GARDEN

Expanding on the Cartoon Network miniseries of the same name, “Over the Garden Wall Special” #1 is predictably goofy, expectedly jaunty — and startlingly witty. Plenty of all-ages comics embrace absurdity, but writer Pat McHale actually embraces absurdism. The narrator Wirt’s existential angst plays against Jim Campbell and Danielle Burgos’ chipper artwork for a unique, delightful read. The plot waxes purposeless, but the book encourage and accepts that — because really, isn’t all human endeavor? “Over the Garden Wall” follows two brothers, melancholy Wirt and plucky Greg, as they try to find their way out of a strange forest called the Unknown. Continuity-wise, this issue begins sometime after the second episode of the miniseries, after Beatrice (a bird) has already become the boys’ constant guide. However, it isn’t necessary to have seen the show at all to enjoy what’s going on. Readers who’ve seen the show might be surprised by Jim Campbell’s thicker, almost marker-like linework