Twenty-five years ago, Tim Burton produced “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and now the stop-motion animated film is all set to get its sequel. However, it would not be in the form of an animation film or any other kind of film. It will come out in comic book form. Manga publisher Tokyopop has bought the rights of Tim Burton’s creation and will be creating the sequel through a comic book that would revolve around the adventures of Jack Skellington’s dog Zero as he gets lost in Christmas Town.
Sequel to be called “Nightmare Before Christmas: Zero’s Journey”
Tokyopop has purchased the licensing rights from Tim Burton for the comic book sequel and it will be called “Nightmare Before Christmas: Zero’s Journey.” It will be based on the adventures of Zero, Jack Skellington’s dog, when he gets lost in Christmas Town. Tokyopop will release the comic book in the form of a serialized single-issues collection and later it will be collected together to form a more typical graphic novel. This is different from the company's usual model when it comes to releasing comics.
The conventional volumes would be published in two different formats - black and white pocket-size manga volumes and full-color trade paperbacks.
This is also the first instance when Burton has given permission to a different entity to take on the licensing rights of his cult classic “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and give it a creative twist of their own. It would be interesting to see what magic Tokyopop creates in this new project.
Comic book to launch in Spring 2018
Tokyopop plans to release the comic book sequel in Spring 2018 and it will be written by DJ Milky. Studio DICE will create the art for the comics after already working on the manga adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast.” What is more, Tokyopop is planning to extend its relationship with Disney and in the future, fans will be treated to a new five-volume series of “Kilala Princess,” this time bringing in characters like Mulan, Pocahontas, and Merida from "Brave."
It is worth mentioning here that “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a stop-motion animation film created by Tim Burton that tells the story of Jack Skellington who accidentally comes across Christmas Town and decides to try to take over and give his own scary spin on the Christmas holiday.
The holiday turns out to be a comical and adventurous ride, testing Jack in different ways. It was released in 1993 and turned out to be a success at the box office, earning more than $76 million in its first run.
