Return to Labyrinth
This past month saw the penultimate release of the Return to Labyrinth manga series by Tokyopop. I remember back in 2006 when the first volume was released I was really excited, but as is often the case the reality rarely, if ever, lives up to the expectation. I found the comic ill conceived and just not what Labyrinth is to me. So three years have passed, and I thought, hey two new volumes, I should give this another try. So now that I've read them...well...they're entertaining, they just aren't Labyrinth.
For girls of my generation Labyrinth is the movie of their childhood. David Bowie as Jareth, well, there aren't really words to describe who or what he is in this movie, let's just say, I still have the poster on my wall. Every girl has probably thought in passing about being Sarah. So as it is, if Labyrinth were to continue on outside the boundaries of the film, there are a lot of high expectations. Labyrinth means something different to everyone and I personally feel that the comic actually does a disservice to the movie and the girls of my generation who revere the film. This book seems to have been thought of with the sole purpose of making more money out of the Labyrinth franchise. The end result is enjoyable, a sort of Monty Python meets Alice in Wonderland feel, but it's NOT LABYRINTH! Just because the idea of Jareth as manga sounds like it will work and looks visually interesting does not mean it should be done.
The comic's plot is about Jareth still being obsessed with Toby, which I don't buy, because Toby was just a way to get to Sarah. Toby must then enter the Labyrinth, get a posse of friends (BTW Skub, could he be anymore of a Dobby rip off?), similar to his sisters, and take his place as king because Jareth is doing poorly. The first installment ends with Jareth proclaiming Toby his successor and then disappearing. The only thing I really liked was the Queen of Cups and her daughters, members of a rival kingdom, predominantly wet. In installment number two Toby is still trying to fit the Goblin King mold while the Queen of Cups trys to "help." What I did like is the idea that Moppet (one of Toby's new friends) is basically a part of Sarah that has been siphoned off and made to be Jareth's slave, a cool concept and a way he actually would try to get back at her. Also the psychological profiling of Jareth having created the Labyrinth as a kind of armor (mainly to keep the Queen of Cups out) is fascinating. By volume three Jareth is up to no good in the human world messing with the not quite complete Sarah, having lost her ability to dream (and is now apparently able to shrink at will, having a car half the size of her front door, that's just lazy perspective). Toby is now king and The Queen of Cups, Mizumi, is up to no good (having thrown Toby in an Oubliette till he agrees to play ball). One daughter (Drumlin) is already "dead" with the other soon to go (and they were the only ones I liked!) And now the waiting game, I'm guessing it will be awhile till the final installment comes out, and for something that isn't the greatest to start with, I'm not exactly holding my breath.
The most annoying fact of this comic is that the author, Jake T. Forbes seems to truly love the world Jim Henson has created (the fraggle Traveling Matt shows up as well as the red demons from the episode of The Storyteller, "The Solider and the Death") but he just got it so wrong! Labyrinth is about Sarah NOT Toby, though he seems to be trying to rectify this. Also Jareth exists in Jareth's world, not outside, he IS the Labyrinth, one cannot exist without the other and he's not handling this right. Plus they could have set this at any time during the existence of the Labyrinth...why didn't they go back in time like they are doing with The Dark Crystal Mangas so that canon would not be affected and fans less annoyed.
Final thoughts, the writer Jake T. Forbes says that he was strongly influenced by Terry Jones of Python fame, and his script for Labyrinth, which is evident when you read Return to Labyrinth. But Terry Jones himself has stated the fact that the script that was filmed was in no way connected to his. Therefore basing the comic on this fact is ill researched and thought out. All in all, better if you don't think of it as Labyrinth, just go watch the movie again.
Return to Labyrinth Volume 1 by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie
Published by: TokyoPop
Publication Date: August 2006
Format: Paperback, 208 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy
Return to Labyrinth Volume 2 by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie
Published by: TokyoPop
Publication Date: October 2007
Format: Paperback, 192 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy
Return to Labyrinth Volume 3 by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie
Published by: TokyoPop
Publication Date: May 2009
Format: Paperback, 192 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy
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