couldn’t use some of the best pages because they are full of spoilers, so think of the pictures you see here as dipping your toe in the ocean.

This might not be for young children who are easily frightened because some of the stories include “mild peril” and scary-looking trolls, but beyond that Adventures in Oz is wonderful all ages literature. My only disappointment is that I don’t have the hardcover edition with 70 pages of sketches and extra goodies. Hmmm, something for my Christmas list.

On a side note, here’s a link to Shanower’s great (if short) list of his favorite all ages titles. This paragraph, appearing at the end of the list, beautifully sums up the magic of comics:

“The idea I want to leave you with, what I think is the most important concept for you to understand, is that the medium of comic books and graphic novels is a valid artform unto itself. The goal of literacy isn’t solely to achieve the ability to read, important as that is. It’s to gain the ability to use what we read in order to learn, to think, to understand the world around us, to understand other humans, to understand ourselves. When you read a graphic novel, you’re experiencing how someone else sees the world. Just as travel in the physical world is broadening, so is travel into the minds and hearts of our fellow humans. And this, really, is what makes the best graphic novels worthwhile—not as collectibles, not as bridges to reading so-called “real” books—but for the sake of how deeply each cartoonist’s vision touches the common humanity in each of us. Graphic novels allow us--more directly than the written word alone and more intimately than images on film--to travel on journeys--to experience tangible expressions of creators who have dug down into their hearts and souls and carefully arranged what they found there for the rest of the world to see. As far as I can tell, that’s what art is for. That’s the power of comic books and graphic novels.”

Amen.

Sarah says: I love this book. It’s about Dorothy, Scarecrow, and all the other people from the Oz books. Sometimes the stories made sense and sometimes you wouldn’t know what was going to happen next. But sometimes they have too much luck and it just doesn’t feel right. I think this book is for six and older because sometimes there’s some blood and scary stuff. The pictures are completely amazing because the artist puts so much detail in them. I want to count all the circles on the dragons but I think there are too many. Eric likes to draw lots and lots of heavy clothing and it looks very realistic when he does that. The art makes it feel like what Oz would be if there really was one.

Shelby says: I love Adventures in Oz. It’s got the best art in any comic books. It is because of the color and shading and the expressions on the faces of the characters. The funny thing is, the art in the very first story is different from the other stories because it’s more flat shapes and objects without as much shading. When you get farther into the story, the art gets better. As I get older, my art gets better and better, so maybe in the first story the artist was still learning. The details are great because there’s a lot going on in the dragons and the trees and the clothes and anything else you can imagine. The stories are also good because they are still very magical like the Wizard of Oz movie but there are more characters and more things that happen. Some of the stories are interesting but some are a little bit too weird for my taste, like when a wood nymph gets kicked out of the forest and then joins the trolls and becomes the troll queen. I didn’t get why she wanted to kill the other wood nymphs just because they kicked her out. But I liked it anyway because the art is awesome. Little kids would like the art, but they might be scared of some of the stories. This is not just a children’s book, it’s for grown-ups too, if they like imagination. You can certainly find imagination in this book – that’s all it is! It’s one of my favorite books.

allagescomics@hotmail.com

[astronato]

thanks for the article. I buy my nieces everything Oz related I can find and I hadn't known about this until a previous mention on Newsarama. I was interested before and I'm sold now. It looks gorgeous.

What is the pricing on the book?

[skullduggery]

Thanks for the excellent review.

Clearly this is a collection that I absolutely need to pick up.

[Louis Lane]

$40 for the TP and $75 for the HC.

I got the HC and it's worth every penny.

LL

[Jed Saxon]

Originally Posted by astronato

I buy my nieces everything Oz related I can find

Boy, will they make big eyes, when you give them "Lost Girls" to read. .

[ssava]

Nice review!

Just an FYI...based on your recommendation I picked up Courtney Cumrin and Polly and the Pirates. I actually liked Polly more. THe art style and the type of story was more my speed. Courtney seems a bit too....Juniper Lee I guess. Too depressed and sarcastic for such a young girl.

Anyways...thanks for the recommendations. I had fun.

[astronato]

Originally Posted by Jed Saxon

Boy, will they make big eyes, when you give them "Lost Girls" to read. .

well then Rich Johnson would finally get the press he was looking for, because my sister would kill me and the book would finally be in the news.

[JimmyKitty]

Without doubt, anything that Eric Shanower touches is gold. His work is his own - no comparison. Simply lovely to look at and explore. I fear he is so underrated it's criminal.

[JimmyKitty]

"Graphic novels allow us--more directly than the written word alone and more intimately than images on film--to travel on journeys--to experience tangible expressions of creators who have dug down into their hearts and souls and carefully arranged what they found there for the rest of the world to see. As far as I can tell, that’s what art is for. That’s the power of comic books and graphic novels.”

Double Amen.

Eric Shanower for President

[Kent Horton]

I have all but The Blue Witch from their original printings (well, I think they're the orig. print runs) from the 80's. They're all well worth it.

[CrankyViking]

And, to top it off, he's a genuinely nice guy. I've met him a couple of times. He's the real deal.

[skullduggery]

Originally Posted by ssava

Nice review!

Just an FYI...based on your recommendation I picked up Courtney Cumrin and Polly and the Pirates. I actually liked Polly more. THe art style and the type of story was more my speed. Courtney seems a bit too....Juniper Lee I guess. Too depressed and sarcastic for such a young girl.

Anyways...thanks for the recommendations. I had fun.

Is that your first exposure to Ted Naifeh?
If so, that is a little surprising.

I would agree that the Courtney Crumrin books are probably not the best idea for younger children. But they are excellent books nonetheless.
I gave the first series to my niece when she was about 10 and she enjoyed it. I haven't had a chance yet to pass along Polly and the Pirates to her but I will be doing so soon.

If you liked Naifeh's work in those, I would recommend you pick up Unearthly from Seven Seas (if you can find a copy). Again, not a project necessarily for younger children, but I figure it would be appropriate for 12 on up.
I've also been enjoying the Death Jr. minis from Image (Naifeh is just doing the art on those).

[Jason A. Quest]

Originally Posted by JimmyKitty

Eric Shanower for President

Or at least another Prez one-shot!

[JimmyKitty]

Originally Posted by Jason A. Quest

Or at least another Prez one-shot!

So glad you caught the in-joke.

I've had the pleasure of Shanower's time when we were on the Eisner Retailer Award committee, and a few times briefly at conventions. He is indeed a gentle soul and a decent person true to the core. You cannot associate "jerk ego" with Shanower. And I confess, that's one of the qualities that shows in his work. Personal commitment and labor of love shows in every detail.

Sorry to gush. His work makes it too easy.

[ssava]

Originally Posted by skullduggery

Is that your first exposure to Ted Naifeh?
If so, that is a little surprising.

I would agree that the Courtney Crumrin books are probably not the best idea for younger children. But they are excellent books nonetheless.
I gave the first series to my niece when she was about 10 and she enjoyed it. I haven't had a chance yet to pass along Polly and the Pirates to her but I will be doing so soon.

If you liked Naifeh's work in those, I would recommend you pick up Unearthly from Seven Seas (if you can find a copy). Again, not a project necessarily for younger children, but I figure it would be appropriate for 12 on up.
I've also been enjoying the Death Jr. minis from Image (Naifeh is just doing the art on those).

Well yeah...I've never even heard of the guy before. My first exposure to him was the article here. I may check out the other stuff...but while I thought Polly and the Pirates was nice...I'm not that interested in Death Jr. or other more mature stuff.

Just my tastes.

I also found his foreward in the Courtney Cumrin kind if weird. He talks about how kids want darker stuff....but I think when he thinks Kids...he's thinking 10 and up. When I think kids...I'm thinking 4 and up.

Probably because I have 3 year olds.

Still...I'll take any all ages books we can get. The industry needs it so bad.

[Comic Mom]

I'm sure Ted was thinking of school aged kids. Remember, Goosebumps books have been incredibly popular and the movie Monster House made a few bucks, so I think there's a market for "scary" stuff. In fact, Scholastic is doing Goosebumps graphic novels with some wonderful artists: Gabriel Hernandez, Greg Ruth, and Scott Morse did the first book. I hear Ted Naifeh, Kyle Baker, and Jill Thompson are doing stories later -- can't wait!

Death Jr. is a lot of fun, and not as scary as Courtney Crumrin. It's actually a sweet story. Still not for three-year-olds, though.

If you want spooky Halloween fun for really little ones, try Jill Thompson's outstanding Scary Godmother books. And the animated DVD is spooktacular!

We'll review some great Halloween comics fun in October.

[RichJohnston]

Originally Posted by astronato

well then Rich Johnson would finally get the press he was looking for, because my sister would kill me and the book would finally be in the news.

I haven't been looking for any press.

The book has been all over the news though. Maybe you missed it.