Werewolf of Oz Reaches its Emerald Wizard

In the second Werewolf of Oz: Fantasy Travel by Google Maps episode of the week the satirical comedy travel questers finally reach the end of the dust sandy path, barely three episodes before the end.

Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City  

Cover via Amazon

As the Wizard of Ozzers followed the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, the Werewolf of Ozzers reach the real Australian town of Emerald, Queensland at the end of the Dust Sandy Path.

And as the Wizard turned out to be a bit of a disappointing fake in the Wizard of Oz, there’s disappointment for the Werewolf of Ozzers when they meet the Great Dame of Oz.

However, as in the Wizard of Oz where the Wizard of Ozzers are told they don’t need the help of a wizard; as they already have the qualities they feel lacking; in the Werewolf of Oz the body, mind and spirit  soon recover. Enjoy chapter 139 of 142…

139.  Barry Humphries’s Grumpies 

The Wizard of Oz as pictured in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After it settled down in Emerald I asked Emily if she remembered what MiMo Moby said back in Meekatharra many moons ago; about a Great Dame of Oz at the end of the dust sandy path who could reunite me with Green once again.

Emily said she did remember, and knew exactly what MiMo had meant; she would take us to meet the Dame straight away.

Sir Les Patterson

It wasn’t far away; just a couple of blocks to a big mansion in the centre of Emerald. Emily knocked on the door with one of her corks. It wasn’t long before a large grumpy man answered it.

He bellowed, ‘What do you want?’ at us in a rude manner.

‘Ah, hello,’ said Emily, ‘MiMo Moby told this werewolf friend of mine that the Great Dame of Oz should be able to help it. Is she here?’

The man did not seem impressed, but said he’d see if she was around.

The Great Dame of Oz

A woman arrived a few minutes later; she looked like she could be the sister of the man… or even the same person!

English: Dame Edna statue, Docklands (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

‘Hello possums,’ she said, ‘what can I do for you?’

I told her about my conversation with MiMo Moby, and said we were all still quite lost, despite learning a lot on our epic Ozyssey.

She said she’d love to help, and used to do such things, but she was too busy now that she’d become an international giga-star.

Body, Mind and Spirit Work Together Again

I looked at my travel companions; they seemed to share my disappointment. I wondered if my epic ramble had reached an anti-climactic dead-end, and I would never see Green and the Greenygrey world again.

I was about to suggest leaving, when Cathy spoke up in a spirited way, telling the Dame that that was no way to talk to us. Angry seemed to have been thinking about it as well, because he soon added, ‘You’re not even really the Dame, you were a rude man when you answered the door just now.’ Then Elle used her body to great effect by slamming the door shut.

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Notes

Sir Les Patterson and Dame Edna Everage are Barry Humphries’s comedy characters.

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Link for Amazon book and kindle.

Link for multiple Ereaders at Smashwords.

Werewolf of Oz Digital Book Disclaimer

Hi, it’s the Greenygrey. In this second instalment of the Werewolf of Oz: Fantasy Travel by Google Maps book on this blog we have the disclaimer.

dISCLAIMER

This book is a work of fictional parody. While it features real people and places, they are taken out of their real context and transported to the fantasy world of Oz via Google maps for this exploratory expedition into comedy fantasy – magic realism virtual travelling. Only the author has had anything to do with the creation of this book. Apologies to people and places that do not think they are portrayed positively, but it is obviously fictional, and hopefully this book will create further interest in them.

The book is written from an agnostic viewpoint. Some of the material may offend religious extremists, so they are advised not to read any further. The book also contains sections involving alcoholic beverages: good times are balanced with bad.

One of the reasons the writer chose Australia; the main one is of course that its nickname, Oz, ties in with the Wizard of Oz; for this journey was because he thought Australians would appreciate the humour. It was written with fondness and respect for Australia; a country where the author spent most of 1989.

The book consciously provides a positive anthropomorphic view of animals, and especially the wolf. It is hoped that, in some small way, this might help the remaining wild animals in the world survive a little longer by raising awareness. Despite providing us with our ‘best friend’ dog, the wolf has suffered a particularly negative image in human cultures alienated from the wilderness. This has resulted in the wolf’s persecution and extinction in many regions of the world.

 Copyright © 2012 by Marc Latham

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. No part of this book should be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without acknowledging its source. If you could also tell the author it would be appreciated.

marc@greenygrey.co.uk

Werewolf of Oz Synopsis

Hi, it’s Greenygrey. I’ve been working on a synopsis for the Werewolf of Oz today, which will hopefully show up on our Amazon page. I thought I’d share it here with you too. Cheers!

The comedy fantasy begins with Grey Werewolf’s arrival in Oz, having been exiled from it’s Greenygrey world. It has also been divided from its other half, Green. Oz is the setting of the Wizard of Oz, and the nickname for Australia, and from Grey’s arrival in Western Australia the story combines the two meanings of Oz for Grey’s magic realism quest across the continent to a Wizard of Oz theme.

Grey starts meeting interesting characters from the start, with the names and stories emerging out of real place names found on Google maps. Some of the first characters met on the trip return to the story for the conclusion, which brings the often wacky and disparate episodes to a clear Oz theme ending.

The first extended storyline arrives in chapters 5-8, with Grey reaching the real towns of Bunbury and Collie; they are combined into the bun-mining town of Collie and the bun-burying (to keep them fresh) town of Bunbury. Grey meets Colin and Ollie, the collie (dog) colliers of Collie (the real Collie has a coal-mining history).

A town called Latham then provided a five-chapter self-parody for the author; including twentieth-century British ‘Home children’ removed from their families and exiled to Commonwealth countries, Cool Hand Luke, Guns N’ Roses, the Eagles’s Hotel California and a Lost plot.

An illustration by W. W. Denslow from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, also known as The Wizard of Oz, a 1900 children's novel by L. Frank Baum. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Grey then goes to the Rock-It festival with Sancho Panza and Don Quixote after meeting them on the edge of Cervantes, before its first companion joins it in chapter 17. The Toto character is based on legendary AC/DC singer Bon Scott, one of the author’s biggest rock n’ roll heroes.

Monotonous monotheists (MoMo), who take the place of witches in the story, arrive into the narrative a couple of chapters later. The town of Meekatharra is the location, with meerkats taking the place of munchkins. Bruce and Sheila Orlov say they have been living in fear of the monotheists, after they lied and robbed them to build up their power. As in the Wizard of Oz, one baddie is killed by the protagonist, and the other vows revenge. A mild monotheist based on the musician Moby takes the place of the good witch.

MiMo Moby gives Grey an emerald cork-hat, which takes the place of ruby slippers; and tells the travellers to take the dust sandy path, taking the place of the yellow brick road.

Grey and Bonzo continue north, and cross into the Northern Territories through the Kimberley. After meeting some strange characters in Darwin, Humpty Doo and Nitmiluk they head down into the desert.

Cover of the Scarecrow of Oz (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

They meet Elle there. Based on the model Elle McPherson, she symbolises body, taking the place of the scarecrow’s brain in the Wizard of Oz.

After another meeting with the MoMo East, disguised as a bunyip of Aborigine legend, they meet Alice at the spring, and go to the Great Gig in the Sky with her.

After crossing into South Australia through the Rainbow Valley, they are transported into another dimension by a timequake near Adelaide. The travellers have to win a time wager on an AusRuIcket game between Crows and Redbacks to return to normality.

"Cover of prospectus announcing the production of the musical extravaganza The Wizard of Oz, 1902. The illustration is an 'Inland Gnome', drawn by W. W. Denslow in 1894 for The Inland Printer." (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Then Grey meets Angry on Kangaroo Island. Based on Rose Tattoo singer Angry Anderson, the mind takes the place of the Woodman’s heart. The travellers learn about kangaroo mythology on the island, with the personifications of good and evil being Skippy (tv kangaroo) and Rolf (Harris).

After meeting Tazzy on Tasmania,
and several poetic rhymes later,
they crew on board a ship skippered by Capt. Dec O’ Rum, who acts with decorum despite having a deck full of rum. His mate is Dai ‘of the Seas’, whose wine and women loving lifestyle is reminiscent of the Greek god, Dionysus. There is an epic poetic battle on the voyage, after Pirate Lacost is on sail.

An illustration by W. W. Denslow from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, also known as The Wizard of Oz, a 1900 children's novel by L. Frank Baum. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The travellers meet Cathy when they arrive in Victoria. Based on the athlete, Cathy Freeman, Cathy symbolises spirit, taking the place of the Lion’s courage in the Wizard of Oz. This completes the body, mind and spirit team.

The travellers enter a nearly 5000-word Terminator inspired time-travel story when they reach the town of Kerang. The name Kerang is one r short of the rock music magazine Kerrang, and the travellers have to battle through rock music decades from the 1960s to 1990s to continue the quest in New South Wales.

After Lord of the Rings and Deliverance inspired episodes, the travellers reach the east coast. The story winds down going up the east coast, with characters from early in the tale reappearing, and the plot being revealed with some surprises.

The Wizard of Oz as pictured in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Life of Brian mixes with Lord of the Rings for the epic concluding battle, before Alice in Wonderland and the Elysian Fields of Greek mythology provide the final journey to meet the Great Dame of Oz (Barry Humphries’s Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson) for the travelling team.