A Reader's Guide to Books and Reviews

Title: Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Coronation #10 (Labyrinth Coronation)
Author: Simon Spurrier, Ryan Ferrier, Daniel Bayliss (Illustrator), Dan Jackson (Illustrator), Fiona Staples (Illustrator)
Format: Epub
Rating: 4.9/5
Status: Finished
Reading Date: February 6, 2019
Book Summary: The battle for the heart of the Labyrinth is underway as the goblin rebellion storms the Owl King’s castle, with Maria and her companions right at the heart of it.
Book Review: We are coming to the part of this series where the movie and the comic book begins to run parallel to each other.

Meaning: both our heroines are about to front the Goblin King in order to retrieve the child that was taken from them.

We find Jareth taking Toby out of the arms of Beetleglum. He orders the guards to capture Sarah and gives Toby to another goblin. As Beetleglum tries to take Toby back, Jareth stops him and tells him that he no longer trusts Beetleglum.

The story once more shifts back to Maria. Here the group has come across a mob of goblins waiting for them. At this moment, Maria looks at each of her friends and tells them how much she has come to love and appreciate them each.

From Maria to the Owl King. We find the Owl King impatient. He has two hours left on the clock before he can siphon Jareth's life away. He orders Beetleglum to send a message to his generals that they need to keep their focus sorely on Maria. After all, she is the threat to him moreso than those whom are threatening to rebel against him. Beetleglum has become fond of both Jareth and his mother and wants to find some way to help Maria. Although the Owl King rules over this domain, he also has to observe the same rules everyone else in his domain do. Unfortunately baby Jareth offers him a slight solution when he moves the clock's hand down to one hour for Maria.

Beetleglum writes a message to the goblin general but tells him to leave the girl alone. Unfortunately Septimus has seen what he has done and threatens to chase him down.

The battle between Maria's group and the goblins doesn't seem to be making any sort of leeway. Maria seizes on this moment to hold up Cible, whom offers an observation about the goblins. She tries to bring the entire group of imposing sides together by telling the goblins of how they are always doing what the Owl King wants and never what they want. She goes on to tell them the king is not as powerful as they think he is. Unfortunately her speech does nothing to unite the goblins to their cause. Instead the only agreement they can come to is that goblins should have fun.

Our story returns to Sarah whom is working her way through the castle and has come upon Beetleglum, whom is sitting between two identical doors. For a moment, the two talk a bit and then Sarah asks him for his help in finding Toby. It is then Beetleglum gestures to one of the doors.


This series is getting close to its climatic end but we still have roughly two issues left before it ends. We are seeing parallel imagery between Maria's story and that of Sarah's. We already know how the latter ends entirely but what about Maria. She seems to have done something much more than Sarah accomplished in the Labyrinth - she united many of residents within and has helped take their cause to the front door of the Owl King's castle. So exactly what will happen to Maria afterwards when she does possibly lose?

That unfortunately remains to be seen.

As for this issue, there was more dialogue than action. We see Maria offering encouraging words and affection to each of her friends whom have helped her through this ordeal. I am going to assume that at some point in the next two issues, she is going to be separated from her friends and made to face the Owl King alone just as Sarah had to do with Jareth. So I am wondering if Maria has given this any thought. I am pretty sure some sort of thought has entered her head and whether she is ready or not will remain to be seen.

This was a great issue imo. I really enjoyed the affection Maria feels for each of her friends. It felt genuine and I am hoping that none of them ever forget her. I think she has made quite an impact on all those around her and I am looking forward to seeing how this ends.

Title: Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Coronation #8
Author: Simon Spurrier, Ryan Ferrier, Daniel Bayliss (Illustrator), Irene Flores (Illustrator), Dan Jackson (Illustrator), Fiona Staples (Illustrator)
Format: Epub
Rating: 4.9/5
Status: Finished
Reading Date: November 15, 2018
Book Summary: While Maria and her companions seek refuge among the Goblin rebellion, the Owl King’s plan takes a dangerous step forward bringing the second arc to a stunning conclusion.
Book Review: This story opens with Maria and her ragtag group coming down a ladder as Cible is surrounded by members of the rebellion. Cible has announced that Bunderghast the Invincible is here! This gains the goblins attention but also sends them to murmur rumors amongst themselves. Maria boosts the little catepillar up and Cible claims that it is she that is Bunderghast. Unfortunately this does not seem to impress any of the goblins. Realizing that hasn't worked, Cible makes the claim that Maria is a wizard. Maria makes a crevasse with her chalk which seems to impress the goblins immensely before they decide now is the time for some ale. Add in Tangle for some hugs and you have a bit of a chaos.

Cible has a quiet moment of disappointment. She tried to get the revolution started but it seems to have stalled at this point. Maria admits the same thing...admitting that she done the same thing in the past. She goes on to advise that have to know who you are before you allow yourself to become someone else.

Skubbin, on the other hand, has wandered off. He doesn't want to betray Maria as she has been a wonderful friend to him. A mosaic face appears and taunts Skubbin about his duties and that he cannot avoid them. It is then that Maria finds him and tells him of how she misses her old life of wealth and privilege but nothing like the feeling she has of missing her son.

We return to Jareth where we are given a brief glimpse of what Sarah is up to and apparently she has eaten the forbidden fruit of the peach. He is thrilled that he is about to ruin Sarah as he lays Toby back down in what looks like

The scene changes to Beetleglum showing up and warning that the King is coming. First Septimus appears and chaos begins. Cible urges an attack against him, which in turn caused confusion allowing both Skubbin and Maria to leave.

Maria sees a bright light up ahead of them but Skubbin tells her that it is a trap. He urges her back into the water where the gondolier awaits them. Skubbin pays for her passage just as the Owl King shows up and announces what a good son he has.

Maria sees this as a betrayal and runs into the light.....and right into a drawing room. She is finely dressed and surrounded by the wealthy. And Albert appears with a mask in hand and tells her that feels horrible for the way he has treated her...and that here they are together forever.


This story is now picking up steam as we are coming close to the final chapters of this series. Currently it seems that Maria is in the same sort of position that Sarah is in at the moment. Both are about to face a part of this game that will either make or break them. We know how Sarah's story turns out but not really anything of Maria's. Of course this is a dream. Maria spoke briefly of how much she has missed her life previously filled with wealth and power, something had not had growing up.

So how will all this lead to Maria's failure? This has yet to be seen but we know that Skubbin will have to do a lot to make up for what she has seen as a betrayal. This again seems to echo what Hoggle has done to Sarah when he gifted her the peach. So there is much parallel between Maria and Sarah with the exception of Sarah being jealous of her brother and Albert pretty much selling his son to the Owl King.

This story really is starting to shape up and I am quite looking forward to seeing how this all tidies up.

Title: Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Coronation #6
Author: Simon Spurrier, Daniel Bayliss (Illustrator), Dan Jackson (Illustrator), Fiona Staples (Illustrator)
Format: Epub
Rating: 4.9/5
Status: Finished
Reading Date: September 15, 2018
Book Summary: Maria comes face to face with the underbelly of goblin society and meets a new companion along the way.
Book Review: As our story begins, we find Jareth unseemingly in a bit of a foul mood. He has ordered the goblin to bring back Toby to him so that the child could watch his sister fail in her attempts to retrieve him. But the goblin believes another singsong number might be a better trick to getting Toby back in a bit of a better mood. The goblin picks up Toby and brings him back to Jareth....

We once more return to the lovely Maria whom has learned she has the ability to manipulate and control the labyrinth with the power of her son's chalk. But she has also learned that she isn't the only one with that ability when the Owl King appeared to remind her of this and takes with him her two friends, leaving Maria alone.

Now alone and devastated by the loss of her friends, Maria feels for a brief moment that all her work is for naught but her love for her son compels her to keep moving forward. She finds the gondola driver whom offered her a ride earlier and she takes that offer now. Once in the boat, the gondola driver realizes Maria no longer has the ring in her possession, he throws her in the water and down into a tunnel. Maria grabs holds of a vine and clings to that until the moment she hears "G'Day". Looking up at a small ledge, Maria finds a pink worm named Cible. She explains her plight and her mission to retrieve her son from the Owl King's possession. The little worm pulls out a tiny saber and slashes the vine Maria is holding onto and the two plummet down into the water together.

The scene changes to the Owl King and his loyal minion, a troll named Septimus, are interrogating Skubbin. Here we learn the truth about Owl King and his relations to Skubbin and what Skubbin's true destiny and mission are revealed in these pages. Skubbin is defiant and will not not betray his friend no matter how much the Owl King threatens him.

As we return to Maria, we find her and the little worm have survived their fall. Here we find the fiesty little worm has a story. She tells Maria that she is part of a revolution against the goblins and the Owl King. As they head toward the castle, they catch sight of mounted goblin knights chasing after Tangle. It seems the walking bush has managed to escape his captors and is being chased by goblins. Maria, whom has had enough of the Owl King tormenting her friends, wields her chalk and draws the goblin knights out of the Labyrinth.

As we turn once more back to the Owl King with Septimus, the king has cast Skubbin back out into the Labyrinth with with a plan to ruin Maria's plan to reunite with her son. Once Skubbin is gone, the the King and Septimus turn to plan what to do with baby Jareth.

What can I saw about this series? It is the best. I have always loved The Labyrinth since I was a little girl and I always wondered what exactly was the backstory for Jareth. There was never anything that came out that offered an ounce of a backstory. Comic books just retold the tale of Sarah's adventures during her run through the Labyrinth to gain back her brother. And books were just a novelization of the movie. So there was never anything as I grew up to tell how he exactly became the Goblin King.

And now here we have something that offers us a backstory. Of course, most of this tale is taken during the time Sarah is running the Labyrinth. It comes from Jareth himself so I am going to assume that someone has told this tale to him when he was a child or he found out some way. Perhaps told that his mother was unworthy and his thoughts. But what about his father? We saw him in the beginning but that doesn't tell us anything about has happened to him since. I am certain he probably doesn't care whether Maria and his son survives or not. So I am guessing we have seen the end of him?

Or have we?

We won't know until the end of this series.

I am hoping that there is going to be more. Don't get me wrong the manga was nice but it seemed a bit rushed with the storyline like mangaka was given a certain amount of time and the product he/she released really offered no true character to the players - Jareth, Sarah, and Toby. So I am hoping that after this we will get more to come.

Still this series is wonderful and I am so happy I continously am picking this up. :D

Title: Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Coronation #3
Author: Simon Spurrier, Daniel Bayliss (Illustrator), Mattia Di Meo (Illustrator), Dan Jackson (Illustrator), Fiona Staples (Illustrator)
Format: Epub
Rating: 4.75/5
Status: Finished
Reading Date: September 13, 2018
Book Summary: A young woman journeys deeper into the mysterious Labyrinth and faces trials the likes of which she could never have imagined. Still, she is determined that nothing will stop her from saving her son!
Book Review: I thought I had this one already reviewed but I found that it had not been. I feel horrible because now I have a piece of the story that helped make sense to the next issue in line for it. I will probably have to read the 4th issue later on before I head into the next one after but for now, I am content with having this piece added.

In this issue, we find Jareth still watching the progress Sarah is making. He is waiting, even hoping, for the moment that Sarah will give up and allow him his moment of triumph. While he waits for it, he continues on with his story.

The scene changes to Maria whom is seated and crying in frustration at her situation. At her side, Sir Skubbin of the Garderobe. Moments ago, he saved her from being from a mermaid whom thought she would be a tasty meal to her young. Only afterward did he rob her. Despite all of this, Maria's determination to be reunited with her child keeps her motivated to continue her journey. She runs into the knight again and confronts him, only to learn that he was cursed with a heart. Of course this makes him one of the worst Goblin according to the Goblin standard. He tells her that he robbed her only to prove his worthiness to the Bandit Hordes.

The two part ways as friends and Maria allows Skubbin to keep the chalk she was carrying with her. Skubbin, in return, gives Maria a red ring as a symbol of their friendship and also to be used as passage to the Gondolier to help her get to the castle. Before the two part from each other, Maria shows Skubbin the way out of the Labyrinth before she heads leaves to gain back her son. As Maria makes her way toward her ride, she is stopped by a goblin whom asks her if she is Bundarghast the Invincible. Maria tells the goblin that she isn't the one he seeks. Continuing on her way, Maria has a revelation that the goblin is burning the bridges behind her.

Maria confronts the goblin whom tells her that these bridges are called Burning Bridges. These are meant for those whom tend to those who don't look back until it is too late. The goblin asks Maria again if she is Bundarghast the Invincible. Maria tells him that she is and the goblin suddenly announces she is under arrest and carries her up into the air carrying her away.

The scene changes to the Owl King in his chamber. Alongside him are Beetleglum and Baby Jareth. We also find the mysterious Septimus, whom was the one who stole Jareth from Maria. They are watching Maria get arrested. The Owl King, then, orders Septimus to kill Maria.

This series continues to be great. I have enjoyed reading the origin of Jareth becoming the Goblin King but my heart feels sorry and heavy for Maria. Here is a woman whom had her son taken from her and she is doing everything possible to gain him back by going into a world totally foreign to her. It has been hard for her. Every turn she has taken has become a roadblock on her way to gain back her son but Maria refuses to let it halt her in her pursuit. I find Maria to be quite a strong and enjoyable character. Along the way, she has come across some of the weirdest and strange creatures but each one has continued to make their presence known even after they are long gone from the pages and this is what a secondary character should feel like.

I am excited to find out how all of this ends up tying up and I am hoping that there will be more Labyrinth to come in the future.

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!