In November 2025, the first volume in the Ultimate OZ Universe was released. The in March 2026, AWA announced that a second volume could be released in August 2026. As we get closer to that month, we have an exciting reveal that Neil Patrick Harris has written the foreword.
Not just that, but we also have an excerpt from the foreword to share. It’s no secret that Harris is a fan of The Wizard of Oz, especially after 2012, when he and his whole family went all-out with costumes from the 1930s movie. However, his love for the universe goes way back before he had children of his own.
Courtesy of the Harris Family
Neil Patrick Harris Shares His Love for ‘Wizard of Oz’
Co-writer Larry King and acclaimed artist Mike Deodato Jr. return to pen and illustrate the second volume in this graphic novel collection. Set in the world that Frank L. Baum created, Dorothy finds herself washed ashore on Outer OZ’s wild coast. It’s another corner of OZ lost to darkness, and this time due to the ruling of Princess Langwidere in Castle Ev.
This isn't a reimagining, but a canon-faithful story based on the novels by Baum. This is a chance to go into stories in a beautifully illustrated way, opening the world of Oz even more than imagined before.
While Elton John penned the foreword in The Lost Lands, Harris gets the opportunity to share his love for the universe of TheWizard of Oz, going back to his tween days, when he played Toto in the Ruidoso High School production of the play. He had actually gone to audition for a role of a munchkin, but production had a different idea for him.
“Because I was small and could sing, the organizers plucked me out of the crowd and cast me as Toto. Ahhh, the classic Hollywood story (or, in this case, New Mexico, but you get the idea)…And from that moment forward, two parallel paths — one the spirited journey of an acting career and the other a wondrous trip down the Yellow Brick Road — have been winding in front of me ever since.”
By Patricia Martin
He continued his journey on the stage with a production of Rent, which was how he met Kevin McCollum, the producer behind the AWA collection of graphic novels. His love to Oz is something he has passed onto his children in the way his parents passed it onto him, and his foreword goes into more details about the spin-offs he’s watched.
There’s no doubt that the magical world of Oz has captured the hearts of many, whether it’s through the 1939 movie, the Wicked universe, or even various versions of the story through TV shows like Once Upon a Time and Emerald City.
“The fact that Oz has endured with so many people across so many generations is a testament to the expansive world that Baum imagined. The book you hold in your hands — and indeed the whole Ultimate OZ Universe — honors that tradition, breathing new life into spectacular lands, as iconic characters work together to accomplish what none of them could do alone. Put simply, Into the Outerlands celebrates what makes OZ magical, capturing the wonder, courage, and strangeness that made us fall in love in the first place.”
By Mike Deodato
A Chance to Hold a Stunning Special Edition of ‘Into the Outerlands’
AWA has kicked off a marketing campaign for fans to get their hands on a deluxe collector’s edition. April 7, 2026, marks the last day to be part of the Kickstarter campaign, which includes a cabinet case collector’s edition featuring a gorgeous wraparound landscape. Esad Ribić returned to create the merchandise. Along with that cabinet case, there is a collectible puzzle and other surprises for the super fans getting in from the ground up.
Into the Outerlands will be officially released on Aug. 26, 2026, and you’ll be able to read the entire foreword by Neil Patrick Harris while immersing yourself into another adventure for Dorothy and her friends. It’s time to explore Oz in a way you’ve never been able to before.
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