The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Eric Shanower and L. Frank Baum and illustrated by Skottie Young, 192 pages

This is Marvel's graphic interpretation of L. Frank Baum's classic children's story. The graphic novel follows the plot of the book, rather than the better-known movie, which may throw readers off a bit. I'd read the original book about six or seven years ago, so a few of the elements surprised me (the village made of porcelain people and houses, for example) before recognition came creeping back in.

Young's illustrations are simply gorgeous. They're full of whimsy and so seem approachable to a wide range of readers. I particularly liked the Cowardly Lion, which looks like a giant poofball. I was also enamored with an appendix describing the adaptation process; apparently the Tin Man was visually modeled after Baum himself.

All in all, this was a great way to present the story: faithful to the source material, but technicolor and fanciful like the movie.