Once again, this book is amazing.  Young’s art is a real draw for this project, and this issue is no different.  I think my favorite scene involved Lion decapitating the giant spider in the cave; the fluidity of Lion’s motion and the depiction of the bulk of the spider were truly impressive.  Second to that would be the hammerheads; I doubt this was intentional, but looking at their design and they way they attacked, I was reminded of the old He-Man character Ram-Man.  He definitely makes them appear as formidable opponents and real obstacles to the heroes’ journey.  His creation of scenery is great, too.  His forests feel creepy, his plains feel light and airy, and his buildings are very impressive and awe-inspiring. 

On the writing side, Shanower does a very good job adapting the story, choosing just the right elements and linking them together so as not to linger too long in any one place.  The language is consistent throughout, and each character’s voice is distinct.  I’m not sure if this was Shanower’s decision or Young’s, but the set-up of the pages was just right so that when the travelers come to Glinda’s castle, there’s a panel where they see it and are astonished right at the end of a page, and then you turn the page to a two-page wide panel of the castle.  That’s a great use of layout as it makes you want to turn the page and see what the characters see.

Much like “New Frontier,” this is a book that I would love to see animated.  The images would look great in motion, as they already seem to be that way.  It’s more true to the actual book, and while it wouldn’t replace the live-action Garland film, it would be an excellent counterpart.  Until then, go out and get the collected edition in a few months if you haven’t been reading it in issues.  Hopefully this will end up as a Book of the Month and you can get a (bigger) discount at In-Stock.  It definitely deserves the recognition.