Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Masquerade #1

Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Masquerade #1

Archia/BOOM! Studios 2020

Written by Laura Elena Donnelly

Illustrated by Pius Bak, Samantha Dodge & French Carlomagno

Coloured by Francesco Segala & Fabiana Mascolo

Lettered by Jim Campbell

All is not as it seems with the guests of Jareth's famous Masquerade, as one participant slowly awakens to the reality of her topsy-turvy existence in the Goblin Kingdom when Sarah shatters the glass mirrors during her escape. But as this mysterious participant puts together the pieces, her discoveries threaten to unravel everything!

Well this is the franchise that just keeps on giving and giving. There are so many aspects to the beloved world that Jim created that have yet to be fully explored. I like the idea of this story and even more it’s execution as we see the unlikeliest of allies dare I say become friends. It is something that is both terrifying and sweet all at once and it isn’t that this is overtly horrifying but it is more how the reader is going to perceive that which is being told. There is power in words we’ve all known this our entire lives, including names as they have the most power of all. Still perception is everything and I have to say that the way we see this story unfold is utterly marvellous.

I am enjoying the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented extremely well. I like how we are introduced to the characters in this story and how the whole plot plays out before our eyes. How we see the book being structured as well as the layers within playing their parts it is a huge in our enjoyment of it. The character development that we see is interesting and it really is done in such a way that really intrigues the reader and makes them want to see more of them. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists & turns along the way we are delighted by this unique look as if we’d gone through the looking glass. I am also really enjoying seeing how everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow which pulls you in and makes you forget how this is an oversized book.

The interiors here are nice. They have this all-ages kind of feel to it and the linework that we see is laid down extremely well through its varying weights. The creativity and imagination that we see as we go from workshop to ball to outside and all the creatures and beings that inhabit it are beautifully rendered. The way that we see backgrounds throughout and how they act to enhance the moments and bring us that mood, tone and feel to the story at just the right moment is magnificent. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a beautiful eye for storytelling. The colour work is really lovely as well. How we see the hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is rendered beautifully. Beautiful comes up here a lot and deservedly so because the work has this almost fairy tale feel to it and there are few descriptors that accurately match as that does.

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I want to see more, I want to learn more about the young lady with the chair who smashed the mirrors. I want to see more of this woman with multiple arms who tried to take Nettie under her wing as she woke. There is so much here that is introduced and is utilised in such a way that leaves the door open for further exploration and depending on what the readers’ ask for who knows what we’ll get. All I know is franchises such as this will never die or go out of fashion it encompasses everything we want to see more of in such a gorgeous fantasy setting.