Author L. Frank Baum

ePublisher Gutenberg

Free eBook

This year was the 50th Anniversary for the Wizard of OZ.  Having read the series as a child, I thought it would be nice to expand my reading history beyond OZ.  It was nice, just a bit junior…

1914, Mr. Baum wrote about these three Nieces as far west of New York as possible; California!  Yep, I was expecting stage coaches and got movie sets instead.  That was lots of fun – the movie industry was just starting and it seemed as wild as I’d thought the wild west was going to be. 

I also appreciated how Mr. Baum wrote the young Ladies, strong, determined and independent.  They respected their family, were polite, treated others with respect and managed to graciously carve their own path in life.  Again, not what I was expecting.  I had thought at the turn of the 20th century, women, especially young ladies, were still very much “protected”, “guided” and ”sheltered”, yet these were not written that way. 

I would have certainly enjoyed this series as a child and I am sorry to have only found them now.  None the less, I’ve loaded several onto my eReader for my own nieces to read, giggle over and quiz me on what life was like back then.   (They ask, I’m not offended – I lie to them a lot about that kind of thing…) 

Link to Author information; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Frank_Baum#Bibliography  

Link to Gutenberg; http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

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This article is an opinion of the Author’s.

© alias Hubbaloo and www.Hubbaloo.wordpress.com, October 2009, to Date. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to alias Hubbaloo and www.Hubbaloo.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Heather is back this week, joining Blake for a marathon of all four Charlie Brown Christmas cartoons! Tune in for our comments on A Charlie Brown Christmas, It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales, and I Want a Dog For Christmas, Charlie Brown — plus a special bonus, Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! In the picks, Heather chooses the seasonal novel The Autobiography of Santa Claus. Blake gives us the graphic novel pick, A Kidnapped Santa Claus, and his pick of the week, The Muppet Show Comic Book #0! Contact us with comments, suggestions, or anything else at Showcase@comixtreme.com!

Episode 150: A Charlie Brown Christmas (or Four)
Inside This Episode:

PLUS: After five years, Walt Disney Animation returns to its traditional style with The Princess and the Frog. But is it good enough to satisfy an old-school Disney fan like Blake?

I love Christmas. I absolutely, emphatically and unequivocally love Christmas. But there are certain pieces of the modern Christmas tradition that don’t make one damn bit of sense. The plus-sized home intruder, the bigoted-yet-opportunistic reindeer gang and the “Christmas Season” store installations that go up in October are all fine examples of the general insanity that surrounds the holiday.

Nothing says "Holiday Cheer" like tornados and property damage in the Midwest

There are of course other, more subtle oddities that have also crept their way into our annual Yuletide habits. Among them is the curious addition of The Wizard of Oz into the stable of holiday movie favorites, alongside more logical choices like Miracle on 34th Street, It’s A Wonderful Life and Christmas Vacation. Originally a ratings grab by CBS for the holiday season in 1959, the film proved popular enough to warrant an annual showing; the run only lasted a few years, but tradition-making was easier in that era of television. And so it was that a movie about a small girl from Kansas and her dog, based on a novel that McCarthyism swept under the rug and set in late spring to early summer (tornado season peaks in May and June), became a holiday fixture in millions of households across the country.

Regardless of logicality or applicability, the film is thoroughly entrenched in the Turner Networks’ holiday rotation for one reason–profitability. With 70 years of history in the bank, The Wizard of Oz is a powerful brand that can move units. It is also a fairly unique property from a creative perspective in that the actual source material is nowhere near as wildly popular as the film adaption. In fact, most of the general public is delightfully unaware that the movie is even based on a novel, much less the actual plot of the book. This provides anyone taking a swing at a further adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz a relatively blank slate.

Seeing this opportunity, Marvel seized on the chance to adapt The Wonderful Wizard of Oz into comic form in 2008, presumably as part of their ongoing effort to bring other media into comics (including Stephen King’s The Stand series, which began in September of that year). Fittingly enough, the first issue of Oz was released in December of 08, just in time for Christmas.

So in the spirit of the holidays, let us take a peak into Marvel’s Wonderful World of Oz.

There is plenty to take in in Eric Shanower and Skottie Young's Oz

It may come as some surprise that the original Oz was, in fact, a graphic novel. Well, that may be a bit of a stretch–originally published in 1900, the novel contained illustrations by W.W. Denslow, who collaborated with Baum. Though it’s essentially a throwaway trivia question, readers coming to Eric Shanower and Skottie Young’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz knowing only Judy Garland and the musical numbers would do well to hold on to that fact tightly.

From the first panel of the first page of the first issue, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is clearly a deeply collaborative piece. The narrative is, where it can be helped, extremely sparse, using crisp sentences, where sentences are required at all. Skottie Young (of Around Comics “fame”) is leaned on heavily to carry the storytelling duties for long stretches, and his art, particularly the settings and backgrounds, is the runaway star of the miniseries.

Young's landscapes and settings are as much a character as Dorothy herself

Between the opening and closing panels in dreary, unassuming Kansas, we visit the lush green of Eastern Oz, the green-washed Emerald City, the intimidating Wicked Witch of the West’s castle, several sepia-tinted flashbacks to our cast’s origins and a host of forests, bogs, villages and fields. Devoid of rainbows, falsely-ruby slippers and 3-strip Technicolor, this iteration of Oz has a different set of tools, but is no less a visual marvel than its predecessor.

Chief among the book’s artistic virtues is the level of detail that is found in each and every panel. As comic book readers, our eyes are often trained to follow the word balloons through the page, and look at specific parts of each panel as creative use is made of the negative space that surrounds the action. There is no negative space in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Owing to compressed layouts–necessary to fit the full plot of a novel into eight issues–and Young’s insistence to cram as much detail as he can into many panels, I had to actively slow down how quickly I read each page. Be it in the foreground, background or peripheries, it seems like every panel has at least two eye-catching elements to it, making it impossible to zip through a page’s text without hovering for longer than you might be used to. Equally as impressive as the detail, though, is the emotion visible in the characters’ faces. You’ll often hear that a sign of great sequential art is that the characters function as actors. Young’s characters are fantastic actors.

Imagination runs wild in character design and architecture

And, although I have an admittedly poor grasp of the line between the jobs, particularly on art of this style, the job that Jean-Francois Beaulieu does on colors is every bit as breathtaking as Young’s pencils. The colors evoke the spirit of magic, despair, curiosity, adventure, hope and anything else that happens to be necessary along the journey. I don’t have a working knowledge of colorist terminology, so I won’t embarrass myself by trying to describe the work in detail, but just know that the images included in this post do not begin to show the added dimension that Beaulieu’s colors add.

For his part, Shanower nails the timbre and tone of the story. The voices, the interactions, everything carries the charm and simplicity of a well-worn children’s book that you keep returning to, year after year, despite being well outside of its intended demographic. It is that rare book that can make you nostalgic on your first reading of it. As I chewed through the issues, I couldn’t help but look forward to reading this story to my [as of yet imaginary] kids someday. It seems safe to say that Sandower has a good voice for his audience.

He also knows how to get out of the way. Using a style that takes a sentence that could set up an explicative paragraph in prose writing, and then letting Young do the rest, Sandower manages to at once highlight the art and make the book read more like a novel than a comic. The style also allows him to traverse passages that could require the better part of an issue in one six-panel page.

While there is certainly no “Bendis speak,” Shanower’s script is not without a few chucklers here and there. “Perhaps she won’t care very much for a tin husband,” says Dorothy to the Tin Woodsman at one point, speaking of his lost love. He replies, “Perhaps not, yet I’m brighter than most husbands, and am considered a polished gentleman.” Come on. That’s funny.

Less Singing. More Hacking. And Slashing.

Staying smartly away from phrasings like “the yellow brick road” and other familiar keepsakes (or, less politely, inaccuracies) from the film, including the ruby (in truth, silver) slippers, Shanower tells a story that is in large part foreign to most readers. Oz’s story diverges from the film not only in plot, but also tone. The cast is not the happy, hand-holding, skipping company of merry travelers found in the movie. What we find instead is a group of surprisingly introspective, if occasionally narcissistic, characters that fit together in personality and skill set. In some scenes, it can even begin to feel like a “team book,” with team members whose abilities compliment each other in travel and in battle. And there is plenty of battle. The book does not shy away from allowing its characters to be something other than the family-friendly personas of the film. They are are warriors when necessary, unhesitant to do what they have to in order to protect their friends. So, when the lion refers to the group as his “comrades,” it rings truer than it otherwise might.

The series is not perfect, of course. It suffers from some pacing issues, particularly in the final few issues where we spend a bit too much time in the Emerald City, and perhaps not enough in the continued adventures on the way to the Witch of the South’s castle, but is not a major issue, as it leaves a feeling more of curiosity than of being left in the dark. Additionally, although I know that it is an artistic decision and a storytelling device, the green wash and overabundance of shadow in the Emerald City scenes in later issues steals much of the book’s charm. Frankly, the biggest frustration with the series is that, despite wrapped for several months, it is not yet collected in a trade. Hopefully this last complaint will not be a lasting one.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

True to its source, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz explores easy-access issues of self-doubt, naivete, simplicity of outlook and figuring out exactly what you want. It can all sound a bit trite, and really, it should, since it is first and foremost a children’s story, but there are real questions of desire, priorities and balance as well. If nothing else, it is a reminder of all of the excuses that we make about why we cannot be successful at one thing or another, and the universally recited truth that success can’t come without actually making an attempt.

The ending is familiar, and the message clear. Dorothy finds her way home, reunites with Aunty Em and, presumably, lives out her days on Uncle Henry’s farm in Kansas. It’s a good ending, and one that carries a little extra weight this time of year. With so many of us traveling home for the holidays–without the benefit of magical silver slippers–it’s easy to see nothing but frustration in airports, interstates and bus terminals. But, should you be able to track down the issues, this beautiful world of Oz should go a long way toward instilling in you a little bit of holiday Dorothy.

And then, of course, you can regift the set to your little sister.

There's no place like home for the holidays

(All “research” that went into this post was happily gleaned from Wikipedia, and I make claims to neither veracity nor accuracy. Should this post turn out to be full of lies, half-truths, untruths and libelous assertions, I will happily amend whatever is brought to my attention.)

Readers may recall that L. Frank Baum was famous before he wrote The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz– he was a celebrity in the then-emerging world of consumer marketing, one of the first great window dressers.

Baum’s art flourished as retailing grew, finding its apotheosis on the Christmas displays that graced department stores around America.  Now, thanks to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, readers can take a stroll past the Holiday windows and Christmas store displays of yore…

Giant Christmas candle carousels, Marshall Field & Company, main aisle, Chicago, about 1956

Take the (online version of the) trip at “Holidays on Display” (and see William Bird’s book of the same title).

As we channel Ralphie’s Red Ryder lust, we might  raise a cup of testimony tea to Emily Dickinson, who was better known during her life as a gardener and botanist than as a poet; only 7 of her 1775 poems were published in her lifetime– which began on this date in 1830.

The Maid of Amherst

Dorothy: O, will you help me? Can you help me?
Glinda: You don’t need to be helped any longer. You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas.
Dorothy: I have?
Scarecrow: Then why didn’t you tell her before?
Glinda: Because she wouldn’t have believed me. She had to learn it for herself.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Penguin Classics editie

Al een hele tijd (een paar weken?) geleden heb ik dit boekje gelezen, maar een blog erover schrijven kwam er maar niet van. (Van de andere 6 boeken die ik ondertussen heb gelezen ook niet ) Maar nu dan toch maar eens. Ook dit is weer een ‘klassieker’ die ik in de zomer in Hongarije heb gekocht. Ik kende het verhaal wel half en half, maar niet echt meer. Ik denk dat ik ooit een een disney-club boekje ervan heb gelezen, of dat een deel ervan in de grote rode sprookjesboeken voorkomt. Bij sommige onderdelen kreeg ik wel een duidelijk beeld voor ogen van een plaatje dat ik er ooit van heb gezien, zoals bij de bergbewoners met veren in hun nek die iedereen zo wegkopten die er langs wilden bijvoorbeeld. Andere delen kon ik me echter niks van herrineren.
In totaal vind ik het wel een leuk boekje, met een best origineel verhaal ook, al ligt de moraal er soms wel duidelijk op, maar het is dan ook niet bedoelt voor 20-jarigen tenslotte

Never read a graphic novel before? Haven’t read a comic book in years?

Here’s some brand new stuff that came out the week of November 11 that I think is worth a look-see for someone with little to no history with comics. That means you should be able to pick any of these up cold without having read anything else. So take a look and see if something doesn’t grab your fancy. If so, follow the publisher links or Amazon.com links to buy yourself a copy. Or, head to your local friendly comic book shop.

Disclaimer: For the most part, I have not read these yet, so I can’t vouch for their quality. But, from what I’ve heard and seen, odds are good they just might appeal to you.

Pope Hats #1 – $4.00
By Ethan Rilly
32 pages; published by AdHouse Books

Pope Hats follows the trials of a young woman named Frances Scarland, whose social circle mainly consists of an alcoholic actress and an inept ghost named Saarsgard. The comic is an engaging slice-of-life story about young people navigating their own daily shortcomings.

Pope Hats was the winner of a 2008 Xeric Foundation Grant. An earlier mini-comic version of the story was shortlisted for the 2008 Doug Wright Awards in the category of Best Emerging Talent.

Here’s a preview, sadly only 1 page. Looks pretty enjoyable, though. I wish I had an inept ghost in my life.

Blood Song: A Silent Ballad – $19.95
By Eric Drooker
312 pages; published by Dark Horse Comics; available at Amazon.com

American Book Award winner Eric Drooker brings his second graphic novel — the visually bold and politically charged Blood Song: A Silent Ballad — to Dark Horse in a brand-new second edition!

Consisting mainly of full-page images, spreads, and diptychs, Blood Song is a wordless, full-color tribute to the resilience of the human spirit and the need for that spirit to make itself heard. A young girl travels from her war-torn island to a busy metropolis, from lush jungles to cold concrete and steel, and finds something that eludes most denizens of bustling, noisy, wasteful cities: love.

* This second edition of Blood Song includes a new cover and completely rescanned and remastered interiors.

* If you are unfamiliar with the work of Eric Drooker, go to drooker.com.

We featured the first edition of this book in our documentary Dig Comics, so we’re very excited to see it back in print. This is beautiful work. Here’s a 3-page preview.

Luna Park – $24.99
By Kevin Baker & Danijel Zezelj
160 pages; published by DC Comics’ Vertigo Books; available at Amazon.com

‘The most satisfying story I’ve read – in any medium – in years. Perhaps the greatest work of one of America’s greatest writers.’ – Darin Strauss (Chang and Eng)

‘Frightening, beautiful and compelling to the very last panel.’ – Denise Mina (HELLBLAZER, Slip of the Knife)

New York Times bestselling author Kevin Baker (Dreamland) writes his first original graphic novel, with internationally acclaimed artist Danijel Zezelj.

Alik Strelnikov lives in the shadow of Coney Island, a world of silenced rides and rusting amusement parks that mock his dreams of becoming a hero. Ten years ago, he traded a brutal existence in the Russian army for the promise of America only to become an enforcer in the Brooklyn mob. Now, he chases his ghosts with all he has left: booze, heroin and his lover, Marina, part-time prostitute and full-time fortune teller.

The only way the two of them can escape their miserable fates hinges on a desperate plan that will put them between warring mobs and span a century, from contemporary Coney Island to the Russia of the Second Chechen War to spellbinding 1910s New York.

Mixing historical novel, immigrant fiction and crime thriller, LUNA PARK marks Kevin Baker’s return to Coney Island, the setting of his critically beloved Dreamland and features breathtaking art by Danijel Zezelj (LOVELESS) with to-die-for colors by Dave Stewart (DC: THE NEW FRONTIER).

This has been getting a lot of press, mostly because of Kevin Baker’s prominence in the book world. Crossing over from writing novels to writing graphic novels isn’t always smooth. It’s a different language requiring a different skill set. But the reviews have been pretty favorable. This looks like a good one. Here’s a great big 12-page preview (although the reader is a bit cumbersome).

A Kidnapped Santa Claus – $14.99
By L. Frank Baum & Alex Robinson
72 pages; published by It Books; available at Amazon.com

Santa Claus lives in the Laughing Valley. On one side of the Valley is the mighty Forest of Burzee, home of the fairies. At the other side stands a terrible mountain that contains the caves of the daemons: Selfishness, Envy, Hatred, and Repentance. The daemons, thinking they have great cause to dislike old Santa, enact a treacherous plan on Christmas Eve. Then, with Santa curiously absent, only Santa’s magical friends can save Christmas!

This comic adaptation retells the classic Christmas tale of adventure and danger by L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz.

Something for the whole family during the holiday season. The story was originally published in 1904 and appears here in comic form courtesy of the talented cartoonist Alex Robinson. Here’s a healthy preview.

The Ghoul #1 – $3.99
By Steve Niles & Bernie Wrightson
32 pages; published by IDW Publishing

When Los Angeles Detective Lieutenant Lloyd Klimpt finds himself in the middle of a Hollywood mystery that falls way outside the norm, he knows he’s going to need a different kind of help than he’s used to. He finds it in the bizarre form of The Ghoul, a monstrous investigator with a reputation for solving the world’s weirdest crimes.

Written and created by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), with art by industry legend Bernie Wrightson. Also included is an illustrated prose story by Niles.

Bernie Wrightson is so good. A little post-Halloween detective tale for you. Check out this preview.

Beast – $15.99
By Marian Churchland
152 pages; published by Image Comics; available at Amazon.com

The first full-length solo work of MARIAN CHURCHLAND, artist of ELEPHANTMEN # 18-20, and Conan: Trophy.

Colette, a young sculptor looking for work, finds a job with a mysterious client who wants her to carve his portrait out of marble. The client turns out to be a shadowy creature, and the block of marble, she discovers, has a long history that threatens to engulf her entirely.

There’s a nice elegance to this art, but don’t mistake that for being timid, as the heavy blacks for the shadowy creature show. I’m intrigued. There’s a preview at the publisher link above.

The Year of Loving Dangerously – $18.95
By Ted Rall & Pablo G. Callejo
128 pages; published by NBM Publishing; available at Amazon.com

It’s the 80’s and Ted is in college in New York City and slipping. His pranks, lack of focus, and restlessness get him kicked out of school.

Unable to find a job, rejected by his parents, he’s on the verge of suicide. Instead he finds comfort in the arms of many women he meets casually and puts up a front for. It may sound like an ideal grift but the toll is much higher than one may imagine.

Between acidly funny and disturbingly real, Rall pours out his guts on a hard turning point in his life.

Political cartoonist Ted Rall turns to autobiography, and makes the interesting choice of having someone else handle the art. If you don’t know Ted Rall from Tony Randall, I wouldn’t worry about it. The description above tells you all you need to know. Here’s a preview.

Nylon Road: A Graphic Memoir of Coming of Age in Iran – $16.99
By Parsua Bashi
128 pages; published by St. Martin’s Press; available at Amazon.com

In the tradition of graphic memoirs such as Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, comes the story of a young Iranian woman’s struggles with growing up under Shiite Law, her journey into adulthood, and the daughter whom she had to leave behind when she left Iran. NYLON ROAD is a window into the soul of a culture that we are still struggling to understand.  Beautifully told, poignant, this is a powerful work about the necessity of freedom.

Persepolis is pretty lofty company but it’s a worthy topic to address. The entire first chapter can be seen here as a PDF.

Litterbury is currently reading The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy which was given to him as a gift.

I’m also just going into some of the original Oz books by L. Frank Baum.  I’d previously read the first 4, but I decided to skip 5 and moved onto 6, The Emerald City of Oz, and I ended up skipping 7 and just received 8, Tik Tok of Oz, from Amazon.  I normally wouldn’t be so sporadic, but I’m actually collecting the facsimile editions put out by Books Of Wonder (they are gorgeous!)  and am picking and choosing what interests me as I scrape together any available cash.  The maps of Oz on Tik Tok’s endpapers were what sent it over for me.

On a side note, I’m in kind of an Ozzy mood right now and not because of the new DVD of the MGM musical, but because I just watched the Tin Man miniseries on DVD.  It was good (decent?), but it was no Return to Oz, a.k.a., the best Oz film ever.  I might have further things to say on all of that later.  Pending!

I also recently acquired a second Edith Wharton book from the Library of America.  I already had the selected novels, and have read two out of four (House of Mirth, The Reef; both of which were extraordinary), but I received Novellas and Other writings for my birthday and I just read Madame de Treymes;  impeccably written as usual.  Wharton might be one of the best authors I’ve ever read.  She is damn good.

Another recent acquisition was the newly published edition of The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas from Everyman’s Library.  I’m probably not going to read it, as I read the newer, updated and restored translation by Robin Buss from Penguin; all roughly 1250 pages of it.  I had read an abridged version in the past from Signet (years ago, sixth grade?), but I now realize how very butchered it was.  The Buss translation is a real stunner, and I cried through quite a bit of it.  That actually surprised me because I remember liking the book for it’s adventure, but felt it lacked the emotional depth and warmth that had so endeared me to my beloved Musketeers.  That was clearly an effect from the butchering.  So, the Buss translation is the one to have, but I felt compelled to have Edmond on acid-free paper with a ribbon marker for safe-keeping.  He does look handsome on the shelf!

I also received a very special present of another Monte Cristo copy, this one being from the Collector’s Library from Barnes and Noble.  It’s tiny! And not just because it’s an abridged cut, but that it’s only a few inches by a few inches.  Nice detailing on it though, with ribbon marker, gold top-stain and an embossed publishing stamp on the front of it’s hardcover, and it features custom publishers endpapers and a little dust-jacket.  Too much Dumas is never enough.

I also received the LOA edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald but have not started it yet.  I’ve read The Great Gatsby twice and each time I’ve failed to see why everyone ohh’s and ahh’s over it; I think it’s a bit overrated if you ask me.  I did once get about halfway through This Side of Paradise (7th grade) but quit, which I’m not sure why because I remember loving it and marveling at how it was so much better than Gatsby.  Bear in mind, I think Gatsby is fantastic as a time capsule of a compelling era, and I appreciated the sexuality of the book in regards to the scene of two guys in bed together (despite the fact that it flies over everyone’s head; even mine the first time I read it!), but I take real issue with any book that is so wildly overblown, and given it’s lorded over reputation, and the fact that it makes every high school graduate’s list of favorite books of all time, I delight is skewering it.

EDIT: spelling; “their” and “they are” are obviously different!

Donald F. Montileaux is illustrating the 5th Prairie Tale, which will be The Enchanted Buffalo. The book won’t be out until next September, but here is a sneak peak at an early draft of the cover.

Matéria publicada no Jornal A Tarde dia 6 de novembro de 2009 (hoje) no Caderno 2

Clássico O Mágico de Oz comemora 70 anos

João Carlos Sampaio, crítico de cinema

Os 70 anos do clássico “O Mágico de Oz” (1939), de Victor Fleming, garantiram a volta da obra ao mercado, agora em edição especial com quatro discos. Além de uma versão restaurada do filme, os fãs e cinéfilos podem conferir muitos extras, dos bastidores a cenas excluídas da edição final.

O filme traz Judy Garland, protagonista da trama, cantando e dançando em números musicais inesquecíveis, embalados por uma inspirada trilha sonora, que rendeu dois Oscar (um deles para a canção-tema, “Over the Rainbow”). Tem ainda aqueles tipos fantásticos da história, o Espantalho, o Leão e o Homem de Lata, que alimentam uma fácula encantadora, para todas as idades.

Quem nunca viu o filme (ou nunca leu o livro) vai conhecer a vida pacata de Dorothy (Judy Garland), uma menina que mora com os tios (Charley Grapewin e Clara Bandick) numa fazenda, no Kansas. Ela é feliz, mas que se deixa impressionar facilmente.

Ultimamente tem estado preocupada com as ameças da vizinha mal humorada (a atriz Margaret Hamilton) que a está decidida a dar um fim no cãozinho de estimação da menina. Para compensar, tem o amor dos tios e dos simpáticos empregados da fazenda, tipos vividos pelos atores Bert Lahr, Jack Haley e Ray Bolger.

Realidade paralela

Mesmo amada, Dorothy resolve fugir, temendo pela sorte de seu cão. Na estrada, conhece um mágico fajuto, vivido pelo ator Frank Morgan, que acaba convencendo-se a regressar ao lar.

Só que, na volta, ela é surpreendida por um tornado e perde os sentidos. Daí por diante, a menina vai experimentar uma espécie de realidade paralela. Acorda num mundo colorido, bem diferente do que está acostumada a ver na fazenda.

Com ajuda da Bruxa Boa (a atriz Billie Burke), ela ganha sapatos cor de rubi e com eles atravessa o caminho de tijolos amarelos, chegando ao mundo do Mágico de Oz, onde vai viver a maior de todas as aventuras.

Este filme se inspira no livro homônimo (The Wizard of Oz), de L. Frank Baum, que foi transposto para a tela em sua superprodução que até hoje preserva seus encantos.

Os três discos extras deste lançamento trazem o trabalho de restauração do filme, a trilha sonora, o making of, o “legado de Oz” e mais um mundo de curiosidades. O único senão fica por conta da opção de tela no formato convencional de TV, sem preservar a proporção original vista nos cinemas.

(“O Mágico de Oz”/The Wizard of Oz – Estados Unidos, 1939/ De Victor Fleming)

Alguns autores vinham questionando o teor moralizante, as violentas histórias e com personagens pouco criativas das histórias infantis que predominavam na Europa no final do século XIX. Eles alegavam que as histórias deveriam entreter e divertir as crianças, pois a educação e a moral cabiam à família e à escola. Dentre esses autores estava o americano Lyman Frank Baum.

Em 1900 ele lança The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (em português, O Maravilhoso Feiticeiro de Oz), que se transforma em um dos maiores editoriais da história. É o primeiro livro da série que relata as aventuras da menina Dorothy Ventania (Dorothy Gale, no original) na fantástica Terra de Oz.

Dorothy vivia com seus tios Henry e Emm em uma pequena fazenda no Kansas. Acontece uma tempestade e seu único amigo, o cachorrinho Totó, desaparece. Desesperada, Dorothy procura por ele e acaba não entrando no abrigo contra ciclones, econdendo-se na pequena casa, que é levada pelos ares por um ciclone. No meio da tempestade, ela encontra Totó. Ao término da tempestade a casa é jogada em uma terra distante e desconhecida bem em cima de uma bruxa perigosa e temida, matando-a. Surpresa, Dorothy é recebida como heróina pelos Munchkins, homenzinhos que eram dominados pela malvada Bruxa do Leste.

Perdida ansiando voltar para casa e sem saber que estava tão longe, Dorothy recebe orientações dos habitantes do local que ela deveria procurar pelo Feiticeiro de Oz na Cidade das Esmeraldas, pois só ele poderia ajudá-la.

Dorothy calça os sapatinhos prateados da bruxa morta e acompanhada do seu fiel amigo Totó, ela segue a estradinha de tijolos amarelos em busca da terra de Oz. Após uma longa caminhada, a menina pára para descansar e no grande milharal encontra um espantalho digno de pena, pois é incapaz de exercer a função para qual foi criado: assustar e espantar os corvos que atacam a plantação. Dorothy descobre, para seu espanto, que o boneco é capaz de falar. Ele conta para ela que ansiava por um cérebro, pois assim poderia ter pensamentos excelentes.

Penalizada, a menina o retira da estaca que o prendia e convida-o para seguir com ela e Totó até a Cidade das Esmeralda, pois com certeza, o poderoso mágico haveria de ajuda-lo e solucionaria o seu problema. Maravilhado, o Espantalho acompanha Dorothy na sua jornada, tornado-se seu mais novo amigo.

Juntos, Dorothy, Totó e o Espantalho seguem pelo caminho e encontram próximo a uma cabana um homem todo feito de lata, enferrujado e segurando um machado. O Homem de Lata um dia havia sido o lenhador Tim Woodman que após um feitiço lançado por uma bruxa, acabara perdendo todos os membros em acidentes em seu trabalho, sendo substituídos por outros membros feitos de lata por um amigo. Porém o Homem de Lata precisava constantemente de alguém para lubrificar as juntas que ficavam enferrujadas. O maior desejo dele era ter um coração de verdade batendo no peito. Dorothy então o ajuda e ele integra ao grupo ansiando encontrar o grande feiticeiro para que ele lhe fornece um coração de verdade.

Na estrada o grupo é atacado por um leão que tenta amedrontar os viajantes, mas Dorothy descobre que a brabeza do leão não passa de uma farsa, ele era mesmo é muito medroso. O Leão Covarde sente muita vergonha de ser assim e ansiava ter a coragem, uma das principais caracterísitcas da sua espécie. O grupo revela para onde vai e o Leão decide acompanhá-los com a intenção de que o mágico possa lhe conceder o seu maior desejo.

O grupo quando chega à Cidade das Esmeraldas é bem recebido por todos. Porém quando o Mágico os recebe, ele não se mostra diretamente. Aparece para cada um de uma forma diferente. Informa que concederá os desejos de cada um deles com uma condição: eles teriam que livrar-se da perigosa Bruxa do Oeste.

Sem escolha e alternativa, eles dão continuidade a aventura. No confronto com a perigosa bruxa, todos os companheiros de Dorothy são destruídos e a menina feita prisioneira. Dorothy recebe a ajuda dos Quadlings, os habitantes do local dominado pela feiticeira, que a resgata e ajuda também os companheiros da criança. Assim, a Bruxa do Oeste é derrotada e o Homem de Lata feito imperador dos Quadlings.

Após o sucesso da operação, o grupo retorna ao castelo do Mágico de Oz, para que ele cumpra a promessa feita. O Mágico então é desmascarado pelo grupo que descobrem que ele não passa de um velhinho que acabou caindo no mundo de Oz por acaso quando viajava no seu balão. Ele se fingia de Mágico utilizando os truques que aprendeu quando trabalhava em circos.

Frustrados e sentindo-se enganados os membros do grupo ficam desolados pensando que nunca poderia ter seus sonhos realizados. No entanto, o desejo de todos é concecido. Ao Espantalho, o Mágico dá um certificado de uma universidade e o boneco se considera o ser mais inteligente do mundo; ao Homem de Lata, um coração falso; ao Leão, uma medalha de coragem; para Dorothy resolve levar ela com ele no novo balão que seria construído para eles irem embora para casa.

No dia da partida, Totó apronta uma: foge e o balão vai embora apenas com o falso Mágico. A garota, o cachorro e os amigos então decidem ir para a terra da Bruxa Boa do Norte, Glinda. Ao chegarem a bruxa boa os recebe como amigos que revela a menina que a solução do seu problema estava o tempo todo com ela: os sapatos de rubi que Dorothy usava eram mágicos e com ele, ela poderia voar de volta para casa. Dorothy então retorna ao Kansas com Totó e carregada de lembranças das aventuras vividas em Oz ao lado de amigos especiais e inesquecíveis.

Muitos estudiosos da área literária consideram o livro “O Maravilhoso Mágico de Oz” como a primeira narrativa norte-americana  do gênero fantástico. Após o lançamento do livro, o reconhecimento como uma história super criativa e diferente gerou diversas outras reimpressões, sob o título “O Mágico de Oz”.

O sucesso do livro foi tão grandioso que Baum em 1902 produziu um musical baseado na sua publicação. Posteriormente, em 1925, a história ganhou uma adaptação para o cinema, como filme mudo. Em 1939, os estúdios da Metro Goldwyn Mayer lançou uma nova versão do filme. O que consagrou a atriz Judy Garland que atuou como Dorothy e também a história de Baum, que através do filme conquistou fãs no cinema e na televisão.

Baum quis diferenciar a sua história das maiorias que eram escritas e produzidas na sua época. E o resultado foi maior do que o esperado. Com uma linguagem simples e métodos de escrita diferente dos que são ensinados, talvez (porque não?) sendo um dos precursores do método da repetição (verde, verde, verde que tanto aparece no País das Esmeraldas), a sua obra se eternizou nos corações de crianças, jovens e adultos, sendo lembrada até os tempos modernos.

So, last week I went to see Wicked at the theatre with some family members. If you’re not familiar, Wicked is the big musical that tells the story of The Wizard of Oz from the perspective of the two witches: Glinda the Good and Elphaba the Wicked. Something about The Wizard of Oz feels just right at this time of year. The characters make great halloween costumes, of course, and the candy colored sets of the movie inspire noshing on sweet confections.

Most everyone is familiar with the big screen version of Oz, but I’ve only met a few folks who have read the original L. Frank Baum books. There is a whole series and they are far more complex than the movie, darker and grittier and certainly less optimistic. Wicked, the musical, falls somewhere in between the books and the movie. And I know that Wicked is also a book, but I haven’t read it yet and I can’t speak to how faithful the stage rendition might be to the words on the page. On stage, Wicked is pretty dark. It portrays the Glinda the Good as a dumb blonde hell-bent on popularity at any cost and Elphaba as a misunderstood nature lover (green in every sense of the word) who fights for the rights of animals and all creatures. I won’ t spoil the trajectory of how Glinda becomes truly good or how Elphaba becomes known as wicked, but I will say that despite the gloomy storyline there is a pretty happy ending. I loved the production. It was huge and well-produced and there were many flying monkeys. I’m not so sure I liked the happy ending, though.

In general, I’m not a fan of happy endings. Give me something sad or scary or pessimistic or even ambiguous and I’ll buy it, but happy? I find that my suspension of disbelief goes flying right out with the monkeys.

Nevertheless, it was an excellent evening with family. We started by having pizza at a fab local joint and drank more than a couple of beers or glasses of wine over the course of a long night. For someone who is normally in bed by 9 p.m., it was quite the festive evening. It left me longing to go back and re-read those old L. Frank Baum books from my childhood. Alas, I own none of them anymore! I’ll have to scour the library shelves or hit the bookstore, but it does feel like just the right thing for Halloween, what with all the “lions and tigers and bears, oh my!”

Recommended reading: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Recommended noshing: Candy Corn, of course!

Happy reading, happy cooking and happy Halloween,

The Hungry Bookworm

When I was a dumbass kid of 10 I acquired a reading addiction by discovering the Oz books by L. Frank Baum.  When I was a dumbass kid of nineteen, I dropped out of college for the first time and bought the fourteen Oz books and reread them.  At nineteen I felt like a grownup and wondered if rereading my favorite kid’s books would tell me something about how I was programmed.  Between 10 and 19 I read whole libraries of science fiction books, and rereading the Oz books taught me that science fiction was often just Oz books for adults. 

It was around this time, 1970, that I read Ringworld by Larry Niven for the first time.  Now, almost forty years later, I’ve come back to Ringworld again, like my return to Oz.  The whole time while listening to Ringworld on my Zune I kept thinking that Larry Niven had practically copied the structure and sense of wonder of an Oz book.  Now, this can be seen as both praise or a curse.  Oz books are like giving rug rats wordy psychedelics – the stories are so goddamn vivid that they put their tiny tyke imaginations into an overdrive that no Ritalin could ever break.  I also think these books produce unrealistic expectations about reality.  Yeah, I know, I sound a Puritan.

Our society underestimates the power of children’s minds.  From an early age we have a desperate need to make sense of reality, and almost any input can be shaped into a belief system.  I loved being a kid shooting up stories, but now that I’m older and examining some of my most ancient subroutines from my mental programming code, I have to wonder about the dangers of children’s books.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to campaign against giving kids fantastic fiction, but I want to explore the idea of fantastic fiction on evolving minds.  

I once read a shocking article in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction about how libraries banned the Oz books.  I’d love to find that article again, because librarians believed the Oz books gave children unrealistic ideas about life.  At that time, I felt their protests were complete bullshit.  Banning the Oz books didn’t work, because writers like Robert A. Heinlein, who also grew up reading Oz books, went on to write even more books that gave kids unrealistic expectations about life.  Fantasy and science fiction have become universal fictional addictions in our modern society.  Does anyone worry about that?

Rereading Ringworld, I noticed it had the same structure as an Oz book.  Oz books would introduce a handful of weird characters, quickly get them on a quest, and along their journey these characters would experience mind-blowing sights and meet far-out magical creatures.  Then when enough pages were filled to equal a book, the story would be wrapped up.  Oz books had little character development, and practically no rising plot action, definitely no climax or falling action, and very minimal resolution. 

The Ringworld of Niven’s novel is his Oz, a magical place equal in scope to the Land of Oz.  Like Oz, Niven barely scratched the surface of the Ringworld, leaving room for endless sequels.  Nessus, the Pierson’s Puppeteer and the Kzinti, Speaker to Animals, are as colorful as any magical Oz character created by L. Frank Baum.  Children reading the Oz books starting with the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which appeared in the year 1900, through Glinda of Oz in 1920, wanted to believe that Oz existed.  I know in 1962 when I discovered the books I somehow wanted Oz to exist.  I knew it didn’t, but wished it did.  If I had found these books sooner, when I was seven or eight, I might not have been able to tell Oz from reality.

By age eleven I switched from fantasy books to science fiction, and even though I knew science fiction was also make-believe, I developed a life-long belief system based on science fictional ideas.  Rereading Ringworld only reminded me that believing in science fiction is no different from a kid of ten believing in the Land of Oz.  All fiction is fantasy.  Even realistic books like those by Edith Wharton or James Joyce, still only produce fantasies of life in 19th century New York, or early 20th century Ireland, no more real than Oz or Ringworld.

Like I said, I have no intention of giving up fiction, it’s the vice that defines me, and an army of deprogrammers could never make a dent in my delusional addiction.  When I’m alert and concentrating, I can face reality directly.  I know my life would be more real if I spent my time hiking in the mountains, woodworking, or studying astronomy – or just washing dishes and changing the cat box.  I’ve always felt sorry for Christians who hated this world and dreamed of Heaven, but is dreaming of Paradise any different from dreaming of Oz or Ringworld? 

I guess those librarians who wanted to ban Oz books were right.  I can see I used fiction as a drug to avoid life and living in reality.  I understand that, and accept it, but it doesn’t invalidate that I love fiction more than reality.

If I had never gotten hooked on fiction would I have been a better person?  Would I have been disciplined and realistic?  Would I have been hard working and productive?  Gee, I don’t know, maybe if I was lucky.  There are billions of people living with their faces shoved into reality that have no happiness or escape, so I can’t complain about my fiction habit, because my life could suck and I might never have discovered the magic of make believe.

All I know at the moment, is tonight I want to read my paperback copy of Cosmic Engineers by Clifford Simak or go watch Heroes or Firefly on DVD and eat Phish Food ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s and Fresh Market chocolate chip cookies.  I could do something real, I just choose not to.

JWH – 10/27/09

This essay was written fueled by playing “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show thirty or forty times.  Music, the other addiction.  Be sure and read “The Man Who Made Oz” over at Slate.

Maxfield Parrish might not be a household name, but he is quite famous within the world of fine art.  However, before he made his name in the highbrow art world his talent was directed toward picture books (and magazine articles).  Like the first and second entries in this series, Parrish worked with author L. Frank Baum on a book of nursery rhyme adaptations.  Parrish then moved on to illustrating adaptations of famous epics like Arabian Nights and Ring of Nibelung.

Because of his enduring fame in the fine art community, there are many Parrish books in print, although many of them present his illustrations out of their original context and in a coffee table art book format.

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W. W. Denslow is best known for illustrating L. Frank Baum’s classic novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.  They worked together on a few more books before a falling out over money.  Denslow and his successor on the Oz books, John R. Neill, could not be much more different.  While Neill’s art can be described as elegant and flowing, Denslow’s art is better described as squished and boxy – just like a lot of my favorite comic book artists.

Denslow became pretty famous in his own right and set out on a few solo projects, the most famous being a series of illustrated stories set in Oz and syndicated to newspapers (Denslow co-owned all of the content in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz).  Additionally, he released a long series of picture books containing his own interpretations of famous fairy tales.

There’s not a lot of Denslow stuff in print today, but there is a facsimile of the gorgeous, original edition of Wziard of Oz published by Books of Wonder as well as a book collecting a few of his fairy tale picture books.

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08.10.2009

“Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.”

L. Frank Baum (1856-1919)

from

The Road to Oz by               L. Frank Baum:

… she feared you would be weary with your long walk and she wished you to enter the City in a style becoming your exalted rank.”
“What!” cried Polly, looking at Dorothy curiously. “Do you belong to the nobility?”
“Just in Oz I do,” said the child, “’cause Ozma made me a Princess, you know. But when I’m home in Kansas I’m only a country girl, and have to help with the churning and wipe the dishes while Aunt Em washes ‘em. Do you have to help wash dishes on the rainbow, Polly?”
“No, dear,” answered Polychrome, smiling.
“Well, I don’t have to work any in Oz, either,” said Dorothy. “It’s kind of fun to be a Princess once in a while; don’t you think so?”

Last month, The Wizard of Oz turned 70. And last week, multiplexes and small theaters across the country showed a digitally remastered version of the classic film. Two nights ago, I caught it on TV and marveled once again–after so, so many viewings–at the brilliance of it. Technicolor and great casting notwithstanding, it’s the story that really shines. Baum was a genius.

Given my affinity for found objects, old books and historic ephemera (mostly of the stylish and/or campy variety), I’m ridiculously lucky to have inherited a large set of first-edition Oz books. Most of the books in my personal collection were written by Ruth Plumly Thompson (who, if Wikipedia is to be believed, actually penned more Oz books than Baum) and published in the 20s and 30s. They are well preserved, and they smell delicious: decades and decades of different houses, different readers–that old-attic scent that makes me feel safe, nostalgic and curious all at once.

These books, each a different, dusky color, were first read to my grandfather. His name, in charming kid penmanship, is inscribed inside each cover. My grandfather read the series to my father, when he was a boy. And my father, following tradition, read them to my sister and me. I have fond memories of summer evenings at my grandparents’ lake house, curled up on the couch with my dad and my sister. I sported a pink nightgown and hair tangled from lake water. I dozed off easily (I still do) when comfortable and cozy and tired from the day. But I could always stay up for Oz.

To the unacquainted, these stories go way beyond Dorothy and her adventures. Each tale was completely different, each one woven with new characters, plots and escapades. How can I forget Bungle, the glass cat, so proud of her pink brains? Or Button Bright–the boy who was anything but? (His reply to every question was “Don’t Know!” My dad created a hilariously exaggerated reading of this, and my sister and I howled every time he did it.)

These characters were memorable, the stories rich. And the illustrations were pure art. (Scroll down to see one one that harkens to Mucha.) We spent years with these books. But here’s the sad thing about growing up: One day we just stopped. We never made it to the end of the Oz series. As my dad tells us now, my sister and I simply lost interest, got too old. We wanted to play Nintendo, not listen to some story for babies.

It pains me to think of this now.

I’m fighting the urge to re-read the books now, even though it’s tempting. I’m waiting for the day when I can relive them with my own kids, much like my grandfather and dad did. I just hope they can love and appreciate them like I do. (Because it might break my heart otherwise.)

Dedicado a Dorothy.

El Mago de Oz cumple 70 año desde que fuera exhibida por vez primera en 1939, habiéndose convertido no sólo en una de las películas más vista de todos los tiempo, sino también un clásico e ícono del cine americano de la época.

El Mago de Oz se estrenó en el cine un doce de agosto de 1939 teniendo una acogida no tan exitosa. El filme fue uno de los primeros a colores de la industria en Hollywood, de hecho el film comienza en blanco y negro y no es sino hasta cuando Dorothy llega a Oz cuando la magia y la fantasía convierte todo a color! Sin embargo, con el tiempo el filme vendría a convertise en un clásico, siendo retransmitido en televisión casi todos los años a partir de 1959.

La película dirigida por Victor Fleming y protagonizada por la legendaria Judy Garland se basa en un libro del escritor L. Frank Baum   El Maravilloso Mago de Oz,  quien también escribiera otros once  libros basados en las historias de Oz. Los libros de Baum sobre Oz también fueron inspiración para otras películas y obras de teatros de historia similares.  La película comienza cuando un huracán se lleva a Dorothy y su perro Toto hasta Oz, donde debe buscar al Mago para poder regresar hasta su pueblo de origen en Kansas. El el camino de piedras amarillas, se encuentra a un espantapájaros, un hombre de lata, y a un león cobarte, quienes a su vez le acompañan, en medio de música y baile, para hacer una petición propia al Mago de Oz.

 El tema ”Sobre el Arcoiris” (Over the rainbow) de la película no solo ganó un Oscar como la mejor canción del año sino que con el tiempo también se convertiría en una canción conocida y cantada por todo el mundo. La versión original la podemos ver en el video siguiente.

Poster Original de la película El Mago de Oz

El Mago de Oz

from

Ozma of Oz by     L. Frank Baum:

… wind until they looked like feather dusters without handles. The bottom of the coop was made of thick boards, so Dorothy found she was clinging to a sort of raft, with sides of slats, which readily bore up her weight. After coughing the water out of her throat and getting her breath again, she managed to climb over the slats and stand upon the firm wooden bottom of the coop, which supported her easily enough.
“Why, I’ve got a ship of my own!” she thought, more amused than frightened at her sudden change of condition; and then, as the coop climbed up to the top of a big wave, she looked eagerly around for the ship from which she had been blown.
It was far, far away, by this time. Perhaps no one on board had yet …

The Undead World of Oz by L. Frank Baum and Ryan C. Thomas is now available at the following on-line retailers:

Paperback:

Amazon.com
Amazon.ca
Amazon.co.uk
Barnes and Noble
Other On-line Retailers

eBook:

Amazon Kindle
Fictionwise.com
Drivethruhorror.com
Mobipocket

The story:

One day, on a peaceful farm in Kansas, a tornado appeared. The storm raged and ripped the house from the ground. Inside sat a little girl named Dorothy and her dog Toto.

The house spun. The winds roared. The tornado showed no mercy, until . . .

The house landed in a strange and magical land called Oz.

But that’s where the fairytale ends and the nightmare begins.

The Wicked Witch of the West has cast a spell on the Land of Oz, a spell that brings the dead back to life. Only the Great Wizard in the Emerald City can stop this curse, but he has never been seen.

It’s up to Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Woodman to journey through this dangerous land of hungry undead and savage monsters and find him in the hopes of bringing life back to Oz.

Come join hands with them as they travel down the Yellow Brick Road and see if you can make it to the Emerald City . . . alive.

Also by Ryan C. Thomas: The Summer I Died

The last Coscom Entertainment release: World War of the Dead

For our full list of books, please see: www.coscomentertainment.com

A John Updike rumor over at Three Guys One Book

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