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scans_dailyShe wasn't created for comics. She goes back decades before comic books were invented. But, she's been in so many, since, so...
Ozma
Illustration by John R. Neill, who illustrated all of Baum's Oz books except for the first one.
First, a little background...
If your knowledge of L. Frank Baum's Oz is solely from the 1939 MGM film adaptation of the first book, you don't know it. MGM took a lot of liberties with the characters and their world. It wasn't a dream, for one thing. Dorothy kept visiting this Fairyland. The Tin Woodsman's origin is much darker and way more violent. The Lion is much cooler in the books. The series also created fiction's first robot, Tik-Tok. And Dorothy, herself...
In the books, Dorothy isn't the helpless, crying, wimp MGM turned her into. She's brave, smart, resourceful, and unfazed by all the strangeness she encounters. She wins her fights by using her wits, since she lacks physical size. But, she's not perfect. She's impulsive, and has a very short temper (MGM!Dorothy would have gotten on Book!Dorothy's last nerve, very quickly). Baum's entire point with the character was to tell girls that thy didn't have to be the Damsel in Distress or the Love Interest, that they could be the Hero. It was a radical concept when the first book was published in 1900, and obviously was still too radical a concept for MGM in 1939.
But, this post isn't about Dorothy... exactly.
In the second book, The Marvelous Land of Oz, we meet a farm boy named Tip. It turns out that he's the rightful Queen of Oz, hidden away as a baby.
Yes, you read that right. Tip was born a girl, Princess Ozma, and had been transformed by Mombi. At the end, it was time for him, um, her, to accept his, um, her destiny.
Queen Ozma and her companion and champion, Princess Dorothy, formerly of Kansas, turn Oz into a Utopia. It's a rather Socialist one, though Baum adds an Author's Note that it probably wouldn't work in our world.
Dorothy and Ozma are especially close. People have wondered why Baum never gave either a love interest once they hit their teen years, but... The central romance of the series was between them. Their interaction looks very gay, today, but Baum was probably writing a Romantic Friendship and Boston Marriage. A little on that, here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_friendship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_marriage
One of, if not the, most beautifully illustrated children's book series in history, I think. The poppies would be the inspiration for Princess Leia's bun hairstyle in the first Star Wars movie.
The petite one, Dorothy, is the agressive, "Slay the Dragon", one of the pair. Ozma tempers Dorothy's aggression with a calmer, more pacifistic, approach. The two balance and complete each other.
Amusingly, when Disney made Return to Oz (which actually does get Dorothy's character right), they avoided the transgender business, but couldn't escape the subtext of the relationship. It even worked it's way into the score. Each major character had their own theme and instrument. Dorothy's and Ozma's were the most difficult to compose, because of what was needed. Composer David Shire...
The interview is at this fansite, where you can download the soundtrack. Disney gave them permission.
http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/
And, a couple of fanvids for the movie, and one of the great fantasy literature heroines...
Ozma's birthday is August 21, so a Happy Belated Birthday...
The covers of sone of Eric Shanower's Oz Graphic Novels.
And a page from the adaptation of The Marvelous Land of Oz by Shanower and Skottie Young from when Ozma was still a boy.
Ozma
Illustration by John R. Neill, who illustrated all of Baum's Oz books except for the first one.
First, a little background...
If your knowledge of L. Frank Baum's Oz is solely from the 1939 MGM film adaptation of the first book, you don't know it. MGM took a lot of liberties with the characters and their world. It wasn't a dream, for one thing. Dorothy kept visiting this Fairyland. The Tin Woodsman's origin is much darker and way more violent. The Lion is much cooler in the books. The series also created fiction's first robot, Tik-Tok. And Dorothy, herself...
In the books, Dorothy isn't the helpless, crying, wimp MGM turned her into. She's brave, smart, resourceful, and unfazed by all the strangeness she encounters. She wins her fights by using her wits, since she lacks physical size. But, she's not perfect. She's impulsive, and has a very short temper (MGM!Dorothy would have gotten on Book!Dorothy's last nerve, very quickly). Baum's entire point with the character was to tell girls that thy didn't have to be the Damsel in Distress or the Love Interest, that they could be the Hero. It was a radical concept when the first book was published in 1900, and obviously was still too radical a concept for MGM in 1939.
But, this post isn't about Dorothy... exactly.
In the second book, The Marvelous Land of Oz, we meet a farm boy named Tip. It turns out that he's the rightful Queen of Oz, hidden away as a baby.
Yes, you read that right. Tip was born a girl, Princess Ozma, and had been transformed by Mombi. At the end, it was time for him, um, her, to accept his, um, her destiny.
Queen Ozma and her companion and champion, Princess Dorothy, formerly of Kansas, turn Oz into a Utopia. It's a rather Socialist one, though Baum adds an Author's Note that it probably wouldn't work in our world.
Dorothy and Ozma are especially close. People have wondered why Baum never gave either a love interest once they hit their teen years, but... The central romance of the series was between them. Their interaction looks very gay, today, but Baum was probably writing a Romantic Friendship and Boston Marriage. A little on that, here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_friendship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_marriage
One of, if not the, most beautifully illustrated children's book series in history, I think. The poppies would be the inspiration for Princess Leia's bun hairstyle in the first Star Wars movie.
The petite one, Dorothy, is the agressive, "Slay the Dragon", one of the pair. Ozma tempers Dorothy's aggression with a calmer, more pacifistic, approach. The two balance and complete each other.
Amusingly, when Disney made Return to Oz (which actually does get Dorothy's character right), they avoided the transgender business, but couldn't escape the subtext of the relationship. It even worked it's way into the score. Each major character had their own theme and instrument. Dorothy's and Ozma's were the most difficult to compose, because of what was needed. Composer David Shire...
I had the Ozma theme early on, and after Walter made his counterpoint suggestion, it took a very long time to get a Dorothy theme that would work with it yet have an equally strong and distinct character of its own. I also gave each of the themes its own instrumental character --solo violin for Dorothy, solo cello for Ozma. I must have written twenty or twenty-five different Dorothy themes until I came up with one I was really happy with! All the throwaways either didn't work well contrapuntally, or else sounded too much like counterpoints or obligates rather than distinctive melodies. I didn't want the climax to be telegraphed at all.
The interview is at this fansite, where you can download the soundtrack. Disney gave them permission.
http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/
And, a couple of fanvids for the movie, and one of the great fantasy literature heroines...
Ozma's birthday is August 21, so a Happy Belated Birthday...
The covers of sone of Eric Shanower's Oz Graphic Novels.
And a page from the adaptation of The Marvelous Land of Oz by Shanower and Skottie Young from when Ozma was still a boy.
