Hilarious and fun, suitable for most ages

When the Wicked Witch's equally wicked brother, The Jester, takes over her castle, he wastes no time in taking over the lands of Oz. It is up to the genius Scarecrow, the emotional Tin Man and the brave Lion to save the people. But they might need a little help...

While clearly targeted at a younger audience, this book can be enjoyed by most ages as a light, fun set of interlinked stories that will put a smile on your face. Funny, occasionally clever and beautifully drawn, IDW have managed to update the Oz characters without changing beyond recognition. Modern touches include the Scarcrow's Robocop/Terminator POVs, the overly emotional Tin Man getting a little too in touch with his feelings and the Lion's occasional sarcasm. All these enliven what could have been a very childish story, part of what makes this worth a read.

I raced through this in one sitting, wishing there was more to it and was somewhat irritated that the book acts ENTIRELY as a prelude to the film: the short segments are all complete in themselves, but the story is wholly incomplete, requiring you to watch the film to fully enjoy what you've already bought. I don't necessarily begrudge them this, as it is clearly marked as a 'prequel' (although it is more accurately a 'preLUDE' coming out as it does BEFORE the film), but it would have been nice to have a little closure.

Worth picking up if you intend to watch (or already have watched) the film ( )

Jester, the Wicked Witch's brother, has returned to Oz to seek vengeance on all. The Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man are out to stop him. They feel they need to bring Dorothy back to Oz.

They graphics are a bit on the cartoonish side, but this is apt due to the focus age group. The graphics are fun and laced with humor.

The characters are cute albeit simple.

Plot narrative is easy to follow with humor and action.

Overall, a cute read. ( )

The Story
This comic is based on the animated movie Legends of Oz, which I've never seen, and is soon to be followed by the new CGI movie Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return. It gives a prelude to what will be coming in the new movie.

In all honesty, it seemed a little silly. The main characters' traits were overly exaggerated (practically any time one of them said/did something, it was connected to the thing the wizard had given them: the Tin Man was absurdly over-emotional and always crying, the no-longer-Cowardly Lion was forever mentioning not being afraid anymore, and the Scarecrow was non-stop coming up with intelligent remarks & ideas), and they went directly from one silly contrived scenario to the next. I didn't find the writing compelling at all. The story jerked around too much with no smooth transitions. I enjoy children's books, they're fun for all ages, but this is just not one I would want to read again or suggest to any child; I feel like the author is not familiar with children or children's books and it was trying to be too purposely simplistic, in a way that talks down to children. Really I just wanted it to focus on the flying monkeys, they were by far the best and most interesting part of the story.

The Art
Bright bold colors, especially for Oz itself; they really stand out and look wonderful on the page. The drawing style of the main trio and the villain was a little too cartoony for my particular taste, I like more realistically drawn characters. But that is a personal preference, they are certainly drawn well. I was enamored with the flying monkeys, they're fabulous in every scene, I absolutely love the way they look! They all have their unique little attributes and they're simply fantastic. ( )

Background: Dorothy of Oz Prequel, tells the story of how Dorothy is needed back in Oz. The Wicked Witch of the West is still defeated but her evil brother, the Jester has returned to take her place. The Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion must find a way to return Dorothy to Oz to help defeat the Jester and his evil plans.

Review: Super Cute! I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was an interesting story and the old characters were done justice, while the new characters were funny, adorable, and beautifully drawn. The story included the gangs journey to find a way to bring Dorothy back, and this has them traveling the land of Oz for some help and answers, we meet the Candy Land people-- very reminiscent of the game Candy Land, the Dainty China Country-- full of breakable people, and we get to explore some of the goodies the Wizard left behind.
The art is wonderful, very bright and vibrant, and a cartoon like style-- which makes it more kid friendly and holds to the whimsical-ness of the Wizard of Oz. It was a very quick read, the pictures and bright colors really keep you moving along, and you don't need to know the original story, because they do a good job filling in those holes for non-Wizard of Oz fans.

Copy was received from NetGalley and IDW Publishing in exchange for an honest review. ( )