Editorial Review

Steve Martin's first foray into fiction is as assured as it issurprising. Set in Los Angeles, its fascination with the surreal body fascism ofthe upper classes feels like the comedian's familiar territory, but the shopgirlof the book's title may surprise his fans. Mirabelle works in the glovedepartment of Neiman's, "selling things that nobody buys any more." Spending herdays waiting for customers to appear, Mirabelle "looks like a puppy standing onits hind legs, and the two brown dots of her eyes, set in the china plate of herface, make her seem very cute and noticeable." Lonely and vulnerable, she passesher evenings taking prescription drugs and drawing "dead things," while pursuingan on-off relationship with the hopeless Jeremy, who possesses "a slouch soextreme that he appears to have left his skeleton at home." Then Mr. Ray Portersteps into Mirabelle's life. He is much older, rich, successful, divorced, andselfish, desiring her "without obligation." Complicating the picture isMirabelle's voracious rival, her fellow Neiman's employee Lisa, who uses sex"for attracting and discarding men."

Editorial Review

Steve Martin has always been one of the most intelligent of comedians (you won't find Adam Sandler writing a play about Einstein and Picasso anytime soon), but this intelligence is manifested in gymnastically absurdist flights of fancy, rather than the politically informed riffs typical of performers like Lenny Bruce. Pure Drivel is a collection of pieces, most of them written for the New Yorker, that demonstrate Martin's playful way with words and his unerring ability to create a feeling of serendipitous improvisation even on the printed page. Here's a passage from a piece that announces a shortage of periods in the Times Roman font:

"Most vulnerable are writers who work in short, choppy sentences," said a spokesperson for Times Roman, who continued, "We are trying to remedy the situation and have suggested alternatives, like umlauts, since we have plenty of umlauts--and, in fact, have more umlauts than we could possibly use in a lifetime! Don't forget, umlauts can really spice up a page with their delicate symmetry--resting often midway in a word, letters spilling on either side--and not only indicate the pronunciation of a word but also contribute to a writer's greater glory because they're fancy, not to mention that they even look like periods, indeed, are indistinguishable from periods, and will lead casual readers to believe that the article actually contains periods!"

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

Reviews (15)

This was a Great book!
I am seven years old and I loved this book very much. It has a patchwork girl who was brought to life with the powder of life.It was exciting and there are sad parts and scary parts and good parts.I just really love it!It's one of my favorites of all the Wizard of Oz books.Some of the characters are Unk Nunkie, Ojo, and the crooked magician. The crooked magician was in the book with Mambi in it, too.

A must read for fans of fantasy
The title of the book actually misleads the reader somewhat.Yes this book does describe the origins of Scraps, the patchwork girl, who goes on to become a regular fixture in future Oz stories.However she is, in fact, a secondary character in the story.The main character is Ojo "the unlucky," a Munchkin boy who embarks on a quest to save his beloved uncle who has been accidentally turned into a marble statue.

This book offers the usual assortment of pleasantly odd characters, strange magical happenings and dramtic tension that go into all of the good Oz novels.What makes "Patchwork Girl..." stand out is its reltively mature subplot of the importance of rules.Ozma has made it illegal for most people to use magic.The crooked magician ignores this rule, and as an indirect result two innocent people are turned into marble.One of the items Ojo must get for his quest is illegal to gather.He doesn't want to break the law, but restoring his uncle is the most important thing to him, so he justifies it to himself.Then, the reader is introduced to the humane way Oz deals with people who break the rules.This theme will speak volumes to any child who has chaffed under the rules of an adult, but secretly acknowledged that the adult had his or her best interests at heart.

Several reviewers have commented that the end of the book is a cop out, and yes it might be disappointing if you were expecting a big, dramatic magical event.In truth, however, it is a masterful conclusion to the rules subplot.The conclusion underscores that rules are made to be kept, and that breaking them and then trying to sneakily get around them only causes problems.If one admits to breaking the rules, as the crooked magician should have done, and then tries to correct the mistake, it often avoids a great deal of trouble and ultimately works out better.

Overall, this book is a great read for young and old alike.

A return to form for Baum
While the last three books in L. Frank Baum's "Oz" series ("Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz", "The Road to Oz" and "The Emerald City of Oz") were all rather lackluster, this book was a return to form. The problem with the other installments was a lack of a new story -- they were all about people who went to Oz, met lots of strange and interesting people, and had a happy ending.

"The Patchwork Girl of Oz," however, had a very good story to bolster the old Oz formula. Ojo the Unlucky, a young Munchkin lad, along with the Glass Cat and Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, set out to find magical ingredients needed to restore his uncle and a magician's wife to life after they are accidentally petrified. So the story is, again, about someone wandering Oz and meeting strange and interesting people, but giving Ojo a quest gave the book a different angle, a sense of urgency -- this was a boy on a mission to save two lives.

Reviews (2)

One of the funniest titles in comics
John Kovalic's Dork Tower has been one of my favorite comic books for some time now. He has managed to take Characters that could have easily been stupid and cliched and turned them into real people with real emotions and problems that any of us can relate to. Even the goofiest character in the book, Igor, is shown to have uncommon courage and compassion when called for, and an unwavering loyalty to his friends that some of us are never even lucky enough to find in the real world.

This volume, like "Livin' La Vida Dorka" (volume 4) takes a break from the regular Dork Tower storyline to present "Understanding Gamers," the brilliant one-issue special where Kovalic explained the mindset of those who live to game. It connects to even a non-gaming reader and shows that gamers aren't quite the freaks they get portrayed as, especially in comparison to even some "normal" folks. The rest of the book is full of other strips and specials, some that even a regular visitor of Kovalic's website such as myself may not have seen before.

There is a little duplication from previous volumes with some of the "Lord of the Rings" strips, but as Kovalic himself explains, that's because he reprinted the "Lord of the Rings" Dork Tower special in its entirety here in this volume.

You don't need to have read the previous Dork Tower volumes to read this one, but you're cheating yourself if you don't. This is one of the funniest comic books on the stands today.

Thinner Than It Looks
I was very happy when this new Dork Tower collection came out in paperback.I was not as happy after reading it.Sure, it has the usual cast of characters and the same witty style as the others.Certainly the jokes and stories are as good in the other volumes.

In fact, some of the stories and jokes ARE in the other volumes.A large section of this book reprints the Lord of The Rings stories from an earlier volume.One stip is even duplicated from this volume!That's right, one of the strips is included twice!It is almost as if the author is succumbing to his own jokes about variant covers.

Reviews (17)

I read Sandman before I started exploring Moore's works...
...and after reading Swamp Thing, I remembered how a friend of mine, comic store owner said that Gaiman, beggining his career, was trying to write like Alan Moore (compare Preludes and Nocturnes' atmosphere and art to this book's).

This book contains suspense, splatter, weird villans and psychedelic but imaginative rewrite of Swampy's origin. Artwork fits the story, but let's admit it, this book has more historical significance today, because it opened door to writers like Gaiman, Ellis, Ennis, Morrison and preceded Vertigo line of comics.

If you are looking for Alan Moore's best work, I'd have to say it is Watchmen.

If you are looking for original and extremely well written comic, try Sandman: Brief Lives

or

if you are looking for well written AND well illustrated comic tryMaxx, first two trades.

Very over-rated
Ok, lets get this straight...a comic book has to be good at 2 things...story and art. If you just want a good story, read a novel, if you want art, buy a painting. A comic book should be both. The artwork in this is horrible. I know there are different types and styles of artwork, and im fine with that ( ie. Dark Knight by Frank Miller...very different style, but you can still tell its well done for what it is).This is just plain bad. The artist Stephen Bissette needs to find another job. The story itself is just mediocre. Im a comic book fan and horror fan, but this just does not cut it. Amazed people rate it so highly, when compared to Dark Knight, Watchman, Sandman and others. ( PS . .this artwork reminds me of first few issues of Sandman book...ALSO horrible art, although great story at least).

The setup is what's important here...
This first volume collects the first seven chapters of Alan Moore's highly acclaimed helming of the 'Swamp Thing,' series.Groundbreaking for its evocative bending of the horror genre in a major-label comic series, this collection of 'Swamp Thing,' chapters is not to be missed by anyone interested in comics as a legit form of narrative storytelling.

Reviews (64)

Interesting read
This very well written book is about people on a planet who have constant sunlight, thanks to their many suns, with atleast one and as many as four up all the time, but once every 2049 years, their suns are eclipsed and they experience total darkness... they experience the stars. While this may seem normal to an earthling who is conditioned to the concept of night, to the people on the planet who have never seen such a thing, this is a very bizarre and stressful experience. The book talks about how they deal with the situation and makes you wonder if we earthings would react in a similar fashion under such circumstances.

The book is divided into three sections - Twilight, Nightfall and Daybreak. The first two sections are very well written, the third, i thought, was a bit of a drag. The sudden ending was a bit disappointing, but after some reflection, it did seem realistic (not all stories in life have interesting climaxes).

Asimov with his great story-telling also delves into human psychology and religion. Interesting weekend read.

An uneven story.
The beginning was interesting, the middle was fascinating and the end was a dud. Really, my main problem was the "madness" premise. My question is: Why would seeing the stars come out make everyone go insane? (I know, I know...it only happens once every 2049 years...uh...I think my question still stands.) This was simply too unbelievable. The story was basically over for me after that. Which was too bad because the "Nightfall" section was as thrilling a page-turner as I have ever read.

Reviews (7)

One of Baum's funniest works
Growing up, reading the Oz books, I found "Tik-Tok of Oz" to be one of my favorites. Rediscovering them now, as an adult, I find it still delights me more than most.

The plot, I must admit, is quite reminiscent of "Ozma of Oz" -- a girl and a mortal animal wash up on the shores of some fairyland, encounter the man Tik-Tok and find themselves trapped in a battle with the king of the Nomes. It has been said,in fact, that the plot of this novel came when Baum converted "Ozma" into a stage play, then converted the stage play back into a novel.

However, the book itself is still quite delightful. We don't meet too many really interesting new characters in this book -- not as many as most Oz books, in fact -- but it no longer follows the tired "someone tries to get to the Emerald City and meets interesting creatures along the way" formula that began in the very first book and crippled several books after "Ozma."

Tititi-Hoochoo and Quox the Dragon stand out as the new characters, and it is the sequences featuring them that I find most entertaining. Kaliko and Ruggedo in the Nome Kingdom again draw a grin from me, and the final few pages have a laugh-out loud moment that must have come when someone pointed out an inconsistency in the Oz books that Baum had to suddenly explain away.

"Tik-Tok of Oz" may not be the best of the Oz books, but it's probably the funniest, and it's certainly one of my favorites.

Ozma Redux
When L. Frank Baum set out to write and produce a second Oz musical for the stage, he discovered he had signed away the theatrical rights to his early Oz stories and characters. Apparently unwilling to create new material, Baum drafted a play that he called Tik - Tok Of Oz, which was simply a retelling of his third Oz novel, 1907's Ozma Of Oz, with some character names changed and minor plot elements rearranged.Since he owed publishers Reilly & Britton a new Oz book, Baum then rewrote his new play into a novel, and 1914's redundant Tik - Tok Of Oz was born.

With such a circuitous pedigree, it's no wonder that Tik - Tok Of Oz is a generally unimpressive entry into the Oz chronicle. Baum was occasionally careless with his prestigious fairyland, and nothing suggests that here more than the fact that wind - up mechanical man Tik - Tok, though his name lights up the book's title, is only a secondary character in the narrative and often appears to be absent from much of the story, even when present in theory.In fact, the Tin Woodman or Jack Pumpkinhead could have replaced the clockwork man without altering the essential plot in the least. But the uncomplicated Tik - Tok was particularly useful in a lazily composed narrative, since, as a preprogrammed machine of limited potential in need of continuous winding, Baum could silence him at any time by simply having him run down, no dramatic action or mental fatigue required. Despite several warm and imaginatively written chapters, such as `The Lovely Lady Of Light,' the book plods on without building in strength or imagination until its final section, when it suddenly awakens to life.

Dorothy Gale doppelganger Betsy Bobbin, accompanied by sidekick Hank the Mule, reaches the shores of fairyland when a ship on which she is inexplicably a passenger explodes at sea.Baum's ho - hum attitude towards his material is immediately evident when introducing Betsy, who does indeed do some "bobbing" up and down on the waves and billows: "Suddenly the sea was lighted up by a vivid glare. The ship, now in the far distance, caught fire, blew up and sank beneath the waves."No mention is made of the fate of the other passengers or of Betsy's guardians.Meanwhile, in the tiny northern Winkie kingdom of Oogaboo, irritable queen Ann Soforth ('And so forth') has decided to conquer all of Oz through the use of her army, which consists of four Colonels, four Captains, four Generals, four Majors and one soldier.The third plot thread finds the Shaggy Man tramping across Oz in search of his missing brother, who he believes has been captured by the Nome King.Ozma, concerned about the Shaggy Man's progress, sends Tik - Tok to assist him, though he promptly gets thrown down a well.

Potentially interesting new character Princess Ozga, a beautiful vegetable woman grown from a rose bush, remains underdeveloped and underutilized, while the apparently always - on - standby Polychrome strays from the rainbow yet again, and acts, here as elsewhere, as a convenient deus ex machina whenever Baum writes himself into a tight corner.To his credit, Baum allows Polychrome a little more common sense and perception than she reveals in other titles.Arch Oz villain Ruggedo, whose original name was Roquat before he drank from the `Waters of Oblivion,' is alternately called the Metal Monarch or the Nome (Gnome) King, while on the other side of the planet readers are introduced to the "Famous Fellowship of Fairies," which is overseen by the Jinjin, who is also known as the Private Citizen and as Tititi - Hoochoo, a name which must have delighted grade school boys and irked educators for decades.Readers never learn the true name of Shaggy Man's brother, but, when he is not referred to as such, is simply called the Ugly One due to a punishing enchantment Ruggedo has cast upon him. Like the Little Wizard and Dorothy and Captain Bill and Trot, the Shaggy Man and Betsy eventually form a partnership: elderly man - little girl relationships lacking blood ties are common in the Oz chronicle.

A good indicator of a weak Baum title is an absence of imaginative description, as readers will find here. Baum's Nome Kingdom might have been wondrously described, as E. T. A. Hoffman detailed his own underground fairyland in 'The Mines of Falun.' Hoffman's underground caves, mines, and tunnels emit a claustrophobia readers can feel, a strange otherworldly magic that is both threatening and powerfully seductive. Once Baum establishes that his characters are underground, except for a brief scene in a metal forest, readers are left to visualize the rocky, gem - rich nome world as best they can, or rely wholly on John R. Neill's humorous illustrations.

In an apparent mistake on Baum's part, sorceress Glinda the Good's castle on the far boundary of the southern kingdom of the Quadlings is said to "stand far north of the Emerald City where Ozma holds her court," despite the two comprehensive maps which open and close the book and demonstrate that the castle rightly stands in the red southern kingdom of the Quadlings where it should.

Oz newcomers beware: Tik - Tok Of Oz reads much like the uninspired retread it is; like the clockwork man himself, the book is sorely in need of additional winding under its left arm.Baum should have saved the few good ideas he introduced here for his next entirely new manuscript. This is one of the few Baum - authored books in the Oz series which readers may decide to put aside before finishing.

Tik-Tok of Oz- You'll never get tired of reading this book!
Tik-Tok of Oz is one of the best books in the Wizard of Oz series! It introduces many characters, such as Betsy Bobbin, Hank the Mule, and Queen Ann of Oogaboo. (I won't name then all.) Shaggy Man is in search of his brother who is imprisoned by the evil Nome King. The most exciting part of the book is when they visit the Nome King. The things that happen are really funny and very interesting. And, at the end, you'll get to see Ozma, Dorothy, and the Wizard.

Reviews (6)

Some Background might be required...
Just from looking at a few comments on this book, I can see that many who might be interested in buying this book might need to know a little bit about the collection before they read it, or they might not fully enjoy it.

Many have criticized the book for not expounding on the matrix and instead dwell around the foundation of the first film.This is because many of these stories were started before the first film was even released, to be used as content for the movie's website.This is a collection of many of the older stories, and only a few of the more recent comics.For example, the first story, which tells essentially the same story as "The Second Renaissance, Part 1" from the Animatrix was written well before work on any of the sequels had begun.So keep in mind that this book is primarily works based on the world of the matrix before the sequels.For those of you looking for an expansion on the sequels, you definitely should check out the entire collection for free at thematrix.com.And then look for the other volumes to follow that will collect the rest of the comics, which DO expand on what we saw in Reloaded and Revolutions and the Animatrix.

The art has been attacked as well, which is too bad since the purpose was to get more people into comics who might not normally pick one up.Even if you don't like any type of comics, I would still recommend this.Sure, a panel drawing can't capture the splendor of an elaborately choreographed fight scene, but it's not supposed to.The intention here is to tell a good story.For anyone who enjoys the occasional graphic novel, you'll definitely appreciate the collection of very talented artists and writers assembled.

Overall, I would say that while this collection doesn't collect only the best stories from the series, it does collect many of the better ones, including my 2 favorites, making it an excellent start to the books.Instead, this collection is intentionally varied in it's art and story-telling style, so that there's something here for everyone.So if you liked comics like Star Wars Tales, you'll appreciate the variety to this collection. The two outstanding stories here are "Butterfly" and "There are no Flowers in the Real World".They are not to be missed, whether you enjoyed the sequels or not.

To be honest I think there were as many mediocre stories in this book as great ones, but this is offset by the beautiful artwork and the fact that when all the comics are finally collected, it will be an amazing book collection. Since many of the best stories are still only on the website, I'm looking forward to the subsequent volumes since reading them online just doesn't compare to actually having the book in your hands.

I may be in the minority here, but...
I absolutely loved this first volume of "The Matrix Comics", just as I loved the movies. It fits in well with the books that I enjoy, such as "Neuromancer", "Mona Lisa Overdrive", "Count Zero", "Snow Crash", "Darkeye: Cyber Hunter", etc. All are worthy of buying and reading and, the books mentioned, would make great graphic novels or comics or, heck, even movies!

Reviews (7)

The Old Guard saves the world
The classic silver age Justice League of America save the world one more time. All of the old familiar members are here: Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Atom, Martian Manhunter, as well as the "associate members" from Black Canary to Zatanna. Yet they all fit together perfectly- for this is primarily a tale of teamwork for the greater good. There is no squabbling and conflict of egos here. That is because these are all men and women whose only reason to BE is to help those who need their help. Each individual member has been gifted with powers and abilities that would enable them to easily overwhelm ordinary men and rule as kings or queens- yet none of them would consider such a thing for an instant. Individually and collectively the League stands for liberty and justice. They are altruism, and incorruptibility, incarnate. Their code is simple: Wherever lives are threatened, a champion will fight to save them. On land or sea the rules are simple, those who use force will find it returned in kind- and killing is never tolerated.

If the League has flaw, it lies in the fact that they are too powerful, too perfect. Lesser men hold them in suspicion. When a super-plague breaks out in Africa they are hard pressed to maintain their sacred trust in the face of global fury and desperation. And yet they do, for they know that their greatest power comes from the belief that the people have in them as allies and friends.

I have read all of the Paul Dini and Alex Ross collaborations. I won't say that this one is my favorite- what I will say is that they are all good.

Well worth the money
This is a great book to get.Not only is the artwork of Alex Ross excellent, they have a great story as well.At times it gets a little cheesy but that's something you get with all super hero tales.This book is really like watching a well-done movie on the Justice League.The artwork is simply great and it should redefine the way comics are created today.There's no reason super heroes can't be portrayed realistically, rather than the Saturday-cartoon style that we are used to.This book was very enjoyable and well worth the money.

Reviews (8)

A "Scarecrow" book light on the "Scarecrow"
In the pantheon of L. Frank Baum's brillian Oz series, I'm afraid I've got to mark this book down as just a so-so entry. It probably would have appealed to me more were it not for the grossly misleading title, "The Scarecrow of Oz." The titular character doesn't appear until about page 150 of a 260-page book, for starters, and while he certainly plays an important part in the events that follow, the book is not really about him at all. Instead it's the story of Trot and Cap'n Bill, two of Baum's non-Oz characters, being swept away to the land of Oz for the first time. For much of the book the story follows the formula of the most lackluster Oz books -- characters get lost in a magical fairy land and meet lots of strange and interesting creatures -- but it picks up when they enter Jinxland and are forced to face down King Krewl.

The plus for this book would be that I'm now more inclined to go back and read the two Trot and Cap'n Bill books that preceded this one. I do admire the way Baum laced his various characters together into a cohesive universe of his own, even if he was practically forced to by the demands of his young readers. I just wish he'd found a way to express what this book was really about a little better.

A Sense Of Wonder Miraculously Still Intact
Though the delightful The Patchwork Girl Of Oz (1913) may be the overall favorite of dedicated Oz enthusiasts, L. Frank Baum's The Scarecrow Of Oz (1915) is very likely his greatest Oz novel, as its story is warmly and enthusiastically told, moves forward superbly, and the only padding found within its pages is the straw that stuffs the Scarecrow's body.

Baum wanted to transfer characters Trot (real name: Mayre Griffith) and her much older guardian, Captain Bill, of his non-Oz titles The Sea Fairies (1911) and Sky Island (1912), into Oz permanently, and they are the apparent stars of the book until the Scarecrow is introduced on its 173rd page. Though Trot, like Betsy Bobbin before her, is almost identical to Dorothy Gale in manner and appearance and would in later volumes largely fade into a pale replica of her, Baum here allows Trot to command the narrative and display a number of admirable, heartening qualities.Perennial lost boy Button - Bright (real name: Saladin Paracelsus de Lambertine Evagne von Smith), who is discovered buried face down in a small mountain of popped corn, is also a key player.

Caught in a monstrous whirlpool that appears out of nowhere while sailing on calm American ocean waters, Trot and Captain Bill awaken in a strangely lit underwater grotto.Though the narrow, claustrophobically confining passage they are obligated to enter and follow does not lead them directly to Oz, it does lead them to another of Baum's fairytale kingdoms.As in previous titles, readers may question whether Trot and Captain Bill have died and passed into the afterlife; certainly their early travails have a purgatory - like quality.In a hilarious episode, the twosome find themselves trapped on a small, lush island with the most cantankerous man living, who complains that the trees are too green, the water "dreadfully wet," and that the sun, which unpleasantly "shines in the daytime," is useless, because "it disappears just as soon as it begins to get dark."This "little old man of the island" is in exile, and certainly seems to occupy his own tiny circle in hell.

As in Sky Island, readers are given excellent expository information about Button - Bright; this is important, because Button - Bright, when appearing later in the Oz chronicle, was often portrayed as an annoying idiot with a tabula rasa for a mind ("Some folks think I'm stupid. I guess I am," he goes so far to say in Sky Island).However, in the Scarecrow Of Oz, Baum explains Button - Bright to his audience in almost Zen - like terms. Button - Bright is "almost as destitute of nerves as the Scarecrow...nothing ever astonished him much; nothing ever worried him or made him unhappy.Good fortune or bad fortune he accepted with a quiet smile, never complaining, whatever happened." Is Button - Bright a young wandering Buddha?Button - Bright, who has an exceptionally hardy appetite, is enthralled by both the beauties of nature and of happenstance. A junior lord of unforeseen contingency, an open meadow, a hedge of berry bushes, or a fluttering butterfly is all that is necessary to send him dashing off blissfully into spatial oblivion.In the Scarecrow Of Oz, Button - Bright, who lives purely in the moment, seems to possess the secret of happiness, if no longer his magical umbrella, and makes a perfect counterpoint to the more responsible, rational Trot.

The Scarecrow Of Oz is also one of the several Baum - composed Oz titles that concerns itself with witches.One of the book's three main antagonists, Blinkie, who, like the Wicked Witch in the first book, has but a single good eye, is a traditional European folklore witch: she is old, wrinkled, eccentric, power hungry, toadying, and spiteful. Interestingly, as in medieval drawings, Blinkie and her fellow witches ride their broomsticks with the brush portion forward.Baum even raises the possibility of witch burning, though, as bad luck may have it, it is the easily consumed Scarecrow and not Blinkie that is eventually tied to a stake and threatened with fire.Baum counters Blinkie with Gibson Girl look - alike sorceress Glinda the Good, who, the opposite of the witch in every way, is lovingly described: "No one knows her age, but all can see who beautiful and stately she is...her hair is like red gold and finer than the finest silken strands. Her eyes are blue as the sky and always frank and smiling. Her cheeks are the envy of peach-blows and her mouth is enticing as a rosebud. Glinda is tall and wears splendid gowns that trail behind her as she walks. She wears no jewels, for her beauty would shame them." Strangely enough, illustrator John R. Neill consistently portrays Baum's sorceress supreme wearing an unusual headdress conspicuously crowned with what looks like a cross between a healthy, long-stemmed, large-capped mushroom and a vigorous phallus.

Here more than in any of other Oz title, the Scarecrow shines, as he rightly should, though the novel is more than half over before he makes his appearance. Baum tended to dilute even his most popular characters over the course of the series, and in too many Baum titles the Scarecrow is depicted as little more than the Tin Woodman's "heterosexual life partner," though of course the Scarecrow bills and coos with the Patchwork Girl as well as with best friend Nick Chopper.The Scarecrow, sent by Glinda to rescue Trot and her cohorts from an evil king, is certainly the hero of the book: "As a conqueror I'm a wonder," he says before single - handedly but futilely demanding that King Krewl abdicate his ill-gotten throne.Happily, the sometimes Christ-like Scarecrow survives both burning at the stake and drowning in a waterfall, but not without the help of less overconfident friends.

Gorgeously illustrated in both color and black and white, the Scarecrow Of Oz is excellent in every way and belongs at the very top of the multi - volume Oz heap.

A treasure for any Oz reader
In this delightful story, a young girl named Trot and her long-time friend, the one-legged sailor Cap'n Bill, are drawn into an adventure that takes them to the magical land of Oz. Readers who are familiar with the works of L. Frank Baum will recognize these two characters from two previous novels that are set outside of Oz, The Sea Fairies and Sky Island. While it is not necessary to have read these two works prior to reading this book, the three novels taken together outline the close relationship of this optimistic and courageous young girl and her pragmatic companion, the worldly retired sailor who lost his leg at sea.

The plot is familiar to readers of other Oz books. Mortals from the outside world get hopelessly lost, but retaining their determination and good will, they move forward until they find themselves in the fairy land of Oz. All along the way Trot and Cap'n Bill meet fantastic beings and explore strange countries which the author creates with a joy and imagination that seem boundless. On this trip they meet and become fast friends with a strange flying creature called the Ork, who, although featherless, is equipped with a propeller as well as four wings. Together the three of them continue on to the Land of Mo where they inexplicably come across another beloved Baum character, Button-Bright, a boy who is unflappable and prone to getting lost. These four next find themselves in a remote and inaccessible corner of the land of Oz called Jinxland. Here they fall victim to the cruel plots of King Krewl and the magic spells of the witch Blinkie. Discovering their plight, the Scarecrow of Oz decides to go to their rescue. But what can a man of straw do to fight a corrupt king and an evil witch? Find out for yourself and enjoy every minute of it by reading this wonderful book.

Reviews (293)

Back to Roland's World
As Stephen King has told his constant readers, he sees the Dark Tower series as his life's work.Fans are so happy that he went back to writing this series.

Wolves of the Calla takes place at the borderlands between Midworld, where we first met Roland the Gunslinger, and Endworld, where the Dark Tower lies, and where Roland's quest will take him.We spend most of the book in these borderlands with sidetrips to New York and elsewhere in America.

We learn at the beginning of the book that the "wolves" are coming to a small town on that border and will take approximately half of the children away where they will be "roont," losing their minds and wrecking their bodies.The farmers and townsmen have endured this for generations because the wolves have exotic weapons and may be supernatural.However, this time some of the townspeople are ready to stand up to the wolves.

Into this fight comes Roland and his ka-tet, Eddie, Susannah, and Jake of New York.It becomes clear that they will have to take on this side-quest of saving the children of the town from the wolves, but they are outnumbered, and it is unclear how much help the townspeople will be.

Complicating matters is that something seems seriously wrong with Susannah, that a rose in New York that appears to have a connection to the Dark Tower is imperiled and other matters.

We also meet Father Callahan from 'Salem's Lot again.And if you haven't read Salem's Lot but are reading the Dark Tower series, I would suggest reading it before turning to this book.In some of King's best writing, we learn the tragic story of what happened to Father Callahan after he left that cursed town.

I highly recommend this book.King draws us back in to Roland's world with a vengeance.

A Slightly Flawed Continuation Of My Favorite Epic Series
"The saga of "Roland Deschain, Gunslinger of the line of Eld, and his ''ka-tet,'' (those whom destiny hath joined), continues in "Wolves of the Calla." Susannah Dean, formerly the duo-personality Odetta Susannah Holmes and Detta Walker, Eddie Dean, previously a drug addict and mule in New York City, Jake Chambers, a boy from Manhattan who died twice in Book #1, and was subsequently and symbolically reborn in Mid-World, and Oy, their talking billy-bumbler, together walk the path of the Beam. They search for the Tower, that magical edifice which holds together time and all universes. Their quest is to prevent the destruction of the Tower, and the unthinkable consequences, by the fearsome Crimson King and his evil forces.

On the borderlands of Mid-World lies the remote village of Calla Bryn Sturgis. Almost all of the children born here are twins. Once every generation a large group of raiders, seemingly indestructible wolf-like creatures called The Wolves of Thunderclap, descend upon Calla and take one from each set of twins who fall within a certain age group. When the abducted children are returned, they are terribly changed, all severely retarded with reduced life-spans. The wolves are due to raid in just 30 days. A few of the town's people, who want to fight and defend their offspring, learn of the presence of the Gunslinger ka-tet in a nearby forest. They ride to meet the group of four, plus Oy, to ask for assistance. The Gunslingers' acquiescence represents a temporary divergence from their path and their trust in Ka (destiny).

Meanwhile Susannah has a "chap" growing in her womb and Eddie is not the father. Her malady of old also returns, which seriously threatens to destroy the ka-tet when it is at its most vulnerable. Back in 1977, NYC, a single rose grows in a vacant lot on Second Avenue and Forty-Sixth Street. This is not just any flower, but the manifestation of the Tower on Earth. The same forces which seek to destroy the Tower are relentlessly trying to kill the Rose, and must be deterred at all cost. There is a magic portal, a Door in a cave near Calla, which enables Gunslingers to travel back and forth between New York, New England and Mid-World. Increasingly chaos and darkness are spreading to Earth, and elements fromEarth's culture are showing up on the Tower side of the Door, ominously foretelling of future events.

My only problem with "Wolves of the Calla" is the introduction of defrocked priest Donald Callahan, and his overly long, repetitious story, directly out of author King's novel, "Salem's Lot." Now I read that book years ago, when it was first published, and loved it. However, I can barely remember the plot. A large part of this novel involves Father Callahan and his past. I have invested lots of time and energy enthusiastically following the adventures of Roland and his merry group of Gunslingers through thousands of pages of prose. If I had been forewarned that a reread of "Salem's Lot" would assist me in appreciating "Wolves of the Calla, I would have done so, without hesitation. I am, if nothing else, a committed Dark Tower follower. But no one advised me, alas. And I do feel I missed-out on a portion of the story. I was, frankly, bored at times. I believe that Mr. King owes more to his loyal readers than to go off on a long self-indulgent walk down memory lane with a character, and plot, created many years ago. Other than this, I loved the book and believe it is a worthy continuation of one of my all time favorite epic sagas.

Once again, the narrative is as rich as ever in its description of characters, cityscapes, landscapes and creatures. The changing relationships between the foursome, their growth as individuals and as a group, is really worth noting. Although not as adventure-packed, nor as suspenseful, as the first four novels, the book moves along at a good clip, except for most of the Father Callahan episodes. The full-color illustrations by comic book artist Bernie Wrightson are outstanding.

At this point, I don't care how King ends his epic. I just know that he has taken me, so far, on a glorious 2000 page ride, (approximately), and I have loved almost every minute of it. Nothing that occurs in future books can spoil what I have already read. Highest recommendations!!
JANA

Reviews (4)

Oscar Zoroaster in Oz
I couldn't order this book from Amazon because it was out-of-print, but I did order it from BiblioQuest and I got it, eventually.I don't know if it was ever publsihed in Hardcover (I got Paperback), but I enjoyed getting it all the same.
Oscar has been living in a circus (we learn how long), and is tired of doing ventriloquism.So the Ringmaster has him take the job of a balloonist.After that, a storm takes him away from his home and after passing him over a desert, lands him in a yellow country, where he is suddenly proclaimed to be a wizard.A Wicked Witch appears and threatens to destroy him, but his skills trick her into believing that he has defeated her.While ruling over the Winkies in the yellow castle (Scarecrow makes a cameo),the Wicked West Witch talks with (her sister) the Wicked Witch of the East and learns about the Golden Cap, so she goes off to steal it.(Cowardly Lion's cameo).As Oscar is doing service to the Winkies, the Wicked Witch suddenly returns with the Winged Monkeys and Oscar escapes, but she sends them off after him.Thankfully, Glinda knows of the trouble and saves him (I loved Glinda's appearances in this book!).His balloon again lands him in a country, this time green, and again is declared a Wizard.The Emerald City is built, and the Wizard has his own new home, but after an Army of Kalidahs attack, the Emerald City gains a bit more protection.Meanwhile, the Wicked Witch of the East practises the power of her Magic Silver Shoes, in trying to conquer the Emerald City, but her plans get foiled everytime by Glinda.(Nick Chopper the Tin Woodman's cameo, origin of Green Spectacles and Guardian of the Gates).The 2 Wicked Witches of Oz suddenly come up with the ultimate scheme to defeat the Wizard of Oz and conquer the Emerald City, and "OZ" has no idea on how to stop them.But again, Glinda helps him and the Emerald City is saved from the Wicked Witches of Oz.He then hides himself in his Throne Room, and the story ends with 'until one day . . . but that is another story'.
Just like "Looking for a Rainbow:The Story of Dorothy", this book has a few (actually a lot more!) quotes from and a similar scenario to "MGM's the Wizard of Oz" (but none are the 'rainbow' reference).Donald Abbott's pictures in the book do resemble W. W. Desnlow's, but are not entirely the same.They are all in black-and-white, covering a full-page or half-page, with thick lines, and sometimes the Wicked Witch of the East's eyes looks like she's wearing some bad glasses.Also, even though it has many origins (including the Giant spider that the Lion kills later), I'm disapointed that the origin of the Yellow Brick (or actually two of them) is not the same as that from Roger S. Baum's "Dorothy of Oz" book, so unfortunately the Good Witch of the North does NOT appear - although she is mentioned.Also, Oscar does not have anything to do Ozma's disappearance, so Mombi doesn't appear.Those of you who have "the Annotated Wizard of Oz" will know of W. W. Desnlow's 6 Panel drawings for the 1902 'Wizard of Oz" Musical Stage production with the Wicked Witch (of the East) appearing on it.That is what she looks like in this story, slightly different.I belive that 'the Adventures of OZ in Oz' continues in "How the Wizard Saved Oz", again before Dorothy's arrival.I wonder if I'll get that book too . . .

Nice, but unnecessary
As much as I love the Oz books, it's great to know that even today writers continue to go back to Baum's wonderful world and try to build and expand upon it. That said, this book, "How the Wizard Came to Oz," is a nice enough entry but doesn't feel all that necessary.

The book tells, as the title implies, the story of how Oscar Zoroaster went from being a carnival man in America to the Great and Terrible Wizard of Oz. It tells of his early encounters with the Wicked Witches of both the East and the West, how people in the Emerald City came to wear green spectacles and fills in a lot of other gaps in the first book.

But some of the things Abbott delves into in this book feel kind of superfluous. Cameos by all three of Dorothy's original companions -- the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Woodman -- add nothing to the story and seem to be pure padding. Other things, like a quick joke referring to the classic MGM film, just distract you from Baum's Oz and jerk you out into the real world where you've seen Judy Garland deliver this joke a thousand times in a thousand re-watchings of the movie.

It's a decent book if you're an Ozophile and want to get everything worth getting, but for the casual reader, if you take a pass you'll have nothing to regret.

Reviews (51)

Very dissapointing...
The Ultimate Unofficial guide for the first four books was really wonderful and I was expecting the same for the guide to the 5th book. But unfortunately I was quite wrong in my hopes that it would be good. Most of the hints and clues given requires us to do our research to what things mean using other books and references. This book is in a different format than the first as well, it doesn't have little sections reviewing what just happened in the book, and it jumps ahead pointing out things that happen 20 chapters down the road... All of the hints and clues are just very vague, leaving the reader needing to buy the all of the books that are listed as references or be left in the dark.

I FEEL DUPED...
I am a 29 year old mother who has loved Harry Potter for many years.I was excited to find the first book (Mysteries of Harry Potter 1-4)and I loved it.I was a little unnerved by some of the predictions they made, but still thought-provoking...

So when I bought this book, I didn't read the title well enough and was surprised it was a hints-only book.Putting that aside, I decided to give my HP Sleuth skills a shot.I was sorely disappointed that their recommended reading list was pretty much required (not recommended) if you were to understand at all their hints.I have 3 small boys and have no time to read 80 books and poems before I even attempted to read the hints-only book.I have a Bachelor's degree in education and I still had a hard time following their running-bits, theories, and trying to decipher the character's names and such.I wanted a book that would do the really difficult, time-consuming work for me so I could spend my time making connections of my own based on really well though-out hints.This book doesn't do that for you.It was written in less than 3 months and it is obvious.THIS BOOK IS AN AUTHOR'S VERY ROUGH DRAFT THAT SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN PUBLISHED.I wish I could return the book and get my money back.

A waste of time, money, and energy.I have yet to see the completed version she promised everybody in 2003 to be done in a year and it is now 1/4 of the way into 2005.I would have been much more content to have sat and waited for her to complete an in-depth analysis of book 5 rather than have to pay money twice.I feel duped - and I was.

Reviews (1)

Okay, but not as good as the first one
People hoping to gain an understanding of how to write comic books really couldn't find a better source than "Panel One," the previous volume edited by Nat Gertler collecting comic book scripts and roughs by various creators. "Panel Two" is more of the same, but not as polished. There are more of the "thumbnail" versions of scripts, and some that are so detailed it's almost like reading the comic itself. Standouts in this book are Gail Simone's hilarious script for "Killer Princesses" and Scott McCloud's thumbnail script for "Zot!" (This was one of the super-detailed ones, it had me wanting to find the issue that followed it to find out how the story ended!) Others are interesting, such as the classic "Fatman" script -- but that one, unfortunately, was missing several pages. It was interesting to see the juxtoposition of the original script with the finished pages, however, so we were able to compare what changes the artist had made.

Isbn: 1401201733
Sales Rank: 809686
Subjects:  1. Comics & Graphic Novels    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Graphic Novels - Crime & Mystery    5. Graphic Novels - General    6. Fiction / Graphic Novels   

Reviews (7)

Peculiar entry in the Oz canon
Faithful followers of the Oz books will more than likely be disappointed in "Rinkitink in Oz," not because it's a bad read, but because Oz and its characters are almost entirely absent. The story actually concerns Prince Inga of Pingaree and King Rinkitink of Gilgad on a quest to find and rescue Inga's parents, the King and Queen.

It is obvious reading this book that Baum was growing frustrated with how his Oz books had so greatly overshadowed his other works, and in fact, this would have been a better title without the Oz connection at the end. Instead of allowing his heroes to complete their adventure on their own, Baum turned to the already-tired deus ex machina of the Oz books; Glinda's magic book and Ozma's magic picture. Like in several books before, this allowed the more familiar Oz characters to take note when the heroes of the book were in danger, convieniently wait until 200 or so pages had passed, and then swoop in to save the day.

I bought this book out of a desire to read the entire Oz series, but frankly, I preferred the book before Oz became an issue. I sympathize with Baum's frustration. It's a shame that he felt the need to express it with a weak ending that hurt a good book.

Good, but not Baum's best
As much as L. Frank Baum loved Oz, it always frustrated him that none of his other books ever attained the popularity that his Oz books did.He therefore came up with a technique that allowed him to write other books but still give them the exposure that only his Oz books had.He would write the book he wanted to write, have the characters visit Oz at some point (usually at the end) and call it an Oz book.Rinkitink in Oz is a classic example of this.It is the story of a boy prince, a talking goat and the good king Rinkitink, a fat man who enjoys a good laugh and a good meal.Circumstances force them to work as a team when the island that the boy people lives on is raided and all of his people, including his parents, are taken as slaves.

The set-up is great.The plot believable and the action exciting.The only unfortunate element is that Baum felt he had to bring Oz into the story in order to sell copies of this book.It is apparent from reading it that he ha