A comic-book sequel to The Nightmare Before Christmas is on the way

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

I'm a little amazed that THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS hasn't received a proper sequel, but I suppose that the film and its character have had no trouble living on past their 1993 debut thanks to the endless stream of merchandising centered around Jack Skellington, Sally, and the other residents of Halloween Town. A sequel to THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS is finally on the way, but it will be taking place in the pages of a comic-book, and not, unfortunately, as a stop-motion musical unfolding on the big-screen.

THR reports that Manga publisher Tokyopop has snagged a license for a comic-book project which will expand the story of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. The comic-book sequel, which will be titled "Nightmare Before Christmas: Zero's Journey," will center around Jack Skellington's dog as he gets lost in Christmas Town. Tokyopop released an adaptation of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS last year, and the sequel is expected to launch next spring. Written by DJ Milky with art from Studio DICE, "Nightmare Before Christmas: Zero's Journey" will be serialized as full-colour single issues released to stores, but will later be collected as a trade paperback as well as black and white "pocket-sized manga" volumes. Well, that's nice I suppose.

It's been some time since I last watched THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, but the songs immediately came flowing back as soon as I began writing. Although it's hard to think of an area of merchandising which THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS hasn't dived into, Tim Burton has remained protective of the film in regards to official follow-up, saying that he never wanted Jack to visit "Thanksgiving world' or other kinds of things just because I felt the movie had a purity to it and the people that like it… Because it's a mass-market kind of thing, it was important to kind of keep that purity of it." Apparently that purity isn't damaged by a NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS-edition of Clue.