''Oz'' is a comic book series created by Ralph Griffth (plotter),

Stuart Kerr Stuart may refer to: Names *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile * Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

(scripter), and Bill Bryan, artist. The series was begun by

Caliber Comics Caliber Comics or Caliber Press is an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed. Featuring primarily creator-owned comics, Caliber published over 1,300 comics in the decade following its inception and is ranked as one of America ...

. It ran for 20 issues, six specials, and two three-issue limited series detailing the romance of the Scarecrow and Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, who create a child using the Powder of Life, in spite of Scraps's discomfort with the Scarecrow's new personality. Jack Pumpkinhead was possessed and destroyed in the '' Daemonstorm'' company-wide

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

. After 20 issues, the series was revived by Arrow Comics as ''Dark Oz'' for five issues, climaxing the story arc. Nine issues followed titled ''The Land of Oz'', which presented a more orthodox vision of Oz, which was also shown in ''Oz'' issue #0.

Plot

Beginning with a tribute to the original story,

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

's ''

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz afte ...

'', the tale begins with three 1990s era characters, Peter, Mary and Kevin with his dog Max, being swept away from Earth to the land of Oz via tornado. There they discover that sinister forces have been at work, and the evil Nome King now rules the land, backed up by his army of rock-dwelling minions. Having become unwilling freedom fighters in a world not their own, they soon play a central role in ridding the once-beautiful Oz of the Nome King’s dark influence. The trio are first separated in a battle with Nomes meanwhile Mary is saved by the stick-figure

Jack Pumpkinhead Jack Pumpkinhead is a fictional character from the Land of Oz and appears in several of the classic children's series of Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. The Classic Oz Books Jack first appeared as a main character in the second Oz ...

. She then meets the Sawhorse, Amber Ombi ( Ombi Ambi's nephew), General Jinjur, Hektor Hammerhead and the Wogglebug: the Freedom Fighters of Oz. Kevin and Peter barely escape from a Kalidah, a creature half tiger and half bear. Many adventures occur before the three Earthlings are reunited. They must face Witch Mombi and her Ladies Auxiliary Brigade, an army of enslaved Winged Monkeys, and giant spiders in a cavern. They must also find a way to defeat the Three Evil Kings of Oz: the

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley ...

, the

Tin Woodsman Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman, also known as the Tin Man or—mistakenly—the "Tin Woodsman," is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. Baum's Tin Woodman first appeared in his classic 1900 book ''Th ...

, and the Lion, as well as defeat the Nome King and all his magical devices and save Queen Ozma to return Oz to its former glory. The three rulers were restored by issue #10. In issue #14,

Princess Ozma Princess Ozma is a fictional character from the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the Oz series except the first, '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and Baum ...

, who has been under a spell keeping her in a near-vegetative state on the queen's throne next to Ruggedo, is restored and the Wizard found. A new artist took over with issue #16, though Bryan was back with Arrow—he had been drawing the prequel comics. The remainder of the run of ''Oz'' climaxes in ''Dark Oz'', though Ruggedo remains as a villain in ''The Land of Oz''. ''Dark Oz'' was optioned for a movie trilogy in 2008. The movie is in development with

Pearry Reginald Teo Pearry Reginald Teo Zhang Pingli (born 23 July 1978) commonly known as Pearry Teo, is a Singaporean filmmaker. He is considered the first Singaporean movie director to make a Hollywood film. Biography Teo began his career with as a school drop ...

attached to direct.

External links

Bill Bryan interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oz (Comics) Comics based on Oz (franchise) Caliber Comics titles

Plot

See also

External links