Match found in the German National Library.

Access a version of the below that includes illustrations on my blog.

Emerald City is, as I recall, one of the weaker Oz novels, and this adaptation is thus kind of boring in itself, though it's not aided by the fact that while volumes 1-4 of the Marvel Oz comics each comprised eight issues, this one is only five. I'm sure there were good sales-related reasons for this, but I feel like it must have been a negative feedback loop: low sales lead to fewer issues leads to lower quality leads to lower sales. This awkward hodgepodge of a novel was probably never going to be great, but only about 100 pages to cover it makes it worse. There are two parallel stories: the Nome King plots an invasion of Oz while Dorothy travels to random places for no real reason. The characters are saved through luck and happenstance, while Dorothy's journeys are even more aimless than most, and she seems somewhat crueler than in Wonderful Wizard, with a very relaxed attitude towards causing damage, and a poor track record with respecting others. (She was politer when she was younger.)

Anyway, Shanower and Young do their best with the story they're given and the space they have-- one feels like Aunt Em vs. the Cowardly Lion would have got a whole page in the old days, but here it just nets three panels, alas. The creepy creatures General Guph visits during his recruiting drive are probably the best part, and it is nice to see Young get to draw almost everyone who's appeared in the series before one last time.

The real problem with this book is that it was the last one, and I'll never get to see Skottie Young draw my absolute favorite of Baum's original fourteen, The Patchwork Girl of Oz. That they could even have covered all of Baum's novels was always improbable, but surely they could have stretched to just one more. I have no doubt that Skottie and Scraps would have been a match made in heaven. Actually, he must have agreed, because he snuck Scraps into a variant cover for Road to Oz #1.

This is the final book in Marvel’s Oz graphic novels series. It was a decent book in the series, not my favorite (I think Ozma of Oz was still my favorite) but still really well done. It’s a great fantasy graphic novel read that is appropriate for all ages.

Dorothy’s aunt and uncle are about to lose their farm and Dorothy decides it’s time to ask for help from Ozma. She has Ozma transport the five of them (Dorothy, her aunt and uncle, Toto, and Eureka) to Oz to live there. After their arrival they go on a tour of some of the stranger residents of Oz. Meanwhile the Nome King has decided to attack the Emerald City in hopes of recovering his magic belt. He is allying with all sorts of evil creatures. Will Ozma and her friends be able to protect Oz from the Nome King’s invasion?

I continue to enjoy the spectacular drawing in these books. I love the full color pictures and the quirky characters.

The story spends an equal amount of time between the Nome King and Dorothy. Dorothy visits a land of paper people, a land of puzzle people, and a land where everyone is edible in her parts of the story. The Nome King’s general visits many dark lands and recruits a number of evildoers to his side in his parts of the story.

I did enjoy the quirky lands and people we meet in this book. I also enjoy the irony of how the story ended, very cute and funny.

However, I didn’t find the story as engaging as say Ozma of Oz. There is a bit of a plot here, but it’s pretty straight-forward.

Overall another fun and entertaining installment in this retelling of the Oz series. This is a great graphic novel series for all ages, I have really enjoyed it and am glad I read it. Recommended to fans of fantasy graphic novels. ( )

This is the sixth Oz adaptation from Shanower and Young and, to my sorrow, the last. I am sad that we will never get to see the duo take on some of my other favorites, but really I can't complain since they did my all-time favorite, Ozma of Oz, complete with the dinner pail and lunch box trees. *sigh of satisfaction*. This book is a good stopping place if they weren't planning to continue through the rest of the famous forty anyways.

This is a much slighter book than the other titles and Baum originally meant it to end the series. Dorothy and her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are once more in difficulties in Kansas and this time Dorothy makes the decision to stay forever in Oz, since Ozma offers to let Uncle Henry and Aunt Em live there as well. Happily settled in Oz after a few initial contretemps, Ozma suggests the three of them, accompanied by a few trustworthy friends, take a journey through Oz to visit some of the strange places and peoples that not even Dorothy has seen. The little group is soon enjoying themselves thoroughly on several pun-filled adventures, but back in the Emerald City danger is looming - the Nome King and a host of terrible allies are marching on the city! Ozma refuses to fight, but will they find a peaceful solution? Of course they do and the decision is made to render Oz invisible and cut off from the rest of the world so there may be no more attacks. So we say goodbye forever to Dorothy, Ozma, and all their friends.

This tpb is only five issues long, but Shanower and Young pack all the pertinent details and the most delightful elements of the story into even such a small space. We see all the strange creatures who ally with the Nome King as well as the high spots of Dorothy's trip - the Fuddles, Utensia, and my favorite, Bunbury. The text includes the best of the jokes, narration, and dialog without being too dense. Skottie Young, as always, does a gorgeous job translating the odd creatures and places into images and maintaining the continuity of characters from previous books. I really love his interpretation of Ozma, who can sometimes be rather static in the original stories. She has a much wider range of emotions and reactions in the artwork.

Verdict: Even if you don't have a lot of Oz fans, these stories are worth purchasing. I was sadly contemplating the weeding of my library's Oz books when these adaptations revived interest. Not only the graphic adaptations but the original volumes now check out and I'm planning to replace and add to the original books with updated editions. Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9780785183884; Published 2014 by Marvel; Purchased for the library