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L. Frank Baum wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Thanks to the famous 1939 MGM musical, that story will live forever. Unfortunately, while better than many book-to-film adaptations of that era, the movie left a -lot- out. Among other things, the "it was all a dream!" ending negated the fact that Baum wrote 14 books about Oz, and other authors went on to write 40 canonical sequels and countless unofficial works. Some of these became massive hits in their own right, like Gregory Maguire's Wicked and the SciFi Channel's high-rated Tin Man mini-series. Most of these works focus exclusively on the first book, and mostly on the portions of the book included in the MGM film. It's rather a pity...so much wonderfully weird stuff came in the later Baum books.
That's why I'm quite pleased that David Hutchinson's manga Oz series became a sleeper hit. He's already done an adaptation of Wizard and now is doing The Marvelous Land of Oz. He sticks fairly close to Baum's original stories, but also adds many elements of his own invention. Among other things, his version of Oz is a steampunk fantasy paradise with touches of art deco and 1950s era modern design.
Here's a beautiful shot of the lead characters of the new series...pictured are King Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Saw Horse, Professor Wogglebug, the witch Mombi, the Gump, and young Tip...who's far, far more than he seems. Really more than he seems.
I hope the series continues to be a success. I want to see Hutchison's take on Billina and the Hungry Tiger, my own favorite Oz characters. And hopefully The Emerald City of Oz, my favorite book in the series. Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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