Jim Henson’s 1985 film Labyrinth is one of my all-time favorite movies. Needless to say, I was thrilled to hear that Tokyopop was publishing a continuation of the story in manga format. This Christmas, I received volume one from Rachel – which made me very, very happy. So how did the first volume hold up? Well, there are a few hits and misses, but overall it’s an entertaining continuation of the original story.
Return to Labyrinth Manga – Story by Jake T. Forbes, Art by Chris Lie, Published by Tokyopop.
Story
The Return to Labyrinth manga takes place several years after the events of the film. After a brief flashback from the movie, we meet an older Tobey (he’s now supposedly 13 years old). Toby is portrayed as a troubled teenager who is interested in acting, has pretty bad luck, gets into trouble a lot and has issues with his mother. His sister Sarah (who is in her 30s) isn’t a big part of his life – and is strangely missing from most of the story. Writer Jake T. Forbes has recently stated that Sarah will play a larger roll in additional volumes.
The first chapter of volume one follows the film in several ways – mainly by mirroring Sarah’s issues with her parents, herself and Toby. By playing up Toby’s problems, it makes things easier for Jareth to lead him into the Labyrinth. When Jareth The Goblin King finally shows up, the story really begins to feel more like the film!
After entering the Labyrinth and The Goblin Kingdom, Toby meets several new characters – such as the faerie ‘Hana’ and the furry creature ‘Stank’. Writer Jake T. Forbes has balanced these introductions with old favorites from the film, such as the oddities of the Labyrinth and it’s unusual cast of characters.
Thankfully, some of my favorite characters Hoggle, Sir Didymus (with Ambrocious) and Ludo begin to make their appearances. There’s even the goblins with the bitey poles in the background! Jareth pops up here and there, which makes it feel a lot like the film too. There are several points in the story that really connected with the film – all involving either Sir Didymus, Jareth or Toby. Unfortunately, there are several points where I was pulled out of the story entirely (as I mentioned before – Labyrinth is one of my favorite films).
The main scene I was the most disappointed with is a scene at the ball (towards the end of volume one) when Toby meets Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus for the first time. When they realize that Sarah never mentioned any of them, Ludo says “Sawah Friend. Sawah…Gone.” That really depressed me. Actually, in the panel before, Hoggle says “I guess she just…didn’t need us.” That seemed really sad and unlike Hoggle’s character from the film. I guess that’s just a little bit of ‘deconstruction’ that the writer felt needed to be added. After that, the story perks up again.
Art
The cover art, by Kouyu Shurei is truly amazing. She’s really captured the spirit of The Goblin King Jareth and his Labyrinth. The cover also provides nice distinctive portrait of Toby, the main character of the story. The warmth of the colors remind me of the Labyrinth theatrical poster and the level of detail is simply amazing.
I was expecting the cover to be a preview of the interior art. Once inside, I quickly realized that this wasn’t the case. Instead, the artwork is by Chris Lie, whose art is a loose combination of western and manga style. While a very competent artist, I was expecting a much tighter manga style. I initially picked on every little element that looked wrong, but after re-reading the manga, I’ve decided that the artwork takes some time to warm up to. I still have some problems with ‘grown-up’ Sarah though. Why does she look like a slightly hipper version of Velma from Scooby-Doo?
Character Design
The character design left me with mixed feelings. While it’s great to see old friends again, I was kinda distracted by some of the interpretations of familiar characters (as I said before). Perhaps it’s because I’ve seen the film so many times – or that I’m looked at Brian Froud’s art so much!
Likes:
- The Goblin King Jareth. He looks like he stepped directly out of the film and into the manga.
- The new characters such as the faerie Hana and her trusty steed Stank.
- The goblin/human character Moppet – she wears a masquerade ball mask and her identity is unknown, which is pretty interesting!
- The world of Labyrinth. The Goblin city and kingdom look great!
Dislikes:
- Sarah. She is unrecognizable with her short hair and glasses. I was expecting her to look like a mature version of herself (or actress Jennifer Connelly)!
- Hoggle looks weird to me – I’m not sure why. Sorry!
- The goblins. I think they look too ’soft’. They’re like this weird Ralph Bakshi style mixed with a tiny little bit of Tim Burton. Missing ingredient? Brian Froud!
Conclusion
Overall I enjoyed the story but was disappointed by several elements. The biggest disappointment was the absence of Sarah throughout the story (and her character design). What could have been an excellent opportunity to include both brother and sister in an epic adventure ends up something a little less epic (so far – I realize there’s more story to tell). Since we hardly knew Toby in the Labyrinth film (he was a baby), I have a disconnect to his ‘grown-up’ (13) character. As a baby (and Sarah’s brother) it was easy to feel sympathetic to him in the movie – he was helpless and constantly in danger (of being turned into a goblin). In the manga, he seems to be able to take care of himself – even with the bad luck.
There are several good things in volume one. The story was fresh and pretty exciting. It’s interesting to pick up the story years after the events of the film took place. It’s also nice to revisit old friends again. Jareth is awesome. Toby has potential. Overall, I think even with the hits and misses of Tokyopop’s Return to Labyrinth manga, the story kept me interested. I think I’ll follow Toby, Jareth the Goblin King and company further into the Labyrinth and see how all of this turns out for them!
As cheesy as it is, I love that movie. I am disappointed by the lack of Froud’s artwork in the manga, but everybody will have their own interpretation of a story. Besides, I can’t picture his art in manga. It is sooo different.
I’m interested to see how this story turns out.
Holy crap, now I’ll have dance magic dance in my head ALL night…”slap that baby, make him free!”
I need to get ahold of this. One thing that doesn’t make sense is that you said Sarah was in her 30s now, but if Toby is only 13, that means Sarah was at least 18 in the movie, but I think she was supposed to be more like 15 or 16. Late 20s, maybe, but 30s, not quite.
Sorry, I’m a bit of a nitpicker. Awesome review, by the way.
zingor – I had the song stuck in my head the whole night after I posted the review. “I saw my baby, crying hard as babe could cry.”
Ronnie – Good point regarding Toby’s age. I think in the original announcement he was said to be 13. Perhaps that changed? He could have easily been at least 15 or 16 in the manga.
Thanks for the compliment too!
I’m a great fan of the original movie, “The Labyrinthâ€. It’s quite a surprise to me that there is actually a sequel to Jim Henson’s magical adventure of the Labyrinth. So the “Return to the Labyrinth†is a book? I was wondering if there would be a movie made of this new story line?
Bree – I was also surprised when the Labyrinth manga was announced. Unfortunately, Return to Labyrinth will probably not be turned into a movie. Henson studios actually considered making a sequel to Labyrinth, but instead chose to make MirrorMask. They are making a sequel to The Dark Crystal called The Power of the Dark Crystal, along with a manga series from TokyoPop.
I thot it wis a reeli good review n almost exactly what i thot myself. but i agree with bree
it wud hav bn beta if they had made it into a film. i absolutely adore the film. even tho i wis
disappointed in the book i wud stil lik to know when the nxt 1 comes oot i wud b gr8ful if u
cud let me know???:D
Rush – thanks! Volume 2 – titled Goblin Prince of the Labyrinth – will be released on April 10, 2007. I haven’t heard when Volume 3 will be out (or the title).
Hey! The biggest reason I bought the manga was because I could see Jareth again, and see him interact with Toby and possibly Sarah. The cover art, however, was what had me hooked.
i just read the manga. i liked it a lot of detail in the pictures and i heard they are making a sequel to the labyrinth. if not they have to do the anime.
DarkAngelKisses – yeah, Jareth is indeed cool. Hopefully he’ll have more interaction with Sarah in the upcoming volume two!
fairy2012 – an anime Labyrinth series would be awesome!
Is it a bad thing that I was so excited about this that I choked on air?
I’m not exactly the oldest person in the world, but for my young age I’ve been watching Labyrinth since I can remember.
Though I have to admit Labyrinth is and always will be a classic and a favorite, I’m sure this will be good. The plot seems good, and it did catch my attention.
I guess the main thing that drew me into Labyrinth was it’s creativity and music in it. God knows no one could come remotely close to Jim Henson’s imagination and wonderful mind.
Sure. I’ll most definitely be keeping my out for this.
Rachel – Of course it’s not bad that you’re excited about this!!! As I said in the article, I’m ‘quite the fan’ of Labyrinth…it’s one of my fave movies!
You make a great point about Jim Henson’s imagination – it can’t be recreated and I sorely miss him.
my copy is coming in the mail right now! i am hyped about it!
Sarah – Oh I’m glad you ordered it. I hope you like it!
does anyone know when the new volume will be out?
also i completly agree with u about Sarah’s character.
mishell – Unfortunately, volume 2 of the Labyrinth manga (Goblin Prince of the Labyrinth) has been pushed back to Oct 9, 2007.
WOW thats a long time. what a bummer. thanks for the info david
i love the movie labyrinth too and once i’v found out there was a manga continuing after the movie i havent been able to find it T_T
looking through the manga again you can see that Sarah’s hair is not actually short but tied back in a pony tail
how does it feel to be rich and be jerks because you Got the Money.
Do u feel like gods?
who says i got money?
@Dream-Darkness, We Got the Money? Where? Hell, you’re the one with the money. When I checked out the link to your website it was frick’n Google! Wow, you own Goggle!
As to: “Do u feel like gods?”..every day, every day.
mishell – Yeah, October is quite a ways out. I’ll have to reread ‘Return to Labyrinth’ a few times between now and then lol.
amanda – You can get it from several places – both online and in stores. Here are a few places that carry it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Borders. Borders and Barnes and Noble stores should have it though, so if there are any near you, check ‘em out!
maggie – Good eye! I completely missed it!
Dream-Darkness – Rich? I think not. So that means I don’t ‘got the money’. Do I ‘feel like a god’? Nope, at least not the last time I checked. Which only leaves one thing – the ‘jerk’ part. Dream-Darkness – are you calling me a jerk?
maggie – I guess Dream-Darkness thinks we all ‘got the money’…:)
Rachel – Hmmm…so I guess Dream-Darkness is the jerk! lol
lol i could only get it from the public library
Dance Magic Dance
Does anybody have any Manga scans?
wow this is getting intense.hahahaha i have a feeling jareth would be pleased…..(gee wiz
…i’m lame)
sorry harleyScarcrow no…………… I’m excited for the 2nd book ‘Goblin Prince of the Labyrinth’
look now… i’m registered!! ohh isn’t it amazing… it was soooo hard
(if you can’t note sarcam please see a doctor)
maggie – That’s great that your library has it!
HarleyScarow – Dance, Magic Dance indeed! No manga scans – sorry!
mishell – yes, Jareth would indeed be pleased!
maggie – Awesome – I’m excited about ‘Goblin Prince too! Also, thanks for registering!
not my library but a web sit so i can ask for books from different public library all over my state
Upon finding out about this manga and seeing the front cover, I almost passed out with joy. My two favourite things combining. I have always loved the Labyrinth. I am even prepared to defend it in front of a whole lecture of people when my media studies lecturer tries to slate Bowie’s performance.
I absolutely LOVE manga now that I am older, and to find “Return to the Labyrinth” was coming out in manga form and what seemed to illustrated by Kouyu Shurei. Without a moments hesitation I brought the manga from Amazon. Upon receiving it, I was highly disappointed that it was only the cover that she worked on. And that the inside art was done by Chris Lie. Personally I felt cheated. Why didn’t Lie do his own art work. If I had seen his art work on the cover I do not think I would have been as half as excited or maybe have even brought the manga.
Whilst there are few (and I mean few) rather detailed land scape shots which are interesting, the actual character art work was not to my taste at all. This is simply my personal opinion, but expecting to see the beautiful and ethereal art work of Kouyu Shurei, and receiving Lie’s crude mix of western manga did not go down well. Toby who appears on the cover, does not remotely resemble the Toby in the manga. And Jareth drawn in this western style, is portrayed as more of a badly drawn transvestite woman, rather then the typical style of bishonen that Bowie unwittingly adopted and is shown on the cover.
The plot from what read online intrigued me! I was very excited to read that Jareth wanted to kidnap Toby once again, to make him take his place as Goblin King. But what I read was weak and clichéd. I had hoped that the Henderson company would have asked for something slightly more original then Toby playing the lead in a school play (which of course, we are lead to believe is real as the film had) and “forgetting” his lines as Sarah had also done at the beginning of the film. Why not try something new? Toby’s life does not HAVE to be identical to Sarah’s in order for him to secure the role of hero to the story, surely!
The “new characters” of the story, A fairy dressed so scantily she could be seen in a bondage night club. And a female human type goblin in a mask. Both weak characters with nothing very memorable about them except for the fact the fairy is dressed in bondage. Did no one think to consult Brian Froud when it came to concepts of new characters? For shame, really…
Jareth character whilst in some parts of the story mimicked what had already been done in the film, was in truth nothing like the charming and charismatic goblin king of the film. Instead he came across as a rather pervish old man character
“You’ve been a….very….lucky…boy”
“You can go clean up in there. I’ll send you some fresh clothes. Go ahead. I won’t peek” ::Insert creepy grin::
Jareth is the King of Goblins…arrogant, charismatic, self obsessed, and mean. In trying to make him forfil the bishie criteria did Lie think that it was compulsory to have him be slightly bisexual? Surely this is not the case and it comes across as just plain creepy. Toby should be the one becoming entranced with Jareth, not the other way round.
All in all I was very disappointed. Along with the age issue I can go one and on with reason, in much higher detail to why I did not like this manga. I will be interested to see if Lie uses another artist to do his coverwork again, or if he actually takes credit for his work. I bet you if he draws his own cover, the numbers of buyers will drop dramatically.
Well, he got my £6 out of me. Clever guy. For shame.
well…you’ve all made some nice points and I’d like to pick out some I noticed…Sarah was supposed to be 15, so if Toby was 13 she’d be about 28…second, yes, Sarah does look stupid with short hair and glasses…when I saw that image of her and Toby it made me wonder, ‘Who the hell is that guy and why does he live with Toby???’ and thirdly, Labyrinth was a 1986 film, not 1985…yes, yes… Ooh, one year, what difference does that make? A whole lot when you come to think on the whole matter of time and all that, why in just one year wars can be fought and won(or lost), so chew on that odious chunk of fat(I know that doesn’t make any sense, it is 10:43 PM right now and I’m not in the mood to make sense…)
for the last time SARAH DOES NOT HAVE SHORT HAIR! IT IS ONLY PULLED OUT OF THE WAY IN A PONY TAIL!
Maggie Maggie….thus is the skills of Chris Lie. He should have just stuck to G.I. Joe. >_>
Kidonia Shinji – Good point regarding their age. I guess if they ever did make a sequel film to Labyrinth, Jennifer Connelly would be the perfect age!
maggie – I think the main issue is that so many people (including me) thought Sarah had short hair. I think Mr. Lie should have made that more clear.
Serina – Nice writeup! You make lots of good, honest criticisms. Perhaps with the looonggg wait for volume two (Goblin Prince of the Labyrinth) there will be time to make adjustments to the story and art!
lol serina true
David: ….yes, sadly I feel by that time, the fan inside me may give in and want to see if it could possibly get any better (though I am sadly pessimistic) though this may all be a ploy of Lie to make us buy his book >_> by making the fans wait so long. Very clever.
I probably will be very awful and either scower the whole of the south east of the UK (Library and books stores) and read it and THEN purchase it if I feel the need….or just put it back on the shelf. Or search the internet for some scans some japanese outaku has scanned in for the Japanese fandom of Labyrinth (They’re out there). I know this does not support the artist and usually if I am a fan of a particular artists work, I do purchase their books. But I am not a fan of this artist, thus I feel no guilt. Also, I am a poor poor student, so its not like I have money to throw away to dear Chris Lie.
i come from Indonesia, where mr. Chris was born. all of You are so lucky can enjoy
his art. You can’t get that from Indonesia ! ARGHHHHH !! Because i am so poor to buy
his comic ! T___T
hei David nice to meet you in web, can you help me to know more about
that film…errr”Labyrinth ” ? that’s woman with white suit kinda looks “pure girl”
but i don’t know who is the “artist” ?
“actress” not the artist. If that was junk i want discuss it in your email
( If i may ask it ^^ ) thank u very much.
Serina – I know what you mean…hopefully it’s not a ploy and we get some good stuff with volume 2. Meanwhile, I’m gonna see if I can get an interview or something lined up with Mr. Lie. I’ll keep ya posted!
India – Thanks you for writing! The woman in white is Sarah from the live action Labyrinth film – she’s an actress named Jennifer Connelly. Another ‘genre’ film she was in was ‘The Hulk’ from a few years ago. She played Bruce Banner’s girlfriend Betty Ross.
hi omg are you the real
david bowie i have questions that need answers
film is cool cut the singing and do the acting your singing is bad tell sarah she good acter
O_o …….okay….
Do you often tell people that they are bad at their profession? ….because if you do, that’s a little insulting. David Bowie is a SINGER….and your saying “your singing is bad”? ….tactful…
“Tell Sarah she’s a good acter” ….well we can all see your spelling and grammer are as amazing as your comments. Bravo. Jennifer Connelly is probaby quite pleased that you think “she’s a good acter” as she acts for a living, but I don’t think she’d be pleased at being reffered to as “Sarah” as it is simply not her name.
David: ….an interview with Lie!? Excellent! I’ll deffinately be intrested in reading this and any questions you have to put to him! You have the oppertunity arrange this!? Amazing! Of course I don’t want you to press any of my oppinions on his art onto you, but I’d be SO intrested to know the answer to why he didn’t use his own art on the cover of his manga book. I’m very curious. I’ll keep following this thread.
I have an interview with Chris Lie. Actually, he came to Indonesia several days ago.
But the result was not talking about Labyrinth, but about his profession from started with “OPHIR” project in Indonesia. The interview was in Indonesia. if you are interested, i must translate it to english firstly.
im confused..david= david bowie?????? or did i just forget to take my meds today
wait i’m confused. ..david= david bowie????
Serina – Yes, I’d love to arrange an interview with Mr. Lie. I have several questions in mind and will probably ask everyone if they have some too.
India – That would be excellent to read your interview with Mr. Lie. Let me know what you want to do!
mishell – Sorry, I just happen to share the same first name with Mr. Bowie. You can read more about me in our about page.
david-nice picture!!!! i love it. sorry about the david bowie thing. i knew i had forgoten to take my meds
David : okay, but not now. Maybe next June. T_T i must finish my job firstly.
maybe i will write here or later in animeblog ( must be registered )
http://360.yahoo.com/gigi_ular
thx,
India
OMG Jareth is So friking HOT!
I’ve just bought this manga and yes the cover is what caught my attention lol. And yep i was very sad at the quality of the stuff inside, but i pushed that down…way down, and read the thing all the way through. Jareth i agree comes off rather creepy lol.. and boring.
And yes he did, a little, look like a drag queen.
The film is a HUGE favorite of mine since i was a child. I REALLY annoyed my mum watching it over and over XP
It did make me chuckle that Hoggle had indeed been made the Prince of the Land of Stench lol. Over all i’m willing to give this series a go, but if it annoys me i might end up ripping the front cover off to keep then burning the rest.. XD
or giving the decovered thing to a chairty shop. excuse for missing cover: Dog ate it…>>