JIM HENSONS LABYRINTH ARTIST TRIBUTE HC: Volume 1 Hardcover – 15 Nov. 2016

Love the illustrations of an iconic film it will make a lovely Christmas pressie for a Labyrinth fan. Thanks.

Being a huge fan of the film, as soon as I saw this tribute, I decided that I would buy it. I made the decision before being able to view any of the artwork within the collection, so when I came to finally look at it, there was some trepidation on my part. "Labyrinth" is such a dear film to me, and it has become such an iconic, classic film, that means it has instantly recognisable characters and scenes. With art being so subjective, I was intrigued to find out what these various artists would make of the world of Labyrinth, and how they would do the film justice.As expected, there are some pieces of artwork here which I think are better, artistically, than others. However, overall, I think the tribute is actually quite successful. One of my favourites is a full page illustration of Ludo by Joelle Jones. Finished in just black and white, this seemingly simple picture perfectly captures the essence of Ludo; sitting down, he is balancing a butterfly on his finger. Gustavo Duarte's art is also very charming; featuring a two page spread of Ludo and Sir Didymus, it has a comic book appearance, whilst keeping them as instantly recognisable.Interspersed throughout the art there are also written pieces by some of the artists, explaining what they think about the film and the characters. These range from just a few sentences to a full page inclusion. Reading them, I could relate to so much of what was being said, highlighting why this film remains my firm favourite, despite now being an adult. Within the introduction, Dave Goelz states that Labyrinth "does what great art aspires to: it presents a surface experience that entertains us while delivering a deeper meaning."The final piece by Steve Morris, explaining how his front cover art came into being is also really interesting to read.If there was one thing which stopped me from awarding 5 stars is that it would have been nice to have had a written piece from each artist, explaining how/ why they were inspired by the film. Also, and this purely because it is my favourite scene in the film, it would have been nice to have had some more illustrations of the masquerade ball. To have also had more pieces inspired by the final scenes of the film, such as the Escher-inspired room, as well as Sarah and Jareth's final meeting, would have been good.Overall, this is quite a fitting tribute to a fantastic film. For anyone wanting a more complete insight into the film itself, this year also saw the release of the book, "Labyrinth: The Ultimate Visual History" which describes the progress of the film from conception right the way through to production and completion. It features many pictures from the film itself, both on set and behind the scenes, as well as extra special clippings. Together, these books create a fabulous celebration of an endearing film and its characters.