Experience the magic of Oz as you've never seen it before with this brand-new graphic novel adaptation of Gregory Maguire's masterpiece Wicked, the book that started it all and the inspiration for the Broadway show and the smash hit movie series--the first in a two-part series featuring gorgeous full-color illustrations by Scott Hampton. Like Dorothy when she crash-landed all those years ago, prepare to be swept into a new and colorful world in this first-ever graphic novel adaptation of Wicked. While the long-running Broadway musical and major motion picture take inspiration from this iconic novel, this is Oz as Gregory Maguire wrote it--a fantastical revisionist fairy tale with dark edges that explores the true nature of good and evil, morality and ambition, love and friendship, and discovering one's inner power. Elphaba was born with emerald-green skin--no easy burden in a land as mean and poor as Oz, where superstition and magic are not strong enough to explain or overcome the natural disasters of flood and famine. Still, Elphaba is smart, and by the time she enters Shiz University, she becomes a member of a charmed circle of Oz's most promising young citizens. But Elphaba's Oz is no utopia. The Wizard's secret police are everywhere. Animals--those creatures with voices, souls, and minds--are threatened with exile. Young Elphaba, green and wild and misunderstood, is determined to protect the Animals in a tale filled with rich social commentary--even if it means combating the mysterious Wizard, even if it means risking her single chance at romance. Ever wiser in guilt and sorrow, she can find herself grateful when the world declares her a witch. And she can even make herself glad for that young girl from Kansas. How does a smart, misunderstood young woman become her world's greatest villain? Dark Fantasy: Go beyond the yellow brick road into an Oz with real-world problems, where the line between good and evil is blurred and every choice has a cost. Wicked Witch Origin Story: Witness the untold story of Elphaba, the girl with emerald-green skin, as she navigates university, friendship, and a society determined to misunderstand her. Political Fantasy: In a land ruled by the Wizard's secret police, Elphaba finds her calling defending the rights of Animals--intelligent creatures being stripped of their voice and their freedom. Stunning Graphic Novel Adaptation: See Gregory Maguire's iconic world brought to life for the first time in a full-color graphic novel, with breathtaking illustrations that capture the magic and the shadows of Oz.