For fans making their annual autumn return to Patrick McHale’s animated miniseries, the work behind those familiar characters offers another reason to linger. The show’s finished world leaves plenty to examine through repeat viewings. Its development reveals how much could have looked different before Wirt and Greg ever entered the woods.
Collider can exclusively share five pages from Art of Over the Garden Wall: Expanded Edition, including early character artwork and a new interview with Beatrice’s voice actor, Melanie Lynskey. The upcoming Dark Horse Books release revisits the original 2017 volume with more than 30 additional pages. Written by McHale and Sean Edgar, the 240-page hardcover arrives February 9, 2027. The excerpt includes sketches of Greg’s frog and several approaches to Beatrice, including an earlier incarnation as a bee. Alongside those drawings, McHale offers a practical explanation for changing direction: “A bee wouldn’t be that great for fall weather.” Readers can explore the artwork and Lynskey’s complete interview in the exclusive pages below.
Melanie Lynskey Looks Back on ‘Over the Garden Wall’
Asked about her first impression of McHale’s script, Lynskey recalls: “I thought the script was so beautiful. It was unlike anything I’d ever read before. It just had magic in it. It felt like it was written with care and love and like it came from a place of pure artistic expression, and not from someone wanting to get something on TV.”
The interview also revisits Lynskey's recording sessions with Elijah Wood, who voices Wirt, and Collin Dean, who plays Greg. Of Wood, Lynskey says, “He brought so much to Wirt. I can’t imagine anyone else playing him.” She adds of Dean: “His authenticity really grounds the whole thing, and there’s a true innocence to him that made that character really special.” With the series continuing to find viewers more than a decade after its debut, Lynskey also considers its lasting appeal:
“You can’t go to whatever streaming service and watch something that’s like Over the Garden Wall. There is only Over the Garden Wall. And the story and characters and the art and music are so timeless and eerie and gorgeous, and I really do think it will continue to be watched and cherished for years to come.”
The expanded book features a new cover by art director Nick Cross and a new foreword by Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch, alongside cast interviews, BOOM! Studios comic artwork, and concept designs for Mondo’s collectible figures. The standard hardcover retails for $54.99.
Art of Over the Garden Wall: Expanded Edition arrives February 9, 2027. Stay tuned at Collider for more.
Release Date
2014 - 2014
Network
Cartoon Network
Showrunner
Patrick McHale
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Collin Dean
Gregory (voice)
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Samuel Ramey
The Beast (voice)