There were many great questions, and I intend to answer them all, but as finishing the script for volume 4 should take precedence over blogging about it, I could only get around to half the questions today. Thanks, everyone, for participating! We’ll do this again, so if there’s anything else you’d like to ask, hold on to those questions for now.

Why did Jareth have his own font in volume one?

…Because his ego is just SO BIG that we had to wait until his powers were weakened before we could shackle him to the same font as everyone else? Seriously, though, it’s a mistake probably born from the changes that happened at the publisher between volumes. In the script for volume 1, I suggested that Jareth have a distinctive lettering style – something a little more majestic and mysterious than your typical manga lettering font (sort of like how Dream has his super-distinctive style in the Sandman comics, although not so distinctive as that). For whatever reason, when volume 2 went through the lettering process, that distinction got lost. I honestly don’t know why, and the inconsistency bugs me too. I hope that in the future, if Return to Labyrinth ever gets reprinted in a new edition, that can be fixed so that his distinctive font is consistent.

At one point, you mentioned something about the ‘goblin golf course’. What was that all about?

Did you hear about that at Comic-con? I think I mentioned that scene there. Originally, in my outline for volume 2, there was a mini-golf competition with Toby, Moulin and special guest-star Hoggle. It was a scene I imagined from very early on as a quirky homage to Alice in Wonderland’s croquet game, and as a chance to see Moulin and Drumlin interact with Toby and Moppet. Unfortunately, I was already having a hard time packing the story into 3 volumes (this was before the 4th was greenlit), so this chapter had to go as it was pretty long and ultimately didn’t advance the plot much. Hindsight being what it is, I wish I could have picked up the pace a bit in volume 1 in order to find a way to keep it, but alas, it’s gone for now. I don’t want to give away more about this scene in case there’s ever an opportunity to bring it to life.

Is there any chance of Return to Labyrinth gaining an animated adaptation and if so will David Bowie be asked to voice Jareth?

I wish! The rights to Return to Labyrinth are wholly owned by the Jim Henson Company. There’s always a possibility that they could develop it for other media or they could follow up on Labyrinth in other ways. I’m not really the one to ask about that.

Is this the only Labyrinth manga series that will be done ? I remember something about side stories and such, but I’m hoping for a series that takes place after this. But one that is devoted to Jareth and Sarah.

Yeah, I did pass along the announcement that Tokyopop made at Wondercon a year and a half ago about an anthology of side stories. Sadly, I don’t know what happened to that – it seems to have dropped off the radar. Again, I must weasel out of an answer and say I’m not the one to ask about that as I haven’t been an employee at Tokyopop for over 5 years and I don’t know the status of their licenses or their releases schedules. As for other sequel stories in the Labyrinth world, there is always a possiblity, but it’s up to the Jim Henson company what other stories are told in this world. The story of Return to Labyrinth will be wrapped up in volume 4.

I have a strong feeling that the story of the exiled goblin’s earlier betrayal is kind of important to the back story. Am I right?

Cob the Exile’s prior betrayal was very foul indeed. Dark stuff. Some would call him a backstabbing Judas, others a misunderstood Snape – it was that serious! Undergarments were involved. Foul undergarments… fouled undergarments. Probably best not to get into that right now… if ever.

And just because I know everyone wants to know this… What is the name of the goblin that keeps eating my missing left socks?

It was Cob the Exile! He’s the nasty sock-stealer!

I was wondering if you and Chris Lie choose what goblins to use (in the background or otherwise) from Mr. Brian Froude’s notes for the movie? Because I bought a copy of Goblins of the Labyrinth and Candlewic was in there, though he’s undergone quite the makeover since then… Or are they all just thought up on the top of your heads?

You are right that Candlewic is the only goblin whose name is taken from the Froud/Jones book – he struck me as the perfect goblin stick-in-the-bum swordsman. The other goblins in the manga were conceived of by me and designed by Chris as suited the story. In the case of Goblins with names (Spittledrum, Skub, Maelgrot, etc.), I’ll provide some description, but all those background goblins are 100% Chris. 

Does Toby EVER get his history paper back? I don’t know if that’s spoilerific or not, but I really just had to ask… I know how vexing it is when you can’t find your homework! Poor Toby!

You’ll have to wait and see! Toby’s real world existence definitely plays a role in the final volume.

One of my favorite parts of the movie was the Escher room… Will we see any more of it in the story, or any other optical illusions? I know there have been a few throughout the series (and I loved them, by the way), and I’d really like to see more.

I think you’ll be pleased with volume 4.

Wasn’t there a contest for someone to be featured in the book as a Goblin? :\ Or am I just high on something (like a Peach) and I came up with that myself?

Indeed there was! Reader “Sarah” won the contest by providing the best guess for what the volume 3 cover would look like. I contacted her and we came up with a name for a goblin that will appear in volume 4.

How much of your day-to-day wardrobe is Labyrinth-inspired, or otherwise Bowie-fied?

When I started writing Labyrinth, I wore baggy pants with a 36” waist. No I squeeze into 31 inchers! I try not to stare (too often) at the crotchal region, but I presume that with such a dramatic tightening of pants, there is probably a higher probability of seeing the occasional… Yeah, probably best not to talk about this anymore.

What is Jareth’s favorite Morrissey song”

“I Hate it When Our Friends Become Successful”

Reader Sierra has done Return to Labyrinth 3 the ultimate honor — she has composed piece of music to accompany “Shadows of a Dream,” Jareth’s Lament. There is no “official” music for this song– only the Jim Henson Company has the rights to orchestrate that — but for now, this is a beautiful piece that captures the heartbreak perfectly. Thank you so much for sharing, Sierra!

There’s a new feature on the Gobblin.net homepage — polls! The first poll launches today. It’s over there on the sidebar, just below the tag cloud–you can’t miss it! We’ll start with a pretty straight forward one:

“Which Return to Labyrinth chareter would you want by your side when trying to solve the Labyrinth?”

It’s a popularity contest…with a twist. Feel free to talk about why you picked who you picked in the comments below this post.  For those of you waiting for answers on the Q&A, I’ll start answering tomorrow.  Cheers!

China Miéville is one of those writers, like Neil Gaiman, whose can string together words like an Istari wields magic — that is, with the skill of a demigod. I’ve only seen the smooth-headed scribe once, at Comic-con five or six years ago, before he had become a fantasy fiction sex symbol, and when this fresh-faced brit handed me a free copy of Perdido Street Station , I almost wrote it off as another piece of unsolicited swag to toss in the bin back at the hotel. Thank goodness I didn’t follow that impulse, as that novel was a revelation! Very good stuff for fans of weird and urban fantasy (albeit decidedly more mature than Labyrinth).

Anyway, today sees the release of his newest book – The City & The City (which is my next Kindle download, unless I can score a library copy –didn’t plan ahead…). Timed with this release, Mieville discusses the crime novel genre at John Scalzi’s Whatever blog. It’s absolutely a must read for fans of mystery and fantasy or anyone who likes hearing brilliant writers talk about their craft. Here’s an exerpt:

…detective novels are not novels of detection, still less of revelation, still less of solution. Those are all necessary, but not only are they insufficient, but they are in certain ways regrettable. These are novels of potentiality. Quantum narratives. Their power isn’t in their final acts, but in the profusion of superpositions before them, the could-bes, what-ifs and never-knows. Until that final chapter, each of those is as real and true as all the others, jostling realities all dreamed up by the crime, none trapped in vulgar facticity. That’s why the most important sentence in a murder mystery isn’t the one starting ‘The murderer is…’ – which no matter how necessary and fabulously executed is an act of unspeakable narrative winnowing – but is the snarled expostulation halfway through: ‘Everyone’s a suspect.’ Quite. When all those suspects become one certainty, it’s a collapse, and a let-down. How can it not be? We’ve been banished from an Eden of oscillation.

Oh, you Brit writers of the fantastic with your haunting eyes, fancy jewelry and abilty to sum up genres in a perfect paragraph.

Let’s try something new on gobblin.net. There’s been a lot of intense discussions going on over the past two weeks concerning the mysteries of Return to Labyrinth, and as I don’t want to spoil the secrets or write off red herrings, I’m loathe to participate much. Maybe you have a Return to Labyrinth question or two of a less spoilery nature, a question about the writing process, or a question completely unrelated to all things goblinesque. Now’s your chance to ask!

Leave any questions you’d like to ask me in the column below and I’ll start answering them in a new blog post in a few days. Please do not use this post as a place for discussion — save that for the answer column. Even if another person’s questions seems obvious to you, don’t worry — i’ll try to answer in an interesting way. And for now, please try to limit your questions to one or two per person. If this goes well, we can always have a round 2!

-Jake

The New York Times released their list of best-selling comics for the past week and Return to Labyrinth comes in at #4 on the manga list, topped only by Naruto (which is like the Harry Potter of manga). Incredible! From scrappy underdog with legs to best-seller in just three volumes. Thanks so much for supporting the series, everyone.

Let’s celebrate!

It’s been a while since I posted anything LEGO related, but after seeing this mechanized imaginarium, I just had to share. Bear in mind that the following video clip is entirely automated with LEGO Mindstorm pieces, so its not only a triumph of imagination, but a wonder of robotics as well!

Everything is perfect down to the details in the curtain and stage construction, to the movement of the waves. It also reminds me of the theater scene in Terry Gilliam’s Munchausen, as well as the little bits he’s teased of The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. You readers have seen this teaser, right? This film looks like a real treasure — the perfect antedote to all the splosions of summer. I can’t wait!

In today’s New York Times, there’s an interesting article on e-reading consumers resistance to books priced above the $9.99 standard price point that Amazon has established. What surpised me is that in the case of new releases otherwise only in hardcover, Amazon is paying the same $13 price to publishers and is selling at a lost to encourage people to pick up readers. The idea of a $9.99 e-book, at least for new releaes, is NOT something publishers seem keen on:

“The concept that because a book is an e-book it should automatically be priced significantly lower than a paper book is one we don’t agree with,” said Carolyn Reidy, chief executive of Simon & Schuster. “What a consumer is buying is the content, not necessarily the format.”

As a Kindle 2 owner, I confess that I balk a little when I see books priced above $9.99. Even that price seems high at times, as when buying a 150 page YA book that retails for half the cost of a standard hardcover. As a writer, however, the arguments against cheap e-books are all too compelling. After all, only 12.5% of a book’s cost goes into manufacturing the physical goods and distributing it. The rest goes into paying the writer, editors, marketing staff and the general overhead for keeping the publishing engine running. 

Certainly much of that engine can run more efficiently in a digital age, whether its writers handling much of their own PR, or reforming the wasteful system of returns that sends countless books to landfills or shifts them between warehouses.

But putting aside the actual costs of producing a book, there is still the intangible concept of “value” that publishers can’t control. A book placed on a shelf is a form of self-expression; an e-book on a kindle is private. A book can be gifted, shared or sold; an e-book is a one-time license. Even if 99% of books are only read once (if that) by the original purchaser (I’m pulling that number out of my ass, but who knows, maybe i’ts close to accurate), that perception of value is hard to let go of.

This concept of persistant value isn’t just a monetary thing, either. A physical book will generally stay in print for as long as it is viable to keep up the costs of manufacturing and destributing to demand. When books lose their audience and fall out of print, they become scarce. Old books, even if demand is low, become “rare.” Each object has its own history. There’s no reason for rare e-books to exist. There’s no reason for e-books to go out of print! In this reality, every book has equal permanance. At the same time, the quality bar for what constitutes a thing worth of permanence is thrown out the window. This is a good thing! It is wonderful that forgotten authors can be rediscovered, reanalyzed and even remixed (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, anyone?) 

A year or two from now, I’ll probably have enough blog posts to fill a book or two. That content is free now, and theoretically will remain free and accessible for perpetuity (yikes, that’s scary when you think about it). In recent years, blogs migrating to print has been a lucrative publishing niche, whether it be dooce doing a biograpy, stuffwhitepeoplelike, or any number of webcomics turning traffic into print advance. What happens in a reading reality where ebooks are the norm? Let’s say I’m an aspiring genre author and I want to get some advice from a veteran.I could pay $10 for Stephen King’s On Writing, or read old blog entries by John Scalzi.  Right now, King’s book is a self-contained unit of some 200 pages that isn’t likely to fall out of print physically or digitally anytime soon. Scalzi’s articles, however, have the benefit of a back-and-forth report with readers and the Z-axis of time to give them added value. I wonder, how would someone with no prior prejudice for print over digital equate the value of those works, and what will that mean for the future of publishing? It doesn’t seem that far-fetched to have blog archives (perhaps edited an annotated) start appearing alongside traditional “books.” 

The obvious answer to all these questions most likely involves a tiered system. Whether the value is placed on time (read it first!), depth (read it ALL, ie bonus features), merit (read the BEST), duration (read it once or read it forever), or more likely, a combination of the above, will probably shake out in the next few years. It will also be interesting to see how much pricing and tier flexibility there will be. 

In the meantime, I just have to believe that working as a writer, refining my craft and coming up with new stories that (hopefully) people will want to read, will continue to be a viable career… at least for the next 30 years. After that, it’s somebody else’s problem.

A year or two before starting Return to Labyrinth, I wrote the first couple chapters of a Labyrinth sequel novel, purely with no intent to do anything with it. This secret fan fic also starred Toby Williams, but in this version, he was only about 7 years old and living with Sarah (who was a grad student) after his parents died in a plane crash or some other tragedy. In this version, Sarah was having a hard time balancing being a single mother with pursuing her dreams. Goblins started stealing Toby’s toys and eventually tricked the boy into entering the Labyrinth. Presumably Sarah would have followed and many fantastic adventures would have ensued; I never got past the toy stealing.

In retrospect, I can see the foundation for a good story in that aborted fan fic with the Labyrinth offering a fantasy metaphor for dealing with loss and rebuilding family. At the time, I was still too easily distracted by “wouldn’t it be cool if…!” and was completely blind to the meaty human potential. So in 2005, when the opportunity came to pitch an original manga-style sequel to Labyrinth, the only aspect of my earlier scribblings to be preserved was having Toby as the protagonist.

The ch-ch-changes to story and character didn’t stop there, however. With each volume, I would guess that 50% of what I originally envisioned for the next volume stays more or less in tact with the other 50% emerging in the process, whether due to serendipitous discoveries in reviewing what came before (yes, even I get surprised by reading the finished books!), critical choices about how better to serve a character’s development, or based on feedback from the Jim Henson company.

As most of the changes are driven by character development, I find that the “unplanned” 50% ends up informing the next volume more than the originally drafted half. The events in volume 3 (and especially volume 4! Like that scene where…) are a far cry from the events at the end of my first series outline. At the same time, however, I think Toby is becoming more Toby-y, Moppet more Moppet-y and everyone else is more themselves than they ever were in the beginning. As RtL is the longest project I’ve ever been involved with creating, I don’t know how common this process is (versus a stricter adherence to an original outline) but I certainly enjoy working this way.

The waiting is over, Return to Labyrinth volume 3 is out, and thanks to all of you, it appears to be quite a hit! For most of the week, RtL3 has been the #1 manga release on amazon.com (it’s neck and neck with the latest Fullmetal Alchemist). It’s so exciting, gratifying and humbling to see this series growing in readership with each volume. It was the great feedback for volume 2 that allowed the series to get a little extra breathing room with four volumes instead of three. Thank you so much, gobblin readers and the anonymous other readers who have kept this series alive and thriving! It is your feedback and support that push me to be a better writer. I couldn’t do it without you!

I also want to thank you all for keeping the series alive between releases, with your videos, artwork, fan fics, costumes and avatars. Hopefully volume 3 has enough new dramatic and visual hooks to inspire more creativity from the Labyrinth community. The Labyrinth film is such a wonderful celebration of creativity — thanks for keeping that dream alive!

Until next time,

Your Humble Gobblin Scribe