For this week's Family Comic Friday, I feel like I'm 10 years old again.. I have selected the first issue of Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Cornation. Published by Archaia, this book seeks to explore the origins of the Goblin King, Jareth!
Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Coronation #1
Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Daniel Bayliss
Colors: Dan Jackson
For those of you not familiar with the film Labyrinth, it's a dark fantasy musical produced by Jim Henson studios. You know, the folks who gave us The Muppets. The 1986 film starred Jennifer Connelly as a spoiled teen named Sarah who resents her baby step brother Toby. Angered by all the attention Toby is getting from her father she wishes that the villain of a fairy tale she loved as a child would kidnap the baby.
The Goblin King grants her wish and steals Toby away. Regretting her actions, Jareth grants Toby's return should the Sarah solve the Labyrinth of the Goblin King within a set amount of time.
It during this time that our story takes place. Sarah has just been forced to redo the whole maze run. It's her dogged determination that we inspires Jareth to recall the story of another young woman who lost someone special to the Goblin King.
The first issue is pretty vague as to whether the child in the flashback story is Jareth or not. The lad is never named. Though it's heavily implied that the child is a infant Jareth because of the allusions to his eyebrows. But this could be a deception by the writer and artist team of Simon Spurrier (Six-Gun Gorilla)and Daniel Bayliss, as the Goblin King in the past’s face is never shown.
Thankfully, there's 11 more issues of backstory and mystery to be uncovered in this amazing story.
When I first saw Labyrinth, I wanted Sarah to fail. I still do because I am Team Jareth all the way. Plus Sarah was such a brat! One can argue that Jareth is really a good guy, helping Sarah learn to love her brother. But I like to think that the Goblin King was a wicked baddie! Like with the Empire Strikes Back, it’s the bad guys that make me love this film!
Jareth opened my ears to a new sound back in the 80s. The Goblin King was played masterfully by the late rock icon David Bowie. The King of the British glam rockers, Bowie sings several songs in Labyrinth. Though they weren’t the best songs (30 years later and they sound pretty cheesy), I became a fan of Starman watching Labyrinth for the the first time.
And it’s his music that is sorely missing from this book. Simon Spurrier does a dynamite job crafting a story as mysterious as the man telling it. Artist Daniel Bayliss (Kennel Block Blues) along with colors by Dan Jackson are perfect for capturing the events of the film along with a story set in Napoleonic Venice. It’s just that I miss Bowie’s charisma and charm along with that haunting voice of his.
I think that the world as a whole misses the beacon of light that Bowie was. At least for a few short pages over the next year the Starman will live on again.
Labyrinth: Coronation #1 debuted in stores and digital platforms on February 28, 2018.
Though the comic is not rated, the film in which if was based is rated PG. Some scenes may be intense for young readers.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
This review published concurrently on Outrightgeekery.com.
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