It was a bit like Siddhartha, but with frogs. And it involved his relationship with his absentee father. “It was a bit like Siddhartha, but with frogs.” Can you tell me anything about this spiritual successor you want to make? Does it take place in the Unknown? I’m extremely happy that people still seem to enjoy the show. The goal was definitely to make a holiday special that could be rewatched every year — I never had any illusions that it could be a big smash hit, but I did hope that it might become a sort of cult classic. I’m very relieved that it found its niche. Venture into the Unknown! A complete tour through the development and production of the Emmy-winning animated miniseries Over the Garden Wall, this volume contains hundreds of pieces of concept art and sketches, and a comprehensive look at the show's breathtaking production art. From the original Tome of the Unknown: Harvest Melody pilot, through each of the episodes, and beyond, take a strange and wonderful journey with Wirt, Greg, and Beatrice. You’ve expanded on the story with a series of graphic novels. Do you think you’ll ever create a sequel?

I was having trouble finding full-time storyboard artists for the show because it was such a short-term job, so Pen was one of the pals who saved us by coming in and storyboarding/writing at the last minute. He did half of Episode 4. I think he may have done some boards for Episode 5 as well, but I forget. I likely asked his opinion on other things too along the way, but I really don’t remember. I can’t say much about it right now. It has absolutely nothing to do with Over the Garden Wall, other than that it comes from a similar place in my heart and brain. Originally, the series started with Wirt and Greg in their hometown in the first episode. We tried a million different ways to try to get that to work, but it just never felt right. It was better to leave their pasts mysterious at first. We also tried a ton of different ending concepts. Right. We didn’t outline all those stories, and many of them ended up being folded together or changed, and included in other forms in the series (or the comics)… but one of the major cuts was that I originally planned to have a multi-episode arc involving Wirt and Greg turning into animals, and traveling through various animal-themed situations. One involved a hunter, You’ve worked with Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward for a long time, did he contribute to Over the Garden Wall ?One of the main limitations in graphic novels for me is that there’s no sound, which is 50 percent of the viewer’s experience in animation. But with graphic novels, you have the written word, which can be very powerful.

People who are desperate sometimes do bad things, but I generally don’t think of anyone as a bad person, exactly. We were all little babies at one point… and in most ways, we’re still little babies well into adulthood until we die. Well, I think a Wirt costume is pretty cheap and easy to put together and wear, but it’s also somewhat distinct. And works pretty well for any gender. So… that’s a pretty solid combination when it comes to Comic Con costumes. I doubt I’ll ever make another Over the Garden Wall miniseries, but there’s a sort of spiritual successor that I absolutely want to make. I love the miniseries format. It can be very grueling making a TV show, so it’s nice when there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.There is so much in this book. What inspired the show, little comments from those who worked on it, sketches and screenshots from all stages of the show’s progress, character concept art, other episode ideas, information about the initial pilot, and more.

An unsung favorite of mine is the marching band theme “Halloween Halftime.” It just sneaks into my head sometimes and hangs around. It really does sound like those marching band football bleachers tunes from high school. “Pottsfield CM” is another special one. Are there any Over the Garden Wall stories you’ve only been able to tell through the graphic novel format? You planned for the miniseries to have 18 chapters. What stories about the Unknown didn’t make it into the miniseries? When we did our first casting call for Wirt, we mostly just got Woody Allen impressions. I told my casting director (Linda Lamontagne) that I’d imagined him having more of an Elijah Wood type voice, and she said, “Well then let’s just ask Elijah!” So we did, and he said OK! Kind of amazing. “When we did our first casting call for Wirt, we mostly just got Woody Allen impressions.” It’s hard to even start listing all the things I learned on Adventure Time. I guess the most important thing I got from AT was confidence. I’d learned all the important ins-and-outs of running a show, so although Over the Garden Wall was quite a difficult show to make, the production was actually pretty smooth sailing.