Writer, Artist, Letterer & Cover Artist: Otis Frampton
Colorists: Otis Frampton, Tracy Bailey & Kate Frampton
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $12.99
Release Date: July 23, 2025
Ojo loves his uncle, even if Unc Nunkie doesn’t talk much. But the boy also enjoys eating, and his uncle’s cupboards are bare. Only half a loaf remains on the dining table. And as Drax the Destroyer and Gamora might confirm, the bread growing outside isn’t ripe yet. No one needs to starve in Oz. But if Ojo and Unc Nunkie want food, they must go out and find it. Can Ojo convince his uncle to embark on a journey? Let’s leap into The Patchwork Girl of Oz HC Vol 1 and see!
Story
Ojo has lived with his uncle for as long as he can remember. Dense woods surround their home, and a mountain rises in the distance. But there's no one nearby to interact with, and his uncle rarely responds with more than one word. Ojo wonders what the world is like beyond their home in Munchkin County. His uncle has mentioned a family that lives on the mountain. Perhaps Doctor Pipt and his wife Margolotte could give them some food.
In Otis Frampton’s adaptation of L Frank Baum’s novel, Nunkie’s life is complete. But while he loves his uncle, Ojo feels confined by their seclusion. The boy yearns to explore the world, and their bare cupboards confirm his need to leave. In The Patchwork Girl of Oz HC Vol 1, Ojo's world becomes a brighter place when he meets Doctor Pipt and Margolotte. The boy also meets their cat. Bungle is a glass cat that Dr Pipt brought to life. When Ojo and his uncle arrive, Doctor Pipt is on the verge of creating another marvel. The crooked magician hopes to give his wife a break from cooking and cleaning by bringing a patchwork girl to life.
Margolotte excels as a housewife. Yet in The Patchwork Girl of Oz HC Vol 1, she disdains her duties and culinary creations. Because of his love for her, Doctor Pipt spends six years stirring four pots of ingredients to save Margolotte from doing what she does best. Like Unc Nunkie, Doctor Pipt sacrifices what he wants to make the person he loves happy.
Art
Unc Nunkie insists that they are rich because they have a cozy round cottage. Like his nephew, Nunkie doesn’t smile as he stares at the trees outside, the half-finished loaf on the table, or the fire Ojo makes in the fireplace. Yet as they start along a brick road wearing their tall hats, their mood lightens. Ojo and his uncle navigate steep mountain paths, stone bridges over rivers and waterfalls, and crossroads cutting through the woods. By the time they reach the cluster of round buildings that make up Doctor Pipt and Margolotte’s home, Nunkie and Ojo are smiling.
While much of Munchkin County is blue, Otis Frampton, Tracy Bailey, and Kate Frampton imbue The Patchwork Girl of Oz HC Vol 1 with all the colors of life. After taking them to a purple room where Pipt stirs four pots of yellow liquid with his hands and feet, Margolotte leads the travelers past a window revealing the serene beauty outside. Wood tones imbue the room with warmth, linking Nunkie’s cane with his friend through Pipt’s furniture. Yet the top shelf of a case filled with stoppered blue glass jars with gold labels has Brain Furniture carved into the brown wood.
Otis Frampton fills white dialogue balloons with uppercase letters that grow bold for intonation and occasionally shrink for lowered voices or distance. Words enlarge for emotion and elevated voices, such as when a bird heralds the travelers, or Bungle seeks attention. Unc Nunkie speaks one larger, typed lowercase word into each balloon. Sound effects are rare until the Patchwork Girl speaks crowded uppercase words that swell and change color. Then objects fall and crash, music notes flow through the air, and the vividly colored girl discovers how she differs from Munchkins like Ojo. Thanks to Image Comics for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
The Munchins inhabit a magical land. When Ojo meets a cat made of glass, the boy doesn’t blink. Nor is Ojo surprised when a magician brings a fabric doll to life. Unlike her new friends, the fabric doll proves fearless. The girl sewn from a crazy quilt shares her enthusiasm and wonder with Ojo and everyone she meets in The Patchwork Girl of Oz HC Vol 1.
Rating 9.8/10
For cover art from individual issues see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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