“In Justin Madson’s debut graphic novel, Tin Man, a girl and her brother befriend the titular Tin Man with unexpected results. Solar is in her last year of high school and is reeling from the recent death of her grandmother. She has abandoned her plans for the future and fallen in with a bad crowd. Her little brother Fenn doesn’t understand why she’s changed - she doesn’t even want to help him build their rocket anymore. Campbell is a tin woodsman- a clunky metal man whose sole purpose in life is to chop down trees. He longs for more, however, and decides to seek out a heart, believing that, with one, he will be able to feel things he has never felt before and, therefore, change his life.” 

- From the front flap of Tin Man

“Tin Man” by Justin Madson is a great story about the power of love and how to overcome grief. When Solar and Fenn’s grandma dies, shortly before the book takes place, the family copes in different ways–some better than others. Fenn focuses on his projects, adventure, and following his dreams, knowing life can change. Solar, on the other hand, falls in with a bad crowd and argues with her parents about her future, while also feeling lost about her path in life. Although this is a great story, with “Wizard of Oz” parallels including brains, heart, courage, and home and how they’re all connected, it’s not a retelling (even if there is a Dorothy Gale-like character in a few panels). If anything, it takes elements and ideas from “The Wizard of Oz” and transforms them into something new. For example, the Yellow Brick Road as a tourist trap, or the Flying Monkeys as a name for a taco truck. If you are, however, looking for a retelling or another version of “The Wizard of Oz”, this novel is not what you should look for.

Since “Tin Man” is based off of “The Wizard of Oz”, it makes sense that it would have the same themes and ideas as the original story by L. Frank Baum: brains, courage, heart and home. Brains are clearly shown in “Tin Man” by book smarts. The characters are very smart in mathematics and engineering, however they are smart in other ways, too. Like how Solar realizes what her life has become and what she wants to do to fix it, or how Fenn and Campbell realize that some people need help even if they don’t ask for it. Heart is shown when the characters care for each other in different ways, and with the lesson that the people you love the most are just keeping your interests at heart. For example, Solar and her parents: while they don’t seem to get along very well in the book, they still care for Solar and are trying to get her on the best path for success. This is also shown with Campbell, who saw that Solar and Fenn just needed a friend. Courage is shown in many parts of the book, whether it’s easy to spot or not. The whole book shows courage in many ways! For example, when Solar saves Campbell, or when she breaks apart from her group. Even when Fenn and Solar work together to help Campbell with his past. And finally, home, which is shown really well in “Tin Man”. One example of this is when Campbell decides for the final time where his home is at the end of the book. Another is when Solar decides what path to take and finds peace in her life. The third and last example is when Fenn accepts his family for who they are and finds purpose with them.

Now, I was a bit disappointed with this book because I usually read retellings of other fantasy books and this wasn’t it, even though I was expecting it to be. Instead, I found it to be a little more realistic fiction with elements of science fiction. While I didn’t really like the way the world of Oz was portrayed in this, I did really enjoy the art and the way the characters choose to deal with their lives and change throughout the story. The way the author develops each character and their personality is beautiful and as the story goes on, we discover more and more about each character’s past and how that relates to where they are now and where they’re going in the future. If you are interested in realistic fiction and graphic novels, as well as elements of fairytales, I think you would really enjoy this book. If you are interested in more fairytale/fantasy books and retellings, I would recommend “A Curse so Dark and Lonely” series, “A Court of Thorns and Roses”, and “The Lunar Chronicles”.