Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz by Joe Brusha - Ashley's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Diamond Book Distributors/Zenescope Entertainment on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*


Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Title: Grimm Fairy Tales: Oz
Author: Joe Brusha
Date of Publication: March 18, 2014

Synopsis: The world faces a gathering storm that threatens to drown it in darkness. The only hope to stop the coming evil rests on an unlikely hero: a Kansas farm girl named Dorothy Gale. 

Unbeknownst to Dorothy, highborn blood flows through her veins and with it, the power to save Earth and the realms of power that surround it. But Dorothy must first learn to use her unharnessed abilities before the witches of Oz destroy her and everyone else that stands in their way.

Zenescope Entertainment presents another incredible tale of adventure and fantasy with this mesmerizing and epic re-imagining of a classic!


------------------------------------------

Review: I love reimaginings and retellings, especially ones that have to do with Oz. There's just so much there that can be taken and rewoven and redone into something new and exciting. So, I was really excited when I saw this comic! I've seen these Grimm Fairy Tale comics before, but have never really been interested in reading them. But this one definitely caught my attention.

And I was really not disappointed. Brusha took a popular story with well-known characters and made them all his own. Toto is a ghost wolf. The scarecrow is more intelligent than I've ever seen him, the cowardly lion is a brave soldier with his own secrets, and the tin man is more like a big robot than a man made of tin. The Munchkins are here too, as are all of the scary creatures like the flying monkeys. And of course, what would Oz be without Glinda and the Wicked Witches of the East and West? 

As can be seen from the cover, this comic is definitely sexier and more grown up than L. Frank Baum's original tale. Dorothy and the three Witches wear as little clothing as possible, and it's definitely not practical at all - especially when they go to battle. It's clear that these comics are written for a different audience than the children's books, and I could see how it could be offensive to some people. I didn't really mind since I figured that would be the case going into it... but just be aware that this comic is at least a PG-13 and read at your discretion. There's also some blood and gore and violence, so i's probably not a good read for anyone with a weaker stomach.

I do think I was missing something with the beginning though, and I wish that I had read the other Grimm Fairy Tales to know if I was actually missing something or not. I would imagine that they're all tied together, but I could be wrong. Other than that, this can definitely be read as a standalone, especially if you're familiar with even the first Oz book. I would recommend this to the older crowd (definitely not young YA or MG), especially someone looking for a darker spin on The Wizard of Oz. A 3/5, but I'll be looking for more of these Grimm Fairy Tales comics! 


--Ashley

No comments:

Post a Comment