Jack at Home

The recent Marvel editions of the first six Oz books have been an great opportunity for new readers to discover the Oz series - Eric Shanower and Skottie Young did an excellent job of adapting and illustrating the stories. Unfortunately, the series has ended with The Emerald City of Oz; a logical place to stop, as that is where L. Frank Baum originally ended the series, before returning with additional tales. Perhaps Marvel will do the same, and return at some point!

It has also been an opportunity to acquire artwork of some favorite Oz characters and scenes; I've shown several other examples in previous posts. This is Skottie Young's version of Jack Pumpkinhead at home, from The Road to Oz. John R. Neill's version of this scene has always been one of my favorite Oz illustrations, but I think Skottie's Jack looks great! And you couldn't find a more organic home, tendrils and all...


Another character I've always been fond of is the Braided Man from Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz. He doesn't play a large role in the story, and we only ever see him once more, briefly, in The Road to Oz. Still, he's a memorable character among the many fascinating people of Oz and its environs. Here he is in all his glory, as envisioned by Skottie Young.

Beware the Wheelers!

Here's another page by Skottie Young from the award winning Eric Shanower/Skottie Young adaptations of the Oz books, published by Marvel comics. This one comes from Ozma of Oz, and shows Dorothy finding an ominous warning scratched into the sand on an unfamiliar beach. And very good advice too!

Also, a pair from The Marvelous Land of Oz - here we see the companions captured by General Jinjur - and their escape in the flying Gump!

I obviously enjoy Skottie's artwork, and his take on the Oz characters and situations. I also think it's one of the better opportunities out there for acquiring published Oz illustrations!

Crossing the Desert

There are certain Oz illustrations that I find iconic - John R. Neill's illustration for Ozma of Oz, of Ozma crossing the deadly desert with her army, is one of these. Unfortunately, the original artwork by Neill seems to have vanished into the mists of time, like so many other original Oz illustrations. I would love to have been able to see this piece!




 I was fortunate several years ago to acquire Michael Herring's version of the same scene, painted for the cover of the DelRey paperback in 1978. This was closely based on the Neill illustration, with some minor changes. In this case the scene was considered memorable enough to represent the entire book!






 I've just picked up another version, Skottie Young's drawing for the Marvel comic of Ozma of Oz. I've been enjoying the Marvel editions, scripted by Eric Shanower and drawn by Young. I'm not really a comic collector, and I haven't been picking up the individual comic books. Instead, I've been buying the hardcover compilations, so seeing the entire story in a fresh light is a pleasant surprise. In my view, Marvel has managed to do something that Reilly & Lee was always half-heartedly attempting - produce an updated version of the Oz books in a format to appeal to today's young readers!

Marvel

The Marvel Comics edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been high on the New York Times list of graphic novel bestsellers for a few weeks now. The adaption by Eric Shanower, drawn by Skottie Young, is very enjoyable, including many incidents from the original book that would be unfamiliar to fans who only know the MGM film.




The original artwork for this series of graphic novels has been available for sale online for a while, and I finally purchased a couple pieces. With so many pages available, I couldn't decide what I wanted - but as the pages I was interested in kept disappearing, I had to make a decision! In the end, I chose two pieces that deal with the Wicked Witch of the West.

The artwork by Skottie Young is very fun, and takes a fresh approach to the characters. On the original art, the initial sketching is done with blue pencil, which adds nice movement and shading to the finished piece. (See comments below concerning the blue "pencil"). It's also fascinating to see the choices made by the artist as to which lines to ink or ignore. The drawing on the left shows the Witch wearing the Golden Cap and summoning the Winged Monkeys.


There's quite a contrast between the drawing, and the printed image which has been colored. The color adds a lot of depth and atmosphere to the scene, but after seeing the original, I think a lot of Young's lovely line work gets lost.


The second drawing shows the events leading to the melting of the witch. Both drawings have a nice darkness to them, in contrast to some of the lighter, cheerier images in other parts of the story. But I have to admit, I can't help thinking of Sam Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes when I look at Dorothy's face in the final panel!