About Oz Squad:

The most repellent published work with the name Oz in the title I have ever seen.

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Oz Squad Rules!

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If you can't wait that long to read yet another version of the classic tale, you can always pick up a copy of The Complete Annotated Oz Squad by Steve Ahlquist, who takes the original characters and puts them in real-world, historical situations, but with fictional plots and outcomes, of course. It's a pretty interesting read, but if you're a hardcore Wizard of Oz fan, I'd skip this -- it might ruin your innocence.

I do admit to thinking that this sounds a bit like Steven Ahlquist's take as revised by Joss Whedon, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a good idea. It just means someone needs to get Steven Ahlquist and Joss Whedon into the same room and see what they come up with.

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From I am Not Making This Up

Oz Squad. Ah, blessed Oz Squad. Pretty much the whole series falls into this category. Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, and the Cowardly Lion, as immortals, are still alive in the modern day and currently acting as a superhero-esque action team in America. During World War II, Oz had been conquered (albeit only temporarily) by a Nazi invasion force led by Baron Munchhausen (yes, the Baron Munchhausen), and a concentration camp was set up there called, get this, Ozchwitz. In the first story arc, Dorothy, magically disguised as a man, makes out with the Wicked Witch of the East. Over the decades, the Scarecrow's turned into a brooding, nihilistic guy who listens to Nine Inch Nails. In fights, he'll sometimes jam his straw through bad guys' skins. The Tin Woodsman's body's now loaded with hi-tech components: deadly lasers, sensors, etc. Dorothy's a gun-wielding action girl and had a relationship of an ambiguous nature with JFK in the early 60's.

Speaking of JFK, in the world of Oz Squad, his assassination was the work of Baba Yaga. And three hobos. And a werewolf. They were working together, you see. Granted, they weren't originally the assassins and only became so after a reality-warp, but I'm not sure whether that makes the whole thing belong less or more on this page.

Some of the other characters encountered through the course of the series include an alcoholic dwarf angel, whose arrival is always heralded by a rain of fish, and Joan of Arc, who's an immortal vampire with the blood of Christ inside her...

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From A Comic a Day

Steven Ahlquist isn’t simply writing a “contemporary interpretation of Baum’s classic characters,” as I originally described. Ahlquist has sophisticatedly explored how icons of innocence, like Dorothy and her iconic friends, would react and transform through today’s cultural and political lens. Further, each character has not only conquered their memorable shortcomings, but has been consumed by their own self-confidence, transforming the Lion, for example, into a bestial warrior willing to dive headfirst into danger. The Scarecrow seems content dwelling in the dark recesses of his own mind, and the Tinman is so passionate about his work, his state-of-the-art body is often ironically mangled in battle. However, Dorothy is the most compelled of all, still trying to maintain the sanctity of Oz in our world’s tumultuous political landscape. Ahlquist sums her up perfectly when Tik-Tok wryly muses, “Our only hope now is that Dorothy has not lost her penchant for walking into traps.” Then, again, when Dorothy beseeches him to repent of his crimes, “And you once claimed that you were unaffected by your aunt’s Baptist teachings.” Some writers would have been tempted to exploit this concept as a comedy of errors, with satiric jabs at the source material, but Ahlquist establishes a legitimate character study, one part modern fairy tale, one part black comedy, one part psychological thriller. Everything Oz would’ve been if it was intended for adults in the first place.

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From Dave's Long Box

It's such a bizarre series, so totally inappropriate, yet I really enjoyed letting go and rolling with the craziness. The Tin Man has laser cannons? Sure, fine. Why not? I liked the sick humor, I liked the hard-boiled/fairy tale dialogue, I liked seeing flying monkeys getting shredded. Now I want to go reread these comics!