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

With this issue, Oz Squad comes to an end, and it is a bit of a shame, as it seems there is so much more to explore in this version of the Baum classic. The final chapter finds our heroes going to war. Author Steven Ahlquist and artist Terry Loh get right to it without dragging things out, and readers will find enough action to carry them through most of the book. Some of the more exciting moments come at the hand of Nick Chopper, the erstwhile Tin Man, who is a one-man wrecking crew, and while he does end up falling at one point, one can never count him out for long. Dot, or Dorothy to most, ends up returning as well, making her way back from Earth, and, when all is said and done, the war is over, and the companions are back in their own time, revealing that she is pregnant. It is a strange note to leave things on, and it doubles as a cliffhanger, leaving readers wanting more. The joke of it all is that there is no more to be had. It is also doubtful that there ever will be. Not a bad thing per se, as it lets readers dream up their own endings or continue the adventures, yet a definitive conclusion would have been nice. Overall, the series was a bit of a disjointed effort. There were some gaps that needed filling, a backstory that would have helped certain moments or scenes and plots that never got the ending that they needed. Perhaps there might have been more at one point, but it was never sadly realized. If one were to read the Annotated Oz Squad, Ahlquist provides a lot of that backstory, reasoning, and explanations within those annotations, and they definitely help one understand much of what appears in the book and explain a little more clearly some of the things that are happening. Those annotations make for an even more fascinating read, and one wishes they could have made their way into the story to further flesh it out. That being said, there was a lot to love about this tale, from the magic and wizardry to the characters and their personalities, as well as the ties to Earth, which needed to be explored far more than they were. What there was was good, and what was not was noticeably absent. To his credit, Ahlquist gave readers a good helping of Ozian history and provided some great excursions into the history of Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, Glinda and more. Oz Squad may not have been the perfect series, but it was a different look at the familiar and provided a truly fun adventure for those who dared to take it.

3.5 out of 5