Writer – Steve Ahlquist
Artist – Andrew Murphy
Inker – Ande Parks
Letters – Dan Nakrosis

Tik-Tok has come to Earth, Kansas more specifically, though for what reason, readers are not told. He meets Lion at the gate and begins to act quite strange, nasty even. Lion is perplexed and in one of his more calm moments, Tik-Tok says his Thinking Spring must be winding down. For the moment, that answer must suffice, yet as they are about to catch a cab, the mechanical man acts out a little more severely. Lion is now concerned for his friend and as they drive down the street, Tik-Tok murders the driver and tries to do the same to Lion after which the cab careens off into a café. Thankfully Lion escaped before the crash, but the people inside the shop were not so lucky. The book then cuts to Dorothy, the Tin Man and Scarecrow who are determined to find out what has happened to Tik-Tok and to do that, they need to go to Oz and consult the robot’s original blueprints in the Royal Library. Another hitch finds the files have not been transferred to the Library yet and so they head to Ozschwitz where more disappointment and duplicity await. Written by Steve Ahlquist and drawn by Andrew Murphy, this vision of Oz is quite different from others of its ilk and it is one that readers may find a little brutal. Whether that is the right term or not, when Tik-Tok is confronted on the roof of the hospital, after having murdered numerous people and ready to kill a number of babies things have definitely gotten darker in a short amount of time. In the lead-up to this moment, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Dorothy have been searching in vain to find a possible reason as to why Tik-Tok has become the way he is and despite encountering evidence that Flying Monkeys may be involved somehow, they learn that his Morality Spring might have wound down. It is as good a reason as any despite them also thinking that it could be sorcery and so, with a bit of luck and with Lion taking several bullets, Dorothy and Scarecrow manage to stop the automated man from causing any more loss of life. While all of this is somewhat grim in nature, Ahlquist manages to craft a captivating mystery while asking a number of pertinent questions. Why are Lion, Scarecrow and Tin Man part of the CIA? Is Dorothy also in the CIA? Why are they even on Earth in the first place? Why is Ozma so sad? Who sent Tik-Tok to Earth like a ticking timebomb? Are the Flying Monkeys behind it all? There has to be more than what is on the surface and Ahlquist and company make sure their readers hang onto every word and page from beginning to end and as such, have crafted quite a fine tale that takes the familiar and turns everything on its head. A great start to what could be a great series.

4 out of 5