Comic Review: Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Under the Spell #1

Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Under the Spell #1

BOOM! – Archaia

Writers: Michael Dialynas, Sina Grace, S.M. Vidaurri

Artists: Michael Dialynas, Boya Sun, Sarah Webb

“Come inside, meet the missus”

That is my favorite quote from a movie that remains a treat for my family: Labyrinth.

The songs, the classic Jim Henson puppetry, and of course David Bowie. One of the best parts of that film was the imagination and heart of the movie, and even when pacing failed the heart and imagination didn’t. So tiny things, like a worm inviting Sarah inside its wormhole to warm up with a cup of tea really stick with me. Labyrinth had a quality of wonder. It is nice to see that quality explored more.

At its core, the movie was a simple story. Sarah, a young girl, is charged with looking after her baby brother, Toby. Sarah is an adventurer by way of Romance and Fantasy, and her favorite story is of The Goblin King. Unwittingly she rehearses the words she loves and in saying them at the appropriate time allows the minions of the king to take Toby.

Sarah must go into the labyrinth, make her way to its center and confront the Goblin King to reclaim Toby. On the way, she is met with obstacle after obstacle but over time she also meets an odd assortment of characters who help her on her hero’s journey.

But if Sarah is the hero of the movie, what happens in the scenes she is not present for? Who becomes the hero then? Every story requires a main character, and Labyrinth has many characters. It stands to reason that those characters would have stories of their own.

Labyrinth: Under the Spell is a shared world endeavor and in the first issue It attempts to tell the stories that lead up to the story: Sarah’s story. The comic is set in the backdrop of the movie, but Under the Spell wants to lift the curtain on those other stories.  How did Didymous come to be found guarding the Bog of Eternal Stench? Why is Hoggle spraying faeries? Just what was that strange Goblin in the last battle that only seemed good at blowing up its own buildings?

Under the Spell has three tales written by three authors. Sina Grace takes on the middle story, paired with Boya Sun for the illustrations, and it is my favorite of them. Of the three, Sina seems to find that quality of the movie the easiest.  

All of the authors and artists do a great job though. The writing approach and art on display couldn’t be much more different from each other and that’s great. S. M. Vidaurri and Sarah Webb’s The Eternal Torment is fanciful and sketchy. It launches the book and is the longest of the three stories. Sina Grace and Boya Sun’s En Garde seems the closest to the spirit of the movie, with muted, cartoony renderings and a very Henson approach to characters. Michael Dialynas both writes and draws his story NO! and it is perhaps the one that deviates the most but is enjoyable all the same. Especially as he seems to add to the tapestry of Labyrinth.

All in all, this was not what I expected but enjoyed. I came in blind on this and was pleasantly surprised.  Looking into the world that is labyrinth and exploring the characters that aren’t Jareth the Goblin King or Sarah is a great idea. The audience is likely limited to those that have seen the movie but I can still see them making it a success and I hope they continue it.