RETURN TO LABYRINTH Manga My opinion

[alorindanya]

Unfortunately, it's not our choice. We, the fans, don't own the rights. It would have been nice, though, since the movie had virtually been out of circulation for so many years, for them to have consulted those of us who are truly devoted to the story and know what the fans actually accept as sequels (through fanfiction, which has a STRONG fan base for nearly a decade now) to know what the fans are wanting. The fans are the ones who are the consumers, the ones who would want to buy it.

I chose to buy it because I chose to support Labyrinth. Let them follow Toby, that's fine, but when they start messing with the established characters and start changing things from how they were presented in the movie, that's where the line should be drawn. SO FAR, that has not been done, and until it does, I will support it. (Yes, visually Sarah and Jareth might have been given tweaks, but that doesn't matter to me as much as characterization.)

 

[Laszlo]

It stinks, story and all. "supporting it" isn't a good idea.

I agree, but I supported it anyway. There are NEW Labyrinth products which are really good:

- The GOBLINS OF THE LABYRINTH reprint book (with very cool new stuff and better paper quality)

- and the PLAN B TOYS bust line. Thumbs up to these!

Oh and please don't buy that crappy Sir Didymus plus doll!

 

[crazed gonzo fa]

Well, thanks for the heads-up about this guys, you helped me save money. Though I do want to read it to see what I think of it.

 

[Infinity Sirius]

Alot of comics nowadays are cashing in on the manga import market, look at what they put on the back of the Return to Labyrinth Comic. "100% Authentic Manga." Speaking in technical terms, as I mentioned above, the term manga emcompasses all comics in Japan and in other countries. Over here it has gained the title to simply mean Japanese comics, which is the style Jim Henson Hour is taking about.

Yes, I agree that a lot of comics are copying "Japanese style" (notice the quotes) to make more money. This is what the Labyrinth manga is doing, but we also need to consider all the good manga has done for comics. Manga has introduced alternative drawing styles e.g. gothic inspired art, more bubbly "girl" oriented comics, etc. that before were commonly known as Underground comics because they did not fit into the mainstream Marvel and DC genres. (Yes there was Sandman, but that is an exception Maus, Astro City, and Will Esiner's work too). Now these art forms are more well known, because of manga, which was different when it became popular over the last decade. Now it's so commonplace we want to see new stuff too.

This takes me back to the Labyrinth comic. The artists are focusing on incorporating the manga perspective of the industry to make money (probably also why they brought in an Asian artist to do the cover other than the regular artist). Truth be told, I don't feel like the artist's work is the right vein for Labyrinth. If they had had the same person who did the cover I might be more open. It doesn't have much of a fantastic feel to it.

Storyline, I'm still open for what will happen. I do feel that much of the mystery of the Labyrinth has been removed. When I first watched the movie it felt like you could find anything around the next corner like in a real dream, but the pathway Sarah took through is being made concrete. I feel like Toby could back track to Sarah's Labyrinth escapade without experiencing anything new. Reduce, reuse, recycle. I guess what I'm trying to say the fantastic element is being toned down into something more solid. I'm also not too crazy with what they did with the stepmother. I thought Sarah was always just over reacting, but apparently not.

 

[crazed gonzo fa]

that before were commonly known as Underground comics because they did not fit into the mainstream Marvel and DC genres. (Yes there was Sandman, but that is an exception Maus, Astro City, and Will Esiner's work too).

If by underground you mean really mature comics, Marvel does stuff like that (Punisher, Son of Satan...)

 

[Infinity Sirius]

If by underground you mean really mature comics, Marvel does stuff like that (Punisher, Son of Satan...)

True, but before manga came onto the scene comics were viewed as a "childish" media. Superhero comics were the ones mostly known with the few exceptions as mentioned. I use underground to refer to comics not in the mainstream genres as you pointed out with Punisher and Son of Satan.

 

[crazed gonzo fa]

Ah, I see.

 

[edible eye]

Oh and please don't buy that crappy Sir Didymus plus doll!

LOL! I'll try to resist! It would make a good squeeky dog toy though.

 

[DTWolf]

To be cynical and ruthless . . .

The people making decisions about merchandise--what to make, when to sell it, etc.--do indeed base those decisions partly on whether previous products with the same characters made money. They don't always stop and ask whether bad sales were because of poor quality or lack of interest in the characters/movie.

So it's a tough choice: if we don't buy, they may not make anything else using Labyrinth; if we do buy, we might get more Labyrinth stuff but the makers will think they can get away with shoddy merchandise, so the quality won't improve.

With the manga, however, there is a middle ground. If volume 1 sold very very well, but sales crashed to almost nothing with volumes 2 and 3, the decision-makers might realize people DO want Labyrinth stuff, but we DON'T want cheap and lousy Labyrinth stuff. A sales crash between vol. 1 and vol. 2 would say to Tokyopop and others who are watching that the interest was there, but this product failed to meet our expectations.

I can't actually recommend buying lots of vol. 1 (I'm really not this cutthroat myself), but if you're going to buy solely on the "support it even if you don't like it" argument, this is the way to go. Buy vol. 1, avoid vols. 2 and 3 like the Bog of Eternal Stench.

 

[crazed gonzo fa]

Man, that's a pretty good plan. But if we avoid volumes 2 and 3, we'll be stuck on a cliff hanger.