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Written by Jesse Gernigin Friday, 08 January 2010 00:00

Eric Shanower and Skottie Young bring L. Frank Baum's vision to life in this comic book adaptation of Dorothy's trip down the Yellow Brick Road.

192 pgs. full color; $29.99 hardcover

(W: Eric Shanower; A: Skottie Young)

When I found out that Marvel was going to be doing a comic book version of The Wizard of Oz, I quickly became worried. "Marvel is going to brutalize the mythology of my childhood," I thought as images of The Wiz flitted through my head. Thankfully the anxiety died long before the comic came to print, and thank god it did because Marvel's take on The Wizard of Oz is beautiful! Skottie Young, the comic's illustrator (known for his work on New X-Men and the 2003 Human Torch series), uses bright and bold colors to lift a highly political story into the lambent realm of fable. Writer Eric Shanower (Age of Bronze) remains true to L. Frank Baum's vision without miring the story's progress in needless detail. Shanower's use of language here serves as a benchmark lesson to other writers in the field on how to clearly say a lot with very little. My favorite part of the novel is when Young and Shanower explain how the Wicked Witch gained dominion over the flying monkeys. The sepia nature of the panels and the quick delivery of details needed to explain the story completely immerse you in the comic, drawing you into a story within a story which, at its heart, The Wizard of Oz is. This comic comes with my full recommendations! | Jesse Gernigin

Click here for a preview of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, courtesy of IGN.