Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths Vol. 1

The Dark Crystal #1

by Brian Holguin, Alex Sheikman (Artist), Lizzy John (Artist)

Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths Vol. 1 is an original graphic novel hardcover set one thousand years before the crystal cracked, before the world of Thra fell to strife and destruction. Original Dark Crystal movie concept designer Brian Froud plots, provides the cover, designs characters, and art directs this beautiful hardcover. Written by Brian Holguin (Spawn), and illustrated by Alex Sheikman (Robotika) and Lizzy John.

Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Art, Mythology

96 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2011

About the author

American writer who writes comics, novels and animation. Some of his works include "Aria", "Savior," "Spawn" "The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths," "Godslayer" and "Kiss: Psycho Circus".

Reviews

[Gabrielle (Reading Rampage) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been revisiting a few childhood favorites this year, especially my holy trinity of VHS tapes I watched so much they ended up blurry : “The Last Unicorn”, “The Flight of Dragons” and “The Dark Crystal”. I have always been a fan of genuinely scary fairy tales, thanks to those movies, and there are images and lines from all three of them that haunt me to this day. You can imagine how excited I was to learn Netflix has “The Dark Crystal” prequel show due for the late summer: the little girl in me jumped up and down hysterically, but the grown-up in me was really happy I’d be able to binge-watch the show while drinking wine.

“Creation Myths” is exactly what the title promises: it is the story of the creation of Thra, the birth of Aughra and the evolution of the Gelflings and their society. This first volume does an amazing job of setting up the universe we got to know from the movie, and begins to fill in some of the most intriguing blanks from the original story, while working up to the tantalizing events leading to Jen and Kira’s story. My only complaint is that the main narrative is interrupted a couple of times for little side-stories that were charming, but distracting.

The artwork is absolutely stunning, and truly captures the very unique and otherworldly look and feel of the movie: this is not a surprise, as Brian Froud was the artistic director for the series. The characters are wonderfully knobbly and asymmetrical, kind of creepy but also friendly. There are some typical tropes of myths: a nurturing “Earth Mother” type figure, a dissatisfied trickster, an innocent people turned violent when they unearth a secret… But it is weaved into the universe conceived by Henson and Froud seamlessly.

Fans of the movie will love this!

[Shainlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended if you love Dark Crystal and ever wondered things like .. How did Kira get wings? Where did Aughra come from? What was Thra like before the crystal cracked? And a lot of other questions. Really neat stories. Love them.

Second read : We are watching the show on Netflix so I needed a bit of a review on the creation myths. Really interesting to see the events that led to the corruption of the Crystal of Truth and the appearance of the Skeksis. I think it’s easier having read these to understand the show. I know the movie like the back of my hand and it helps during the show, so I would at least watch that first. Detail is very much taken into account and so far is very faithful. This is something from my childhood that I watched over and over again with my dad. I liked the unusual fantasy type stuff as a kid. It’s still with me.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in conjunction with the designer of the Dark Crystal, Brian Froud. This is a gorgeously rendered origin story of the world of the Dark Crystal. I can't see any fan of the movie not liking this.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had heard of new material for Jim Henson's Dark Crystal (along with his Labyrinth too) But I was not quite sure what it was or more importantly what sort of quality it was - after all I remember the manga style Labyrinth books which thankfully I didnt invest in.

So when I came across these books I will admit I was more than a little skeptical however after being allowed to read a few pages (they were all sealed) I thought why not. Not only was the artwork amazing the story had the same strange "other-worldliness" about it that I remember from the film.

And so I have started on my journey of the creation myths - of how the world of the Dark Crystal came about and how we find ourselves at the start of the film.

This is the first of 3 books and I am sure there will be much more to follow - after all the world is still young and although much is familiar I feel that the tale really has not started.

Ironically I see now that there are also 3 sequel books which appear to carry on from the film - I wonder what they will be like especially that I see now that they are working on my shows. I think I have stumbled on to something just before it becomes popular again - we shall see.

[Cameron Crawford · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel horrible rating this so low. I wanted to love it, but this book as with so many other expanded universe writings, seems to have taken the source material it was based upon and ignored all desire to preserve the mystery and ambiance.

The premise is odd. Basically it turns out that all the characters we know from the movie all happen to be related to the few events we know from the movie and very few other people were involved. The movie leaves us with the feeling that there is a huge wide expansive rich world out there full of life and a few characters are thrown together coincidentally during a very important event in this planet's history. The book leaves us with the feeling that it's a small world full of a few handful of species that were all inter-related for hundreds of years. The mystery and the awe are erased (if not spit upon) and the author seems scared to come up with any original characters or races for a world that should be just as diverse as Star Wars' cantina.

Oh well.

A mediocre disappointment after years of wanting some new DC material.

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dark Crystal is a favorite movie of mine. I love Brian Froud's genius characters and the way Jim Henson made them into muppets. When I heard there were graphic novels being made, of course I was very excited! I got Vol. 1 for Christmas. The cover is beautiful, I only wish the rest of the illustrations were as good. They're not. I don't like the look of the artwork inside.
The stories are broken into little vignettes about the beginning stages of Thra and Thra's "Earth mother" Aughra. It's a little too serious if I'm honest. It seems like this story took itself too seriously and lost the wonder and whimsy of the movie. The world building takes center stage, so the characters are a little one dimensional for me. I liked the new character, Raunip, but even he was a bit flat. So I'm a little disappointed in this so far, but I love the Dark Crystal so I'll probably keep checking out the next volumes.

[Adam Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the movie and the back story in this graphic novel felt true to the film. Great artwork as well. Hoping they make a part 2.

[Roman Kurys · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting story revolving around the origin story of the Dark Crystal.

What I thought was great is the consistency of the story and visuals portrayed. It felt like an extension of the movie.

It is also very similar to the new Netflix Dark Crystal show. (With various differences, naturally).
I’m not sure if that’s by accident if by design, but both the Netflix show and this story intertwine together into a robust Prequel.

I was never a huge fan of the movie, but I liked it enough to pick this up and it’s about what I expected. A fun story.

Nothing spectacular and nothing bad. Just run of the mill fantasy tale with reminiscing value of the past grandeur of the Dark Crystal!

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was an 80s kid and watched (and loved) a ton of the era's fantasy movies - KRULL, WILLOW, DRAGONSLAYER, EXCALIBUR, and so on. THE DARK CRYSTAL was one that eluded me. Too, well, dark, and I often felt its characters just felt like pawns on a chessboard - not like vibrant characters forging their own destiny.

But...I still want to like it. I like parts of it. I love its visuals. I even own it - you know, in the off chance I somehow warm up to it.

And I might. I found myself reading CREATION MYTHS - a series of vignettes about the world's past, some comic format, some short prose - and generally having a pretty good time. Its narrator is a mysterious hooded figure, and he (or she) opens with nothing less than the creation of the world and its first truly sentient being - Aughra, the crusty seer from the film. You'll learn how she got her vast, clockwork model of planetary bodies and about the mysterious race of energy beings (basically, aliens) who made their mark on Thra, Aughra, and the Gelfling race. I believe these beings - called Light Bringers - are original to this graphic novel and not a part of the movie. They add a rather huge bit of mythology to the setting and their story remains partially untold by the end of the graphic novel. I really enjoyed the big reveals about their origin, though, which seems to fit the darker tones of the setting.

Other stories concern Gelfling adventurers and the memorable new character of Raunip (Aughra's son). Brian Holguin, best known to me for the quite-good fantasy series, ARIA, writes, and there's some rather great art throughout that calls to mind a more richly painted version of Wendy Pini's ELFQUEST art. It's a fitting reflection of Brian Froud's famed original designs.

My complaints are only my broader complaints about the franchise as a whole - it sometimes seems more like a world-building exercise than a truly involving story, and the mythology of it all is a bit hippie-dippy and 70s-ish. That said, it's some pretty interesting world-building and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Looking forward to the second volume.

[Karissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first graphic novel in a graphic novel trilogy that delves into the mythos behind how the world presented in The Dark Crystal came to be. This was an absolutely wonderful read. It adds a lot of background to the Dark Crystal story (although I will admit it's probably been 15-20 years since I've watched the original movie). This stands alone very nicely and the artwork was absolutely stunning.

This book is mainly the story of Aughra, in this series she is portrayed a more revenant Earth Goddess type, and her favorites of her world are the Gelflings. However she strays a bit from tending the world to scouring the heavens when a race called the Light Bringers show up and introduce Aughra to the worlds beyond her own. Aughra’s son, Raunip, thinks that the Light Bringers are leading his mother astray and wants to bring a stop to the Light Bringers rule.

It has been a long long time since I have seen the Dark Crystal movie. It’s one of those movies that I desperately wanted to watch over and over when I was young. While I loved the story in the movie, I remember thinking the actual movie itself was a bit boring. I really did enjoy this graphic novel though because it expands on the story and tells how the world of Thra got to be where it was in the Dark Crystal movie.

The artwork is absolutely breathtaking. It’s full color, beautiful and is easy to follow. It does a wonderful job of conveying what the world of Thra is like and does an excellent job with character expressions as well. It’s just absolutely stunning.

The story was well done too. There are definitely desprepencies with the movie though. I remember Aughra being a bit goofy in the movies, here she was more of a Goddess figure that the Gelfings worshipped. I also don’t remember the Light Bringers. It is the Light Bringers that bring technology to the world of Thra.

I don’t remember the Gelfings being hunter/gatherers and that is what they are initially portrayed as in the novel. The Light Bringers basically pull the Gelfings out of a hunter/gatherer community and into a more enlightened age.

The story sets up things for the next two books. Basically we are introduced to the characters, the world, and some beginning conflict. There are some interesting epic poems throughout the book as well that were fun to read. This book should be appropriate for all ages, I didn’t really run into anything in here that I wouldn’t let my six year old son read.

Overall an excellent read, I really enjoyed it. The artwork is absolutely beautifully, the story is engaging and interesting. I love the world of Dark Crystal and am so happy to be able to learn some background on the world of Thra. I am very eager to read volume 2. I highly recommend this to fans of fantasy graphic novels or to fans of the Dark Crystal world.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit it. I'm guilty of sitting in Chapters to read this book. I've always felt like it was somehow cheating to do this, but I thought I should try it at least once. And it was great (once I got past the feeling that everyone was silently judging me)! I highly recommend it. ;)

It has been years since I watched the movie, and to be honest, it scared the crap out of me. In fact, 25 years have passed and I still haven't recovered from my childhood trauma. But... the thought of a prequel in graphic novel form set my imagination on fire. I NEEDED to read this. Consider it a cheap form of therapy. ;)

The artwork is beyond phenomenal! I had a hard time not leaving my finger smears across the pages, since I had no intention of buying it. I would give a five star review based on the illustrations alone. And the story is definitely intriguing. I'm curious to see where the story will go from here. It is broken up into several shorter stories, spanning generations, but they are nothing more than little tidbits of a larger story. I almost felt a little cheated by the fact that it was such a broken story, although it is certainly a more unique approach than what I was expecting.

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[Abel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Volumen introductorio de estos Mitos de la Creación de Cristal Oscuro. Si te gustó la película, es una lectura interesante aunque este primer volumen sea un poco flojo. Lo más destacable no son ni el diujo ni el guión, sino los grandísimos errores de edición que tiene el libro. Un corrector de estilo hubiera sido oro molido, sí -_-'

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story about what happened BEFORE the movie.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated origin fable of the unique world of the fondly-remembered fantasy film.

[Liz B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty boring. It's exactly what it says it is--creation myths. And the problem with that is--well, it seems like an awfully narrow audience. Maybe people who loved the movie who simply cannot get enough of the world? I think the elements that made the movie so powerful are utterly missing here. There is no conflict. No danger. No evil. No mysteries to uncover.

I can't imagine that anyone new to the story (e.g., someone who'd never seen the movie) would be interested at all.

It's possible I'll read the other two, because I do like the world. I just don't know if I like it enough to spend my reading time on this series.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Exquisite artwork that emulates the character designs and overall feel of the original film, and lovingly tells the backstory of the world of Thra before the Crystal cracked.

My only qualms are pretty minor, but I couldn't help but feel that Aughra's character in this book was extremely reverent, and depicted as an Earth Goddess, whereas in the film she is wise but haggard and ridiculous as well. It seems they've taken that character and made her one-dimensional here, which is a shame - she was one of the few points of comic relief in the film, which was an interesting juxtaposition for the character whose role it was to also dictate the prophecies of the world. I like the concept that a prophet would naturally be eccentric - and this is somewhat missing in the book.

The other thing that bothers me slightly is the depiction of the Gelflings as hunter-gatherers. I can get on board with the gatherer part, but they were originally referred to as a wholly peaceful race, and I just can't be convinced that they were prone to putting on war paint and slaying giant creatures for food. In my ideal world, they live in harmony with nature.

Again, these are minor qualms with a book that ultimately allows us all to return to the magical world created by Jim Henson many years ago.

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I've watched the Dark Crystal, but I didn't feel at all lost with this collection, which serves as a prequel to the movie, and expands on significant portions of the story of the world, with a few of the movie's characters being prominent as well, namely Aughra. The story feels complete in itself, and really does expand on the world of the Dark Crystal, and is beautifully illustrated as well. Any fan would do well to read this.

[Love of Hopeless Causes · Rating 2 out of 5]

A level art, D level stories. Hopefully the myths come to some meaningful event in later volumes, but this book does not stand on its own.

[Erik B.K.K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Expected more from these. The story is bare bones and the art inside can't compare to Froud's beautiful covers.

[Frans Kempe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great artwork and interesting story. This book focuses on the creation of the Dark crystal world.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sumptuous return to Henson's bizarre ecological mythrealm. Narratively simple by design and necessity, this pulls off the vital trick of feeling of a part with the original film. Tonally it fits right in, rather than coming off as some well-intentioned but ill-conceived fanfic (you can surely think of at least a couple late-life expansions of a beloved property that shat the bed in such a manner). Beautifup art, flowery language, a slightly unsettlimg, otherworldly mood - it ticks all the boxes, and expands The Dark Crystal in ways that seem organic and appropriate.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very imaginative origin story based on the classic film "The Dark Crystal" from Jim Henson and Brian Froud. The book is imaginatively and graphically stunning. It took some directions I had not expected, but made perfect sense in the universe presented in the film. I am looking forward to finishing Volume 2.

[Daniel V. N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent work! The writing is good, and the art is much more in the spirit of the 1982 movie and 2019 series than The Power of the Dark Crystal (2017) comic book series.

I cannot wait to dive into Vol. 2, so I’ll cut this review short and possibly talk more at length after the conclusion.

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Returning to the world of Thra and gaining backstory to the Dark Crystal is beyond special. I’ve loved Aughra since I was a child and appreciated learning more of her origin from vol 1. The emphasis on storytelling and Gelfling folktales interspersed throughout were fascinating as well. At this point, I just want more—can’t wait to read vol 2!

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning before the movie. I really enjoyed reading this and seeing what has happened to explain things I had not known when I watched the movie. As a comic it speaks louder to you. Ready to read the next volume!

[Chip Coombs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been in love with Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal but, shamefully, I wasn't aware there were tie-in novels and graphic novels until recently. I love the world-building and the art is unique.

[Tamara Morrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so great to read

It was lovely to see the stories behind the original movie
to see what happened before we got to the Dark crystal
I can't wait to read more

This made me want to re-watch the movie all over again

[Nicollette Winiewicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly written and gorgeously illustrated! I loved learning the back story of some of my favorite characters from my childhood!

[Teresa Barrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic art.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come