Jim Henson's Tale of Sand is a graphic novel based on an unproduced screenplay by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl back in the days before The Muppet Show launched them into international stardom. Long buried and largely forgotten in the Henson 'vaults', it was revived and brought to life in printed form.
Canadian artist Ramon Perez has done a pretty incredible job of bringing a cinematic quality to the visual storytelling (essential, since there's minimal dialogue in the story), and it's a pretty gorgeous example of his work. The story itself is surreal and captivating, and a great example of Henson's interests behind the puppets. Mac, a rugged everyman, races across a desert landscape with little but his wits and a rucksack, pursued by a dapper man in an eye-patch. (I'm still wanting to see his early experimental film works -- the Oscar-nominated Time Piece and the television project The Cube -- and this could have capped off the trilogy nicely, I'm sure. TIFF, I'm waiting on your Henson exhibit!)
Just last week, Tale of Sand won three Eisner awards, making my reading quite timely.
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