Let me start this off with a declaration: If you have not seen Over the Garden Wall, you need to stop what you’re doing and watch it. Immediately. Debuting in 2014, Over the Garden Wall aired on Cartoon Network as a limited event miniseries. Within it’s 10 episodes we follow the story of two half-brothers who travel across a strange forest to find their way home, encountering odd and wonderful things on their journey. It’s a delightful and whimsical tale that never seems to get old or fails to entertain me. No matter how many times I’ve watched it. Which has been quite a few times. It never quite feels like autumn until I’ve dug out my favorite sweater, made some mulled apple juice and binge-watched Over the Garden Wall. It’s the perfect way to start off and compliment a nostalgia jammed season like fall. Specifically when the moon is full and the wind is howling through the trees. My love for this particular tale is undeniable so I was quick to jump at the chance to read Over the Garden Wall: Hollow Town.
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Written by Celia Lowenthal, Over the Garden Wall: Hollow Town follows trio Wirt, Greg and Beatrice. When Greg loses a shoe, Wirt must find a way to replace it, and fast if they want to avoid a repeat of the summer camp splinter incident. Luckily, it’s not long before they stumble upon Hollow Town, a hamlet populated entirely by wooden doll people. While there, Wirt finds work as a babysitter for the enigmatic Mrs. Clemence. However, the longer they stay in Hollow Town, the more it becomes clear that it holds a sinister secret.
Like the miniseries, the comic reads like an old story you may vaguely remember from childhood. It’s invokes nostalgia, even if you haven’t read it before. It has those hints of darkness that often make fairy tales so compelling. In this case it’s no doubt due to Lowenthal’s lyrical writing style. But what really ties this whole thing together is the art. It’s the necessity of any comic after all. Artist Jorge Monlongo lures readers into a world with his rendition on the Over the Garden Wall art style. It’s all very haunting and beautiful, with rich tones and colors that practically scream autumn and perfectly capture the aesthetic Over the Garden Wall fans expect.
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I can’t rave about this comic enough. Between the great storytelling and such lovable characters, what’s not to love? It’s the kind of book you might just flip through to look at all the pretty pictures. Other times it might become that kind of story you put off finishing for a while simply because you don’t want it to end. Of course that just opens the door for you to read it all over again once you finally finish it. And again. And again. Reading this was an enjoyable experience from start to finish. So much so that I’ve caved in and decided to buy myself a physical copy.
Over the Garden Wall: Hollow Town is written by Celia Lowenthal, the artist is Jorge Monlongo and the colorist is Kike J. Díaz. The lettering was made by Mike Fiorentino, and the cover art was done by Miguel Mercado. It is now available in comic book shops and via the BOOM! Studios website.
Wicked Rating: 7/10
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