Tag Archives: the magical monarch of mo

Baum’s Birthday Blowout

Yesterday was L. Frank Baum’s birthday, and the day before that, Michael Booth set up a virtual event to celebrate. There weren’t that many attendees, but it included presentations, and I’m too disorganized and socially awkward to arrange something like … Continue reading

Posted in Bill Campbell and Irwin Terry, Characters, Chris Dulabone, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

You Want Some Mo?

I’ve already written about elections and politics in Oz, so even though it’s Election Day here in the States, I’m going to write about a firmly entrenched royal family who never have to run for reelection, that of the Land of … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Characters, Families, Jared Davis, Jeff Rester, L. Frank Baum, Marcus Mebes, Monsters, Names, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Relationships | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why Won’t You Die?

It would become a thing in the Oz books that no one in that fairyland could die, but it wasn’t immediate. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz mentions the threat of death quite often, in fact. The first book to establish … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Characters, Eric Shanower, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, March Laumer, Monsters, Oz, Oz Authors, Phil Lewin, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Literary History Drags On

I shared this article on the history of dragons in Western literature on Facebook, and there was a comment about how Oz wasn’t represented in it. It does, however, quote Ruth Berman, a long-time Oz fan; and I think she’s … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Characters, Humor, J.R.R. Tolkien, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Lewis Carroll, Monsters, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Every Modern Convenience and Comfort

I’ve been thinking a little more about the level of technology in Oz. I’ve written about this subject before a few times, but there are a few things I wanted to add. We know that Oz has electricity to some … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Characters, Dick Martin, Eric Shanower, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reformation Nation

The Cardboard King in Oz, by Gil S. Joel – The sequel to Joel’s Healing Power deals with many of the same characters, this time in vignettes rather than a book-long story. The confidence man Willie Lie returns to Oz … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Book Reviews, C.S. Lewis, Characters, Chris Dulabone, Chronicles of Narnia, History, Humor, Jared Davis, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Monsters, Oz, Oz Authors, Philosophy, Places, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Rest of Nonestica

The International Wizard of Oz Club’s map of the countries surrounding Oz includes a few places, mostly in the southeastern part of the continent (which most likely isn’t technically a continent), that were never directly linked with Oz. They are, … Continue reading

Posted in Cults, Dick Martin, Fairy Tales, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Maps, Oz, Oz Authors, Places, Religion, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shanower on Santa

I bought a copy of L. Frank Baum’s The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus with illustrations by Eric Shanower back in July, and I might as well take a closer look at it now. I re-read the story, which … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Book Reviews, Characters, Christmas, Eric Shanower, Holidays, L. Frank Baum, Monsters, Mythology, Oz, Oz Authors | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Something to Crow About

I probably should start making a list of topics I’ve covered before. There are some broad topics I frequently return to, but when I end up with things like two separate but similar posts about the Egyptian scorpion goddess Serqet, … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Characters, Dick Martin, Jeff Rester, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Names, Onyx Madden/Jim Nitch, Oz, Oz Authors, Prejudice, Ruth Plumly Thompson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Automa-Tons of Fun

During a discussion of Ozma of Oz at the most recent OzCon International, Lee Speth proposed that, while Tik-Tok was not the first mechanical man in modern literature, he was perhaps the first artificial intelligence. L. Frank Baum himself had … Continue reading

Posted in Characters, Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Eric Shanower, John R. Neill, L. Frank Baum, Magic, Magic Items, Oz, Oz Authors, Phil Lewin, Rachel Cosgrove Payes, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments