Jim Henson's Return to Labyrinth #1 by Jake T. Forbes and Chris Lie

First published in 2006.

The Goblin King has kept a watchful eye on Toby: his minions secretly guiding and protecting the child . . .

Legions of goblins work behind the scenes to ensure that Toby has whatever his heart desires . . .

Preparing him for the day when he will return to the Labyrinth and take his rightful place beside Jareth as the heir to the Goblin Kingdom . . .

That day has come . . .

. . . but no one has told Toby. (book back blurb)

The only reason I had to read this book was because it's the sanctioned sequel to the movie Labyrinth (dear god, may Hollywood be smart enough to NEVER touch that one). Yeah, it's manga. Not my favorite thing. Angular people freak me out. But it's Labyrinth so try it I must. Please keep in mind this is only the second manga I've read. The first being James Patterson's Maximum Ride which I wasn't fond of at all.

But this one? This one I liked. A lot. The drawings weren't so crazy angular, there wasn't any of that weird movement-as-words thing going on like there was in Maximum Ride. Basically this didn't come off as a rushed, scribbled piece of work. What was already established world looked a lot like it did in the movie, which I really liked. It makes me think that Labyrinth is still alive.

I'm not sure what they did with Sarah because she's a bit mannish. Maybe she's gone mousy. But from what I understand she plays a bigger role in the rest of the books so we'll wait and see. Jareth was a bit too feminine. I get he was a little effeminate in the movie (he wore way too much blue eye shadow not to be) but in here he just looked like a chick, period. Especially when he was in his principal's uniform. It was a little weird.

I wasn't too fond of the way Toby got into the Labyrinth. I felt it was a little too young for his character. He's supposed to be something like 16 and he chased a goblin because it stole his homework? Weird. But overall I liked where the plot was going and I want to know more about Moppet. It's nice that I can actually get all of the story from a manga; that I get what's going in, the pictures compliment the plot instead of override it and it all works together.

Ultimately I like being able to see what's beyond the Labyrinth and Jareth's throne room. There's a greater world here and this book delves into that, which is awesome. If you're a fan of Labyrinth, then you're definitely going to want to add these to your collection. I liked this first one so much that I immediately bought the other three. I can't wait to get to them! I still wish it was in a novelization because I would have liked it to have been more in depth but I'll take this. The visuals work, the story works and I like where it's going. What more do I need?