*****
#1 Favorite: Rachel Cosgrove Payes
Ultimately Rachel just did the best at making characters seem alive and believable to me. It isn't just the Percy thing, although that is a major part of my decision. That said, I love all her stories completely and never found anything to complain about. They were perfect stories.
#2: Eric Shanower
An absolute genius in creating Oz stories. I liked some more than others, but the real kicker was the fact that he was able to take Oz into different forms of media. Truly masterful.
#3: L. Frank Baum
The creator of Oz. None of the things could have existed without him. He set the groundwork for all future authors to create.
#4: Jack Snow
A short lived but important author who showed us the beauty of Oz more than any other.
#5: Edward Einhorn
The man who showed us that all the continuity errors were a part of the experience. He also showed us that we can write our own Oz story, and it might end up being true.
#6: John R. Neill
He proved that Oz can be like a cartoon. He made us all laugh at his silliness.
#7: Sherwood Smith
She showed us the contrast between our world and Oz. This brought out why the Oz universe is so important to escapism fantasy.
#8: Gina Wickwar
#9: Dick Martin
#10: Elois Jarvis McGraw and Lauren Lynn McGraw
#11 Least Favorite: Ruth Plumly Thompson
Too many duds. Even though she did have some genuine hits, most of her stories were bad. Just seeing her name put a bad taste in my mouth. She just could not break out of her own formulas enough for me to like her. I also consider her best work to be "King Kojo" which doesn't even take place in Oz. It may be canon, but it's still not Oz. This is why she is last on the list.
*****
Okay, that's it!
This blog was written on May 3, 2024.
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I appreciated how you not only told us your favorites, but you explained why you favored them. You ended by telling us why your least favorite was so. There was no point in elaborating on why the lesser favorites were favorites. HOT or COLD are the measures. Lukewarm is in the middle but stays there.
ReplyDeleteI just tried to be honest with myself.
DeleteIt is interesting how each author approached the world in a different way. This shows just how much depth existed in the concept. There were various aspects to be explored and there is still more which can be written.
ReplyDeleteThat gave everything so much variety.
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