[ 186 ]

[katara]

Title: Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Coronation #2 (Labyrinth Coronation)
Author: Simon Spurrier, Daniel Bayliss (Illustrator), Fiona Staples (Illustrator)
Format: Epub
Rating: 4.95/5
Status: Finished
Reading Date: April 5, 2018
Book Summary: The Goblin King’s mother enters the Labyrinth, discovering a strange and marvelous world unlike anything she could imagine and one much different than what Sarah will encounter years later.
Book Review: This issue pretty much picks up where the last issue left off.

Jareth is in the midst of continuing his tale of his parents.



We find that his mother is still furious with his father for allowing the Goblins to take away their child but at the same time, she has come to believe his tale. She too has seen the Goblins.



His father tells her of the time he had a fever and the Goblins came to him, telling him of their ancient and dying king in need of an heir. If the king did not leave behind an heir, then the Goblin Kingdom would be at war. It is at this moment that Maria finally understands that behind all that poetry was a story he was trying to tell.

Still Maria wants her son and she will go to great lengths to get him even as far as to claim that Albert is the devil himself to those on the wharf. She uses the chalk that the Goblins have left her and draws the Goblins on the ship. As she crumbles to the ground, she begs the Goblin King/.

As the scene returns once again to Jareth, we find him believing that the old King was more impressed with Maria's determination than that of her not saying the right words to enter the Labyrinth.

We are drawn back to Maria and the Goblin King overlooking the Goblin Kingdom. He tells her to beg him again but she refuses. He goes on to explain that there are rules that have to be followed but he has stretched the rules just a bit to allow her to enter the realm. Unfortunately Maria really isn't interested in listening to what he has to say and prefers to know where her son is. The King tells her that she has thirteen hours in order to solve the labyrinth before her son becomes his heir and she his servant.

Despite the warnings she receives at the opening of the maze, Maria heads into the labyrinth determined to reach the end and gain back her son but she is halted by the first thing she sees - a mermaid. As she gets close and talks to the mermaid, she learns that the old king has found his heir and is preparing for a coronation. Reaching out to help the mermaid, Maria is grabbed and pulled down into the water and through a tunnel. The old hag of a water creature has brought her to feed her young. Maria tries to gain sympathy from the mother but she is rescued from the creature's clutches by a knight. As Maria collapses and tries to wrap her mind around the whole labyrinth, we are pulled back once again to Jareth as he is prepared to go out and stop Sarah from going further into the labyrinth.

I must say I am quite thrilled with this tellings. Finally we are going to see how Jareth came to the Goblin Throne and his origins. I found his mother to be strong and determined while his father a cunning coward whom seemed to put himself first before his own son. We already know how it turns out - Maria won't be in time to save Jareth but at least we will get see how the past played out and whether or not his mother got to stay with her son while he grew up. I am hoping for this. I mean she loves her son so much but the Goblin King is also someone or something we don't know what he is capable of.

I cannot wait for the next issue!