Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! in The Oz-Wonderland War #3

The epic triple-sized cross-over between Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew, the people of Oz, and the residents of Wonderland comes to a close. With all of the needed rulers of Oz rescue, with the exception of one, this united coalition of freedom fighters take it to the Nome King one final time.

The series started with a whimper but ended with a bang. I enjoyed it very much. I’m typically not a fan of funny animal books, but I grew up reading Captain Carrot and I love Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (it’s also my favorite Disney film.) This mini-series was darn near perfect. The only thing really missing was Alice. However, in an article by series scribe Nelson Birdwell, it just wasn’t feasible since Alice dreams of being in Wonderland whereas determined by a sequel book to Wizard of Oz, Dorothy lives in Oz. So, I was able to forgive that slight.

(Spoiler) I’ve also been saying that this is the weirdest crossover ever- that was until the final page when Captain Carrot’s alter ego Rodney rabbit came face-to-face with the inferior 5! Now, as far as I know, nothing ever came of this surprise ending. But, as I think about it, I would love to one day see a Captain Carrot/ Spider-ham/ Inferior 5/ Great Lakes Avengers crossover with a special appearance by the Legion of Substitute Heroes. Hey, Marvel and DC, could we make this happen? PLEASE!!!!!!!

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! in The Oz-Wonderland War #2

Captain Carrot, the Zoo Crew, and a combined effort of Oz and Wonderlanian forces continue to search for more of missing leaders of Oz. This time up for rescue are the Scarecrow and a certain Wizard.

I really enjoyed this issue. It was a lot more fluid that the first book. I think it just needed a little time to hit its stride. It’s a good thing Captain Carrot has Dorothy Gale around or none of the missing Oz characters would ever have a chance of being found. But it’s a real shame Alice isn’t in this book. I wonder why she’s not here. I miss her. Hopefully, her absence will be addressed.

On the subject of absent promises, the Jabberwock was promised to be in the issue last issue, but he was nowhere to be found. I’m not sure why. However, he does appear here- along with a strange team-up between Captain Carrot and almost every funny animal of the rabbit persuasion to exist in DC Comics history. Along with several bunnies I’ve never heard of, the Good Captain meets up with another rabbit donning the red and gold- Marvel Bunny and briefly reunites with the love of his life- Wonder Rabbit. Sadly, their love is left unrequited.

 Also, thanks to some editor’s articles throughout this issue, I now know why in the last issue of Captain Carrot and the Amazing Zoo crew why we were promises with a 6-part series on the Oz-Wonderland War and only received 3. That’s because of the Zoo Crew series getting cancelled. Originally, there were to be a 6-part story that took place in the pages of Captain Carrot. However, shake-ups at DC caused the title to be scrapped altogether. The higher ups did manage to get this series to see the light of day as a mini-series and made 3 double sized issues instead of 6 standard sized comics. Thus, nothing was omitted and DC actually found a way to keep their promise in order for this series to find newsstands and eventually my collection.

 Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

 

 

 

Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew! in The Oz-Wonderland War #1

 

It’s perhaps the weirdest cross-over of all! Captain Carrot and is squad of super-powered funny animals from earth-C are recruited by the Cheshire Cat to help Wonderland’s finest to save the leaders of the land of Oz. It appears there’s this guy called the “Nome King” and he’s the leader of a race of hairy bearded creatures called “Nomes.” Are the supposed to be gnomes? I don’t know, but these guys are mean. Along with his Nome soldiers, the Nome King wears a golden hat that gives him control of those scary flying monkeys.

 

With these baddies plus a bunch of other unusual creatures that have struck fear in the hearts of many a resident of Oz and Wonderland, it’s up to the Zoo Crew to save the leaders of OZ before the Nome King gains access to a portal connecting Oz to Wonderland. With each leader of Oz captured, the Nome King’s power is increased exponentially. So, with every Oz leader saved, the Nome King gets weaker.

 

There’s only one problem, the Nome King has changed these leaders into random inanimate colored objects in color coordinated places. So, if you got changed into a red fire hydrant, the Nome King would place you in a field of roses along with a red vase, some ruby red slippers, and a red rubber ball. The caveat is that you only get one guess or that person is the Nome King’s object forever. But, there is a little bit of the Batman villain the Riddler in the Nome King as each mission can be solved by a riddle that reflects the past history of Oz and Wonderland.

 

Since Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew have never heard of Wonderland or Oz, they’ll need help from the White Rabbit and Dorothy Gale to help solve the riddles. In this first chapter, the combined earth-C-Wonderland-Oz must save the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. Can they do it without letting their egos and unfamiliarity with the land of Oz get in their way?

 

A very interesting first chapter. It’s not at all what I expected. I thought the Zoo Crew would somehow be dragged in a war between the people of Wonderland and Oz, as the title implies. I thought some Zoo Crew members would have taken sides and it would’ve been like a true civil war. Instead, I like this idea of a team-up that involves solving a series of puzzles much better that my first thoughts. It captures the works of Lewis Carroll and L. Frank Baum quite well.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 8 out of 10 star