Tag Archives: samandra

Something for the Ruler with Everything

The 1998 Oziana has even less original art than the last issue. Aside from the front cover by Ron Zhang, showing an MGM-inspired Wicked Witch of the West menacing the familiar four (five, including Toto) and a picture of Ozma … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Art, Atticus Gannaway, Characters, Comics, Dennis Anfuso, Games, Greek Mythology, Humor, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The South Will Oz Again

As mentioned in the introduction, the cover picture of the 1980 Oziana, as drawn by Albert Chronic, references a passage in Captain Salt in Oz, specifically when the Captain says that the Wizard of Oz is building airships that would … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Art, Characters, Food, Games, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Melody Grandy, Music, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Offbeat Officials of Oz

The Oz books have a lot of small royal courts with unusually-titled officials. This is something we see much more often in Ruth Plumly Thompson, but L. Frank Baum did have a few examples. In John Dough and the Cherub, … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, C.S. Lewis, Characters, Chronicles of Narnia, Humor, L. Frank Baum, Magic Items, Names, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No Talking, Just Animals

At the most recent OzCon International, I was on a panel about animals in Oz, discussing, among other things, whether they have the same rights as humans. It went off track a few times, but some interesting topics came up. … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Characters, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Gina Wickwar, L. Frank Baum, Language, Magic, Magic Items, Monsters, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fairyland Lost

Anyone who’s read the Oz books from The Emerald City of Oz on knows that residence in that fairyland grants certain magical effects, including a lack of aging unless you want to grow older, and presumably the inability to die … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Comics, Eric Shanower, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Phil Lewin, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Good Knight, Sleep Tight

SPOILER WARNING, especially for The Yellow Knight of Oz Ruth Plumly Thompson introduced the character of Sir Hokus of Pokes in her first Oz book, The Royal Book of Oz, and he quickly became a standard part of the royal … Continue reading

Posted in Arthurian Legend, British, Characters, John R. Neill, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Etymology in Oz

I bought a few old Baum Bugle issues at OzCon in Portland, and they have some interesting content. There was apparently a sometime recurring feature called “Footnotes to Oz” that explained names in the Oz series, written by Jerry Tobias. … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Characters, Etymology, Humor, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jack Snow, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Language, Names, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Save Our Slaves

As a fan of the Oz books and someone who has often taken comfort in them, I don’t always like pointing out the negative aspects of them. Still, they’re there, and it’s probably better to confront them head-on than to … Continue reading

Posted in L. Frank Baum, Melody Grandy, Oz, Oz Authors, Prejudice, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Bah! There’s Always a War!

In addition to Glinda’s army, there are a lot of armed forces that show up in minor Ozian countries. Many are simply palace guards, but there are some more specific military units as well. Utensia has the Spoon Brigade, made … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Dick Martin, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Gina Wickwar, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Melody Grandy, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Legends of Obscure Characters

Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return didn’t contain very many references to the larger Oz series, even when they appeared in the source material. The China Country and the field-mice were there, as was a smaller version of the Sawhorse; but … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment