The story of Jack Skellington and Oogie Boogie's friendship origins is the focus of a new The Nightmare Before Christmas graphic novel.
Manga and graphic novel publisher Tokyopop revealed the title of the third installment in The Nightmare Before Christmas graphic novels series as The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Battle for Pumpkin King. The story tells the tale of how Jack and the bogeyman Oogie Boogie went from being the closest of friends to being bitter enemies. Written by Dan Conner, who did the coloring in the second graphic novel Zero's Journey, with the story by Shaun McLaughlin and D.J. Milky (Zero's Journey) and art from Deborah Allo and Roberto Scalia, The Battle for Pumpkin King will be released as five single issue comics.
Years before the events of the original 1993 Tim Burton stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas, where Jack Skellington wears the crown as the "Pumpkin King," he and Oogie Boogie were best friends. The synopsis is as follows: "Eager to prove themselves, [the two] poured all their passion into their spooky projects to earn their rightful place as the scariest duo in town. But there could only be one Pumpkin King! What could have happened to turn two best friends into such bitter rivals?"
Burton Initially Wrote The Nightmare Before Christmas as a Poem
The Nightmare Before Christmas began as a poem written by Burton in 1982, which later developed into a full-length dark fantasy musical film directed by Henry Selick. The film's story follows the King of Halloween Town, Jack Skellington, who has grown tired of his usual Halloween shenanigans. After stumbling upon the festivities of Christmas Town and becoming inspired, Jack declares he will now take over Christmas.
The film grossed $50 million during its initial theatrical run and received critical acclaim for its innovative stop-motion animation and visual effects. Nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards and winning Best Fantasy Film at the Saturn Awards, The Nightmare Before Christmas has turned into a classic watch during Halloween. In 2017, the first graphic novel Zero's Journey, told from the perspective of Jack's pet ghost dog Zero, was published. The sequel graphic novel called Mirror Moon revolves around Sally, Jack's love interest, who has to solve a mystery. Sally's story received a young adult novel called Long Live the Pumpkin Queen, written by Shea Ernshaw in August 2022.
The graphic novel collects into issues #1 through #5 and will release in time for Halloween 2023.
Source: Tokyopop