Oz is a comic book series created by Ralph Griffth (plotter), Stuart Kerr (scripter), and Bill Bryan (artist). The series was begun by Caliber Comics. It ran for 20 issues, six specials, and two three-issue limited series detailing the romance of the Scarecrow and Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, who create a child using the Powder of Life, in spite of Scraps's discomfort with the Scarecrow's new personality. After 20 issues, the series was revived by Arrow Comics as Dark Oz for five issues, climaxing the story arc. Nine issues followed titled The Land of Oz, which presented a more orthodox vision of Oz, which was also shown in Oz issue #0.
The Emerald City is tarnished. The Yellow Brick Road is in ruins. Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion, are gone. Oz is no longer a happy fantasy land of wonderful wizards and innocent singers. It is an Oz where a great evil has darkened the skies and come to despoil the land. And into this world of Winkies, Witches, and Winged Monkeys come a trio of friends from Earth—Peter, Kevin and Mary—along with their dog Max. The dark plans of the Nome King and the witch Mombie have infested the land and taken over, casting once legendary heroes into the clutches of evil. It is now up to these three earthlings and a ragtag group of Oz Freedom Fighters to once again restore Oz to its rightful and peaceful glory.
Tropes:
- Action Girl: General Jinjur (originally from The Marvelous Land of Oz) is one of the leaders of the Freedom Fighters of Oz and very much a Frontline General.
- Clothes Make the Maniac: The Wicked Witch Mombi gave magical necklaces to the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion that warped them into isolationist tyrants: each of them ruling their own land with an iron fist. When the necklaces are removed, they revert to their normal friendly and heroic selves, and are horrified by their acts.
- Combat Tentacles: Plant Person Jack Pumpkinhead is able to sprout vines from his body that he uses to entangle, bludgeon, toss, crush, strangle and otherwise inconvenience his opponents.
- Creepy Crows: The Scarecrow is able to summon a murder of crows from within his own body and send them to attack his foes.
- Dystopian Oz: Three 1990s era twenty-somethings are swept away from our Earth to the land of Oz via tornado. There they discover that sinister forces have been at work, and the evil Nome King now rules the land with an iron fist, backed up by his army of rock-dwelling minions.
- Extreme Omnivore: The Hungry Tiger is a massive Bengal tiger who is friends with the Cowardly Lion. He is always hungry no matter how much he eats, and longs to eat a "fat baby," though he never would because his conscience will not allow him to do so. By breathing in heavily, he is able to draw anything in the surrounding area into his mouth and swallow and digest it.
- Forced Transformation: When a guard tries to prevent the Wicked Witch Mombi from gaining access to the Nome King, she turns him into a newt.
- Four-Star Badass: General Jinjur (originally from The Marvelous Land of Oz) is one of the most dangerous combatants in the Freedom Fighters of Oz.
- Frontline General: Action Girl General Jinjur is always out with the rest of the Freedom Fighters of Oz; going sword to sword with the forces of evil.
- Gardening-Variety Weapon: Kevin grabs a pitchfork to defend himself when he and Peter are attacked by the Scarecrow's crows inside the Scarecrow's palatial barn.
- Heroic Dog: Max, who will leap in fearlessly to attack any monster, no matter how strange. his human masters would be dead many times over if not for Max's bravery.
- Literally Shattered Lives: In issue #0, it was revealed that General Jinjur's husband was turned into a jewel by Ruggedo and crushed in his hand.
- Noose Necktie: The Darker and Edgier version of the Scarecrow wears one.
- Pest Controller: The Scarecrow summon and control huge flocks of crows from within his own body.
- Portal Book: Peter, Kevin and Mary (and their dog Max) are sucked into the Land of Oz by tornado that emerges from a strange book they find in an old trunk Kevin bought for $50.
- Pumpkin Person: Jack Pumpkinhead is a major character in the series, where he is one of the Freedom Fighters of Oz. Jack is killed during the company-wide crossover, Daemonstorm, after having been possessed by one of the demons.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Jack Pumpkinhead, the Sawhorse, Amber Ombi (Ombi Ambi's nephew), General Jinjur, Hektor Hammerhead and the Wogglebug: the Freedom Fighters of Oz.
- La Résistance: Fighting a guerrilla war against the occupying forces of Ruggedo the Nome King and Mombie the witch are the Freedom Fighters of Oz: Jack Pumpkinhead, the Sawhorse, Amber Ombi (Ombi Ambi's nephew), General Jinjur, Hektor Hammerhead and the Wogglebug.
- The Starscream: The Wicked Witch Mombi is this to Ruggedo the Nome King: serving him and aiding in his conquest of Oz while secretly planning to topple him and take the throne for herself.
- Use Your Head: Hektor Hammerhead, one of the Freedom Fighters of Oz, is a member of the race known as the Hammer-Heads. Like all of his race, his big oversized head is flat on top, with a very smooth surface. his neck is incredibly long like elastic, stretching out like an accordion. He can shoot his necks out like the spring of a jack-in-the-box. This allows him to strike out at opponents with his head to knock them down hard.
- Wicked Witch: Mombi—the Wicked witch of the North from The Marvelous Land of Oz—is The Starscream to Big Bad Ruggedo the Nome King.
