Jim Henson's Labyrinth Coronation: Volume 1 (Simon Spurrier and Jim Henson)

Jim Henson's Labyrinth Coronation: Volume 1
The Labyrinth Coronation series, Issues 1 - 4
Simon Spurrier and Jim Henson (creator), illustrations by Daniel Bayliss
Archaia
Fiction, YA? Fantasy/Graphic Novel/Media Tie-In
***+ (Okay/Good)

DESCRIPTION: When young Sarah regrets wishing that the goblins would take her baby brother Toby away, Jareth the Goblin King gives her thirteen hours to retrieve him from the castle at the center of his vast, shifting Labyrinth - otherwise, the child will become a goblin. But this is not the first time a stolen baby has been sought by a loved one. Jareth himself was once a human boy not unlike young Toby, and it was his mother Maria who braved the Labyrinth in search of him, defying the wicked Owl King and the child's noble father, Lord Tyton.

REVIEW: Nostalgia's a hot commodity these days; I see graphic novel series revisiting The Dark Crystal and other favorites from childhood, plus there is a manga tale about an older Toby returning to the labyrinth world (which I have not read, but seen at the library.) Given that, a Labyrinth graphic novel revival was almost a given. This is not so much a retelling or a sequel as a prequel about Jareth, memorably played (and sung) by the late David Bowie in Henson's movie. Since I have a fair bit of nostalgia tied up here (I still own and listen to the soundtrack - I am a child of the 80's, after all), it was with some trepidation that I approached this title... and with some inevitable disappointment that I finish.
The framing story here supposedly occurs while Jareth watches Sarah make her way through the Labyrinth; between him and the goblin Beetleglum, the tale of Jareth's own childhood unfolds. There's an immediate issue here, as the graphic novel keeps reminding me of the movie source material, a comparison by which it can't help falling short. It's also obvious that something went horribly wrong with Maria's journey, or Jareth wouldn't be the Goblin King in Sarah's time; at some point, I couldn't help feeling toyed with on this account, especially as this is just Volume 1 of a longer arc and doesn't resolve anything. The Labyrinth itself is a remarkable and imaginative place where nothing is as it seems, though the version encountered by Maria is different than the one Sarah found in the movie; there's some implication that the place's aspect is at least partly in the eye of the beholder. Maria is not the impetuous, immature girl Sarah was at the start of her journey, but a determined and desperate mother willing to move heaven and earth to find her son. Unfortunately, knowing that she fails can't help robbing the story of some tension. The artwork is imaginative, but not quite up to the standard set by Jim Henson and Brian Froud in the film, though the characters definitely feel like they belong in the Labyrinth I grew up knowing and loving. Between (too-frequent) cutaways to Jareth and Beetleglum, the story takes a while to get going, and seems to just be hitting a decent stride by the time it ends, leaving me with mixed feelings.
On the one hand, I admit I'm a little curious about how Maria fails. On the other, if future installments are this riddled with interruptions (and keep reminding me, again, of a movie so deeply rooted in my childhood that it can't help coloring my perception of tie-in material), I'm not sure how far out of my way I'll go to find answers.

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