'I am now Sally Skellington.
A beautifully illustrated and lyrical adaptation of Shea Ernshaw's novel, 'Long Live the Pumpkin Queen', a sequel to 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' and part of that franchise's ever-expanding universe and lore.
It is about Sally - the dear, dear ragdoll, queen, wife, daughter, diplomat, and witchy, crafty seamstress and scientist. This is strictly her story, stitched together to fit her character, her dimensions, and rightfully so, given her complexities. Plus she is my absolute, resolute favourite.
My thoughts on the 2025 graphic novel are more or less the same as in my review of the 2022 novel, which can be read here. It is a well written adventure and treat, even though, bizarrely, not that many of Halloween Town's gruesome and ghoulish residents are shown and depicted here, and no land besides Halloween Town and Dream Town receives much attention, and the samples of prose taken from the source material, however beautifully written, can get excessive for this mostly visual medium.
I have to add also that I adore Jack and Sally's relationship - they are one of my favourite Disney couples, and one of my favourite fictional couples period - and how the newlyweds are drawn together in this graphic novel, such as whenever they kiss, and those last triumphant kisses…they take my breath away.
Just like Jack does. I have always had a strange attraction to Jack Skellington that I will not explain myself for. I'm sure I'm not alone in my love for that lean, dark, gentlemanly, whimsical, winsome, curious, alluring, charismatic and personality-filled skeleton, however.
Ethereal, lush, wistful, exciting, introspective, self-reflective, poignant, shadowy and romantic, though simply adapted and not too potent - it certainly isn't too scary or macabre - the graphic novel version of 'Disney Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Long Live the Pumpkin Queen', by Liz Marsham, Ishmael Canales and Alessio Petilo, is a creative delight for Halloween, for all ages. Appropriately, it has a dark, dreamy mystique to it. I read it the day after I watched the original movie for the hundredth time, and it seems I can't get enough of either.
Happy Halloween 2025, everyone!
Long live Sally Skellington the Pumpkin Queen! Her own queen, unlike any other!
Final Score: 3.5/5
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