Labyrinth: Masquerade is an example of the creativity of the team that carries the legacy that is Jim Henson. Despite the film being decades old, the ability to pull a previously unwritten story from within its pages is something to behold. This allows the original movie to flow unaltered while giving us a broader look at a world/universe that still has many tales to tell.
Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Masquerade
Written by: Lara Elena Donnelly
Illustrated by: Pius Bak, Samantha Dodge and French Carlomagno
Colored by: Francesco Segala and Fabiana Mascolo
Lettered by: Jim Campbell
Although Jareth is introduced early and Sarah is seen in the films ballroom scene, this comic focuses on two new characters. Despite this, we don’t learn these individuals names until halfway through the issue. I think this emphasizes their previous position in the story, which incidentally is being changed by this story. Until this point, the goblin Schemer was just a servant of Jareth. Likewise, the young woman Nettie is just one of Jareth’s possessions. Having these two experience their own awakenings within a existing sandbox is a feat. Lara Elena Donnelly marvelously manages to incorporate elements from the film to keep this comic feeling familiar.
Artistically, this comic captures the varying styles and scenery that is the Labyrinth. Schemer’s dungeon workspace has a completely different look and feel than the junkyard where he grew up. The color blends used to illustrate the ballroom carried the same sense of surrealness that was in the movie. The moment Sarah smashes the glass excellently recreated.
Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Masquerade ends at what is a beginning. Not merely for Schemer or Nettie, but for so many given the revelations from this comic. There is no shortage of stories down in the underground.