New Comics based on Dark Crystal, The Storyteller and Fraggle Rock

[JD]

I just found out yesterday while looking around on the Muppet wiki, that the comic publisher Archaia Studios Press, has gotten the rights to some of the Jim Henson's stuff, including The Dark Crystal, The Storyteller, MirrorMask, Fraggle Rock, and an unproduced script called The Tale of Sand.
So far they've done 2 3 issue Fraggle Rock miniseries, and one stand alone. I haven't read any of them yet, since I 've only seen one episode of the show, but I plan to once I've seen more.
Here's a description from their managing editor Tim Beedle:

We’re trying to remain as true to the series as possible. I think the biggest change is that we’re telling these stories in the comic book medium rather than TV. We did make a conscious decision not to write the series as a sequel to the show. Those of you who know how the show ends know that setting these stories after the final episode would require either changing some key components of the series or else coming up with some contrived way of reversing what happened at the end of the show. We didn’t want to do that, so rather our stories are set within the period of the show. We’re also not worrying too much about continuity. We’re not ignoring it, but in the interest of making sure this book’s accessible to young readers who have never seen the show, we felt it best if we focus on telling self-contained stories that don’t depend on knowing particular episodes of the show.
That said, there will definitely be things in the series for fans. We’re focusing on the “Fraggle Five,” but we’ll also be telling stories that focus on Doozers and Gorgs, as well as supporting characters like Convincing John, the World's Oldest Fraggle, Traveling Matt and Cotterpin Doozer. We’re also throwing in occasional references and Easter Eggs that fans will pick up on. We’re all old fans ourselves, so we definitely want to make sure we please our fellow fans. But we also want to help grow the property and bring new fans into the fold. I think the series succeeds on both fronts.

They're next release is The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, a three issue graphic novel series that covers the entire history of Thra (the world on which the movie is set) from it's creation all the way through to the beginning of the movie. Brian Froud, who worked with Jim Henson as the concept designer on the original movie is writing the plot, designing the characters and providing art direction. They have a free preview for it up on Archaia's official site. The first book is being released November 22. Here's an official description

Part one of a three-part graphic novel series delving into the origins of the Skeksis, Mystics, Gelflings, the world of Thra and the Dark Crystal itself. Spanning a time period from thousands of years ago to right up to the start of the original film, this graphic novel epic will tell the definitive origin of Dark Crystal, under the supervision of The Jim Henson Company and The Dark Crystal concept designer Brian Froud. (96 pages, hardcover)

That is followed by The Storyteller, which appears to be a one off, I'm not sure. Here's a list of the stories

• "Old Nick & the Peddler"
  From a Scandinavian folk tale
  Script and art by Roger Langridge
• "Puss In Boots"
  From a French fairy tale
  Script by Marjorie Liu. Art by Jennifer L. Meyer
• "The Milkmaid & Her Pail"
  From an Aesop fable
  Script and art by Colleen Coover
• "Old Fire Dragaman"
  From An Appalachian Jack tale
  Script by Jeff Parker. Art by Tom Fowler.
• "Momotaro the Peach Boy"
  From a Japanese fairytale
  Script by Ron Marz. Art by Craig Rousseau.
• "An Agreement Between Friends"
  From a Romanian folktale
  Script and art by Chris Eliopoulos.
• "The Frog Who Became An Emperor"
  From a Chinese folktale
  Script by Paul Tobin. Art by Evan Shaner.
• "The Crane Wife"
  From a Japanese folktale
  Script and art by Katie Cook.
• "The Witch Baby"
  From a Russian fairytale
  Adapted from a screenplay by Anthony Minghella.
  Script by Nate Cosby. Art by Ronan Cliquet.

The last one in the list is based on an unproduced scrip from Anthonly Minghella, who wrote every episode of the original series. Here's a free preview. It's being released on November 22 also.
The last one (so far at least) is The Tale of Sand, which is based on an unproduced screenplay written by Jim Henson, and Jerry Juhl.
Here's the description from the official Archaia website:

Join us as we explore this missing piece of Jim Henson’s career in a celebration of his creative process. Discovered in the Archives of The Jim Henson Company, Tale of Sand is an original graphic novel adaptation of an unproduced, feature-length screenplay written by Jim Henson and his frequent writing partner, Jerry Juhl. Tale of Sand follows scruffy everyman Mac, who wakes up in an unfamiliar town, and is chased across the desert of the American Southwest by all manners of man and beast of unimaginable proportions. Produced with the complete blessing of Henson CEO Lisa Henson, Tale of Sand will allow Henson fans to recognize some of the inspirations and set pieces that appeared in later Henson Company productions.

and a free preview. This one is being released on December 6.
I'm a huge Henson fan, so I'm really looking forward to all of these.