Janna surprised me a few days ago with a hardcover reissue of A.C.H. Smith’s novelization of Labyrinth, [re]published at the end of April. This version contains the same novelization text as the original 1986 paperback, but omits the insert of color stills. It does, however, contain previously unpublished goblin drawings by Brian Froud, as well as pages from Jim Henson’s journals, in which he jotted notes about his original conception for Labyrinth in 1983.

I care nothing for the novelization, as it’s indifferently written, but the supplemental material intrigues me. I’m most interested in Jim Henson’s notes, which I haven’t cracked yet, except for a brief glance, during which I caught the phrase "Goblin King = death?" That made me think back to the afterword of the 20th anniversary edition of Brian Froud’s book of conceptual drawings, Goblins of Labyrinth, in which he envisions Jareth "with the worms of death eating through his armor." I haven’t been able to forget that image, so I’m curious to see how Henson wanted to develop it. I also wonder exactly which fairy tale Froud’s referring to.

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