"Wonderful Wizard of Oz" Review!

Everyone knows the story of Oz! Whether you are familiar with the movie or the book (in any format), I can promise you that you've never seen it portrayed in such a beautiful, soothing, and entertaining way. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is in a form here that I wish I could have seen it as a child. I know that, if presented with this copy, my love for the story would be insanely deep-rooted. Albeit late, I'm glad that "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by Marvel (Eric Shanower and Skottie Young) has entered my life.

You know the story. Dorothy and her family are in ho-hum Kansas and one day a "Twister" stirs up their life. I can't blame Dorothy, honestly. If MY dog ran away during a storm, despite all I've been told, I'd be hot on its trail for as long as I needed to....storm or not. For the most part, the story line is extremely true to the original stories that we are used to. What sets this comic apart is the surprise aspect. We've all seen the horrible, half-assed illustrations that came in the children's versions. This comic is so visually appealing that you can't NOT read it after flipping it open! I can't really say anymore before the review, because I'd just be recapping a story nearly as old as time (ok, I'm exaggerating, but I'm also 19. Give me a break!).

Let me explain.

Creativity of Writing: 5/5 There's nothing that I don't understand in this novel. Even if you've never heard of the "Oz" stories, I'm convinced that you could pick up this comic and be able to hold your own with Oz experts. The comic is very loyal to the original and I love that. Anything that was too extremely different wouldn't, I feel, be received well by society. Dorothy has a cute little personality that I find appealing. She's so sweet and innocent that I feel a desire to just pick her up out of the comic and place her at the end. The characters are extremely well developed and I feel that, in this format, they have the most personality and unique style. It's definitely an easy read, but don't let that fool you.  It's very satisfying. You don't feel like you're reading a complexly written story, but at the same time, you're getting a lot out of it.

Creativity of Art: 5/5 Holy friggen crap! Talk about amazing! The minute I saw Skottie Young's artwork, I fell in love with comics. In fact, "The Marvelous Land of Oz" (another version you should check into!) was the first comic book I ever bought for myself...the "gateway comic", I guess you could say. I took it to my Drawing teacher the next day and demanded that he tell me how I could create something so beautiful. The colors are the main thing that get me. I'm aware that many people work on the art. Whatever it is, it's a winning combination. The colors are a muted, natural color scheme. I feel that this detail helps to reinforce the age of the story and to show that the art is genuinely good. Unfortunately, some artists use color to cover up the fact that their base drawings are crappy. That's not the case here. The colors don't NEED to be powerful because the base drawings are AMAZING. I love the whispy, fine line detail of the characters. It helps them to feel more solid and dimensional. It also helps to reinforce the antique feel of the style.

Overall Casual Read Rating: 5/5 VERY entertaining. I love turning the page, but it's not for one reason alone. There are so many things that I'm looking forward to with the progression of the story. It's the art, the panels, the layout, the plot, and the dialogue. Everything just clicks and it forms a refreshing take on a classic. I never got bored with this volume. I enjoyed every second and it definately takes you to another world.