Well this is probably my last review for this series. I’m not finding anything new to say about it and it’s definitely not giving me anything new to talk about. It’s really just sexy Oz and while I could enjoy that if it was following the story that we all already know, but it’s almost jumping on and off the yellow brick road; not quite the same and not quite different… just dressed sluttier. There’s a really poor narration in the beginning in which Dorothy is writing to her aunt while the group fights some wicked looking dogs. The Woodsman arrives to help them beat them faster and Dorothy’s letter ends with her saying she knows her aunt will never get it, but that it was comforting to write it. I just don’t understand where Dorothy got paper and ink in a place that’s basically in the dark ages and when she had time to write it. The narration didn’t work. It was a good effort and mixing things up and trying to have a contrast to violence and action on the page, but it didn’t work.
What I’ve noticed for three issues now is that each issue takes a long time to start and fills up way too much of the issue with needless narration and scenes that serve no real purpose, while the end of the issue is rushed and leaves holes in the story. For instance the letter and battle in the beginning takes six and a half pages and the only outcome is the introduction of the Tin Man aka The Woodsman and killing a lot of demon dogs… and a bull… and the letter to Dorothy’s aunt. Then a few pages are spent revealing a fraction of the Tin Man’s origin which really could have been done in two panels. While the ending with the dungeon and the giant bees is rushed through, but not before an ill-placed story about how the munchkins used to be the happiest people in Oz. This made zero sense to me considering the “prophecy of Oz” only takes three dialog bubbles and glazes over the details like they’re no big deal to the story.
Also the second half of the story once again feels as if it’s missing panels. There are huge jumps in the story and art. They rescue the man in the dungeon that they needed and begin talking to him instantly about the sword they want to build and that’s all on one page. It’s like streaming a TV show or movie and lag hits and the story jumps ahead, but you didn’t miss that much so you don’t bother to rewind it… only this is a comic book. You’re literally just left with an empty feeling for the back-end of the story.
The art is okay, but there’s a ton of inconsistencies with the character’s faces. Glenda in particular looks like a different person depending on the angle and can’t seem to stand without a solid “V” stance. It’s like she’s getting ready to do squats every time she stands in place. There’s a scene at the end with two sequential panels of her facial expressions and in one she looks like a crazed woman that’s staring at something she wants to eat and in the next she look like she’s having a painful bowel movement. Either way she does not look like a “good” witch, but rather a crazy woman dressing up in a knock-off Emma Frost costume.
The jumps in the story really bother me. The dude in the dungeon seemingly gives our group the next piece of the puzzle, but we’re not there for it so it’s hard for me to believe it actually happened. Then with this ending I really don’t believe that our heroes have any idea what to do on their own which has me disinterested in the series. Frankly there wasn’t enough here to bring me back again. It started off interesting, but it quickly turned into Lingerie in Oz. That would be fine, but there’s nothing sexy about the story to go along with that making it look more like a fan went in and photoshopped all the characters in to sexier clothing. Also where the hell is Toto?
Score: 2/5
Writer: Joe Brusha Artist: Rolando Di Sessa Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment Price: $3.99 Release Date: 10/9/13