The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (2009)
Written by Eric Shanower
Art by Skottie Young
Colors by Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letters by Jeff Eckleberry
When I first heard that they were going to adapt this into comic book form, I was stoked. But then when I heard that Skottie Young had been tapped to do the art, my initial reaction was "what the hell are they thinking?" This wasn't a slam against Skottie's art. If anything I was a huge fan of his. It was the style that he was famous for that had me scratching my head.
Originally, Skottie became a fan favorite on titles such as The Human Torch, Venom and New X-Men with his art being more stylize-cartoony along the lines of Humberto Ramos. For the titles that Skottie had worked on, this style worked extremely well. But for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, I just could not see this working out for myself or fans in general. To say I was skeptical was an understatement.
Later as the creative team set to work in making this book a reality, I saw a couple of Promo pieces they were using to hype the book. I was stunned when I saw it. This couldn't be the same penciler. It looks nothing like his style. It was the complete opposite of what he was known for. Yes, I was very happy and satisfied at what I saw and I knew right then and there that this book was going to be something special.
So, did the book live up to the hype. Absolutely. I've read this one a few times since it originally came out and each time it gets better and better for me. His art here compliments and invites the reader into this world of characters that you will immediately bond with and care about. And my hats off to Jean-Francois Beaulieu for doing a fantastic job on the colors that compliments the art very well, giving it a very lush feel to it. And kudo's to Eric Shanower for doing a great job telling the story that goes back to the original souce material. If you're expecting a rehash of the movie version of Oz, then this isn't for you.
If any of you out there are looking for something refreshing and with a lot of charm, this is the book for you. And I think the book is very age appropriate for kids that you may want to get them started on reading. Highly recommend this to everyone. The Trade paperback collects all 8 issues of the miniseries.
Rating: 5 Stars out of 5
Review by Chiprocks1
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