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Jim Henson

First They Look Like You…

For a while now Archaia Comics have been bringing us new series based on Jim Henson’s 1980’s TV series The Storyteller, staring John Hurt and Brian Henson. The latest addition is The Storyteller: Shapeshifters mini-series. And now, Archaia have collected all four issues together in a single hardcover omnibus. Sure enough, the stories feature everything from kids turned into swans to tricky fox-people. “Locus Award-winning writer Darcie Little Badger (A Snake Falls to Earth, Marvel’s Voices: Indigenous Voices #1), and esteemed writers Andre R. Frattino (Simon Says: Nazi Hunter) and Deron Bennett, along with up-and-coming artists Nori Retherford, Alexandra Fastovets, Dani Pendergast, and celebrated cartoonist Emilia Cilento (INGOVY) bring together a timeless collection of tales about shapeshifters from around the world.” Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Shapeshifters is available from Simon & Schuster.

image c. 2023 Archaia

Worry’s For Another Day

Fans of Muppets and Really Good TV: Rejoice! There’s a new book out called Fraggle Rock: The Ultimate Visual History, edited by Noel Murray and Jody Revenson. “It’s been over thirty-five years since the irrepressible Fraggles first hit the screen in the beloved children’s television hit Fraggle Rock. Created by the legendary Jim Henson, along with Michael K. Frith, Jerry Juhl, Duncan Kenworthy, and Jocelyn Stevenson, Fraggle Rock remains a favorite of fans to this day. This delightful volume tells the incredible story of the bighearted show that helped instill open-minded values in a whole generation of viewers. Fraggle Rock: The Ultimate Visual History follows the show’s creation, from early concepts to the incredible puppetry that brought the unforgettable characters, such as Gobo, Red, and Mokey, to life. Exclusive interviews with Stevenson, Frith, Kenworthy, and several other major contributors reveal fascinating, exclusive insights that take the reader further into Jim Henson’s world than ever before.” It’s available later this month, in hardcover from Simon & Schuster.

image c. 2021 Simon & Schuster

ET On Your TV

We just found out about Earth To Ned, the new science fiction TV series from the Muppet folks at The Jim Henson Company. “The galaxy’s first alien-hosted talk show” will start streaming on Disney + starting September 4th. “Produced by The Jim Henson Company and Marwar Junction Productions, Earth to Ned is a decidedly different take on the late-night talk format. It stars extraterrestrial-creatures Ned and Cornelius as they interview terrestrial stars. Each episode focuses on a topic or theme that is unique to Earthlings and fascinating to Ned, including comedy, sports, social media and fashion. Ned beams in celebrity guests from across the known universe, and the more he learns about our human culture, the more obsessed he becomes.” Take a look at the review on Deadline, and check out the trailer video there or on YouTube.

image c. 2020 The Jim Henson Company

Return to the Rock

Whoops! This passed us by last summer… but here it is, thanks to Boom! Studios. “In honor of the 35th Anniversary of Fraggle Rock, the Fraggles are back in all-new stand-alone adventures, each by distinct creative voices and presented in an 8″ x 8″  format perfect for longtime fans to share with the next generation. It all begins with a story written and illustrated in beautiful watercolor by Jared Cullum (Jim Henson’s Labyrinth 2017 Special), as Mokey Fraggle is losing her love for creating her art and needs her friends’ help to rediscover her inspiration. Fraggle Rock #1 features a cover by Jared Cullum, along with a connecting subscription cover by Jake Myler (Fraggle Rock: Journey to the Everspring). Each issue of Fraggle Rock will have a connecting subscription cover featuring a different Fraggle.” This 4-issue limited series is in stores now.

image c. 2018 Boom! Studios

You Remind Me Of The Babe

With the death of David Bowie earlier this year, lots of people have been remembering his 1986 turn as the Goblin King in Labyrinth. Now Boom! Studios have their own salute to that landmark film as they bring us Jim Henson’s Labyrinth 30th Anniversary Special. “Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the beloved Jim Henson fantasy film with stories from inside the magical walls of the labyrinth. Featuring fan-favorite characters like Ludo, Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and a few surprises, this special celebration collects for the first time all of the Labyrinth Free Comic Book Day stories along with new tales from Eisner Award winner Jonathan Case (The New Deal), Gustavo Duarte (Bizarro), and more!” Entertainment Weekly did a special preview recently.

image c. 2016 Boom! Studios

image c. 2016 Boom! Studios

Fraggles in a Frenzy

Got this right from publisher, thanks to Barnes & Noble: “Return to Jim Henson’s world of Fraggles, Doozers, and Gorgs with an all new story set in beloved Fraggle Rock! When the water supply of Fraggle Rock mysteriously runs dry, the Fraggles will have to journey deep in the caves of Fraggle Rock to find the fabled Everspring where adventure awaits and no Fraggle has ever gone before! Written by New York Times bestselling comic writer Kate Leth (Adventure Time: Seeing Red), this brand new Fraggle Rock graphic novel collects Fraggle Rock: Journey to the Everspring #1-#4.” With art by Jake Myler, it’s available in hardcover from Archaia later this month.

image c. 2015 Archaia

image c. 2015 Archaia

When Young Animals Learn to Talk

According to our friends at CartoonBrew, in addition to the four new animated TV series announced recently by Netflix (and discussed here as well), the network has added an additional three new animated shows that are squarely aimed at the preschool set. One of them, at very least, is especially anthropomorphic: “Arriving worldwide in 2016 exclusively on Netflix is the Jim Henson Company’s Word Party. Produced through Henson’s digital puppetry studio, Word Party’s 11-minute episodes follow the adventures of four baby animals, whose singing and dancing aims to help build the vocabulary skills of its preschool viewers. Jim Henson Creature Shop’s digital puppetry innovation ‘allows puppeteers to perform digitally animated characters in real-time, enabling the animation to be more lifelike and spontaneous.'” Watch for it next year.

image c. 2015 The Jim Henson Company

image c. 2015 The Jim Henson Company

Down at Fraggle Rock — Again

Word has been spreading fast among the Silly Creatures that the long-rumored big screen version of Jim Henson’s cult TV series Fraggle Rock is finally a go. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception) is set to produce and star in the feature film version. (Interesting side note: Mr. Gordon-Levitt was the voice of Jim Hawkins in the Disney animated film Treasure Planet.) Here what we got from The Nerdist: “Originally an HBO series which ran from 1983-1987, Fraggle Rock centered around a group of tiny creatures called Fraggles, along with the even smaller Doozers who lived among them. The Fraggles and the Doozers lived in a series of caves called Fraggle Rock, and would only venture outside of it to gather radishes to eat, where they would have to avoid the giant Gorgs.” That and get advice from a matronly trash heap named Marjory, and occasionally interact with the human (and his dog) who lives above them all. Trust us, none of this even begins to capture the magic that went into making this show and the magic that viewers took away from it. This new live-action feature film version is being created by the Jim Henson Company and released by New Regency.  (Hmm, not by Disney, eh?) No word yet on a targeted released date, but you can bet you’ll be hearing more about it soon.

image c. 2015 The Jim Henson Company

image c. 2015 The Jim Henson Company

You Remind Me of the Babe

Next month Archaia Press is re-releasing the novelization of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, the 1986 fantasy feature (with David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly) which was later adapted as a novel by A.C.H. Smith — and illustrated by well-known fantasy artist Brian Froud, who of course also designed the movie and many of its characters. This new hardcover edition features a brand new collection of Froud’s goblin artwork and sketches for the film, recently uncovered, as well as notes and sketches by Jim Henson himself. USA Today has the story on this and other Jim Henson-inspired projects currently in the works at Archaia.

image c. The Jim Henson Company and Archaia Press

image c. The Jim Henson Company and Archaia Press