The Great Sundering of Oziana

[vovat]

I now hold in my hand the thirty-seventh and final (at least according to the advertisements) issue of Oziana, the International Wizard of Oz Club's sorta-annual fiction magazine. It's sad to see it ending, as Oziana has brought so many excellent stories in the past thirty-odd years. In various issues, we learned about the origins of the Red Jinn, the back story of the tailor who made the Wogglebug's first outfit, the further misadventures of Mrs. Yoop, a resolution for Kiki Aru, and an account of how there came to be a considerate Kalidah in Oz. Not to mention that it's the only professional publication to have included one of my own stories. So why is it ending? Well, apparently it has something to do with the inner politics of the Club, which I hear are quite complex and divisive, even though most of us dues-paying members aren't privy to them. Come on, can't they rule in a kind and altruistic way like Ozma? Then again, Ozma DID try to have Dorothy's kitten executed. It would have been more appropriate for them to have cranked out ten more issues, since there are some strong suggestions that forty-seven was L. Frank Baum's favorite number, but what are you going to do?

Anyway, this issue contains three stories. The first is Jeff Rester's "As the Rainbow Follows the Rain," which explores Polychrome's family tree. It ties in the Greek and Norse mythological conceptions of the rainbow, and mixing classical mythology into Oz is something that I've been thinking about recently, what with my writing a review of the new edition of Lurline and the White Ravens of Oz. I know some people strongly object to the idea, and I can see where they're coming from, since Baum preferred to create his own mythology for his fantasy world. Even when he included a more traditional character, like Santa Claus, he'd add his own spin. On the other hand, I've seen Oz crossed over with Red Dwarf and Daria, and I hear there's a Perry Mason crossover as well. Compared to these, appearances by Zeus, Iris, and Eris seem pretty normal. The second story, "The Magic Door to Oz," had previously appeared in March Laumer's compilation In Other Lands Than Oz, but this version cuts out the names of Tumnus and the Pushmi-Pullyu, probably for copyright reasons. The plot involves the author of the story enlisting the help of the Glass Cat and the Wizard of Oz to save his favorite children's book characters from the Witchéd Wick. The third is a story by Sergei Sukhinov, and that requires a little explaining. In the late thirties, Russian author Alexander Volkov came up with his own loose translation of The Wizard of Oz, with a few of his own new ideas added in. He followed this up with a few sequels, which used some of Baum's ideas, but were basically original plots. Sukhinov's own Oz (or, more accurately, Magic Land; I don't believe the word "Oz" appears in the Russian books) books use some of Volkov's ideas, but take off in a different direction, so they're sort of twice removed from the originals. I haven't read any of Volkov's or Sukhinov's books, but I've heard some things about them, and I suppose they'd count as alternate Oz tales. It's weird, but kind of cool, to see the familiar characters in similar but different situations. Sukhinov's Wicked Witch of the East had apparently tried to marry the King of France at one point. The particular story in question, "Bastinda and the Winged Lion," is about the last surviving griffin in Magic Land fighting off the Wicked Witch of the West and her forces. As usual, they're all worth reading. The cover of the issue was drawn by kevenn, and involves several of the characters in the stories taking part in a battle above the Emerald City. It's really nice work.

Speaking of Oz, I'm also in the process of re-reading Laumer's The Careless Kangaroo of Oz (which I reviewed back in 2006) for the upcoming discussion on the Regalia mailing list. If anyone has read, or is interested in reading this book (it's free to download the PDF, so there's really no excuse if you ARE interested), feel free to join in the discussion. They've been pretty slow as of late.

Comments

[shadarko.livejournal.com]

I'm sad to see that the Oziana isn't going to be around anymore. It was were my first piece of writing was published(...in 1989?) But I'm also sad that I never got to read much of it either. For years when I renewed my membership I'd order it but it would never come and I'd write and I was told it was sent. Boo. So I gave up on it some point in the late 90s.

I do remember a story about the Woozy's 3 hairs on his tail and how they were actually people enchanted (by mombi?).

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Which piece of writing was yours? I'm pretty sure I've read every issue, but I can't remember everything (believe it or not).

I think the Woozy story was Gili Bar-Hillel's, and the enchanter was a wizard named Krizzle Kroo, which is why the Woozy hates those words so much. Very clever origin story, although I don't really buy that the Woozy was made out of leather. Didn't Baum himself say that he wasn't brought to life my magical means? Laumer also came out with a Woozy origin story that was published in an even earlier issue, but his wasn't as good, to my mind.

[vilajunkie.livejournal.com]

So will past issues be available or is printing stopped on those too? How is the Oziana different from the Baum Bugle?

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I don't know for sure whether back issues will still be available, but I see no reason why they wouldn't be. They just aren't going to publish any new ones.

As for your second question, Oziana is a collection of Oz-related fiction, while the Bugle is a journal with scholarly articles about Oz and the like.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

That's really sad -- there are so many great writers out there who would love this outlet to tackle their own Oz stories ... you and me, for instance. :-) I hope they can get their politics straightened out.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was a great place for amateurs to submit Oz-related fiction, and I don't know of any similar ones. I mean, there's always the Internet, but how much of an audience can you really get there?

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

There are things you can do online to increase your audience, but for a busy person like me it sucks down way more time than it's worth. My best bet is to sell some fiction, build a fan base that way, and then hit them with fun stuff like Oz stories when they come to my website! Sounds like a plan.