Oz Link for 4/25/04

Today we have Bill Bryan’s webpage. Bryan was the artist for “the other Oz comic”. It was a series of series and one-shots – Oz, Dark Oz, Land of Oz being the series.

I’d never actually read any of it until this morning. I finally pulled my copy of Oz: Mayhem in Munchkinland (a collection of the first five issues of the first series) off my shelf and took the time to give it a read.

It’s obvious that Bryan had a great time drawing it. His art is full of energy. Bryan has trouble with anatomy and controlling his lines. The art seems rushed and unfocused. As a result most of the characters look lumpy and unfinished.

The story, by Stuart Kerr and Ralph Griffith, about the retaking of Oz after its conquest by the Nome King didn’t do much for me either. Our heroes – a trio of teenagers (Twenty-somethings? I’m not sure. They’re not a well defined group.) and their dog got sucked through a dimensional portal into Oz after opening a mysterious book. They get separated after a Munkin attack. Mary joins up with the Freedom Fighters – a ragtag bunch that includes Jack Pumpkinhead, the Woggle Bug, a Winged Monkey, Jinjur, Tik-Tok and the Hungry Tiger. Pete and Kevin meet the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion and free them from enchantments that have made them Evil.

The series was published from 1994-1999. Not a bad effort for an independent series.