The Witch causes Dorothy to trip over an invisible bar across a threshold when the girl’s shoe is then accessed by the Witch, Dorothy melts her with a bucket of water – and, in turn, releases the Lion from prison and engages the Winkies to recover the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman. The Wicked Witch sends her wolves and bees to intercept the travelers in the Winkie Country, but it takes the Winged Monkeys to capture Dorothy, Toto, and the Lion – and to destroy the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman. All of the principal characters don green glasses when they reach Emerald City and individually visit the Wizard, but only Dorothy’s audience is actually pictured the Great Oz is drawn as a sort of giant, turbaned mystic. They reach the poppy field, where the sleeping Dorothy is carried to safety by the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman when the latter frightens away a menacing wildcat and rescues the Queen of the Field Mice, she commandeers her subjects into pulling the cart that then liberates the Lion from the deadly flowers. Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Lion though they don’t have to traverse large gullies, the Lion does pull them to safety when their river-crossing raft is swept away in a swift current. The Witch counsels her and disappears, while the gentlemen advise her to “take the silver shoes!” of the Wicked Witch, which protrude from under the girl’s house. In mid-air, Toto falls through the farmhouse trapdoor during the cyclone and is rescued by Dorothy the girl is greeted on arrival in Oz by the older Good Witch of the North and just three Munchkins.
Perhaps the comic’s appearance was spurred by the 1955 theatrical reissue of the MGM film regardless, the similarities to the story-as-told-by-Baum are respectful, rampant, and rife. Denslow, Baum’s widow Maud, and book publisher, The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc. Oddly enough, this version was “authorized” and offered passing credit to Baum, original illustrator W. The first major Oz comic book to appear is shown above and debuted in stores in late spring/early summer 1956. That motion picture was then (and remains today) under copyright. This meant that any publisher could reprint or retell the saga of Dorothy’s first visit, as long as the finished product didn’t utilize the new plotlines and appearances of characters as featured in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film. Frank Baum’s original story and its “graphic novel” adaptations, and (even more so) to enjoy the manner in which new-to-Oz artists depict Baum’s characters and scenery.Īs has been noted in the past, Baum’s original THE WIZARD OF OZ - and the personalities as they adventure therein - went into public domain when the book’s copyright expired in 1956. This month, we segue to another children’s product: Oz comic books! It’s no exaggeration to state that they make for both fascinating reading and viewing it’s always interesting to note the discrepancies between L. In keeping with the concept of collectability, the two most recent installments of this blog featured a light-hearted look-back at early Oz coloring books and Oz recordings.
WIZARD OF OZ SERIES BOOKS REPRINT MOVIE
At times, these items may be difficult to find, but they’re certainly more accessible than first-edition Oz books, Oz movie costumes and props, or one-of-a-kind Oz recreations. Many of today’s young (or at least fledgling) collectors are intensely interested in any and EVERYTHING Ozzy! Such enthusiasm makes it worthwhile to spotlight and share details about some of the genuinely desirable – if comparatively less-well-known - Oz ephemera.