Five years after Cartoon Network’s run of the award-winning Over the Garden Wall, the stories have continued to live on in comics and graphic novels, thanks to BOOM! Studios. Earlier this year, BOOM! announced “Over the Garden Wall: Circus Friends” to debut this October, and fans won’t have to wait long after that for the next installment of the adventures of Wirt, Beatrice, and their friends. Next autumn, “Over the Garden Wall: The Benevolent Sisters of Charity” will see Wirt looking for some pampering from a mysterious order of nurses . . . but the nurses don’t seem to want him (and Greg) to leave when they’re all better.
Illustrator Jim Campbell is no stranger to the world of Over the Garden Wall; he served as storyboard artist for the Cartoon Network show and has illustrated several comic books and graphic novels based on the series.
You can read the full press release below, and be sure to pick up the book when it debuts next fall!
Los Angeles, CA (June 5, 2019) – BOOM! Studios is proud to announce OVER THE GARDEN WALL: THE BENEVOLENT SISTERS OF CHARITY, a brand new original graphic novel written by Sam Johns and illustrated by Jim Campbell, set in the world inspired by the Emmy® Award-winning Cartoon Network animated series, Over The Garden Wall, available in Fall 2020.
Over the Garden Wall is the hit animated television miniseries created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network. The show follows two half-brothers as they journey through the strange and haunting Unknown, with Beatrice, a talking bird, as their companion as they search for a way home. The show is based on McHale’s animated short film Tome of the Unknown, which was produced as part of Cartoon Network Studios’ shorts development program. Over the Garden Wall was broadcast throughout the week of November 3, 2014 to November 7, 2014.
It’s another day in the Unknown but Wirt isn’t feeling too well so when they come across a stately building run by the Benevolent Sisters of Charity who take care of all sick souls, he jumps at the chance to be pampered by the doting nurses. When the nurses frown on animals entering the facility, Wirt abandons Beatrice and Greg’s frog to the elements, then drags Greg with him into the open arms of the Benevolent Sisters. Those arms wrap a bit tight, though, and even when he’s feeling better, the Sisters don’t seem to want him to leave. And where did Greg go?
Sam Johns is a writer living in Brooklyn, NY. They graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2012 and have been making comics ever since. When they’re not telling their own stories, they love to read horror novels aloud to their dog Khaleesi.
“The first time I saw Over the Garden Wall, I accidentally binged it in a single day. Since then I’ve watched it in one sitting many times… but, you know, intentionally. I’m the oldest of six siblings, so it was an absolute joy to write about the incredible bond between brothers, and the sometimes incredible fights that come with that closeness.” said writer Sam Johns. “I was even able to insert some of my Mom into the story! She’s a nurse! But, like, a much better at her job, less scary nurse. I also think growing up in Pennsylvania gave me an edge. The forests there are just like the Edelwoods, and I took a lot of inspiration from hiking there with my friends!”
Jim Campbell is a cartoonist, illustrator, comic book colorist, and animator who served as a storyboard artist for Patrick McHale’s Over the Garden Wall miniseries for Cartoon Network in 2014. He has illustrated various Over the Garden Wall comic books as well as an original graphic novel Over the Garden Wall: Distillatoria for BOOM! Studios. Campbell has been drawing comics off and on since teaming up with the Meathaüs collective in 2001. He has been a color artist for Dark Horse, Marvel, Spongebob Comics, Mad Magazine, and Tony Millionaire. In his spare time, he plays in the Brooklyn band Paper Fleet.
“It’s exciting to step into the world of Over the Garden Wall with the talented Sam Johns. I’m thrilled to show fans of the show exactly what Greg, Wirt, and Beatrice are up to now as they run into yet another group of mysterious folks in the depths of the woods and try their best to survive the experience.” said artist, Jim Campbell.
Continued belowOVER THE GARDEN WALL: THE BENEVOLENT SISTERS OF CHARITY is the latest release from BOOM! Studios’ award-winning KaBOOM! imprint, home to comics for middle grade and younger readers including licensed series such as Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Regular Show, Ben 10, and Over The Garden Wall, along with original series like Just Beyond: The Scare School by R.L. Stine and Kelly & Nichole Matthews, Hex Vet by Sam Davies, RuinWorld by Derek Laufman, Hotel Dare by Terry Blas and Claudia Aguirre, and Pandora’s Legacy by Kara Leopard, Kelly & Nichole Matthews.
“As usual, Wirt just wants some assurance that everything will be okay but The Unknown is mysterious and never exactly what it seems, so trusting the wrong people in the forest can end badly for all involved.” said Matthew Levine, Editor, BOOM! Studios. “Sam and Jim guide our young adventurers through this particular health scare with plenty of twists and surprises along the way for fans of Over the Garden Wall.”
Print copies of OVER THE GARDEN WALL: THE BENEVOLENT SISTERS OF CHARITY will be available for sale in Spring 2020 at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one), bookstores, or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and the BOOM! Studios app.
For more on OVER THE GARDEN WALL: THE BENEVOLENT SISTERS OF CHARITY and more from KaBOOM!, please visit www.boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on Twitter.
About Cartoon Network Enterprises
Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE) is responsible for building consumer products and merchandising programs for a wide range of brands by securing and supporting long-term licensing partnerships across all categories. As the global branding and merchandising arm of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, the division manages the consumer product programs for the networks’ award-winning original programming, brands and characters including Ben 10, Adventure Time, The Powerpuff Girls, Steven Universe, The Amazing World of Gumball and We Bare Bears, as well as Rick and Morty on Adult Swim.
Cartoon Network is a division of WarnerMedia and the # 1 animated series network in the U.S., offering the best in original content for kids and families with such hits as Ben 10, Craig of the Creek, Steven Universe, The Powerpuff Girls, and We Bare Bears. Seen in 192 countries and over 400 million homes, Cartoon Network inspires the next generation of creators and innovators by engaging its audience at the intersection of creativity and technology. Its award-winning pro-social initiative, Stop Bullying: Speak Up is an acknowledged and often used resource for kids and adults looking for tools that can assist in dealing with the ongoing issue of bullying.
Cartoon Network and Cartoon Network Enterprises are parts of WarnerMedia, a leading media and entertainment company that creates and distributes premium and popular content from a diverse array of talented storytellers and journalists to global audiences through its consumer brands including: HBO, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, truTV, CNN, DC Entertainment, New Line, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and others.
ABOUT BOOM! STUDIOS
BOOM! Studios was founded by Ross Richie in 2005 with the singular focus of creating world-class comic book and graphic novel storytelling for all audiences. Through the development of four distinct imprints—BOOM! Studios, BOOM! Box, KaBOOM!, and Archaia—BOOM! has produced award-winning original work, including Lumberjanes, The Woods, Giant Days, Klaus, and Mouse Guard, while also breaking new ground with established licenses such as WWE, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Cartoon Network, and Jim Henson Company properties. BOOM! will also bring their original series to life through unique first-look relationships with 20th Century Fox for film and with Fox Television for the small screen. Please visit www.boom-studios.com for more information.
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