Review: Over the Garden Wall Vol. 1

Dahianaris Diaz ’16/ Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Last year, Cartoon Network aired a surprising mini series called Over the Garden Wall, which was met with high praise from both critics and fans alike for its tight writing and entrancing atmosphere. Following the examples of Steven Universe and Adventure Time, Cartoon Network has produced a series of tie in comics for the show with series creator Pat McHale as the writer and Jim Campbell as the illustrator.

The comics explore the adventures Wirt, Beatrice and Gregg have in between the episodes of the show. It’s a nice way to flesh out their lives and enrich the world while giving the audience more of their favorite characters. The writing is completely in line with the show, following a fairy tale like plot where two children trick Wirt into ruining their farm so they can get out of chores. The art style is different but still distinctly tied into the show’s, with muted color palettes and thick lines.

The most pleasant surprise was the way the comic hooks its continuity to the show’s established timeline.  Reading the comic, you half expect everything to be floating ambiguously in the timeline of the show, but Pat McHale takes a great opportunity to tie the comic to the beginning of episode 4 “Songs of the Dark Lantern,” showing how the characters get to the hay cart they start the episode in. Decisions like these present exciting opportunities to see how the comics will continue to link up and enrich the show, while giving fans little details that make the world of the series more solid.

Over The Garden Wall  is publisjed by BOOM! Studios for the price of $3.99