Maze Comic Book Reviews - Jim Henson's Labyrinth Comics

I read and review maze books about the spirituality of mazes, or the history of physical mazes. I also delve into comic books that contain either mazes and labyrinths. You will not be surprised that today’s comics based on Jim Henson’s classic film from 1986 Labyrinth do just that. We have 4 different versions to look at.

Jim Henson's Labyrinth 2016 30th Anniversary Special (2016)

from BOOM! Studios, 40 pages

by Jonathan Case, Cory Godbey, Ted Naifeh, Adrianne Ambrose

The comic consists a collection of 7 stories featuring some of the movie characters (the wonderful Jim Henson puppets from the movie). It is actually a collection of previously released mini stories that were given out for free comic book day. The stories are quick, fun and are not interconnected. It is helpful to know a bit about the characters to enhance the relatability, but you will not be lost (maze reference?) if you pick this up with no prior knowledge.

The best story, and the reason for this review is story 4 titled “Rock Solid Friendship”, which features Ludo the monster in a predicament that has him entering the labyrinth to escape. But is entering the labyrinth really a good idea ? Now Ludo must find his way out !!

Ludo approaching the Labyrinth

Overall this is a comic great for fans of the movie, and worth a read if you are not but you do like 5 page fantasy stories.

Jim Henson's Labyrinth Tales (2016)

from BOOM! Studios, 46 pages

by Jim Henson, Cory Godbey

We come back with a second book based off of the same characters, from the same year, the same publishing company and the same illustrator. I think you will love the artwork you see in this volume from Cory Godbey and I suggest you check out his site/portfolio to discover even more.

And as far as a review. Really this book, despite having the same illustrator is more about the illustration than the first volume above. The book is almost completely full page illustrations that look like paintings. There are 3 short stories included in the book. Outstanding book. You will spend more time looking at the pictures than reading the dialogue.

Jim Henson's Labyrinth 2017 Special (2017)

from BOOM! Studios, 40 pages

by Jim Henson, Katie Cook, Delilah S. Dawson, Roger Langridge , illustrated by Jared Cullum and more

Our final review is from the 2017 Special volume that features 6 short stories. Of the three comics this one does feature a few stories with the Goblin King, but like the other volumes really focuses on the puppet characters from the film like Sir Didymus, Worm, The Four Guards, and Ludo.

Each of the stories are fun and we get a different look from our first 2 reviews. This is mostly because we have 5 different illustrators for the 6 stories. Although we do not see any illustrations of the labyrinth, we do get a call back to the famous MC Escher inspired room you probably remember from the movie.

Jim Henson's Labyrinth Artist Tribute (2016) AMZN

from Boom! Studios, 120 Pages

by various authors and illustrators (see list below)

First, let’s start with a photo of the page that lists all of the artists you will find in the edition. It is a large list and includes artists who use many different styles !

This comic is exactly what the title says it is. If you are a fan of Labyrinth, either the book, the movie, or the comics, this is the book for you. It has the feel of a coffee table book, because while there are snippets of writing, this is also about the artwork. The colorful characters created by Jim Henson that you saw as puppets in the movie make for great subjects for creative artists.

I did not want to include much artwork from book but this transition page did catch my eye.

And I did feel compelled to include this maze ! Because, well, this is a maze website and it features the characters from the Labyrinth world.

Overall, this is an artist tribute that I would love to see for many different franchises.

While my favorite comic of the 4 was Jim Henson's Labyrinth Tales because of the illustrations, all books are nice, short, fun stories that anyone could enjoy. If you were a fan of the movie (or still are a fan), all 4 are worth a read/look. And if you want to get into longer stories I suggest you check out the 2 longer comic series that have been published:

Jim Henson's Labyrinth (6 issues)

Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Coronation (12 issues)

Other blog posts you might like:

The 12 Best Maze and Labyrinth Movies Of All Time

Watchmojo's Best Maze Movie Scenes

How to make over 40 types of maze

Maze of the Week #24 - Emo's Dairy Mart Shop Sign Maze

Maze #24 keeps us in Illinois with a maze of a great sign from a local ice cream shop. This is a great week for some ice cream, and if you are in Peoria, Illinois you probably stop by Emo’s Dairy Mart Shop. The maze a free drawn construction. I really like the look of this old time looking sign that sits on top of the building,

Some information about Emo’s Dairy Mart Shop

I found a blog post that includes some great pictures of the spot. According to this story the clown sign went up in 1963 to grab customers attention. The clown also seems to be a marker for travelers who need directions !

The maze: I made the maze in a free drawn construction so that the walls of the maze matched the unique shape of the clown outfit.

Emo's Ice Cream Shop Sign Maze

I hope you enjoy the maze. You can download the maze at it’s permanent home on the site.

Coming next week:

A museum maze !

The 10 Best Maze Horror Movies

Previously I wrote this post detailing the top 12 maze movies of all time. Then I looked at The 5 Maze and Labyrinth Movies That Kids Will Love. Today, I delve into the Top 10 Maze Horror Movies. Each of these movies has a scene in them that involves a maze, whether it is a corn maze, a funhouse mirror maze or hedge maze. Of the over 100 movie reviews on the site, I count a third that would be considered horror movies. If you want to see a full list in a sortable Google Sheet, I have that. But a few of them are really terrible. Like, really terrible. Let’s look at the movies worth watching if you want to watch a scary movie. #1 should not be a surprise.

THE 10 BEST MAZE HORROR MOVIES

#10 RELIC (2020) IMDB AMAZON

In this case the house is a maze. The story resolves around a mother and daughter driving to an empty home of their mother / grandmother who has gone missing. All signs point to a woman who may have wandered off quickly. Minor spoiler coming….and then after a few days she just shows up in the kitchen as if nothing has happened. What is going on ? Speaking any more about the plot would give too much away about what happens…

#9 GRAVE ENCOUNTERS (2011) (IMDB) (AMAZON)

A found footage movie that takes place in an abandoned hospital. A TV film crew thinks it would be a good idea to spend the night in the hospital and lock themselves in…but they do not realize the hospital has some maze-like qualities that resists them leaving. Will they survive the night ?

#8 VIVARIUM (2019) (IMDB) (AMAZON)

Based on the short film Foxes, which I also recommend, this film follows a young couple who buy their first home in a development and they can;t seem to leave. Ever. It is as if the housing development is a maze that can’t be solved. And things get weird from there. It is a comedy horror film with a really interesting concept and story. Not for everyone, but definitely worth a look. Just let me warn you that most people will search “Vivarium ending explained” after watching it.

#7 THE NIGHT HOUSE (2020) (IMDB) (PRIME)

We have a movie that centers around the grief of losing a husband unexpectedly and how a wife deals with his death. While she tries to come to terms with what happened she goes through his things and finds architectural drawings of a house that is designed like a maze. She also finds a book about the Caerdroia labyrinth. Things get weird and more interesting from here as she discovers more clues that may lead her to a place she does not want to go.

#6 TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972) (IMDB) (AMAZON)

This movie begins with a group of sightseers being led through the mazelike catacombs under a cemetery. Of course, the one thing they can’t do is get lost…so they get lost. Luckily 5 of them find a room that contains a Crypt Keeper who tells 5 stories about how each of them might die. Each short story is fun and the last even includes a maze. Horror movies in the 70’s are very story oriented and less about the gotcha scare moment which I like.

#5 IT CHAPTER 2 (2019) (IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)

Stephen King horror story ? Yes please. Getting stuck in a fun-house mirror maze with the sadistic clown Pennywise, no thank you. But that is one of the scenes in this follow-up to It. Great job in both films by Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. The first film is the better of the 2, but this film brings back the Losers Club to Derry, Maine 27 years after their encounter last with Pennywise. Things do not go well.

#4 THE COLLECTION (2012) (IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)

After escaping from a serial killer known as The Collector a man is sent back to the serial killer’s hideout to rescue a kidnapped girl. The only problem is that hideout is a booby trapped maze he needs to get thru to save the girl. The sequel to the 2009 movie The Collector.

#3 US (2019) (IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)

Jordan Peele knows how to make an interesting horror film (Get Out anyone ?). A young girl wanders off from the amusement park on the beach and enters a deserted fun house. When the lights go out she tries to exit, but the mirror maze makes it difficult for her to find her way. Oh, and so does the girl in the mirror. And that’s when you know this thing is about to get sinister.

The next 2 movies should be familiar since they both made the top maze movies list regardless of genre.

#2 CUBE (1997)(IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)

6 strangers wake-up in a giant cube shaped maze that is bobby trapped and trying to kill them. They don’t know why they are there or how they got there but they know they need to try and escape. Are they making the right or wrong choice as they choose each passageway ? Only one way to find out. Eventually became a trilogy, but go ahead and skip Cube 2: Hypercube because it is terrible. Watch Cube Zero, which answers a lot of questions you have about the cube.

#1 THE SHINING (1980) (IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)

What else could it be ? Considered by some as the greatest horror film ever made it brings together Jack Nicholson, Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King. The movie prominently features a hedge maze in the plot. If you want to watch a scary movie this is the one !

And that concludes our countdown of the best maze horror movies. If you want to see where a movie is streaming I suggest using justwatch.

While you’re here check out some of my Maze art :

Taj Mahal Maze

Evil Laughing Pumpkin Maze

Laberinto del Templo de Sangre de Cristo

The 10 Best Maze Themed Movie Posters

I review any movie that features a maze or labyrinth. So far that means over 80 reviews and includes some all time great movies. If you are wondering what the best of these movies are, check out this post detailing the top 12 maze movies of all time. I think you will pleasantly surprised just how great and iconic some of these movie are ! Can you guess the #1 movie ?

In this post, I keep with the maze movie theme but pay tribute to the movie posters that promote movies. The best maze and labyrinth movies don’t always have the best ‘maze’ graphics on their posters. In fact, some very average movies have really cool posters with mazes in them. When researching this post I came across a rabbit hole website. That is a website so cool that you can’t stop spending time on it and suddenly 5 minutes becomes an hour. Fair warning. The website is dedicated to movie posters, and it allows you to search for any movie any find it’s poster variations. It is called Impawards. Click later…you might not come back.

I used the site after finding multiple variations of posters for the 2019 movie Into the Labyrinth. My initial poster did not have any maze designs so I was naturally interested in the variations that did feature a maze. Anyway, that became a rabbit hole when I started to search some of the other 50+ maze movies I have reviewed.

Let’s get to the artwork. I narrowed down the top 10 from a first pass group of 21 posters that caught my eye. Some movies have multiple posters on the list, and every single poster contains either a maze or a labyrinth. I hope you enjoy this. Click on any title to read my review of the movie and watch it’s trailer.

The 10 Best Maze Themed Movie Posters

#10 READY PLAYER ONE (2018) (IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)

Wait, didn’t you just say each poster would contain either a maze or a labyrinth ? I did. It does. What makes this poster great is the fact that it looks like a pretty typical adventure/science fiction movie poster, but it has a hidden maze. Do you see it ?

How about I show you an alternative poster that shows it more clearly:

That’s right, the start of the maze is on the left side of R in Ready, with the goal the egg located in the middle of the O in One. Easy to miss. And yes, this is a solvable maze !

#9 ANDRON (2015) (IMDB) (AMAZON)

This is a terrible movie. Yes, it has a name you know, Alec Baldwin. Yes, the poster and movie have a labyrinth/maze theme. The idea is strong and interesting, but the execution was just not there, except for the poster ! Very Sci-fi looking with a group of people heading towards the center of what looks like an icy labyrinth. We have an intriguing tagline - “Only One Survives”. An alternative version of the poster replaces the spaceship with pictures of the cast, including Baldwin, but this version is the stronger of the two.

#8 INTO THE LABYRINTH (2020) (IMDB) (AMAZON)

The film that inspired this blog post makes it’s debut on the list with this character focused poster. The story takes place in 2 locations and these are our 2 leading roles in those locations. Obviously, you probably know Dustin Hoffman the star for promoting this film. The poster features a circular maze in the background with 2 other characters from the movie. No that is not Donnie Darko, but yes it is a large rabbit.

#7 MAZE RUNNER THE DEATH CURE (2018) (IMDB) (PRIME)

It will not surprise you that The Maze Runner movies would be part of this list. Here is the first entry. An action poster featuring our characters running from the baddies with maze imagery on the side of the paths. I also like the tagline “Every Maze Has An End”.

#6 INTO THE LABYRINTH (2020) (IMDB) (AMAZON)

Our first double entry (but not our last). This is my preferred version of this movies movie poster. It focuses on one half of the story and has a slightly larger maze features in the background. It looks more ominous and makes me want to see the movie !

#5 LABYRINTH (1986) (IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)

Of all the movies on the list this was the most difficult to choose the best poster from. I had 4 different versions that I liked, including a cool Japanese one. In the end I didn’t pick the most iconic one you are most familiar with. Instead I picked this version featuring the castle in the center of a green maze that looks somewhat like a hedge maze.

The 3 additional posters are all honorable mention for this list, so let’s go ahead and look at them now. The first is the most iconic, featuring David Bowie as the Goblin King and a maze for the background. The second is a Spanish language version of the poster featuring the characters around the center scene. There is a small maze leading to the castle at the top of this poster also. And in the Japanese version we get a completely different look (that almost does not fit the movie IMO with the red/pink coloring) with a large white maze covering the top of the poster.

#4 THE MAZE RUNNER (2014) (IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)

This is the version of the poster that I have seen most often. A group of individuals running in between moss covered walls in a giant maze.

#3 OXYGEN (2021) (IMDB)

We have a Netflix exclusive movie on the list ! Welcome. It is a French science fiction film and this is the French version of the poster. It also feels like the most modern looking of the posters we have looked at so far. The maze superimposed (or reflected ?) on the eye works really well. A great design.

#2 MAZE RUNNER THE DEATH CURE (2018) (IMDB) (PRIME)

Welcome back Death Cure. This poster version features our characters hovering over their challenge. A huge maze surrounding a central city. This gives new meaning to the term fortification. We get the tagline “Every Maze Has An End” again.

Before we get to my pick of the best movie maze poster let’s look at a few more that didn’t quite make the cut. The Exit Strategy poster features a maze as it’s background; Hell Fest has a barbed wire circular maze behind the devil; Maze features a maze background; Prisoners has many poster variations that feature mazes and some versions which feature a circular maze in the “o” of the title; The Man in the Maze has a maze background and a Man in the Maze labyrinth featured in the title; and the final example is a 3rd poster from Into the Labyrinth with a great circular maze background that didn’t make the cut only because it has no title/details like a normal movie poster. And we also have one more poster from Maze Runner: The Death Cure which features the cast in front of a maze. Click to scroll through each poster.

And now our #1 poster !

#1 THE MAZE RUNNER (2014) (IMDB) (PRIME VIDEO)

I want no part of this maze. This is my favorite poster because when I look at it and see the enormous maze in front of them that is what I think. Challenge NOT accepted. The way the maze expands out in all directions and into the horizon seems ominous.

And that concludes our poster contest. If you want to see where a movie is streaming I suggest using justwatch.

Want to know which movies are the best regardless of how their posters look?