Return to Labyrinth based on Labyrinth
Development
The Jim Henson Company announced in 2005 that it was collaborating with Tokyopop on two graphic novels based on Jim Henson's feature films The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.
According to Tim Beedle, a Tokyopop editor who worked on Return to Labyrinth, the manga came about when Forbes suggested to the publisher that Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal had potential to be spun-off as original graphic novels. They contacted the Jim Henson Company, where Michael Polis, the Senior VP of Marketing and Home Entertainment, had been considering spinning both properties into comics. Rob Valois, an editor on the manga, had previously worked for the Jim Henson Company and was able to help organise a deal between the two companies. According to Beedle, Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal were believed to be suitable properties to be spun into manga format due to the length considered necessary to explore their fantasy worlds, which wouldn't suit a shorter comic format. In addition, both films have a large female fan base, "just like manga does".Beedle stated that The Goblins of Labyrinth, a companion book to the film by its conceptual designer, Brian Froud, was used as a reference for Return to Labyrinth in order to "preserve the authenticity of the world" of the film.Due to high sales and positive response from readers to the first volume, Return to Labyrinth was expanded from three volumes to four. Beedle stated that in response to fan feedback from the first volume requesting more of the characters Sarah and Jareth, the creators "expanded on a subplot featuring Jareth and Sarah" in the later volumes.