Writer – Stuart Kerr, Ralph Griffith
Artist – Bill Bryan
Letters – Susan Dorne

The story from Romance in Rags continues here in this second series from the Oz creative team and it finds Scraps in chains, headed to the Emerald City and to the Nome King as his latest prize and prisoner. The Scarecrow has had enough of her and the betrayal she brought to his door and more importantly his heart and thus has foisted her upon the one he serves. As for what comes next for the straw king, he is now focused upon his son – Stitch, brought to life by magic, a being who was supposed to be the first in a long line of straw soldiers that would help the Scarecrow cement his rule in Munchkinland. As for Amber Ombi and the rest of the Freedom Fighters, that being Jack Pumpkinhead, Jinjur and the Shaggy Man, even though they have just escaped from the Scarecrow, they manage to come up with a plan that they think will work as the enemy will not expect them to try and strike again so soon. It is desperate but it is well thought out and they waste no time in putting it into action. It goes well and authors Stuart Kerr and Ralph Griffith leave this part of the book on a cliff-hanger as it cuts back to the Patchwork Girl who has escaped her bondage and is on the run in the Emerald City, behind enemy lines which pose risks of their own. Making things even more dangerous is the fact that Mombi has been set on her trail and Mombi is not looking to capture a prisoner despite what the Nome King commands, she wants to put Scraps in the ground and when the two finally meet, it is here where the book truly ends, leaving readers on the edge of their seats. There is a lot going on in this comic and the most interesting thing of all is the creation of Stitch, the make-shift son of the Scarecrow and not because he is a faux man brought to life but because he was born essentially evil. It should be quite intriguing to see just how it is that Stitch plays into things if he should live to tell the tale that is. Right now, he has done exactly nothing, being but a babe, but when he does, it promises to be good if what the creators have done this far is anything to go by. All of this and some incredible artwork from Bill Bryan once more make for a splendid book.

4.5 out of 5