Advance Review: AWA Brings New Wonders To Oz In ‘Ultimate Oz Universe Vol.1: The Lost Lands’

There have been many comic book adaptations of L Frank Baum’s works over the years, with AWA Studios being the latest to have a stab at bringing the shared world of The Wizard of Oz to the printed page with the original graphic novel Ultimate Oz Universe Vol.1: The Lost Lands by writers Cullen Bunn, Larry King, and artist Mike Deadato Jr. And this first volume does a great job of regaling the readers with a traditional quest storyline not too dissimilar to the original — an adolescent child makes his way through Oz, meeting with friends and foes along the way — while also building up the wonderful world of Oz and establishing a world filled with characters and ripe for storytelling, with this book being but the first in a planned series of graphic novels. 

The main protagonist is the mysterious 15-year-old servant boy, Tip, forced into labour by the evil witch, Mombi. Someone who’s important enough, nonetheless, that he is wanted by the good witch, Glinda, in Emerald City. And so see send in an elite email fighting force, the Special Oz Operations Team, or S.O.O.T. for short, to save Tip. But, it’s not long until Tip and his saviours are brought low and must work their way through Oz, giving readers a guided tour of the surrounding countryside, thereby establishing a vibrant but dangerous landscapes for future storytelling opportunities. 

Thanks to some career-defining work by Deodato Jr., this gorgeous looking graphic novel is filled with the diverse denizens of Oz, from the more familiar faces of the Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow to the unfamiliar, like the Queen of the Field Mice or the Hungry Tiger; it’s a treasure trove of the bizarre and the weird fill out then world originally built by Frank L Baum over a century ago. And it’s just sumptuous to read as a result of the artwork. Deodato has always been a talented artist, with a great line in the realistic, which comes in highly useful when creating a world readers can relate to and believe in. Here though his artwork has moved up a notch again, with an art style evocative of Alex Raymond, Hal Forster and Mark Schultz; realistic, beautiful people reminiscent of the Golden Era of cinema and comic strips (clearly trying to evoke the aesthetics of the original Wizard of Oz film, especially in its depiction of Emerald City), while being highly contemporary too. For example, while there are many characters that are depicted in a more classical Golden Age style of Raymond, Forster et al, there is clearly the remit to make Oz more contemporary too. So, we have many newer characters rendered in very modern-looking garb, much like the aforementioned Special Oz Operations Team and the Tin Man (looking more like Rom: The Space Knight after an upgrade than Tin Man). But, in Deodato’s care, the whole ensemble goes a long way in creating a wonderfully realised and cohesive world that is both light and dark, with Deodato’s style shifting depending on the mood needed. Mombi’s dark, forest world is a masterpiece, with hints of Kelly Jones and even Bernie Wrightson leading her home more horrific. 

While the cinematic art is most definitely the biggest selling point for me, the writing is well crafted, although at times I did find the pacing a bit off when events seen to suddenly burst forth from the page – such as when Jack Pumpkin head is seen entering the house of a giantess only to then be seen fleeing from her home in fear for his life. No scenes of conflict leading up to his escape are documented, leaving exposition to fill in the gaps. But, these are minor over the course ion this 110 + pages book. It still jars when it does happen, nonetheless. This may be down to the division of labour in the writing — shared between King and Bunn — but then, these lapses should have been caught by the editor. 

Overall, this is definitely a graphic novel series I will be looking forward to following after this artistically crafted debut. Good writing, but even better art. A worthy addition to anyone’s graphic novel collection and possibly the idea present for any non-comic book reading fans you may have to buy for this Holiday season.

Ultimate Oz Universe Vol.1: The Lost Lands is out on November 11th from AWA Studios.