OZ: Return of the Wicked Witch – Zenescope Comic Book Review

For nearly 20 years, Zenescope Entertainment has been publishing comic books focused on female protagonists from classic fairy tales, reimagined as super-powered warriors of many realms. And I have NOT been reading them. In fact, until a few years ago when my friend and co-host of WIZARDS The Podcast Guide To Comics, Michael Canetti began singing the praises of these books, like OZ: Return of the Wicked Witch, I’d never even heard of Zenescope.

Just to be clear, I’ve been reading comics since I picked up two Marvel books from a spinner rack at 7-11 in 1988 and never stopped, but these fantasy adventures were not even on my radar. As it turns out, I’ve been unintentionally avoiding some very clever storytelling featuring new twists on old favorites. Allow me to share my thoughts about my first foray into the world of Zenescope with OZ: Return of the Wicked Witch.

DISCLAIMER: The racy rendering of Dorothy Gale on these variant covers are in no way indicative of the storytelling found between the covers of the OZ: Return of the Wicked Witch mini-series. Apparently this is a gimmick that Zenescope developed in their early days to set themselves apart in the marketplace and get eyes on their books. So if this kind of cheesecake turns you off, fear not, the paneled pages within feature no gratuitous sexual content or scantily clad female characters. But if sexy is what you came for, you may get a whole new experience as you turn the pages.

Despite what the title may conjure up in your imagination, OZ: Return of the Wicked Witch is not a sequel to the classic film, wherein the Wicked Witch of the West is somehow resurrected from the puddle of goo she melted into at the climax of that 30’s musical. That being said, it does feature the main villain from the sequel film, Return To OZ, which got my attention immediately. Although the film adaptations are certainly the highest profile versions of these stories, we should all be reminded that the OZ universe originated in a series of novels by L. Frank Baum many years before. Zenescope uses all of these versions of the OZ mythos as the ground floor basis for its own bold, new stories, which have been ongoing for years.

Now that I’ve told you what it isn’t, let me tell you what it is. OZ: Return of the Wicked Witch chronicles the return of the original Witch of the North, Mombi, who was corrupted by misuse of her magic and was banished to a limbo by the most powerful magic users in OZ. Now unleashed from her prison, she’s back to her old tricks. But who can stop her?

The usual band of OZ heroes appear in this book, but in very different forms than we’ve seen before. Instead of skipping around with a picnic basket, Zenescope’s Dorothy Gale carries a sword and can shoot magical green energy from her hands and apparently is some type of royalty. She roams the realm of OZ thwarting violence between various tribes of its inhabitants to maintain the peace. But who is traveling down the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy on this side of the rainbow?

First up is Bartleby the scarecrow, who rocks an open shirt to show off his straw chest, while providing encouragement to the rest of the crew and occasionally given to fits of fear. Whether or not he has a brain I never brought up as a point of discussion.

Next, is the not so cowardly lion, Thorne. Looking like Lion-O from Thundercats if he lived up to his namesake, this sword-wielding warrior is always ready for a fight and lets his majestic mane flow freely on the battlefield. Equally fierce is the Toto of this continuity, who actually appears to be a white wolf of some sort and is quick to enter the fray when his master is threatened.

Also in the mix is Glinda, Good Witch of the North who does her best Sailor Moon impression when she appears on the scene. Her connection to Mombi is revealed in one of the issues and shockingly ties into her own magical origin.

I must admit to being both charmed and caught off guard by these incarnations of the characters I’ve known so well since my childhood, but none affected me as much as Mombi. Like so many of my generation, I was frightened into fascination by the aforementioned Return To OZ film when I rented it on VHS. The swapping of heads by Mombi in that movie was particularly unforgettable and so finding out that she would be the villain in this story had me invested right away. In this version however, Mombi keeps her head…in a manner of speaking.

The big reveal of the series is what drove Mombi to madness in the first place, which I will not spoil here. What I will say is that as with most great villains, there is often a tragedy associated with an individual breaking their moral code in pursuit of what they deem a greater good. By story’s end, the audience certainly has a lot to think about in terms of how they would react to loss if they had access to powers which go against the laws of nature.

In terms of character re-imaginings, I was particularly tickled by the appearance of the new and improved Jack Pumpkinhead. As portrayed in the movie, he was a dim-witted sweetheart, but in the Zenescope universe he owes his look much more to Marvel’s Ghost Rider with a flaming pumpkin head, exposed ribs and spiked leather boots. He’s jumped right off an 80’s heavy metal album cover to become Mombi’s right hand man and leader of her horde of vicious flying monkey soldiers.

I must say that in the three issues that comprise the OZ: Return of the Wicked Witch, I felt like I went on a complete journey with a satisfying ending. Writers Dave Franchini and David Wohl provided unique voices to each character and a fun villain, who was certainly more than a cackling witch with a wand. The art by Guillermo Fajardo was particularly impressive, moving the action forward with logical and dynamic layouts. It’s a beautiful book, with some wonderful action imagery.

If I have one criticism, it’s that Dorothy doesn’t seem like she has much to do in the story as a central figure. This is definitely Mombi’s story, with the heroes merely acting as the means to put her “back in the box” so to speak. There are losses on both sides of the battle, but since I haven’t read previous stories featuring the characters, I’m less invested in their struggle. Meanwhile Mombi’s backstory is completely fleshed out in this series and her fate feels earned.

Would I return to the radical realm of OZ as presented by Zenescope? Probably not. I didn’t dislike it, but fantasy adventure isn’t really my genre. Luckily, as I’ve learned, Zenescope has many more genres in their publishing catalog and if the quality is up to the level of OZ: Return of the Wicked Witch, I’m definitely interested in exploring the rest of what they have to offer.

If you would like to learn more about Zenescope Entertainment, you can check out our 3-part interview series with their Editor In Chief, David Wohl, Writer/Editor, Dave Franchini and Co-Founder, Ralph Tedesco both on the popgeeks.com website and YouTube channel. The series was put together in as a collaboration between WIZARDS The Podcast Guide To Comics and Popgeeks, and was a lot of fun to bring your way.