Sowing Seeds of Stories From Over The Garden Wall

by Vince Brusio

If someone creates a world and lets you play in it with no curfew, where would you start? What would you do first? Those and other questions are what we asked writer/artist Jim Campbell, as he’s driving the train on Over The Garden Wall TP (APR161375) for BOOM! Studios. The fact that he’s friends with series creator Pat McHale has made the experience of writing, drawing, and coloring the book a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Over The Garden Wall TP (APR161375) is in comic shops September 14.

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PREVIEWSworld: What gets you in the mood to write Over The Garden Wall ? What file cabinet do you open in your head to find the ideas that create your stories? Or is there some other stimulus that gets the creative juices flowing?

Jim Campbell: Patrick McHale created such a rich world with Over the Garden Wall that for the most part I return to the original series for inspiration. Sometimes I look to some old books and illustration. This is obviously a fantasy world but a lot of the look is inspired by the early 1800s in America, so I am mostly looking at authors and illustrators from that era. Mostly, though, I'm just going into my imagination to try and think of fun and weird situations, and then wrapping those ideas in the look and mythology of the show. 

PREVIEWSworld: What’s the best part of your job working on Over The Garden Wall? And on the flip side, what do you find to be the most challenging?

Jim Campbell: I really enjoy drawing funny expressions and creating emotional resonance between the characters. It’s just cool to be able to go from an idea, to a drawing, to a printed book, and then see fans react positively to it. The TV series was really great and a lot of fans have carried over that enthusiasm to the comics.

I'm just really grateful for the whole thing. The format of these books is giving me a lot of freedom to invent fun new characters that exist next to the original series. 

Writing and drawing and coloring comics is work, of course. It takes time, and as a freelance artist I need to budget my time to get it all done by the deadlines. But it’s the best job I’ve ever had. Conceptually, I hope the stories can continue to carry the spirit of the show. Pat McHale is a friend and he still gives me advice and suggestions when I need to really nail something about the feel of the characters he put so much into personally. I think the work I did on the show as a storyboard artist and illustrating the comics Pat wrote really gave me an insight into the characters. I feel like if I am doing something Pat likes, I’m happy. So far, he has been very supportive and enthusiastic and it’s been a great experience.

PREVIEWSworld: What endears you to the characters in this book? What is it about them that makes one stop and take notice?

Jim Campbell:  The characters definitely have a unique look, but, more than anything, there is a depth to the characters in the show that I hope I am carrying over into the comic.

The stories I am working on focus on Greg and his frog, Jason Funderberker. Greg has an innocent adventurous spirit. He can sometimes see through to the truth of a situation where his older brother Wirt, who is much more serious and skeptical, might be lost in his own head. Greg is more willing to go along with the unexpected and have fun. It's fun for me to play up the interactions between Greg, his mostly deadpan frog, and the weird characters they meet in this dream world.  

PREVIEWSworld: If you were speaking at a panel, and had to give an overview of Over The Garden Wall, what would you say that would get the crowd fired up? How would you make them want to read this book?

Jim Campbell: These comics further explore the strange world of “The Unknown” from Over the Garden Wall. In my half of the book, Greg’s frog Jason Funderberker leads him into Greg’s dream world. There are a lot of fun characters and adventures that reflect Greg’s own personality. But as the stories progress, a darkness lurks at the edges, hinting that The Unknown may be encroaching. These stories have a lot of humor, a lot of heart, and a little bit of the dark mystery fans love from the TV series. And that’s just my half of the book! Each issue will also have a secondary story that is delving into the story of the woodsman and his daughter, a couple characters I know have intrigued the imaginations of the show’s fans.