Labyrinth: Now with Added Slashiness!

[grinning_soul]

Another item goes on the wish list:

Check out the description and user comments on amazon.com.
This is basically illustrated fan fiction ("[it] reeks of 'Fanfiction'" writes one doubtful reader on amazon.com) - with a slashy twist! Baby Toby, now a spoiled and moody teenager, is lured back to the Labyrinth by Jareth who seems to be strangely, ahem, interested in him. Sarah has become a teacher and apparently has no great part to play in this sequel. She's also drawn in a rather unflattering way. (File under 'dowdy woman' - you see, she's old now, going on 30! More on that when I had had a chance to read the thing for myself.)

Here are a few snippets from the amazon.com reader reviews that peeked my curiosity:

"I don't understand what exactly Jareth's fixation on Toby is. In the original Labyrinth he only paid him attention because 1. he got bored a lot, and 2. Sarah wished him away. Without Sarah there he probably wouldn't have even recognized Toby's existence; hell, in this volume he barely recognizes SARAH'S existence!"
Yes, very confusing...
"There is a weird attraction between Jareth and Toby (I'm not against gay themes, but I feel it has no place when Jareth clearly had more fatherly tendencies towards Toby when he was an infant)."
Well, he's all grown up now... Also, it makes perfect sense if you read Jareth as an Erlking/Elf King-like figure. Brush up your Goethe!

Unfortunately, the artist who did the cover design (which I LOVE) is not the same as the one illustrating the actual story, i.e. the quality of the drawings is a little disappointing - I'm not even sure you could call it manga style. (If you follow the amazon link you can look at the first few pages). The customer reviews are extremely mixed, so I think I need to read this for myself. (*is off to order Vol. 1*)
Actually, while skipping through my Labyrinth screencaps today, I realized just how much Bowie-as-Jareth resembles those elegant and androgynous villains in Japanese video games (and mangas, presumably, I must admit I have very limited knowledge on that subject). Plus: the Ziggy Stardust look was heavily influenced by the costumes of Japanese fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto and Kabuki theatre (*is a geek*). All together now: IT'S ALL CONNECTED!