Dorothy at the End of the Century

The next four posts will feature my version of the original Oz Squad. I’ve made some adjustments to the designs to fit my own style but I’ve tried not to go to far.

The look of Oz Squad was established in the first issue of the comic, published toward the end of 1991. Andrew Murphy penciled that issue and, while I imagine that Steve had a lot of input, designed the look of the characters. Unlike many versions of Dorothy that have appeared in other takes on Oz in the years since, the Dorothy in that first issue is a good example of the sort of woman the Dorothy of the books might have grown up to be. She dresses fashionably and practically. As one of Oz’s representatives on Earth her style is somewhat formal and businesslike – appropriate for interacting with ambassadors and bureaucrats.

I’ve made Dorothy a blond. In the original books Dorothy is illustrated as blond so I’m sticking with that.

I don’t know if Andrew is still making art. If he is I haven’t been able to find any examples of recent work online. 

The Lion, Before the Tornado

Spot illustration #7 for the Oz-Squad.com and Skookworks.com header designs.

As a kid, of Dorothy’s first four Oz companions, I liked the Lion the best. I think that’s partly because he got the least story time in any of the Oz sequels. I couldn’t get tired of him. He doesn’t get a lot of respect. Not even from his creator. He didn’t even appear in the second book. He mostly just appears as flavor in later books. He didn’t get a book named after him until the 16th sequel (and Baum was dead). He’s depicted as a guy in lion suit in That Movie. And don’t get me started on A Lion Among Men.

Imagine my delight at the pagetime he gets in March of the Tin Soldiers. As well as decent explanation of why he isn’t along on all the adventures. Thank you Steve!

Body of Tin, Heart of Sawdust

Spot illustration #6 for the Oz-Squad.com and Skookworks.com header designs.

Nick Chopper didn’t have a lot of choice over what his first tin body looked like but, as the twentieth century progressed and circumstances demanded it, he’s built and worn quite a few different forms. Some are big and scary. Some are almost graceful. Into each he puts the heart that the Wizard gave him. It’s just a thing of sawdust and silk but it feels nonetheless. 

Portrait of a Young Woodman, Unknowing of His Fate

Spot illustration #5 for the Oz-Squad.com and Skookworks.com header designs.

Once upon a time, Nick Chopper was a young man in love. He cut wood for a living. He expected to get married, settle down and have kids. He expected a pretty normal life or least as normal a life as one can have in the Land of Oz.

Unfortunately he ran afoul of Rebecca, the Witch of the East. And she arranged him to run afoul of his axe. Several times.*

There aren’t a lot of depictions of Nick prior to his transformation into the Tin Woodman. The only one I’m aware of is by John R Neill for The Tin Woodman of Oz. And, chronologically, the illustration still takes place after Nick got chopped up. It’s in the chapter The Tin Woodman Talks to Himself. I love that chapter.

* See March of the Tin Soldiers for the details. And the 21st century aftermath. 

The Scarecrow, a Century (and Change) Later

Spot illustration #4 for the Oz-Squad.com and Skookworks.com header designs.

The last century has been hard on the Scarecrow. He’s lost friends. He’s been torn to pieces on more occasions than he’d like to remember. Unfortunately for him he remembers every one of those occasions. He can’t forget anything. Not even the trivial stuff. Fortunately, however, he’s not human so he’s able to cope in ways that a meat person couldn’t. He’s able to put on new faces to fit new moods. This is how he looks in the current incarnation of Oz Squad.

The Scarecrow, Fresh off His Post

Spot illustration #3 for the Oz-Squad.com and Skookworks.com header designs.

The first person to join Dorothy on her trip to see the Wizard was a Scarecrow. He was stuck on a pole in field. Dorothy helped him down. The Scarecrow decided that a brain would do him good and that the Wizard might provide him with one and off they went. He and Dorothy have remained best friends ever since. 

Today’s illustration shows the Scarecrow as he looked on the day he first met Dorothy.

Dorothy Gale, Defender of the Realms

Spot illustration #2 for the Oz-Squad.com and Skookworks.com header designs.

Dorothy Gale, in all of the original Oz books, always struck me as a practical sort of girl. She grew up on a farm. She faced down lions and witches and worse when most grown men would have been peeing their pants.

So when it came time for me to design my version of the adult Dorothy for Oz Squad I kept the short haircut from the final issues of the comic, gave her shoes she could walk in and clothes that wouldn’t slow her down. No doubt she dresses up for state occasions but I’ll worry about what Dorothy in drag would wear at some other date.

Portrait of Dorothy as a Young Girl

The next many posts are going to feature small illustrations. I’m designing headers for Oz-Squad.com and Skookworks.com, and, at least for the first round, including four spot illustrations as part of each design. I’ll be posting the individual illustrations here. Please go to the sites themselves to see how they look in context.

Right now I’ve got two headers designed for the Oz Squad site. The first shows the characters as they appear “today”. The second shows the characters in their early days. The headers are set to show up at random so if you want to see them both just reload the page a couple of times and the image should change.

L. Frank Baum doesn’t say how old Dorothy was when she first came to Oz. In the illustration by W.W. Denslow she appears to be somewhere between 5 and, maybe, 8 years old. I don’t remember if Steve Ahlquist has specified her age in any of the Oz Squad comics or the novel. Most likely she was around six or seven. That’s the age we (that is, scientific professionals who study human behavior) currently think children develop their sense of empathy.