Here you are, patient readers – the final goblinology reports from the 38 fabulous entries I received last week. Once again, I wish I could have sent everyone who entered a signed book, but alas, as I’m sure my peers in the goblinology trade know, to dedicate one’s life to the cataloging of goblins (or Faeries, if you’ve got the stomach for the vermin) is to embrace a life of modest means. The satisfaction of a job well done is all we ask! Well, that and the occasional flask of owl wine.

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It’s time for a fresh batch of Goblinology results. In case you mentioned the previous installments, here is the initial challenge, here are the top-five and here is the first bunch of runners up. Once again, I’m tickled by the talent on display by these amateur goblinologists. Distilling a creature’s name and history from a single picture is no small task, but these entries have done just that, each with its own unique flair.

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When I put out the call for Goblinologists, 38 experts answered. While, regrettably, only five could receive prizes, it would be a travesty if I kept this creative treasure trove to myself. So here is the first batch of runners up. Thank you so much for entering, everyone. Sirs Jones & Froud would be proud.

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Thirty-eight people entered the Goblinology contest and with so much creativity and whimsy on display, picking five wasn’t easy. No two names were alike, and only a couple of jobs were similar. Just about the only thing these entries had in common is that they were all VERY SILLY! Which is perfect, as any Goblinologist can tell you that silly is every goblin’s middle name (how it is that not one of these 38 otherwise meticulous goblinologists got that middle name right is beyond me). I wish I could send a copy of volume 4 to everyone who entered, but in the end, these are the five I selected. Read more…

It’s happening. The final volume of Return to Labyrinth is now on sale in bookstores around the country. Amazon orders shipped yesterday and comics retailers will have their stock out tomorrow with the rest of the new graphic novels. I’m sure many of you have already picked up a copy and are itching to talk about. Next week I’ll turn gobblin.net into a place to discuss, debate, and dissect Vol. 4 and the series as a whole. I’ll be happy to answer questions. This week, while the book trickles out to readers, I would like to keep gobblin.net a spoiler-free zone.

For those of you who are champing for a chance to chomp the newest book but for whatever reason can’t get a hold of a copy this week, there is one way you can score a free copy. I will send out 5 signed copies of return to Labyrinth this Friday, and all you have to do to win a copy is help me out with a little Goblinology.

What exactly is Goblinology? Well, it’s highly-scientific, that goes without saying! Basically, Goblinologists are experts and observing goblins and deducing their name, occupation and life story without ever touching, conversing with, folding, spindling or mutilating the goblin subject. There are skeptics who call even the very best Goblinologists brazen fabulists, liars and curs, and they might be right. But just because a Goblinologists observations are in no way grounded in facts doesn’t mean they can’t be true.

Anyway, to win one of FIVE SIGNED COPIES OF RETURN TO LABYRINTH VOLUME 4, all you have to do is come up with a name, occupation and other bit of lore for this yet unclassified gobblin specimen.

Is he a blacksmith? A florist? A dentist? Did he commit any grievous atrocities or is he a hero of the people? I haven’t a clue, but I’ll know it when I see it. After all, in Goblinology, there are no right or wrong answers — just various shades of truishness.

Send your goblin name and a brief goblin bio of this mystery specimen (no more than 200 words, please!) to gobblincontest [at] gmail [dot] com by Saturday 8/7, midnight PST. I’ll pick 5 of my favorite responses and send those lucky Goblinologists a signed book (and if you’re lucky, a Jareth sketch too!).

Feel free to post questions about the contest in the comments, but remember — only descriptions received by email will be considered.

Oh, what a mess! While Skub was busy tending to the seating arrangements for his fickle guests, his fabulous three-course meal was burned to a crisp! In a panic, Skub turned to the Great Goblin Directory to find a source for takeout…

“Thank you for calling Ralph and Alph’s Gourmet To Go! Can we help you?”

“Oh, I hope so! Skub is in a pickle! I need a three course meal, lickety split! Can you do it?”

“Three courses, hm? Well, we’ll have to bring in our cousin, Gandalph, but yes, we can oblige!”

Fifteen minutes later, the promised delivery showed up at Skub’s door. There was something funny about the order, though. For each course, there were three large platters – one each in Gold, Silver and Bronze. Skub asked the delivery man why.

“Oh, that’s because for each course, only one platter is safe while the other two are poisoned.”

“Poison?! As much as Skub wishes his unpleasant guests would go away, I cannot poison them! This won’t do at all!”

“In that case,” the delivery goblin said, “you’ll have to figure out which one is safe by reading the notes attached to each platter.”

“Phew!” Skub gave a sigh of relie—

“Before you give a sigh of relief,” the messenger interrupted, “ I should warn you that between the chefs, one of them always lies, one of them always tells the truth and one of them can lie or tell the truth on a whim.”

“This is impossible!” Skub exclaimed. “My guests will surely die grisly deaths.”

“Don’t give up just yet!” the messenger said. “All of the notes on a given color tray come from the same chef. Perhaps if you study all the notes, you can figure out who’s who?”

“Hmm….” Skub pondered. “That sounds pretty tricky, but Skub knows just who to ask for help!”

So, Riddle Club members, based on the notes provided, can you help Skub figure out which color platter to serve at each course?

Soup Course

• Gold – This dish is poison.
• Silver – Gold is poison.
• Bronze — The other two dishes are poison.

Main Course

• Gold – This dish isn’t poison.
• Silver – If my dish is poison, then it won’t be in the next course.
• Bronze — This dish isn’t poison.

Desert Course

• Gold –This dish isn’t poison.
• Silver – Bronze isn’t poison.
• Bronze – Any dishes that were safe in the last course are safe again.

Comments and solution revealed on Monday. No prizes this time, but I hope you enjoy the puzzle!

Skub would like to extend his gratitude to everyone who helped him solve his seating conundrum. Thanks to your help, the dinner party started out without a hitch! Next, Skub needs a little assistance figuring out the menu, so tune in Wednesday for the next Riddle Club Puzzle!

There were 40 responses to last week’s puzzl, 37 of which had the correct seating arrangement. So what are those answers? Let’s figure it out together!

Lord Wumples (A) must be at the head or the foot of the table, so either 1 or 6.

Count of Crumbs (C) must be seated at an even numbered seat and the Lady Vampoozle (E), at a seat number twice his, which means that he must either be in seat 2 or 4 and she seat 4 or 8. Keep in mind that the Countess (B) will be sitting next to her husband.

Meanwhile, Duchess Wellingud (J) must sit at a corner seat and have a seat number higher than her husband (I), which means she must be seated in seat 10, 7 or 5. Also, her best friend, Mistress Bloach (G), will be sitting between the Duke and Duchess, so you can keep these three lumped as one unit while whittling things down.

Now Baron Chuff (D) must be “flanked by ladies,” of which there are 4. Mistress Bloach is wedged between her friends, the Duke and the Duchess, so really there are only 3 possibilities – the Countess, Lady Vampoozle and the Duchess.  Going back to the Count, if he must be in 2 or 4, then his wife must be in 1, 3 or 5. With the Lady in 4 or 8, that means it’s impossible for the Baron to be flanked by both of them, which means that he must have the Duchess on one side and either the Countess or the Lady on the other. Which means the string of DJGI is locked down. Since seat 4 must either be the Count or the Lady, J cannot sit at seat 5, which means she’s in seat 10 or 7.

There are two scenarios in which the above criteria still work, but if you look at them in light of the final two clues, which say that  Prince Pipsquip (F) can’t sit next to Vampoozle, Rotterdung or the Wellinguds and that Rotterdung (H) must sit as far from Duke Wellingud as possible, only one arrangement holds up:

1-G, 2-I, 3-B, 4-C, 5-F, 6-A, 7-H, 8-E, 9-D, 10-J

To select the prize winners from the 37 valid entries, I used random.org to generate 4 TRUE random numbers and counted down the list accordingly. And so, this month’s winners are:

• Grand Prize: Kendra Nunez
• Runners Up: Amy Sia Watson, Alexis K AufderHeide, Samantha Paul

Congratulations to the lucky winner, and to everyone else, thanks for entering and keep on riddling! Not every Riddle Club puzzle will have prizes, but we’ll definitely be doing prizes again soon.

Welcome, one and all, to Skub’s Riddle Club – your weekly source for riddles, puzzles and games from the Goblin Kingdom. This week Skub has a doozie of a puzzle, so as an incentive to work your way to the solution, we’re giving away PRIZES! Yup. Here’s what we’ve got:

• Grand Prize – A signed set of Return to Labyrinth volumes 1-3, + 3 bonus volume of manga from Tokyopop.
• Runners up (x3) — A volume of Return to Labyrinth + 1 bonus volume of manga from Tokyopop.

So without further ado, here’s this week’s puzzle! Read more…

What’s wrong with this picture?! Someone’s been tinkering with this portrait of Mizumi and her girls. How many differences can you spot?

And for reference, here’s the original un-tampered with cover:

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While searching the Labyrinth for clues about Return to Labyrinth Volume 4, a young wizard came across two goblin guards.

“We know the title of Chapter 2,” one said.

“Aye, but we can’t tell you!” said the other.

The young wizard was ever so disappointed by this news, but knowing that goblins have a weakness for riddles, he said, “don’t tell me the title, clever sirs, but perhaps you can come up with clues that I might use to find it for myself!”

“Very well!” The guards both said, and these were the clues they offered:

• There are three times as many syllables in chapter 2’s title as there are words.
• The first letter occurs twice.
• The title uses each vowel (a, e, i,o, u) exactly once.
• Chapter 1’s title has two more vowels than chapter 2’s.
• A “devil” of sorts hides in the middle of the word.
• The chapter title is a prominent character’s name.
• Only one of these clues is a lie.
• The highest letter of the alphabet found in the title occurs last.
• No two vowels appear next to each other.
• Jareth’s name  shares 3 letters with the title while Spittledrum’s shares 8.
• Toby, Hana and Skub each share 1 letter with the title.
• The other guy was lying. Three of the statements above are lies.

Clues and explanation below the jump, answer in the comments. So if you’re here to solve the puzzle fresh, don’t go any further yet!

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