OZ: Heart of Magic

Oz: Heart of Magic #1-5

by Terry Kavanagh, Marcelo Mueller (Artist)

The Realm of Oz is back!

Last we saw Dorothy she was trapped in a body that isn't hers by the evil Wizard of Oz, cut off from most of her loyal followers and exiled from the Emerald City. Now on the run through increasingly forbidding lands, with the very heart of the realm itself on the line, will she be able to protect herself and more importantly the people who rely on her? Find out here, in the first issue of this soon-to-be-legendary tale!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics

148 pages, Paperback

First published April 14, 2020

About the author

Terrence "Terry" Kavanagh is an American comic book editor and writer. Kavanagh's last new comics project was the Before the Fantastic Four: The Storms limited series in 2000–2001.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected better writing from someone who wrote a lot of Marvel books in the 90's. The story is all over the place. Like a lot of Zenescope books in the past, the book goes out of the way to show girls in skimpy clothing. Glinda the Good Witch is in a lingerie corset and Dorothy fights the final battle in a half top and Daisy Dukes while everyone else is armored. Haven't we moved past all this cheesecake nonsense yet?

Received a review copy from Zenescope and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm… A reasonable comic for those who are au fait with the publisher's whole Oz mythos. For newcomers such as me it's obvious a lot of it has been designed to show Dorothy with the fittest pair of pneumatic boobs possible, or if not her or a side character from the Emerald City militia, then someone pretending to be her. For yes, she's now the Emperor, or she was – she's been usurped by a wizard with a glamour to look like her, and she's now a fetching shade of blue and struggling south to find the Doodad of Thingummyjig which will open the Great Chamber of MacGuffins so she can thingy the hummenah to the whatsit. You know how the song goes, "If I only had a hummenah". Big things those – or they are in this childishly cockamamie fantasy world, which is very much in keeping with the eleventythump novels there were in the first place. It's daft to give an appraisal here in star ratings, for this is a daft place to come on board with it all, and a lot of your appreciation for this will be down to how you feel about the boobs.

[Robert Bussie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is average, a bit jarring between scenerios, and feels rushed. It should have had a few more comic book issues to extend the journey of Dorothy and crew to different unexplored areas of Oz. It seems like such as wasted opportunity. However, as is, it is still an enjoyable read albeit a shallow read.

The art is where this books shines. The really good drawings and bold colors easily lifts this book to a higher rating.

I previously reviewed the one shot comic "Oz Annual: Dominion of Ozmo." One of my issues with that story is the mention of Ozma as a pivotal plot point but nothing more. I found this very aggravating. I am happy to announce that this trade "Oz: Heart of Magic" answers the questions from that book. It even ends an interesting cliff hanger.

[Joy (Books with Joy) · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 'Oz: Heart of Magic', the Wizard of Oz is masquerading as Dorothy the Emperess and wreaking havoc in the kingdom. Alongside a band of misfits, the real Dorothy (although transformed blue) is searching for a thing fto help her to regain some powers and reclaim her place.

This is an interesting take on The Wizard of Oz. The art is beautiful and engaging. Whilst I enjoyed the art I felt some scenes a bit chaotic for my eyes as this was an action packed read.

Despite that, unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I believe this book could be more enjoyable for fans of the Wizard of Oz sci-fi retellings and the like.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an EARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the storyline and the artwork. Bravo, well done.


Thanks to NetGalley, Terry Kavanagh, Marcelo Mueller, Diamond Book Distributors, and Zenescope for
the ARC in return for an honest review.

[Sarah Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I should start by saying that I didn’t read the previous comics in the series so I felt like I was thrown into the middle of things. That’s ok though, I figured it out pretty quickly. This was ok for me. I thought the artwork was pretty fantastic and generous in places. The dialogue, though sometimes a bit basic also had its humourous moments. I think because I didn’t read the previous books, that I just couldn’t establish that connection with the characters and the storyline. But if you’re a fan of anything Oz, this might be right up your alley.

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 2.5. I was excited to read this since I didn’t even know it existed. And I’m just now getting back into reading the Grimm Fairy Tales series again. But my excitement was kind of shot by a story that was pretty predictable, was paced oddly, had a lot of stuff that happened in a previous issued that wasn’t included (Oz One-shot), and had a predictable ending that just felt like it fell flat. I feel like the writing for this one just wasn’t as strong as the previous books. And I feel like the Wonderland series would be a better side arc to read if this is how the rest of this arc is planning on being written.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heart of magic is part of a larger realm of stories and it makes it hard to get into this graphic novel. There are footnotes if you will that tell you what other volumes of books you need to go back and look at. This story of ice starts out really weird as Dorothy is blue and there are all these new characters you've never heard of. And the monkeys aren't flying they are type of flying lion, maybe a Griffith? I have dnfed this book. I find it hard to understand but also intriguing. I think this will be better received by those who have read the cannon that comes before.

[Jordan (The Lost Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this as an eArc on Netgalley for a review. I like the concept of the story seen as it is a retelling of The Wizard of Oz. I like the characters, especially the ones from the original classic. I also really like the artwork, which helped me enjoy the story more.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
Review being submitted to Diamond Bookshelf for possible publication.

[Ferenc · Rating 3 out of 5]

4/5 - Graphic Novels
3/5 - Fantasy
2/5 - Characters
3/5 - Story

3/5 - Rating

[Tony Theberge · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Alexandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my style. It takes place where Dorothy comes back to OZ in a different body where Oz and the underworld are at odds. 5 copies into this one book.

[Pop Bop · Rating 3 out of 5]

All ... Over ... the ... Place

To quote the Nome King of Oz, (the "g" in gnome is so silent it isn't even there), ... "Even he who sits on the highest pinnacle...sits on his own backside." Well, this book sits on its own backside, but it does have great abs.

The story so far is that the Evil Wizard of Oz has taken over Dorothy's body, and in that form is wreaking havoc on Oz. Dorothy has been trapped in some blue, (!), hottie's body, and she and a ragtag band of extremely random cohorts are searching the furthest reaches of Oz for a thing that will give her the power to upset the Wizard, regain her throne, and right loads of wrongs. I'm O.K. with all that because, hey, that's how these Zenescope books work, and who am I to gripe about the franchise, which sometimes has hits and sometimes has misses.

And this book has both. There are some funny bits, (intentional and unintentional), and some ripping adventure parts, and some surprising twists, and some cool characters and creatures. There are also some scenes and twists that don't work, and even a robot companion who would embarrass Jar Jar Binks. But, hey, it's still fun to racket around Oz, even if the cheesecake is getting more and more dated as the years pass by.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

All over the place!! While the art was nice the story was not consistent and obvious fanservice... Overall, skip this one it wasn't worth my time.

[Jenn Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dorothy is trapped in someone else's body and cut off from everyone. Exiled from the Emerald City she must survive the forbidden lands to save the realm.

I really wanted to like this, but it was just ok. The story and art were ok. I did absolutely love Paciarotti's work on colors. It made everything pop. The book just isn't my thing I guess. A lot of scantily clad women that doesn't make sense to the story.

Creative Team
Story Dave Franchini and Terry Kavanagh
Writer Terry Kavanagh
Artwork Marcelo Mueller
Colors Leonardo Paciarotti
Letters Maurizio Clausi

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. The artistry in this book is incredible. The characters are familiar but so much larger than life when you can put color to paper. I would have loved to read this as a physical copy because the art is brilliant. I enjoyed the scope of the story and look forward to the next book from this team. I love that the Dorothy in this story isn't a scared girl, she is simply determined. The original Dorothy was written in her time, this Dorothy is a modern woman.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm usually into Oz re-tellings, especially ones that mention Jingur, but this one did not engage me at all.