Say The Words: An Interview With ‘Jim Henson’s Labyrinth’ Writer Kyla Vanderklugt
by Rachel Bellwoar
It doesn’t take long for Sarah to regret asking the goblins to take her brother away. The result of her mistake, however, is one of the biggest cult movies of the 1980s. Now writer Kyla Vanderklugt and artist Giorgio Spalletta are adapting Jim Henson’s Labyrinth for comics. With color assists by Sara Cuomo and letters by Jim Campbell, find out more about what that process was like in the following interview with Vanderklugt:
Rachel Bellwoar: As someone who alternates between writing and drawing, what made you want to sign on as writer for this project?
Kyla Vanderklugt: I’ve done several script adaptations recently and it’s been a blast. I just love the process of visualizing and distilling the story into a 2D sequential narrative on the page. I do enjoy drawing comics as well, and I plan to get back to that in the future, but lately I’m focusing more on the writing side of projects.
Bellwoar: When adapting a cult favorite movie like this, is there much room for deviation or is it a pretty close adaptation?
Vanderklugt: It sticks very close to the source material — I knew that would be important to fans of such a beloved property. It’s an adaptation of the novelization, actually, and when adapting a novel to a graphic novel you usually have to introduce some changes to make sure the condensed version flows well. But in this case when I was editing the dialogue down for length, I was able to refer to the film script, which fit better in some places. So there’s very little original dialogue.
Bellwoar: Before this series you also worked on an issue of Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Witches. What is it about Jim Henson properties that you think makes them so special?
Vanderklugt: Nostalgia is definitely a part of it for me. But I’m also attracted to the sort of fantasy worlds that impart a sense of wonder without shying away from a darker tone, both visually and thematically. I think that can be a compelling mix, and it’s something a lot of the Henson properties capture.
Bellwoar: Do you remember the first time you watched Labyrinth?
Vanderklugt: I don’t remember the first time clearly, I was too little. I only remember liking Sarah’s bedroom — so many toys! And probably Jareth terrified me.
Bellwoar: Was there a scene or character whose voice you were especially excited to capture?
Vanderklugt: I love Sir Didymus, and his speech in the novelization is, if possible, even more florid than in the film. Capturing that voice and adapting it to script was a real joy.
Bellwoar: As lead, Sarah can come across as quite whiny. Do you think she’s sometimes judged too harshly?
Vanderklugt: I think it’s a fair assessment — Sarah can be childish at the beginning of the story. But her emotional growth is such an integral part of the story, a lot would be lost if she started out as a perfect protagonist.
Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Kyla!
The first two issues of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth are on sale now from Boom! Studios.
