My apologies for the comic being a bit late -- I had trouble finishing pages for both comics around the festival, since it was 3 days of festival and days of prep before hand. So many people visited us. I'm very happy with how MCAF went, despite it being freezing cold on Friday and Saturday. The festival is outside, and the temperature was hitting -6 Celsius. We lived!

This week is a filler illustration, but starting the next update, it's going to be the end of the chapter! we have between 5 and 10 pages left! Woo!

This tarot card is The Tower, with Dorothy and Ozma falling, and the Emerald City as the Tower. The Tower tends to be seen as a really negative card, because it is associated with disruptive change upright, and rebuilding foundations reversed, or even a reluctance to embrace change. I felt it worked for Dorothy and Ozma because both went through pretty traumatic changes to become the happiest version of themselves. In Namesake canon, Ozma was born from a Muse who was endlessly escaping. She tore parts of herself away so she could become a person, albeit a powerful one. Even as Ozma, she was transformed several times by people who wanted her position or power. Dorothy was taken to Oz in a tornado, which is pretty terrifying. Several trips to Oz in the original books had pretty scary modes of transportation. In Namesake canon, Dorothy was even made a namesake against her will, by Emily Gale.

The Emerald City makes for a great tower motif because it's often draw as this crown-shaped art deco / art nouveau location. The original Oz books had it feature domes and round doors, which were said to be inspired by the 1893 world's fair. The 1939 movie had crown shape resembling an emerald cluster. All following versions were a mix of the movie's style, and art nouveau styles. In Return to Oz, everything has lavish shapes and curtains.

The Emerald City itself is also an iconic symbol. Tho it's backstory shifted sometimes - Baum was pretty inconsistent - it was build by the Wizard as a trick. He made Ozites wear green-tinted glasses and pretend it was made from emeralds, when it was really just green paint and mirrors. The city changes rulers a few times, and has a few invaders, including Jinjur. So it works perfectly as an element of this card, and is on top of that Dorothy and Ozma's home.

In the Namesake tarot, the Tower is about these two lovers and the changes and grief they had to live with. 

Isa