Writer – Gary Bishop, Bill Bryan
Artist – Bill Bryan
Letters – M.O.B. Studio

The three Kings of Oz – the Scarecrow, the Lion and the Tin Man, arrive in the Emerald City to find that Ozma still lies unconscious and hear of how she was found some time ago on the floor with a strange book by her side. The book would mysteriously disappear and she would remain in her coma ever since. It seems as if nothing can be done to awaken her and as the friends ponder over this, a force of men is seen bearing down on the city. A call is sent forth for arms to be taken up and yet the Scarecrow recognizes them as from the land of Ev and while some of them think they come due to Ozma’s condition, they hope it is the opposite. As the King of Ev approaches, they are greeted warmly and tales are exchanged, of Ozma’s malady and of Ev’s misfortune with the wizard named Dolnar. While all of this is happening, Dolnar is marching on Oz and the Emerald City with his Wheelers and causing all sorts of destruction along the way. The very talented Bill Bryan not only illustrates this incredible book but gives a hand in writing it as well with Gary Bishop and things continue to roll along quite nicely, if not far more quickly than they did in the past both in Oz and Dark Oz. There is no wasted time as Dolnar, who was just introduced in the last issue along with all of the new players in this game, is already making waves and showing up in the Emerald City after a single issue. On one hand, it is strange to see everything move so fast but on the other, it is nice to see as this creative team is wasting no time in getting to the meat of things although, they could be doing this just to send things in another direction, swerving the readers as it were. As for the Defenders of Oz, they are not quite ready for a full-out assault on the city but will do the best they can as they are brought word of the assault ahead of time while Sean, brother of Cat, finds a hidden passageway in the castle thanks to the Gump. There are questions that arise in this book still, one of them being the location of Dorothy and another being the health of Ozma and just when it is that she will wake, if ever. All of this aside, the book is a fun read and it is nice to see the adventures of Oz continuing along with such talented creators holding the reins.

4 out of 5