This last week, first time visitor Arianna asked if she was the only who felt sorry for Mizumi. Certainly the Queen of Cups hasn’t been the most benign figure since showing up in the Labyrinth, but her history with Jareth, as seen in a couple of flashbacks, definitely suggests that the Goblin King might have had a little bit of wrath coming to him. Arianna, you’re not alone — I have a soft spot for her as well!

I didn’t have Mizumi’s origin story completely worked out when writing volume 1.By the time volume 2 came out, I knew the story, but only hinted at it in that particular volume. When Tokyopop was slated to do a Labyrinth anthology, my planned contribution was going to be that story — of how Mizumi met Jareth and how their relationship came to an end. Well, that anthology disappeared into the aether, so when it came time to write the script for volume 4, this was my last chance to make sure the story was told. And the more that I thought about it, the more that it needed to be told in the book proper and not as an extra down the line, as that relationship says as much about what Jareth sees in Sarah as it says about the adversary in this series. Anyway, that scene went through several revisions and trims (as it wasn’t originally in the outline for this volume, which still went a few pages over my limit!). I’m glad this scene made it in, as it’s one of my very favorite in the entire series.

Okay, now that that setup is out of the way, you can understand why I’m so excited about this week’s preview pic. This is the page that leads into Mizumi’s flashback. It’s actually part of a 2 page spread, but you’ll have to wait a bit to get the rest of the image. Thank you, Chris, for the gorgeous design! I love Mizumi’s new coat.

In Return to Labyrinth, as with many comics, the chapter title pages offer a chance for the artist to break free from the narrative constraints, panels and balloons of the story pages and let the art sing. A while back, I previewed the Chapter 1 title page (Rough and Inked). This week’s preview art is the title page for chapter 2, Palimpsest (the title of which was revealed via word game… maybe I should do the same for chapter 3? Thoughts?) This picture doesn’t shed much light on the events of the chapter (although one cannot deny that light is shed in this pic). If we knew what the goblin scrivener was reading… perhaps it’s the script for the chapter to follow? After all, I’ve been known to draft my scripts on continuous, unbroken scrolls.

UPDATE:

In the comments, someone questioned how it is that goblins are suddenly reading scrolls left and right. Well, the truth is, they aren’t. Spittledrum and the Librarian of Prophecies can read at the 8th grade level, making them the most educated goblins in the Labyrinth. A few goblins, like Skub, can read/write at about the 1st grade level. This particular goblin can’t actually read or write, but he is quite fond of examining documents in the hopes of finding crumbs or bits of jam that might have stuck to the pages.

This week’s preview page is a sketch from chapter 3 featuring a gaggle of goblins in the mess hall. One of my favorite things about watching the series reach is conclusion is seeing the ensemble cast of goblin characters come together. Even in this rough state, I can recognize 9 named goblins from the last three volumes. I’m especially happy to see the hyperbolically named Thousand Horned Horlack return, as I think he’s probably the most distinctly Muppet-like character in the series. It’s easy to imagine him hanging out with Grover and Cookie Monster, enjoying a plate of snickerdoodles (or a Tuber Medley with blue sauce if they should dine at Skub’s rather than Sesame Street).

Next week’s preview — a look at the the Chapter 2 title page!

When we last saw Esker, the muscle of the Moraine Kingdom, he had just been sent by Mizumi to hunt down and eliminate Moppet. This image of Esker comes from very early in the book during his hunt. The heavy lines and sinewy body are in sharp contrast to the way most of the Labyrinth cast are depicted. There’s something almost Mike Allred-y about this panel, and I love it. Nice work, Chris!

A while back Chris shared a sketchbook pinup of “Young Jareth.” Now Chris has finished drawing the chapter in which this version of the Goblin King features prominently. Here’s a peek!

Sometime soon I’ll do a count of how many pages feature Jareth in this volume. I have a hunch that it’s more than the previous three volumes combined.

Of all the characters in Return to Labyrinth, Skub just might be my favorite. In every volume he gets a whimsical moment or two that brings a smile to my face, and I hope that trend will continue this August. In the last volume, Skub got a chance to stand in the spotlight with half a chapter dedicated to his backstory. The little fellow had a pretty tough life, that’s for sure, but somehow, through it all, he manges to end the volume with a positive outlook.

Skub has a few key scenes in volume 4, but the speech he gives on this panel is definitely my favorite Skub moment of the series. As the series has evolved and the fate of the Labyrinth looks cloudy, Skub has stepped up to become the glue that holds the goblin factions together. While Skub is probably too humble to admit it, I think he’s becoming quite the hero.

Oh, one other behind-the-scenes insight about this rough thumbnail image. See those lines around the art? The inside line represents the safe are for text that will guarantee that nothing gets cut off. The middle line represents the intended edge of the page. The art that spills out to the third box makes sure that the artwork will “bleed” off the edge of the page when it’s printed and bound. Why draw more art than will show up in the finished book? Because as sophisticated as the printing process has become, when books pages are cut and bound, there’s about a 1/8″ margin of error. You never want to let text or important images fall into that danger zone or it could ruin the reading experience.

A new batch of artwork showed up in my inbox this morning and every piece blew me away. Chris Lie, you have grown so much! (I think we both have.) This image is my favorite one of all. I’m including the full page, inked and toned, because it really is a gorgeous layout — probably the best pics of Moppet yet to appear in the series — and it’s not really a spoiler.

A little context for this image, in this volume, dreams play a very large role. We saw in the movie what happened when Sarah ate Jareth’s peach; in this volume, as suggested on the last page of volume 3, we see what Moppet dreams. This what is revealed in this scene is key to why Moppet exists and why Sarah hasn’t been quite the same. It also features a character that I think many fans of the film will be very excited to see. You’ll have to wait to find out what Moppet dreams, but for now, please enjoy this amazing page!

When things get tough in the Labyrinth, who does Toby turn to next? Teen wizards! If anyone can stop Jareth’s plot, it’s Hogwarts grads. Okay, that’s not exactly what’s going on in this panel, but believe it or not, this is a piece of art from Return to Labyrinth volume 4. What does it have to do with the rest of the story? You’ll just have to wait, I’m afraid. Of course, you’re welcome to share your wild theories in the comments…

Update: As much as I enjoy the speculating, I figure I should probably point out that this panel has about as much to do with volume 4, as the Cheshire cat had to do with volume 3. -JF

In a very special chapter of Return to Labyrinth Volume 4, Hana learns to read! Or something like that. You’ll have to wait 7 months to find out what she’s reading.

And remember, angsty fairies aren’t the only ones who think reading is swell:

We’re now officially in 2010, the calendar year that Return to Labyrinth will come to an end! I’ve been a bit lax lately on Labyrinth themed posts for the past month, and for that I’m sorry, but now that the release is getting ever closer and more tangible I think it’s time to start getting back in the gobblin groove.

Before I start previewing all new art, I thought I’d revisit that first piece of Volume 4 art that was previewed back in August. That image was just a rough thumbnail — so rough that folks in the comments couldn’t tell what combination of Jareth/Toby/Sarah/Moppet we were seeing! In the months since, Chris has been cranking through many more thumbnails, detailed pencil pages, and now his team is already starting to ink. So here you have it again, the very first chapter splash page from Return to Labyrinth volume 4. The chapter is called “Oubliette,” which, as Hoggle pointed out, is where you put people to forget about them. Yes, there is a literal oubliette in this chapter, but the word resonates in this chapter in other ways too. More on that later. For now, enjoy this stunning piece of art!