The Wizard of Oz: The Graphic Novel

This retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was easy to follow and pretty true to the original novel. The art was simple but very modern and beautiful to look at. The characters were well developed, but quickly introduced. You meet all three of Dorothy's friends within the first thirty pages or so. Well done and fun to look at, this graphic novel makes a great addition to any Oz collector's book shelf.

When you are traveling to Emerald City, ask the Great Wizard of Oz to give you a good book. Well, a long time ago, in the distant prairie was a place called Kansas. That's where Dorothy lived with her Aunt and Uncle and a dog named Toto. Sadly, Dorothy and Toto were separated from her Aunt and Uncle when a cyclone came and took Dorothy and Toto to Munchkin Land, which is a magical country that is not of this Earth. The Munchkins thanked Dorothy for supposedly "killing" the Wicked Witch of the East. When the witches' body disappears; the witch of the North gives Dorothy the dead witches' shoes. See West and East witches are evil while the North and South witches are good. Dorothy follows the yellow brick road along with Toto and some friends they meet along the path. Dorothy and her friends face trouble as they follow the path to Emerald City. The "Great Wizard" would grant their request if they kill the Witch of the West. The battle of killing the witch of the west begins. Overall, this is a good book that also provides sketches of the book's first cover, as well as some scenes. In addition to reading the book; it also gives you images of some of the scenes happening in the story. Dorothy is a skinny female who in my opinion is a mindful person. I also believe she is a person who changes moods whenever in danger and throws tantrums at people who are not her friends. In one scene, when they encounter the lion, Dorothy protects Toto so that the lion wouldn't bite Toto. Then just like I said before; she throws a tantrum saying, " You should be ashamed of yourself for trying to bite Toto." This book has a picture of the old Wizard of Oz book cover. If you compare the Scarecrow and Tin Man to them in the old version, it seems that this book is the modern day version of them. If you see the cover of it you would notice the Scarecrow is wearing a sweater and baggy jeans, while the Tin Man has his axe built in his right arm. Dorothy is also wearing modern day clothes as well.

A glance will tell you that the artwork in this adaptation is gorgeous to look at -- that the appealing character designs, bold layouts, saturated blacks and expressive style will be pleasing to page through. What's less obvious but just as true is that this is, in fact, as faithful and engrossing an adaptation as you could ask for in 144 pages. Cavallaro managed to condense "Oz" without losing the details, pacing or flavor of the original -- I hope he signs on for more projects with Puffin Graphics, as this was a delight to read!