Who is Eric Shanower, and how did he get involved in Oz?
Eric Shanower with his dog, Road. Image courtesy of ericshanower.com. Although not an author or illustrator who has worked on any of the FF, Eric Shanower has illustrated Oz books by five of the Royal Historians, and written and illustrated many other published Oz works. Born in Florida on October 23, 1963, Eric Shanower wanted to write and draw Oz stories and comic books ever since he was six. After attending art school, he got his chance to do both with The Enchanted Apples of Oz, a graphic novel published by First Comics in 1986. This was soon followed by The Secret Island of Oz, The Ice King of Oz, and The Forgotten Forest of Oz. A fifth graphic novel, The Blue Witch of Oz, was put on hold when First ceased operation; it was later published by Dark Horse Comics. All five graphic novels are scheduled to be reprinted as a collection, Adventures in Oz, in 2006. Shanower also began to do work for IWOC, including writing and illustrating stories for Oziana, but most notably illustrating
