Tip right now: 🐣

From Marvelous Land of Oz:

“I hope none of you will care less for me than you did before. I’m just the same Tip, you know; only—only—” “Only you’re different!” said the Pumpkinhead; and everyone thought it was the wisest speech he had ever made.

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The eerie yellow brick road of abandoned “Land of Oz” theme park in North Carolina [2592x3888]

Okay, we're doing this again.

In round one Logan got 15.8%, and in round two Logan got 23.7%

This time we're adding a new challenger! Will Logan gain more ground? Will Dorothy stay at the top spot? Or will Jinjur take a surprise lead?

So, I've seen people on tumblr joke about John R. Neill being a secret Scarecrow/Tin Woodman shipper, and while realistically speaking he probably wasn't, I still think it's nice how they're just as affectionate in Neill's books as they are in Baum's.

This post by @poppies-from-oz inspired me to try and read 'Lucky Bucky in Oz' (I say "try" because the actual writing quality is... not the best) and for a moment I actually wondered if the gay subtext was intentional before remembering that it was written in 1942. Still, here are a few stand-out moments:

For context, at some point the Scarecrow has apparently started ruling the Munchkins, hence why he refers to himself as an emperor. Not sure if it was Neill or Thompson who came up with this.

Then they go on a boat with this club of men who're all uncles (don't question it). The version of Lucky Bucky I found online doesn't have illustrations, but I assume this is where the "gay cruise" image comes from.

Bonus: This scene from 'The Scalawagons of Oz', where Nick is finally able to talk after being severely rusted for a while:

Even if the subtext was completely accidental, it's still clear that Neill really liked their friendship!

oh we are so back

The 1939 Popular Edition hardback cover for The Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum, original title The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904), in which the events are set shortly after the events in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and after Dorothy Gale's departure back to Kansas. The protagonist of the novel is an orphan boy called Tip.

Despite the over Dorthy does not appear in the story.

I I feel so bad for the Oz book fans who doesn't know about this

This is the first episode of a series of audio dramas that adapt L. Frank Baum's 1900 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and I kid you not, this is the best adaptation that I ever seen, or better, heard, of the book. Believe me, this will surprise and delight you all.

Please take a look. It's criminal how little audience this YouTube channel has, because by the quality of these episodes, they deserve much more views.

Currently, the Chronicles of Oz, how they call the series, has three seasons, adapting the first three books of the Oz series.

Please, spread the word. I assure you, this series is really, really good.

@ariel-seagull-wings @the-blue-fairie @angelixgutz @princesssarisa @amalthea9 @thealmightyemprex

The Mystery of John Burr the Chestnut Man

The Land of Oz is a series with many an obscure characters - most people could probably tell you about Dorothy, the Tin-Man, the Lion, and the Scarecrow, but how many know of Ozma? Or Tik-Tok? What of Professor H.M. Wogglebug T.E.? And that's just scratching the surface, considering there are so many books (around 40 considered "Canonical"), and then beyond that there are characters who pop up in works connected to Oz... and then there's the case of John Burr the Chestnut Man. Who the Hell is he?

Well, first, some context:

In the year 1900, L. Frank Baum published The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, complete with illustrations from W.W. Denslow. Due to their collaborative efforts on the book, it was agreed that both men should have the rights to the characters and various elements within the first book. This arrangement may sound a bit unusual, but really it should be fine as long as Denslow and Baum don't have some sort of falling out.

Guess what happened in 1902 while they were working on the Wizard of Oz Stage Musical?

So, Denslow and Baum went their separate ways, with Baum going on to write "The Marvelous Land of Oz", while Denslow continued illustrating for books such as "The Pearl and the Pumpkin". He also worked on a small book called "Denslow's Scarecrow and the Tin-Man", featuring a short story about the duo getting into some hijinx after deciding they were tired of working endlessly on the Wizard of Oz stage show - I'm sure he wasn't working through anything there.

Around the time Marvelous Land got published, he also worked on a newspaper series called "Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz" which served both to promote the sequel and increase the reach of the Oz brand. It's also one of the few remaining artefacts of a time when Baum really wanted Professor Wogglebug to be the mascot of the Oz series, but that's a discussion for another time.

Denslow sees this and thinks "Well, I'll show him! I'll make my own newspaper series!" and so we got Denslow’s Scarecrow and the Tin-Man (yes he used the same name as he did for the book - he also split that book into two halves and published them in the newspaper series, so that’s confusing). Unlike Baum's strip, this series mainly stuck to the events of the 1902 stage musical, so Dorothy never left Oz and is also referred to as Dorothy Gale (a name Baum wouldn't use in prose until Ozma of Oz) or Dotty (her show-exclusive nickname). The first story also makes reference to a Good Witch covering the poppy field with snow, which didn't happen in the book but did happen in the musical. Other than this though, they keep references deliberately vague - no mention is made of King Pastoria II, Cynthia Synch, or Dorothy’s pet cow, Imogene (who replaces Toto in the stage musical - similarly, this series makes no reference to Toto). It’s interesting to see an Oz-related work be influenced by a very popular adaptation other than the MGM movie.

Okay, but who is John Burr the Chestnut Man?

John Burr is introduced in the second story in the Scarecrow and Tin-Man series, and immediately he raises questions. Apparently, he's the Fairy Godfather of the Scarecrow (which possibly links him to the Scarecrow's 1902 musical origin wherein he comes to life because Dorothy wished for a friend, but this isn't made explicit) and possibly the Tin-Man. It's not clear. The Scarecrow and the Tin-Man are joined at the hip for most of this series though, so it hardly matters. In his first appearance, he transports the Scarecrow, Tin-Man, and the Cowardly Lion down to Earth, making him one of the most powerful characters in the series at this point.

Later in the series, he hands the Scarecrow and the Tin-Man "Magic Passes" because nobody will tell these poor guys how money works, so they just keep stealing things (relatedly, the Scarecrow and the Tin-Man book I mentioned earlier where they're performing in the musical mentions that the two just aren't paid for their work... again, I'm sure Denslow wasn't working through anything there)... and that's it. That's all we know of him. He enters the narrative, fulfils this oddly powerful role for someone who isn't even hinted at in anything prior and is then forgotten about entirely.

Also, he sells chestnuts, that's why he's the chestnut man.

[Honestly, the funniest thing about this whole situation to me is that Denslow's Scarecrow and the Tin-Man series is just significantly better than Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz - better art and the writing is just very charming - both are probably equally racist though, so be warned if you want to seek these out].

my new compared my old design of dorothy from last year! I like to think of the new one as an older Dorothy a couple years after the first book.

Ok but like for the five people who read Dorothy Must Die, did anyone else think it was weird how Dorothy was hyperfeminineized? Like the girl was raised on a farm. Dorothy and the wizard of Oz knows what I’m talking about. It gave me the vibe that the author had a grudge against a Regina George in high school and make Dorothy like her. All I’m saying is that a more Tomboy Dorothy would be more in character.

I want an Oz adaptation in the vein of Lovecraft Country, challenging the rabid racism of an author whose work has shaped the face of American pop culture. Because L. Frank Baum, HOO BOY.

Okay there's The Wiz, but my impression (admittedly secondhand; I really want to see that play, but correct me if I'm wrong) is that challenging the racism of the story's original creator isn't the focus the way it is in Lovecraft Country. I want Native Dorothy (going by her home state of Kansas, she'd presumably be from one of the Plains cultures that Baum wanted dead) and transfem Black Ozma as an official couple. I would write this, but I already have so many ideas and honestly I should probably leave it to someone who's Indigenous or Black themselves.

Oh, Ozma. Anyone can do this, not just girls!

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Just for fun, I designed some nomes (aka rock fairies) who are not in any planned pages of Yellow Brick Ramble but do exist in the Yellow Brick Ramble universe.

Mariposita's named not after butterflies, but the metamorphic rock Mariposite. Because it's green like her eyes. Her parents are both male. She's one of those fan shipping OC babies.

Rock fairies reproduce by growing babies in geodes and hatching them like eggs. However, it's considered very rude to compare a nome geode to an egg like I just did.

Not gonna lie, I actually really like how Dorothy has an accent. She's a kid from a poor, rural American background, it makes sense for her to have one. "Ozma of Oz", the book where Dorothy first starts speaking with an accent, was also written during the Edwardian era, a time where most people still had the "regional accent = stupid and/all full-on evil" mindset, so Dorothy feels like a breath of fresh air.

(That mindset never really left tbh, but plenty of other people have already explained that way better than I ever could, so I won't get into it here.)

Book 1:

Book 2:

This has got to be the cutest example of character growth.😭

Look at him just sitting there with a giant rose the size of his head.😭

I love you little metal man. I would die for you. I would kill for you.