Vol. 55, no. 3 (Winter 2011)
| Editor-in-Chief | Scott Cummings |
| Production Editor | Scott Cummings (uncredited) |
| Reviews Editor | Atticus Gannaway |
| Bibliography Editor | Peter E. Hanff |
| MGM Scrapbook Editor | John Fricke |
| Contributing Editors |
Angelica Carpenter, Randall Hercey, Marcus Mébès, Gina Wickwar |
Front cover art by Marcus Mébès, adapted from Dick Martin
Back cover and inside cover photographs by multiple photographers (Oz Club conventions)
Winter 2011 Selected Contents
This is a guide to the articles and reviews from the issue that will most benefit researchers, scholars, and collectors. The printed issue includes additional content such as news, editorial letters, and other commentary-based departments.
Death Valley and the Deadly Desert
Marilynn Strasser Olson posits the theory that L. Frank Baum was inspired in many aspects of the Oz series by a two-part article on Death Valley, written by the pseudonymous humorist “Kelp,” that was published in the Los Angeles Times in January 1890.
“Great dates and deserts!”: Some Thoughts on the Deadly Desert of Oz
Nathan M. DeHoff considers several uncertain aspects of the Deadly Desert as presented in the Oz books, such as whether or not it is a magical boundary, how deadly it is, its size, and how it can be crossed.
Three is a Magic Number: Trinitarianism and Numeric Instability in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Walter Squire considers Baum’s first Oz book through the lens of Trinitarianism—the belief that God is a threefold personality (or Trinity)—through which Western culture popularly ascribes special importance to the number three. He examines Dorothy’s three-person family, her three companions, the three wishes of the Golden Cap, and more, revealing that Baum sometimes creates “instability” by moving beyond these Trinitarian principles—as in the later creation of the purple Gillikin country, which eliminates the balance conveyed in the first book.
From Bass Lake to Beech Mountain: Fifty Years of Oz Club Conventions
A photo essay that celebrates fifty years of Oz Club conventions. Includes many rare photographs taken by Cindy Ragni, Bill Beem, Jane Albright, Peter Hanff, Barbara Koelle, Dick Rutter, David Maxine, Eric Shanower, Susan Hall, John Fricke, David Moyer, Nate Barlow, Karen Owens, and Randy Hercey.
Adventures in Oz: Two Views of the Hill
In successive short essays, Peter E. Hanff and Michael O. Riley discuss the creation of their complimentary volumes on the production of the first Oz book by the Geo. M. Hill Company: Cyclone on the Prairies (Hanff) and A Bookbinder’s Analysis of the First Edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Riley).
The MGM Scrapbook: The Story Behind The Wizard of Oz
The final two chapters of a six-part serialized newspaper article prepared by MGM’s publicity department in 1939, which “tells the story” behind their newest film. Earlier installments were published in the Spring 2011 and Autumn 2011 issues.
In Memoriam
Karl Slover (actor, MGM’s The Wizard of Oz).
Reviews
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus illustrated by Charles Santore (fiction; reviewer Eric Shanower)
A Kidnapped Santa Claus adapted by Alex Robinson (graphic novel; reviewer Eric Shanower)
The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared by Alice Ozma (non-fiction; reviewer Angelica Carpenter)
Shadows of the Emerald City edited by J. W. Schnarr (fiction; reviewer Joe Bongiorno)
Magician of Oz by James C. Wallace II (fiction; reviewer Margaret Berg)
Shadow Demon of Oz by James C. Wallace II (fiction; reviewer Margaret Berg)
Family of Oz by James C. Wallace II (fiction; reviewer Margaret Berg)
Fantasy Baseball by Alan Gratz (fiction; reviewer Angelica Carpenter)
The Yellow Brick Road by Mando Alvarado and Tommy Newman (theater; reviewer David Moyer)