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BREAKING NEWS: “Tales of the Labyrinth” Anthology Coming Soon! [Updated]

February 23rd, 2008 · 38 Comments

Now that we’ve completed the Jim Henson/Tokyopop panel at Wondercon, I”ll share the biggest news now.

In March of 2009 Tokyopop will be releasing the first (of a TBD number) of Labyrinth anthologies. These books will tell stories about favorite characters from the film such as Hoggle, Ludo, the Fierys and the Junk Lady, as well as stories related to Return to Labyrinth. Each story will feature different creators and styles.

Oh, and the title of this anthology isn’t finalized yet. I threw out “Tales of the Labyrinth,” but feel free to suggest your own titles in the comments section. Maybe we’ll do a poll in the weeks to come.

More Con Details:

  • Return to Labyrinth 3 dated for November 08, Labyrinth Anthology 1 dated for March 09, RtL 4 (final volume!) in fall 09
  • As hinted at in the “On Writing Jareth” post, there’s a pseudo-musical number for Jareth in the works for RtL3
  • Someone asked if there would be any more Bowie references. Answer -yup!
  • Also, on the topic of references, Tim expressed his excitement about a mini Henson crossover gag in volume 3
  • The story I’ll be writing for the Anthology is about Jareth and Mizumi and shows how Jareth becomes the Goblin King
  • For Dark Crystal fans, editor Tim Beedle revealed two new Skesis characters who will appear in the next volume of that series — the Spymaster and the Mariner. They looked awesome. (I can’t discuss Dark Crystal here as I don’t work on that series, but as I a fan, seeing new Skesis gave me tinglies).

Finally, this is why I don’t draw return to Labyrinth:

UPDATE:

Before I leave for vacation, I want to clarify something. Gobblin.net is a personal site and aside from reposting news, this site is an outlet for personal reflections and commentary (and self-promotion :P) and is not officially affiliated with Tokyopop or the Jim Henson Company. My involvement with the forthcoming Labyrinth anthology is that of a contributing writer. I cannot speak to the content of the anthology, nor am I or this site involved with the naming process for the anthology. Until there is further news to report, I won’t be writing further about the anthology here outside of my own contribution, nor will I (or should I) be responding to questions about the anthology’s content or title. That said, I’m psyched about the project, both as a writer and as a Labyrinth fan. For the official word on that project, please refer to the publisher:

Tokyopop’s Website

Labyrinth Editor Tim Beedle’s Webpage

Tags: Return to Labyrinth

38 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Mandy // Feb 24, 2008 at 2:12 am

    YAY!

  • 2 tanuki // Feb 24, 2008 at 6:25 am

    Are these stories in manga form, or written?

    Wonderful news, either way!

  • 3 Helena // Feb 24, 2008 at 7:18 am

    Sounds fantastic! I look forward to it.

  • 4 Mandy // Feb 24, 2008 at 12:07 pm

    I’m horrible at picking things…

    Trails of the Labyrinth
    (instead of tales)

    Kingdom of Goblins
    (Like Toby’s video game)

    New Passages: Tales of The Labyrinth

    Sorry I ate your left shoe

    Jareth’s headaches

  • 5 Crystal // Feb 24, 2008 at 12:27 pm

    Mandy, that last one is funny and the only title I came come up with at the moment is;
    Tales of the Labyrinth; the story through my eyes.

  • 6 Labyrinth Anthology Planned for Next Year » Comics Worth Reading // Feb 24, 2008 at 12:55 pm

    […] of Labyrinth, Tokyopop will be doing an anthology of Labyrinth stories beginning in March 2009. The number of volumes in this series is yet to be determined, according to […]

  • 7 LadyLoria // Feb 24, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    I have one that I thought of… not as good as mandys eating of the left shoe title.

    The Reorder of Time

  • 8 Mandy // Feb 24, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    Thank you, Crystal. And the left shoe thing was meant to be Goblin-esque and random. :-P

  • 9 Crystal // Feb 24, 2008 at 3:22 pm

    You’re welcome; I’m not very comical, so when something funny pops up, I just start laughing like crazy.

  • 10 reagu // Feb 24, 2008 at 11:38 pm

    sounds like exciting news. can’t wait for the release. i hope it’ll be available on Amazon.

  • 11 Helena // Feb 25, 2008 at 10:20 am

    Re: updates … Oh my gawd! I am so thrilled to hear all of this exciting news! I can’t wait to read the anthologies; they (especially yours) sound fanfreakingtastic. I can’t wait for the musical number … and the new Bowie references. Is it November yet?!

  • 12 Andi // Feb 25, 2008 at 11:02 am

    Here is something I’m really curious about.
    And if you don’t answer it, I understand.

    Have you and the Henson Company ever thought of making your work into an anime?
    I think it has real potential. And, I am sure the artwork would be gorgeous.

  • 13 jess // Feb 25, 2008 at 11:09 am

    I still can’t get over how huge you made the Jareth crotch. It got bigger each time you drew it.

  • 14 MasonTemplar // Feb 25, 2008 at 11:19 am

    RE: Reagu — it will absolutely be available on Amazon.

    RE: Andi — I’d love to see RtL in other mediums. I don’t work for Henson directly, so I can’t speak to how likely that might be.

    RE: Jess — it’s his most recognizable feature! For some reason his head started looking more and more like the Gnome King from the Oz books…

  • 15 Mandy // Feb 25, 2008 at 11:37 am

    Well, maybe you’d get the head right if you’d stop focussing on the crotch!

    That’s terrible! LOL!

  • 16 Mandy // Feb 25, 2008 at 11:38 am

    I think many of us would love to see Return to Labyrinth as an anime. Of course, as a long time fan, I’d insist you find a way of getting David Bowie to be Jareth for it.

    Also I’m curious if you’ll give us any info on Jareth’s origin story.

  • 17 Crystal // Feb 25, 2008 at 12:26 pm

    I cannot wait for November, but at least there will be something for us to read in March! And then I’ll have to wait until ‘09 to get the fourth book! It’s too much, I can’t stand it! And, just a dumb question, do you think we’ll see Jareth in jeans? That would be interesting, yes?

  • 18 Fallen Fairy // Feb 25, 2008 at 2:26 pm

    Your version of Jareth looks like he has elephantitis of the crotch- no wonder he’s playing with his balls!

    Depending on how these anthologies will be released, it might be cool if TokyoPop ran a contest where readers could submit their own Labyrinth/RtL-themed artwork that had a chance to be included in the back of the book(s)- similar to the guest art in the second volume of RtL. It would be a great way to engage the fans and generate excitement for the release.

    Granted, I’m biased because I like to doodle, but I’m willing to bet there’s a tremendous amount of talent in the Labyrinth fanbase:)

  • 19 Mollie // Feb 26, 2008 at 4:51 am

    I’m not really fantastic at titles either, but I’ll a shot at it:

    Mind Plagues

    Voices from the Labyrinth

    Talking Walls

    Goblin Banter

    So yeah, that’s what I’ve got for now, sorry if they totally suck ^^;

    PS: I love your drawing of Jareth. But I agree, the crotch is a bit….big o_o; He looks more like an actual Goblin King though, even if all us fangirls want him to be devilishy hot.

  • 20 MangaBlog » Blog Archive » Flipped finds a new home, Infinity goes online // Feb 26, 2008 at 5:05 am

    […] Forbes announces a new Tales of the Labyrinth anthology and provides graphic evidence of why he won’t be […]

  • 21 Andi // Feb 26, 2008 at 6:01 am

    Thanks for responding!

    Well, (lol) I think that when the series is finished, you should try for something like that.

    If anything it’d be amazing, and the fans would really dig it.

    And I agree, if you got David Bowie to do it, people would flip. :D

  • 22 Fallen Angel Eyes // Feb 26, 2008 at 6:21 am

    Oh my sweet lord an anthology. Holy holy crap. I am so ridiculously excited that I cant even try to come up with title names right now.

    That codpiece is hilarious. I started laughing so hard. A friend of mine once did a poll in his journal about who had the more intimidating codpiece, Jareth or the King of All Cosmos from Katamari Damacy. It was an epic battle.

    Bowie references? I haven’t read the 2nd volume yet, but is there something in the first that I’m missing?

    Also, I’ve asked this before but it was never answered: Are David Bowie and Jennifer Connoly aware of the revisitation of this work at all and if so, have they ever commented on it? Really wondering about this.

  • 23 Fallen Angel Eyes // Feb 26, 2008 at 6:26 am

    *Connelly, early morning brainmelt, oops.

  • 24 Baron Jerksmore IX // Feb 26, 2008 at 11:05 am

    I like how you kind of made Jareth look like Mazinger Z. Don’t sell yourself short, kid. You’re the total package.

  • 25 tanuki // Feb 26, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    “The story I’ll be writing for the Anthology is about Jareth and Mizumi and shows how Jareth becomes the Goblin King”

    Wow, who will illustrate that one?! I’m sure I speak for many when I say I would LOVE to see Kouyu Shurei do it. Tim Beedle once mentioned on his blog that she was fascinated by Mizumi and enjoyed drawing her for the RtL2 cover.

  • 26 Mandy // Feb 26, 2008 at 4:45 pm

    The only Bowie references I saw so far besides Jareth, himself, was the fact that the music box plays As The World Falls Down. Perhaps while Jareth is in the human world with Sarah will spot something Bowie-related.

  • 27 MasonTemplar // Feb 26, 2008 at 4:47 pm

    There’s a Bowie visual gag with Toby’s Ziggy Stardust-esque costume fitting in volume 2.

  • 28 Crystal // Feb 26, 2008 at 7:32 pm

    Ah! I knew I had seen it somewhere before! I saw a couple other things as well. I wonder how the characters will look in these anthologies and I will get one the day it comes out. I’m so excited; March, this coming summer and November, I’m literally bouncing off the walls! :)
    P.S. Jake, I thought you said you weren’t going to post anything about Jareth? (The drawing…?) Now look what everyone is talking about.

  • 29 Tim Beedle // Feb 28, 2008 at 3:02 am

    It’s great to see so much enthusiasm over the upcoming Labyrinth anthology! Just so you know, I’m taking this title thing VERY seriously. If any of you suggest a title that stands out and that Jake and I feel might make a good title for the anthology, I’ll include it on the list of title suggestions that I present The Jim Henson Company. If it were to get chosen, we’ll credit you in some way in our debut volume. (I’ll have to figure out the best way to do this. It would probably have to be informally in an editor’s note or something, but we’ll see.)

    One caveat, though. The title needs to have the word “Labyrinth” in it so that we can make use of the recognizable Labyrinth logo, much like we did with Return to Labyrinth. Therefore, “Tales from the Labyrinth” is a good suggestion. “See Spittledrum Run” is not.

    As for the poster who asked who will be illustrating Jake’s story, well, first we need to finalize Jake’s contribution with The Jim Henson Company. We’re working on that now. Once we know exactly what Jake will be writing, then we can start looking at potential artists. Trust me, as soon as we can reveal a list of the writers and artists that will be involved with the first volume, we will. You’ll just have to keep an eye on Jake’s blog and my blog on the TOKYOPOP site until then.

  • 30 tanuki // Feb 28, 2008 at 7:57 am

    What’s wrong with “Tales from the Labyrinth”? It tells the prospective buyer everything they need to know: that it’s an anthology (hence “Tales”) and that it’s set in Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth” world.

    Though if you want some alliteration to make the title flow you could always call it “Legends of the Labyrinth”.

  • 31 MasonTemplar // Feb 28, 2008 at 11:37 am

    In case you missed the update above:
    Before I leave for vacation, I want to clarify something. Gobblin.net is a personal site and aside from reposting news, this site is an outlet for personal reflections and commentary (and self-promotion :P) and is not officially affiliated with Tokyopop or the Jim Henson Company. My involvement with the forthcoming Labyrinth anthology is that of a contributing writer. I cannot speak to the content of the anthology, nor am I or this site involved with the naming process for the anthology. Until there is further news to report, I won’t be writing further about the anthology here outside of my own contribution, nor will I (or should I) be responding to questions about the anthology’s content or title. That said, I’m psyched about the project, both as a writer and as a Labyrinth fan. For the official word on that project, please refer to the publisher:

    Tokyopop’s Website
    Labyrinth Editor Tim Beedle’s Webpage
    (links work up above)

  • 32 Sarah // Mar 2, 2008 at 12:48 am

    November 2008? Fall 2009? O.o

    But it’s not FAIR!!

    I know, I know. You wonder what my basis for comparison is ;)

  • 33 Melissa Hendrix // Mar 9, 2008 at 7:44 am

    The Labyrinth: Before the World Fell Down

  • 34 Izzy // Mar 14, 2008 at 8:50 pm

    Um, Titles… titles titles titles, strange normally I’m so good at this.

    What happens in the Labyrinth stays in the labyrinth… Until now. - That could actually be the tag line or something like that

    The Labyrinths Anthology (hey the ramones did it, I’ve got that cd)

    Tales of the Underground

    Tales from the Underground

    Strange Happenings in/of the Underground

    Hidden tales of the Underground

    ________________________
    I like melissas title, its nice

    More titles to come if I think of any

  • 35 Mori // Apr 3, 2008 at 9:57 pm

    Solution to Labyrinth: Stories from The Underground.

    Labyrinth: Goblins’ Tales.

    Labyrinth: The Lore of the Underground, an Anthology.

    A Crystal Moon: Lore from Labyrinth.

    Labyrinth: Lore from A Crystal Moon.

    Labyrinth: Dreams of the Underground.

  • 36 crazyninny // Jun 6, 2008 at 6:36 pm

    Just wanted to shout out, to keep up the good work!
    I just got done reading Vol. 2, and man! Was that a blast! Each turn of the page always had some kind of suprise, or hidden goody! *Yes, I am the type of person that looks real close at pages to find little goodies. ~_^*

    Keep it up guys! <3

  • 37 MasonTemplar // Jun 7, 2008 at 4:38 pm

    Crazy,

    Thanks for reading the manga and for dropping by the site. Planting those little goodies is one of my favorite parts of writing the script, but credit for most of those should go to Chris Lie who fills the backgrounds with so many funny details. We’ll make sure to have some good easter eggs in the next volume. :)

  • 38 Tinytune101 // Jun 25, 2008 at 9:46 am

    Yay, the third book is going to be released on my birthday. How exciting. I love Labyrinth and can’t wait, sadly I must. But I can tell this birthday is going to be special . yay

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