The holidays are approaching quickly once more, and if you shop for someone that loves the Dark Crystal or if you share the love yourself, the perfect gift is out there.  Releasing November 12 is the giant coffee table book, Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance – Inside the Epic Return to Thra by Daniel Wallace and Lisa Henson.  Coming in at 192 pages, this over-sized book really is a must own for all Dark Crystal lovers.

Judge It By Its Cover!

One should never judge a book by its cover, but in this case please do!  Even sitting on a shelf or table, this book commands respect and attention.  The bold pictures and Dark Crystalese writing catches the eye, and in simply picking up the book it feels almost like one is picking up a sacred tome.  When it comes time to open the book, expectations will be exceeded.

Open to the pictures and you will find pure beauty jumps out at the reader.  Each page contains several pictures each that are hi-res, crisp, and sharp.  Their subjects cover everything from shots from the movie, to behind the scenes operations to concept art from Brian Froud.  The book shows quality shots of characters, clan symbols, props and furnishings such as the All-Maudra’s throne. Those who make art, figures or other Dark Crystal inspired crafts will appreciate having a book like this in front of them to study details and inspire them.

Return to Thra – So Much More Than Pictures

Many books like this look beautiful while thumbing through them, but there the books ends.  The Return to Thra book goes far beyond this.  After flipping through the book to look at the pictures, I backed up to the beginning to see what it had to say.  It did not disappoint one bit!

The book starts talking about the original movie and what it meant to Jim Henson to make it, and how he finally managed to make such a daring project.  From there it goes into a bit more detail regarding the movie that never left the realm of rumor before finally being abandoned.  Back stories like this add to the magic of old universes like this.

From Past to Present

Return to Thra

Then it jumps to Age of Resistance and how it was not only conceived, but how it transformed into its current state thanks to Netflix.  Henson Co only pitched an anime for children.  It was Netflix that desired to see the puppetry of the original return in all its glory, and things evolved from there.

Once the Age of Resistance kicked into full swing, the book delves into development and creation of everything from sets, to characters, to creatures and the deeply interwoven mythology of the universe.

Dark Crystal: Return to Thra – Cannot Miss!

return to Thra

If you love the Dark Crystal or want to find a gift for someone who does, this book is a must have.  One will not miss giving this book as a present.  Between the art, the quality of page and picture, as well as the lore inside, Return to Thra delivers on every level.  The book releases November 12 and will run buyers $50.  The price is well worth the quality of this book. You can pre-order it HERE.

(All images included in the article appear courtesy of Insight Editions.)