It wasn’t so long ago that action figures, trading cards, plushies and posters were regular impulse buys on my trips to the comics shop or convention. Animation cels and special edition books, I ate them up too. Yup, I had the collecting bug pretty bad for a while there and if I hadn’t curbed the habit, I’d probably be broke and up to my neck in blister cards and boxes (True fact – I have box of unopened Star Trek: TNG action figures under my grandma’s house). There are still a few nerdy collectibles that I cherish, like my Sandman bookends and Harley Quinn production cel, but most of the rest of those collectibles I passed on to the next generation, donating to my cousins or other friends/family with kids. (I haven’t seen Toy Story 3 yet, but I have a feeling I’ll relate all too well).

Even though I’ve kicked the collecting habit, I still get a vicarious thrill looking at cool toys and treasures at stores and online, and ever since I started working on Return to Labyrinth, I’ve dreamed about seeing merch made for characters that I created. RtL as an intellectual property belongs entirely to the Jim Henson Company, so whether or not official merch is ever made is entirely up to them (and should it happen, I’d get no royalties anyway, but I’d still like to see it!). In the meantime, with the series ending, I wanted to do something special for my inner-collector to mark the occasion. In this era of etsy and blossoming DIY geekery, there’s no reason to let that stop me! And so I scoured the webs for an independent artist who could help make my dream a reality.

The artist I ended up working with is Jennifer Lin, aka Meowchee, a new but super-talented member of the Japanese-style plushie community (like those chibi stuffed dolls you see at the back of any anime/manga/otaku store). She has a blog and a deviantart page. Why did I pick her? Because of her amazing Jareth plushies, of course! She’s made him in several costumes, each more impressive than the last.

For my commission, I asked Jennifer to make Toby from the volume 2 cover and Moulin from the cover of volume 3. Moulin’s costume is pretty clearly presented on the cover, but for Toby, Jennifer had to do a fair amount of extrapolating, and I love what she did, adding a design based on Jareth’s amulet to the back of his vest. Moulin is definitely my favorite, with her adorable raincloud companion Nimbus and trusty book! (Both accessories feature magnets so that they’ll snap to moulin’s hands). I also asked for one of her “Magic Dance” Jareths. So cute!

These are one-of-a-kind commissions, so I’m afraid I can’t sell them to you, but I will have them at the booth at Comic-Con (Booth O-08 in the small press pavillion), so if you’ll be in San Diego next week, do stop by to give them a hug. Of course, you’re welcome (encouraged even!) to commission plushies of your own from Jennifer. Details and price estimates on her blog.

While I’m so excited to see and hold these pro-quality Return to Labyrinth dolls, I won’t be keeping them. They’re gifts for the wonderful folks that helped make Return to Labyrinth happen. And maybe, just maybe, someone will see them and decide to make some official merch.

UPDATE: Additional pics and commentator from the plushies’ creator at Jennifer’s blog.

One of my favorite things about working at Tokyopop back in the early days of Sailor Moon comics and SMILE magazine was the fan art. Since we published it in the magazines every month, people sent a LOT of it. Once a week or so, I’d go through the week’s fan mail and sort out the art, the inquiries needing response and the constructive criticism. We had a bulletin board in the kitchen where we’d pin up some of the fan art so everyone could see (I wonder if they still do that?). It’s so much fun to see the different takes on characters, the creativity that went into the designs, and the ability to share a tangible connection with your readers.

Anyway, occasionally a reader will send Return to Labyrinth fan art my way, so I wanted to share a few pics with gobblin readers.

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Last year, world-class cosplayer K-chan created an absolutely amazing costume modeled on Kouyu Shurei’s drawing of  Toby. I’ve been to quite a few conventions with a major cosplay presence over the years, but even if this wasn’t a series so close to my heart, I would be seriously impressed. Gorgeous work! She gave me permission to repost the photos here — I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

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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!

Frequent commenter and talented artist Aiijuin has had her work featured here before, but this time she’s really outdone herself with a new video that picks up the story of Return to Labyrinth right where volume 2 leaves off. How closely does her take adhere to the actual volume 3? Well, you’ll have to wait a month or two more for that, but regardless, her story stands on its own very well, with great bits of humor and most significantly, a reunion of Sarah and Jareth that I’m sure many of you will enjoy. Thanks, Aiijuin!

So yesterday saw the release of the Spore Creature Creator, a preview of the highly anticipated game that comes out this fall, and I had to give it a test drive. For those who haven’t been following the game, Spore is basically a life simulator that goes from the cellular to the interplanetary level. While hundreds of other nerds immediately flooded youtube with videos of phallic spore abominations, I decided to attempt to create something a little more… family-friendly. So here he is, everyone’s favorite monster, Ludo!

“Monsoon” over on the Muppet Central forums posted links to these machinima Labyrinth movies made with the Sims 2, and after watching, I just had to share…

This first version is like Labyrinth mixed with cosplay – Jareth with cat ears! I like the creator’s take on the ballroom scene.

Entry number two adds more plot… and goblins! And baby-tossing Jareth! My favorite Sarah of the three. In the comments someone says they created Hoggle and Ludo sims — time to pony up.

The final Machinima is the most polished of the three and focuses entirely on the Jareth/Sarah story. So well done! They nailed Jarerth’s eyebrows. And the ballroom looks superb.

You know you’ve made it when your words make it into a music video on youtube.

Seriously, though – It really is heartening to see Return to Labyrinth embraced by fans – so much that they’d intermingle it with the original film that we all love. Thanks, Smalls 3491!