''Oz Squad'' is a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series using characters and setting from L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz series, "updated for a more adult audience". It was created and written by

Steve Ahlquist Steve Ahlquist (born 1963) is an American journalist, comic book writer, graphic novelist, and humanist from Rhode Island. Ahlquist is the founder and editor-in-chief of Uprise RI, a Rhode Island based news site covering issues of social just ...

. The premise is that Dorothy, 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.Lesle ...

, the

Tin Woodman 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 '' ...

and the

Cowardly Lion The Cowardly Lion is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is depicted as an African lion, but like all animals in Oz, he can speak. Since lions are supposed to be "The Kings of Beasts," the Cowardly ...

are now part of "Gale Force" (not to be confused with the comic ''OzF5: Gale Force'' (2005) by Alias Enterprises), a '' Mission: Impossible'' type organization working to protect Oz from all manner of bizarre threats.

Publication

The original series ran for 10 issues from 1991-1996. The first four issues were illustrated by Andrew Murphy, inked by

Dan Schaefer Daniel "Dan" Schaefer (January 25, 1936 – April 16, 2006) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 6th congressional district from 1983 to 1999. Early life and education Born in Guttenberg, Iowa, he at ...

, and published by Brave New Words, which also later reprinted the first two issues with alternative covers.

Millennium Publications Millennium Publications was an American independent comic book publishing company founded by Mark Ellis, Melissa Martin and Paul Davis. Initially known as a publisher of licensed properties, Millennium adapted works by Arthur Conan Doyle, Lester ...

then produced a 48-page ''Oz Squad Special''. Finally, Ahlquist and some friends created Patchwork Press to carry on publishing the book. Terry Loh drew the last six issues, and Mike Sagara illustrated a ''Little Oz Squad'' special. Ahlquist published a new Oz Squad novel in 2011, ''Oz Squad: March of the Tin Soldiers''.

Plot

The series adapts the mythology that Baum had created in the original children's books and updates it with the intention of appealing to a more adult audience. ''Oz Squad''s first issue featured Tik-Tok's becoming insane and violent after his "internal clockwork morality spring" runs down during a visit to Earth (it would run down more rarely in Oz, where decisions are more "black and white"). Later issues featured an assault on the hideout of Rebecca Eastwitch (the Wicked Witch of the East) at Castle Munchausen, and a series of time travel adventures in which the Scarecrow met

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on ...

and

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...

, Dorothy found herself in the American Old West, and Nick met himself while still a human. The series ended with

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of it ...

revealing that she is

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

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 ...

. In the 2011 ''Oz Squad: March of the Tin Soldiers'', the Squad is in conflict with Rebecca Eastwitch and introduces Ozzy, Dorothy and Ozma's son.

Reviews

The series provoked a strong negative response from many fans of Baum's Oz.

Pittsburg State University Pittsburg State University (Pitt State or PSU) is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas. It enrolls approximately 7,400 students (6,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students) and is a member of the Kansas Board of Regents. History ...

English professor Steven J. Teller reviewed it for ''

The Baum Bugle ''The Baum Bugle: A Journal of Oz'' is the official journal of The International Wizard of Oz Club. The journal was founded in 1957, with its first issue released in June of that year (to a subscribers' list of sixteen). It publishes three times pe ...

'' and considered it worthless and disgusting.Steven J. Teller. "''Oz Squad'' review". ''The Baum Bugle''. When the series was reprinted, the ''Bugle'' was much kinder to it, and referred to Teller's review, suggesting that with the Oz books so recently having fallen into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...

, there was little else like it, but post-'' Wicked'', it seems groundbreaking and not nearly as outrageous as it did at the time.

Characters

*Dorothy Gale *Scarecrow *Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman *Cowardly Lion *Tik-Tok *Rebecca, Wicked Witch of the East *Kalidah *Jellia Jamb *Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, the Wizard of Oz *Hammerheads *Glinda the Good *Ozma *Jack Pumpkinhead *Mombi *Sawhorse *Jinjur *Professor Wogglebug *Gump *Hungry Tiger *Button Bright *Polychrome *Bungle the Glass Cat *Woozy *Betsy Bobbin *Trot *Cap'n Bill *Orks *Flying Monkeys *Santa Claus *L. Frank Baum

Publication

Plot

Reviews

Characters

References

See also