Author Archives: skook

Royal Historians

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 A lot of folks have written a lot of Oz stories in the century plus since The Wonderful Wizard of Oz first saw print. For the purposes of the Oz-Squad.com site I’m only designating a few of them as official Royal Historians. I’m including their biographies and Oz bibliographies over at that website. These portraits will also be colored there.

L. Frank Baum
W.W. Denslow
John R. Neill
Ruth Plumly Thompson

And Steve Ahlquist, of course. I don’t think he wears this suit very often. We had to vacuum off a bit of dust before he sat down for the portrait.

I’ve gotten up to John R. Neill in writing the bios. I’ll post a notice here when I’ve finished the rest.

The Black Lion

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The Lion in 1955. Or maybe it’s a Lion in 1955. Dorothy was replaced involuntarily. Perhaps the Lion had a substitute as well? I don’t know. The 1955 Lion appears twice in the flashback in issue 8 and neither version looks different than any of Terry Loh’s contemporary versions of the Lion. But, since everyone else on the Squad has gone through changes since Dorothy first came to Oz over a century ago, it seemed unfair to have the Lion stay the same in every incarnation.

Tin and Chrome

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Nick Chopper, the 1955 version. Drawing Nick is always a bit of a challenge. I’ve known a lot of artists who had an affinity for drawing cars, robots and other machines. My preferences are drawing organic objects – animals, plants and landscapes. So representing the Tin Man usually requires twice as much preliminary sketches as any of the other characters.

Terry Loh drew Nick with 1950s styling for that 1955 version of the Squad so I’ve tried to duplicate and preserve that.

She’s Not Who She Thinks She Is.

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This and the next three posts feature the 1955 version of Oz Squad. I really can’t tell you much about them. They appear in a three page flash back in the 8th issue of the comic. Apparently Dorothy spent most of 1955 in a Soviet sensory deprivation tank while a duplicate Dorothy ran the Squad. Hopefully I’ll get to draw that adventure sometime.

Or at least do illustrations for the novel. Hey Steve?

A Lion Among Men

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When he goes to Earth, the Lion uses an enchantment that makes him appear to be a human being. I assume that the enchantment actually transforms him into a human but it’s possible that his human guise is merely an illusion. Given that a human and a giant lion will fill space differently, a  physical transformation seems more practical but I don’t know for certain which it is. I’ll have to ask Steve about it sometime.

One Tin Soldier

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Nick Chopper wasn’t a soldier. He was a woodcutter. Once his body had all become tin he remained a woodcutter. He continued to carry his axe less for utility than because it was the last remnant of his human life.

After the events of World War 2 he set his axe aside and built other weapons into his body. He used the latest technologies to make his bodies into mobile defense/assault systems.

There was a Tin Soldier in original Baum Oz books. I don’t know if he’s still around. If he is, he isn’t scheduled to appear in Oz Squad yet.

Scarecrow – The Years Take Their Toll

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In the first few issues of the original Oz Squad comic, the Scarecrow isn’t in good shape. He’s depressed and somewhat suicidal. How else would you explain his smoking habit?

His outlook improves but only after he experiences a kind of a breakdown. And a change of clothes. For some individuals, more than others, how one looks really is how one feels.

Andrew Murphy, the first Oz Squad artist, gave the Scarecrow a face that had three dimensions. He had eyes, a nose and a mouth with teeth. I’ve always preferred the idea that the Scarecrow’s face was painted on. When he talked, the paint moved. I think that’s cool and creepy at the same time.

Dorothy at the End of the Century

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The next four posts will feature my version of the original Oz Squad. I’ve made some adjustments to the designs to fit my own style but I’ve tried not to go to far.

The look of Oz Squad was established in the first issue of the comic, published toward the end of 1991. Andrew Murphy penciled that issue and, while I imagine that Steve had a lot of input, designed the look of the characters. Unlike many versions of Dorothy that have appeared in other takes on Oz in the years since, the Dorothy in that first issue is a good example of the sort of woman the Dorothy of the books might have grown up to be. She dresses fashionably and practically. As one of Oz’s representatives on Earth her style is somewhat formal and businesslike – appropriate for interacting with ambassadors and bureaucrats.

I’ve made Dorothy a blond. In the original books Dorothy is illustrated as blond so I’m sticking with that.

I don’t know if Andrew is still making art. If he is I haven’t been able to find any examples of recent work online.