Return to Labyrinth Volume 1 (v. 1) by Jake T. Forbes, Chris Lie
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Book Reviews of Return to Labyrinth Volume 1 (v. 1)
Book Review: For Labyrinth Fans
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm a huge fan of Labyrinth, and I have to say that I was disappointed in this first volume. The art is sub-par compared to Japanese manga. The story is ok and involves a lot of set up. Although this volume isn't great, it's worth reading because volume 2 goes on to be great. You just have to get through this one.Book Review: Return to Labyrinth is Lacking
Summary: 2 Stars
The reason why Labyrinth has become a cult film classic has everything to do with the Sarah/Jareth romantic tension that existed in the film and pretty much nothing to do with Toby. Anybody who loved the film, loved it for that tension, so you'd think that it would make sense to create a product that plays on that--after all, the only people buying this are going to be the ones who loved the film, and like I said, we only liked the film because of, that's right, Sarah and Jareth. Like any television show with some kind of romantic tension or love triangle, you come back each week because you're waiting for the moment when the unrequited love becomes, well, requited.
So, when you create a story that not only animates Sarah to look nothing like the beauty we saw in the film but something that resembles a geeky teenage boy, but also seems to leave little hope that our lead characters will ever get together, you have not appealed to your audience.
Don't get me wrong here--I don't have a problem with Toby being a character in this story. He can even be a lead character. But he should not have been the main character. The story has always been about Sarah and Jareth and to switch it around on us is a mockery to the film and those who appreciated it. When the very substance of the lead characters have been so dramatically changed, you can no longer judge this story as a sequel to the original story but need to look at it as something completely different all together in order to give it a positive review.
Bottom line: if you're looking for that moment when Sarah decides to be queen of the goblin city after all, don't get your hopes up too high. It's looking like Jareth's love is not even unrequited anymore--it's nonexistent.
Book Review: I felt like I was reading a fanfic
Summary: 2 Stars
'Labyrinth' is one of my favorite movies of all time. I absolutely loved it as a kid and I love it even more as an adult. When I heard there was going to be a Labyrinth manga/sequal, I was extremely pleased.
Even when I found out Toby was the main character, I was upset but still sucked it up and gave it a shot. Let me just say I'm glad I read this at the store and didn't buy it right away. This was such a disappointment to me. Not only is Sarah not even a main character, she's barely a background character. She might as well not be there at all. And she's drawn extremely unflattering, given how beautiful Jennifer Connelly is and was. To me, seeing her drawn in in such a manner reflects the artist's personal feelings towards Sarah's character, which is obviously with some disdain.
And I don't understand what exactly Jareth's fixation on Toby is. In the original Labyrinth he only paid him attention because 1. he got bored a lot, and 2. Sarah wished him away. Without Sarah there he probably wouldn't have even recognized Toby's existence; hell, in this volume he barely recognizes SARAH'S existence!
I dunno, this just rubbed me the wrong way. Sure it's practical that Sarah grew up, but the ending of Labyrinth showed she would NEVER be without her friends from the Underground. And yet here she acts like none of that even happened and she doesn't care.
This really did feel like a fanfic for me. I didn't feel any of the magic of the movie; I felt nothing but dicontent when I was finished. If you're a diehard fan of Labyrinth, I guess you could give this a shot. But believe me, I've read better fanfiction than this.
Book Review: What a dissapointment...
Summary: 2 Stars
Ok, first off, I can say that I was really willing to like this book. I love manga and all its ilk, and I love (love love love) the movie Labyrinth. I saw the cover to this book, and it was like magic! All the speculation about what was going to come next, all the questions, they'd all be answered!
Or not, as it turns out.
The story is about Toby, the little brother Sarah wished away in the movie, who has grown up and become a stupid spoiled brat. Jareth has been watching over him his whole life, seeing to it that he's gotten every thing that he's ever wanted. Then, abruptly, Toby is whisked into the Labyrinth... confronting his demons... learning about himself... blah blah blah. Frankly, you'll find better plots in internet fanfiction. This isn't sarcasm. The dialogue, the characters, the story itself is uninspired and flat. it's a totally different beast than the insane magic of the movie.
Maybe all this would be alright if the artwork was at least attracive. But it isn't. Despite the beautifully rendered cover drawing, the inside pages are covered with awkwardly drawn, spiky, and lifeless images. You'd think the Labyrinth would be an illustrator's dream, since it's a fantasy. It seems like an artist's imagination could run wild with such a canvas.
Well, apparently not.
So, all in all, I can only regard this book as something unrelated to the movie. Because I'm too much of a fan to let something like this ruin the original for me.
Book Review: It's only forever, not long at all...
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this book when I was on vacation last summer, and I liked it at first. But then I set it down for a while and a disdain for it crept into my mind.
I do not like how they portray Jareth at all. So many people have given it such wonderful reviews, but I'm afraid that they don't realize that Jareth comes off as a bit of a weirdo in this. Harmless? Eh...
And I think that Toby would be just a bit more suspicious of the whole ordeal he's being put through, rather than being so trusting. I don't think Toby is *that* much of a "I don't fit in" type that he'd leap when Jareth suggested that he belonged in the labyrinth.
And I thought that putting in a "mayor" of Goblin City did not fit at all. There is a KING in that city! What do you need a mayor for? They both seem to fulfill the same role anyway, and I doubt that Jareth is so lazy that he'd make someone else rule his kingdom for him...
I don't know. All I do know is that the book isn't worth the paper its printed on, in my opinion. The storyline seems kind of thrown together, to me as a writer, and the actual art of this "manga" could use a lot of work. >__>
Methinks that those who decided to make this needed to take more time to flesh out everything more. It never hurts.
And the only reason I gave this two stars was because Jareth is pretty on the cover...(Which is also the only reason I have not gotten rid of my copy...</3)