While the first issue of Friend of Dorothy had introduced Scott John, a young man who was given the mantle of Protector of Oz by a hunky version of the Good Witch, this second issue sees the entrance of Mason, his boyfriend. Yay, boyfriends! It’s always fun to compare two stories by the same writer: with So Super Duper, Brian Andersen had made us wait a long time before giving us a kiss between his main character and his (potential) boyfriend, but here, we get boys smooching in the second issue.
Scott uses the red boots and startles Mason
With a moving discussion between Scott and Mason, Andersen solves the mystery of Scott’s bad mood at the beginning of the first issue, while touching on real-world issues in a non-preachy way.
Scott might not be alone anymore to face the monsters on the cover of this comic, but of course, this being an adventure series, not all is rosy: the two boys meet more creatures from the dark side of Oz, bent on murdering the new champion of Oz before he can enter the fabled realm. And as talented Andersen is in creating cute, dizzy characters, he also shows his bent for writing scary monsters.
As with the first issue, Neftali Centeno’s line art and Falecia Woods’ colors bring a rounded reading experience for the reader, blending real-world settings and fantasy elements effortlessly.
So, next issue: higher stakes for John, as you’ll see if you read this issue—but I certainly won’t tell you why. They’ve definitely got me on the edge of my seat.
This comic, and the first issue, can be bought from Brian Andersen’s site, where you can also find a preview.
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