Attached: 1 image Uncle Sam Bank only $3.50 from Johnson Smith's Fun Catalog (1979)

What can we learn from the board game adaptation of the 1981 dark fantasy film Dragonslayer? Quite a bit, both from what it does well and how it might be adapted to a more modern design style.

The BBC's Mel Ramsay meets fans and actors at Liverpool Comic Con.

Map of Oz; John R. Neill – _Tik-Tok of Oz_ , first published in the United States in 1914. _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_ is **the**American fairy tale. Like other fairy tales that resonate across time and cultures, this story has seen retellings time and again that morph, recontextualize, and expand the story. This phenomena continues with the second half of the _Wicked_ film duology releasing this November with _Wicked: For Good_. Let’s explore some of the stories and lore of this American fairy tale that now live in the public domain. All these different stories crafted the lore and world of Oz in the imaginations of audiences around the world. ### Books and Literature Cover to the original 1900 Oz novel Oz originates in L. Frank Baum’s _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_, published in 1900. Its basic plot is well known: Dorothy of Kansas is swept away to Oz via cyclone. There she meets an exotic cast of characters including the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion. Along her journey she faces many challenges in an episodic style as she seeks to return home with the Wizard’s help. Many fans might believe the Wicked Witch is the novel’s central antagonist, but in fact she appears in just one chapter in the original text. Her larger role in the plot is an association with the 1939 film, an interpretation that became highly influential, as nearly every later Oz story riffs on this idea, including _Wicked_. Baum would not reuse the Wicked Witch in later novels. Beyond this original tale are numerous other novels, including another 13 by Baum and 19 by his immediate successor, Ruth Plumly Thompson. Of these 32 tales, 23 were published by the end of 1929 and are in the public domain, including all of Baum’s output. On January 1, 2026, another Plumly Thompson novel, _The Yellow Knight of Oz_ , will join that group. Plumly Thompson’s output ultimately surpassed Baum’s, though her imaginative contributions, including introducing a new main focal character—Peter Brown—remain underappreciated today. Cover to the first sequel Oz novel Among Baum’s sequels, _The Marvelous Land of Oz_ (1904), his first sequel, stands out for introducing Princess Ozma and expanding the mythology of Oz. It is the only one of Baum’s works to not feature Dorothy as a character in the story. Due to popular demand, she would return in _Ozma of Oz_ (1907). In this tale she would be referred to as Dorothy Gale for the first time in the novels, although the name originated in the 1902 musical revue. Check out all of the Oz books in the public domain in our collections! ### Musicals and Sound Recordings Promotional image for the 1902 musical Part of Baum’s core campaign in expanding Oz’s reach was his ability to spread it into multi-media. In 1902, he penned the book for a musical revue that differed from his original text and introduced many more characters, including Imogen the Cow. Notable among the work are the plethora of songs created for it that were cycled in and out as the production shifted locations. By 1913, Baum had penned another two successful stage productions: _The Woggle-Bug_(1905), and _The Tik-Tok Man of Oz_(1913). This latter work exhibits Baum’s multi-media synergy as the play was based on prior Oz novels, _Ozma of Oz_(1907) and _The Road to Oz_ (1909). He then adapted this musical into his 1914 book, _Tik-Tok of Oz_. A selection of items related to the Oz musicals While these original Oz musical productions are unable to be viewed now, due to the impermanent nature of theatre, we can still connect to them through sound recordings. While not recordings of the actual shows, these auditory oddities act as gateways to the past. They unlock a direct link to tangible creative expression that also reflects the artistic and performing sensibilities of the time. Surviving from the time is a 1913 recording from _The Tik-Tok Man of Oz_ : _My Wonderful Dream Girl_. Explore the many elements of these productions, including sheet music, visual imagery, and sound recordings in our collections. ### Film Rightly remembered for its masterful execution and translation of the fairytale Oz to the big screen, MGM’s _The Wizard of Oz_ (1939) remains the primary association with Oz for most audiences. However, despite its iconic status, that version was preceded by multiple filmed adaptations. Between 1908 and 1925, at least six silent adaptations brought Oz to life, some now lost, others surviving in fragments that reveal inventive visual interpretations often drawn from the stage musicals of the era. The first—in 1910—acts as a loose adaptation of the stage musical featuring Imogen the cow. In 1914, under Baum’s own supervision, _His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz_ stands out for recycling narrative elements and characters that Baum later reshaped into his book _The Scarecrow of Oz_. A 1925 film, _The Wizard of Oz_, went feature-length with slapstick sensibility and large deviations from the source material. It was directed by and starred Larry Semon and featured Oliver Hardy in a pre-Laurel and Hardy role as the Tin Man. Title card of the 1933 cartoon Deviation from the source material was common into the 1930s with a 1933 short cartoon aptly titled _The Wizard of Oz_. Directed by Ted Eshbaugh, this cartoon is the first instance of an Oz film in sound and color. Building on the adaptation oddities, this film includes no dialogue, sans a simple song refrain, and it trades out a plot for lively 1930s animation and fantastical moments that fit into the inventive world of Oz. The short features an element inspired by the first book by having Kansas be monochromatic before Oz radiates with color. This shift in color would again be utilized in the 1939 Oz film. Oddly, the short does not end with Dorothy returning to Kansas, similarly to the end of the 1902 musical. Rather it ends on an inconclusive button with a giant egg hatching a tiny chicken for comedic effect. A charming oddity, it shows just how wildly Oz’s world could be reinterpreted even then. Learn more about its history and restoration process over at Cartoon Research. Check out the extant films in our collection! ### Conclusion Oz is ingrained in American culture and remains a global icon. Today, most audiences encounter it through the 1939 film, contemporary interpretations like _Wicked,_ or by revisiting Baum’s original 1900 classic. But beyond those familiar touchstones lies a much broader creative and cultural legacy. We hope this brief journey into the roots of Oz inspires you to explore its forgotten corners and rediscover the wonder that made it timeless in the first place.