Book Review: Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz

Book: Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz (issues #1-6) by Joe Brusha with illustrations by Rolando Di Sessa (issues #1-6) and Miguel Mendonca (issue #4), ink by Glauber Matos and color by Grostieta

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: Available now

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

Why does it seem like women are only draw one particular way in comics with big boobs and wearing barely there clothing? Well aside from my annoyance with some of the artwork, the story is really good.

This is a re-telling of the beloved children's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum where it finds the land of Oz being conquered by the Wicket Witches.

This story takes a lot from the original source but also adds a lot of original material along the way.

The story finds Dorothy in Kansas as she dreams of a more adventurous life. And just when she thinks that trying to escape from a bull will be her only adventure she finds herself face to face with a huge wolf. The wolf escaped from Oz trying to keep a package safe from the evil witches.

Dorothy befriended the wolf and gave him a name...Toto. Yes, even Toto got a make-over. And just when she was getting to know her new friend, a strange woman showed up on the farm trying to take the wolf. But thanks to Uncle Henry, who told her to get off his land, she wasn't able to take the "dog" away.

Unbeknownst to Dorothy the strange woman turned out to be the Wicket Witch of the West who after being denied what she wanted, conjured up a tornado which brought Dorothy and Toto to the land of Oz.

Upon landing in Oz, Dorothy is attacked by the Wicket Witch of the East as she attempts to take the mysterious package back. But somehow Dorothy was able to stop her and this starts Dorothy on her quest along with some new friends to finally stop the Wicket Witch of the West from trying to take over Oz.

All the characters in the story got a bit of a make-over but most noticeably with the Munchkins, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow and Toto. They were very different, be it their appearance or their personality but I liked it.

I must say that I found the twist at the end a little disheartening especially as it pertains to the Tin Man. The author took a really different approach with that. It will be interesting to see what will happen if the story continues.

This is a rather dark version of the Oz tale but I did find it be a really good read. I like that although it was different in places it still felt like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. However, I would have preferred Dorothy and the other ladies having drawn with better clothes than what was shown.