Review: OVER THE GARDEN WALL #1

“Over the Garden Wall,” is a new comics series from Boom! Studios imprint, KaBOOM! But it already has established a history over at Cartoon Network as a crazy popular show. It has the distinction of being Cartoon Network’s first-ever original animated miniseries. That said, this issue assumes some prior knowledge of the goings-on but it’s also totally newbie-friendly. The gist of it is that this is all set in a fantasy-type world. The characters are always on the lookout for the Beast and the land of the Unknown is not a good place to be. Alright, that’s plenty to work with already!

Well, let’s just to be clear and give credit where credit is due. The whole shebang originates with “Tome of the Unknown” a fantastic animated short by Pat McHale ((Adventure Time, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack). That’s what led to the ongoing animated series on Cartoon Network. Things just rolled from there. For instance, check out Pat’s limited series comic.

Okay, getting back to this new ongoing series, what grabbed me right away was the zippy quality to the panel-to-panel reading experience. There is an uncanny timing to things like when you have a frog belch, “Rorop!” That’s because the original team from the new ongoing animated series is working on this comic. Jim Campbell returns to join forces with fellow show writer Amalia Levari. Along with that talent, there is also writer Danielle Burgos; and, art-wise, you have Jim Campbell and Cara McGee. Well, it all adds up to some magical storytelling. No prior knowledge, indeed! All you need to do is observe, with a certain amount of glee, little boy Greg as he returns to Dreamland traipsing about, all Little Nemo-style.

Midway through, we make an abrupt switch in setting after Greg has had his adventure. We go back in the backstory to the land of the Unknown and follow the struggles of young Anna, the daughter of the Woodsman, as she must learn to survive in the woods on her own. Greg’s story, followed by Anna’s story, all makes for a nice mix of light and dark. This is a very engaging comic that will be worthwhile for any age.

Also included is a preview of a new Adventure Time title simply going by the name, “Adventure Time Comics.” This is a special opportunity to spread one’s wings and mix things up with brand-new “off-model” stories, as they say in the comics biz. That accounts for the story here involving the Pastry Princess and the Queen of Breakfast. These are most definitely not your regular characters from Adventure Time. I guess whenever I see some such character, like say, The Hamburger Prince, I should yell out, “Off-model!” Either that or I should make my way to my nearest fast food drive thru. Well, getting back to the story at hand, it is very cute and funny. Turns out that pastries are indeed a part of breakfast. Wonderful art and story by Katie Cook! You can expect to find the first issue of “Adventure Time Comics” to arrive this July.

“Over the Garden Wall #1” is available as of April 27th. For more details, visit Boom! Studios right here.