Wizard of Oz Essays by M. Anthony Masterson
From back when we were drumming up support for the Shadow of Oz tarot deck.
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In which the first chapter of Wonderful Wizard does no favors for the Topeka Tourism Board.
Witch enslaves natives. House drops on witch. Foreigner owns the house. Look deeper. Are you a good cop or a bad cop?
The Chapters are getting longer as Dorothy begins her journey and Baum shows what he can do.
Dorothy rambles. I ramble more. The Scarecrow tumbles. This is cross-posted to Tumblr. BAUM WAS A PROPHET.
"...and Dorothy dreamed of the Emerald City. and of the good Wizard Oz, who would soon send her back to her own home again."
"We must leave him here to sleep on forever, and perhaps he will dream that he has found courage at last."
"...turning his head (which worked beautifully on hinges) he saw a strange beast come bounding over the grass towards them."
“A woman opened it just far enough to look out, and said, "What do you want, child, and why is that great Lion with you?”
Discussing Chapter 11 of Wonderful Wizard, in which our hero discovers graphic novels.
"When Dorothy had time to open these books she found them full of queer green pictures that made her laugh, they were so funny."
Oz gets seriously violent and the flying monkeys finally turn up, but all Mark can think about is how little screen time the main villain gets.
“There was a rushing of many wings; a great chattering and laughing; and the sun came out of the dark sky to show the Wicked Witch surrounded by a crowd of monkeys, each with a pair of immense and powerful wings on his shoulders.”
Chapter XIII - How the Four Were Reunited
“Can you straighten out those dents in the Tin Woodman, and bend him back into shape again, and solder him together where he is broken?”
They're big, bad, bold, and beautiful and they get a whole chapter to themselves. Ladies and Gentlemen: your Winged Monkeys of Oz!
"She sat down on the grass and looked at her companions, and they sat down and looked at her, and Toto found that for the first time in his life he was too tired to chase a butterfly that flew past his head."
WHO IS THE WIZARD? WHERE DOES HE KEEP HIS FIREBALLS? All this and more revealed in XV:"The Discovery of Oz, The Terrible," but that's not what interests Mark.
"Exactly so!" declared the little man, rubbing his hands together as if it pleased him; "I am a humbug."
Any lesser fairy tale and this would be a chapter about reconstructive surgery. As it is, it's about the nature of reality itself. Possibly. I haven't been sleeping well lately.
“Why are those needles and pins sticking out of your head?" asked the Tin Woodman.
"That is proof that he is sharp," remarked the Lion.”
“The Scarecrow told them there were wonderful thoughts in his head; but he would not say what they were because he knew no one could understand them but himself.”
"I should like to cry a little because Oz is gone, if you will kindly wipe away my tears, so that I shall not rust."
"Dorothy said nothing. Oz had not kept the promise he made her, but he had done his best, so she forgave him."
"My lady fair/ Why do you stare/ At poor old Mr. Joker?/ You're quite as stiff/And prim as if/ You'd eaten up a poker!"
"We are all threatened," answered the tiger, "by a fierce enemy which has lately come into this forest. It is a most tremendous monster, like a great spider, with a body as big as an elephant and legs as long as a tree trunk."
This is such a short chapter, this is the only spoiler-free quote: "...water the cabbages..."
The Shadow of Oz Tarot Deck is in the hands of Kickstarter backers all around the globe, so let's finally talk about the cards.
2023 COMMENT: THIS DIDN’T HAPPEN.
The first installment of a brand new blogging hexperiment - re-reading Baum chapter by chapter. Updated Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.