TokyoPop was represented at Free Comic Book Day with "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Battle For Pumpkin King." My first surprise was that the issue didn't start from the back cover as other Manga books. The story was cute, but maybe a little too cute! I thought this before I noticed the A Rating, signifying it is for all ages.
When I think of Tim Burton, I think of his vision as being edgy. Therefore, I guess I was expecting the same thing from the comic book. Disney's name is displayed proudly on the front cover. When the movie was released, Disney credited the movie as being from Touchstone Pictures. They did this when movies were catered more to an older audience and may be too scary for kids. Well, there is no problem with that here! Disney's movie deal with Marvel Studios has me equally worried.
The movie began to grow on me in such a way that I included "Kidnap The Sandy Claws" by Korn on my Holiday playlist. This issue begins with the tale of two friends, Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie, enjoying friendly competitions during their younger days. This included Arm Wresting to Running, which put Oogie at a serious disadvantage due to his more compact legs.
Dan Conner is the writer of this story conceived by Shaun McLaughlin and DJ Milky. Utilizing Tim Burton's characters, Deborah Allo graphically represents them well throughout her artwork. Roberto Scalia's color technique maintains the necessary darkness for Halloween Town. Vibrraant Publishing Studio uses an extra large lettering style that makes it very easy to read.
Eventually, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town announces that he is going to step down from his position and a new Pumpkin King needs to be found. However, the Pumpkin King has his own agenda by not really giving up total control. Of course, citizens of Halloween Town elect Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie to run against each other. What kind of competition the Pumpkin King has in mind remains to be seen! My initial thoughts on this series may change depending on how they decide to move forward with this story.