Jim Henson’s The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow
Hardcover
Written by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl
Art by Roger Langridge
Colors by Ian Herring
Letters by Roger Langridge
Covers by Roger Langridge
Archaia Entertaintment
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Cover Price: $24.99

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.

Last week we spotted a curious little bit of information in an article by Variety that seemed to indicate that, along with the new Fraggle Rock and Dark Crystal movies we’ve heard about, The Jim Henson Company was also working on a sequel to their 1986 fan-favorite Labyrinth…something no one else had ever heard about.

It seemed odd that not another peep about this sequel was to be found anywhere on the internet, but seeing as how it was Variety, we ran with it while also warning that it could turn out to be a misunderstanding. And as it turns out, sadly, this might be the case after all. According to Entertainment Weekly, sources have told them that a sequel is not being developed at the moment. The Henson Co. had no comment.

Disney is reportedly quite unhappy with the scathing reviews and middling box office of Muppets Most Wanted, the latest big screen outing of the late Jim Henson’s adorable felt creations. Thus they have announced today that the beloved characters will be taken in a completely different direction for their next feature film.

The studio has decided to unite The Muppets with two of their most profitable franchises in adapting Patton Oswalt‘s epic filibuster from an April 2013 episode of the NBC sitcom Parks & Recreation. In the full nearly 9-minute video (which you can watch here below), Oswalt wove an amazing tale that combined the Star Wars and Marvel universes in one awe-inspiring adventure that would shatter the minds of geeks the world over. According to an unnamed spokesperson at the studio, Disney feels that this story could work, without undermining Star Wars: Episode VII and the various Marvel Studios projects in various stages of development.

John Henson, one of the sons of the late Jim Henson, who had created an empire with his puppet creations The Muppets, died of a heart attack on Friday. He was 48 years old. A rep from The Jim Henson Company confirmed the news on Facebook on Saturday, stating that Henson was at his home in Saugerties, NY, with his daughter at the time of his death.

Henson had been full-fledged involved with his father’s creations; he was a puppeteer for the Muppets and had performed as Sweetums the Ogre in several Muppet-themed films, including Muppet Treasure Island and The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz. He was also a shareholder and board member of The Jim Henson Company.

Jim Henson and Frank Oz‘s 1982 cinematic fantasy The Dark Crystal remains a marvel of practical visual effects, puppetry, and classical storytelling more than three decades after it was first released in theaters. A longtime favorite of kids and adults, Crystal‘s cult following has grown over the years and the film continues to win over new fans every time it gets inserted into a DVD or Blu-ray player or screens theatrically.

I know it did with me. Earlier this year I blind bought the extras-packed Blu-ray release of The Dark Crystal from Barnes & Noble to see if the movie deserved the love and adulation that has been piled on it since its big-screen debut a week before Christmas 1982. As a proponent of practical effects, models, miniatures, and matte paintings over CGI creations I was amazed by the beautiful imagery that directors Henson and Oz – working from a screenplay by David Odell (Masters of the Universe) – and their team of FX wizards and puppeteers headed by concept artist Brian Froud worked tirelessly to bring to life at a considerable (for the early 1980’s) budget of $17 million.