Labyrinth manga

So I'm looking at the comic blogs (I'm currently in a big comic kick and I've discovered I can learn continuity stuff from reading the blogs in 5 minutes thus not having to read the comics that really scare me) and in some coverage of some con that just happened I read:

"TOKYOPOP also plans to release a sequel manga to Labyrinth, which first hit the big screen in 1986, remained a fan favorite over the years and also served as an inspiration for MirrorMask. Its manga version will follow 13-year-old Toby as he journeys back to the Labyrinth to assume his role as the heir to the Goblin Kingdom. Manga writer Jake Forbes will write this series."

I must admit I'm interested. The Labyrinth has a certain importance in our house (though I'm no longer worried about peaseblossom trying to bargain away our kids to the Goblin King).

I also should go and figure out what MirrorMask is supposed to be about (something I've shown a remarkable reluctance to do given that I have been reading comic blogs). I'll be honest and admit I've been less than impressed with Gaiman's recent output. But I also would like to see a good fantasy film. Well except for Nightwatch, which may or may not have been good but was certainly fun to watch.

Nostalgia

One of the things about occult fantasy, and as a result occult fantasy gaming, is that the past always had the super-duper secrets. The core idea seems to be that long ago the secrets of the cosmos were know the magicians (or priests or poets) who manipulated spiritual powers to achieve mighty ends. With this magical technology they connected heaven and earth.

It’s the Aegypt of John Crowley (and which chlehrich has a wonderful manuscript that I really, really owe him a letter on) that we see in just about every author that is out there.

And it is rife in gaming. From Nephilim to Witchcraft to Mage (and every point in between) the greatest magic is gained from the past. Power is found in nostalgia.

This thought was brought to mind most recently by looking at some of the stuff for the mage game, which drips nostalgia – prisca magia. Everyone seems to say its all about Nostalgia, harkening back to a golden era when the secrets of the universe were known to an elite. Not an uncommon theme really.

In tantanea I must admit I’ve used a lot of that too. But I’m hoping that the thread of the characters being responsible for so much of the prisca magia (creation of alchemy for one) this will free the players to think big and that not all secrets are contained in a golden age. I’m hoping to see if I can forge a balance.