Return to Labyrinth by Jake T. Forbes

This week marks the 30th anniversary of the theatrical release of Jim Henson's Labyrinth, so what better time to experience the manga sequel Return to Labyrinth. It was published by Tokyopop as four volumes between 2006 and 2010, written by Jake T. Forbes, and illustrated by Chris Lie.

In the movie, Sarah Williams had to rescue her infant brother Toby from the Goblin King, Jareth. Over a decade later, Toby becomes the main character, and neither he nor Sarah seem to remember that they've been to the Labyrinth before. Jareth lures Toby into coming back to the otherworldly maze by having a goblin steal his homework, and reveals that he wants Toby to succeed him as King and save the Labyrinth from falling apart. At first, Toby and Jareth are the only returning characters from the film, but they're eventually joined by some familiar faces, as well as new characters.

The main antagonist is a sorceress and queen of a nearby land named Mizumi, who has been wanting to take control of Jareth and his labyrinth ever since he spurned her advances. She creates for him an "ablation" named Moppet, who is servant to Mayor Spittledrum and whose true nature is revealed later on. Mizumi is assisted by her daughters Moulin and Drumlin as well as demons comprised of water, and she fulfills the task of teaching magic to Toby before his coronation as King.

Toby's new friends include a wingless fairy called Hana, her companion Stank, and a goblin named Skub who reminded me of Dobby the house elf who helps Harry Potter. The characters that fans of the movie will recognize include Sir Didymus and Hoggle, as well as (spoiler alert) the return of Toby's heroic but forgetful sister Sarah.

This story was originally planned to be told in three volumes but halfway through the writing process it was expanded to four to give things more room to breathe. I was impressed when I learned this was the debut fiction writing that Forbes had done; up to that point he was an editor and adapter of other writers' manga. This is a worthy followup to a cult classic film, and Forbes couldn't resist dropping in references to other Jim Henson works. He also has Henson's sense of fantasy adventure storytelling mixed with humor; these goblins are big fans of puns. The story can still be understood if you've never seen the movie as there are a number of flashbacks showing what happened.

Usually at this point I'd direct you to the author's website, but he doesn't seem to have one. These books were also difficult to find in nearby libraries. If you're interested in purchasing the series, Amazon is probably the best bet.