Writer – Steven Ahlquist
Artist – Terry Loh
Letters – Mike Sagara

During the conclusion of the previous issue, Dot found herself back in the past and back on Earth. Not exactly where she wanted or needed to end up. Due to the way she has been thrust into her current predicament, Dorothy is currently doing a bit of hallucinating. While none of this was on her dance card, and she wishes more than anything she had her wish belt back, she eventually comes to realize she never needed it in the first place. Sure, it might have come in handy on more than one occasion, but what she needed was always inside of her. With her mind now intact, author Steven Ahlquist has his heroine come to consciousness just in time before a corrupt sheriff could have his way with her prone body. A disturbing turn of events, but an accurate portrayal of what most likely happened far too often in those long-ago days. The remainder of the book is packed with a good bit of action as Dorothy kills her attacker and then takes out her frustrations on the rest of the town’s lawmen – all of them brothers and formerly octuplets. Half of the brothers had been killed up to this point, and once Dot is through, one can guess how many are left. As a whole, this was a very fun issue and quite interesting to boot. There was a little character building with Dot, who has been the focus more often than not in this series, with Scarecrow close behind. Having lived as long as she has now and having seen and done what she has, Ahlquist is only scratching the surface of what readers know of her. That said, the rest of the cast was missed, and no headway was made on the mystery of TikTok or anything else. As the book leaves off, it does so with a bit of a cliffhanger, as Dorothy must somehow find her way back to Oz, as she still remains stranded on Earth. If anyone can do it, though, it is definitely Dot. While it started out a bit slow, it picked up in no time, making this yet another solid read by Ahlquist and artist Terry Loh.

3.5 out of 5