Tremendous fun for an Oz fan with a sense of humor, although I can see why it might have annoyed some more thin-skinned purists; even more, it's fairly obvious why this didn't succeed in the same way as Kovac's Wonderland, which is similarly based on an existing property. The difference is that Wonderland really only assumes a very general, pop culture awareness of Lewis Carroll's fairyland, while Royal Historian goes full throttle with a lot of very specific references and jokes for Oz die-hards. I'm a little shocked this was published mainstream, in fact, just because it feels so niche.

The plot is pretty thin, and it ends abruptly (again, not unlike Wonderland); most of the enjoyment of the book comes from stuff that will sail straight over most comic readers' heads to those of us who "get it" - and hopefully, don't mind being poked at a little. If nothing else, it's worth it for Andy Hirsch's highly original interpretations of the Oz characters; his Patchwork Girl is especially wonderful. Mind you, the one brief glimpse we get of a Kovac-drawn Oz looks like it would have been special, too - albeit in a different, more ethereal way. ( )

A fun romp and re-interpretation of Baum's classic world. Jasper Fizzle, in the running as the world's worst author, is obsessed with Oz and writing new Oz books. This puts him at odds with the official Oz society and his son, Frank, who loves his father; but wishes Jasper would be a little more practical. Jasper's chance discovery of the Silver Slippers starts a chain of events involving Frank's abduction to Oz, the Patchwork Girl, and an old enemy of Oz. Frank has to deal with both his father's obsession, the people of Oz, and his own conflicted feelings about his father. Like the original Oz books, a young adult book that can be appreciated by anyone young at heart who loves Oz. ( )