Before Sesame Street and The Muppet Show existed, Jim Henson and his writing partner Jerry Juhl were still trying to find their way into bigger television markets. After finishing up their first television project Sam and Friends, as the foreword to this book explains, they began plotting out new programs and feature length films. One of the programs, a Thanksgiving Day special, never made it to the air. But enough of the original material survived and found its way into comic form.
The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow follows a young boy named Timmy who comes across a group of monsters that speak in music. They help him learn guitar, which astonishes his sister Ann as her lessons didn’t seem to be taking hold. They also cause a bit of strife for Timmy, and Mr. Sump uses them as an excuse to get Timmy’s family kicked off their farm so he can have it all to himself. Rabbles are roused, hijinks ensue, and at least two shots are fired (don’t worry, no one gets hurt) in this tale of friendship and song.
When Jim Henson passed away over 20 years ago, the creator left a legacy like no other. His hit show Sesame Street continues to educate kids all over the world. The Muppets, another one of his creations, has endured and just recently made it back into the spotlight, thanks to their recent hit movie. Even the Dark Crystal, though a dud when it came out, is now a cult classic. Henson fever remains alive and well, which is probably why Archaia has decided to published Tale of Sand, a lost screenplay from Henson himself.
To help celebrate the 75th anniversary of Jim Henson‘s birth Archaia Entertainment debuted the first 20 pages of their upcoming graphic novel, Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand, which is based on a screenplay that was written by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl.
Archaia timed the preview to coincide with search giant Google’s own home page tribute to Jim Henson, which takes the form of a cool-as-heck interactive graphic that has six different Henson-esque puppets which respond to your mouse-clicks and follow your cursor around the screen when you press their associated button.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press
