Tuesday, February 9, 2010

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Title: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Author: L. Frank Baum, adapted by David Chauvel
Genre: Graphic Novel
Page Count: 96
Why I read it: graphic novel challenge
Grade: B

Synopsis:
Rediscover this wonderful world of Oz, along with the fantastic and familiar characters that inhabit it, in this fresh adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic by David Chauvel, featuring the breathtaking artwork of Enrique Fernandez. Originally published in France and winner of the prestigious 2005 Grand Prix de La Ville De Lyon Award for Illustration, this all-new adaptation of The Wizard of Oz is presented here for the first time in English.

My review:
I have never read the novel of The Wizard of Oz.  So I'm just guessing here that this follows the story fairly closely, but I honestly have no clue.  That being said, I didn't care for the story all that much.  It bored me a little, even though I did think the backstory on some of the characters was fun.  And maybe it's just the I'm used to the movie version, which speeds along fairly quickly, so I kept thinking things were dragging a bit.

But what saved this book was the amazing artwork.  I really think this might be my favorite artwork ever in a graphic novel.  It was so vibrant and beautiful and I loved it.  I would seriously hang this art on my wall.  So even though the story wasn't quite my cup of tea, all I had to do was look at the pictures, and I was in love.  This is why I like graphic novels so much.

I would recommend this if you, like me, read graphic novels for the incredible art.  I found this novel in the children's section at my library.

3 comments:

James C. Wallace II said...

If I may, I would recommend another Oz novel that is a bit more modern. It is called Magician of Oz and it is the first of a three volume story about the great grandson of the original Wizard of Oz. The second volume, Shadow Demon of Oz comes out in March. Magician of Oz can be found on Amazon.com or eBay if you want an autographed copy.

Per Ardua Ad Alta!!!

Brenda said...

Thanks for the recommendation! I'll check it out.

Time4u Book Review said...

Well worth a look, thanks.