Patrick McHale on Conjuring Wintry Magic and Mischief in Through the Boughs: A Yuletide Offering #1
The holiday season is upon us and is there a better feeling recapturing the magic through fantastical storytelling dusted in dark undertones? The work of animator, illustrator, and writer Patrick McHale straddles that carefully crafted tone, whether in his hallmark creation, the Emmy Award-winning Cartoon Network masterpiece, Over the Garden Wall or his various contributions to the postmodern fantasy Adventure Time, where he served as a Creative, storyboard artist, and writer. In 2022, he co-wrote the screenplay for Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio with the beloved filmmaker. Set in fascist Italy, the stop-motion animated Netflix film reframed Carlo Collodi's fantasy classic in tones both ominous, delightful, and revelatory. The film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
McHale co-wrote the opening story with fellow animator J.K. for DSTLRY'S Through the Boughs: A Yuletide Offering #1. The art is by his longtime collaborator and Over the Garden Wall storyboard artist Jim Campbell, and is sure to leave readers with a sardonic smile and a warm belly, as if it were filled with baked sugarplums. Ernie Estrella goes beyond the panels and gutters with McHale to talk about the story "The Man in the Blood Red Coat."
You can purchase the entire set of all nine Through the Boughs #1 Covers for $75 here.
Through the Boughs: A Yuletide Offering #1 Cover A by Jenn Ely
How did you become involved with Through the Boughs and DSTLRY?
Patrick McHale: Sean Edgar reached out! We worked together on the Art of Over the Garden Wall book.
Patrick, I think it's always special when you get to work with a longtime friend and collaborator. When you and Jim were given the brief on what Through the Boughs would be, did "The Man in the Blood Red Coat" begin as an idea you've always wanted to tell or were there things there that Jim specifically wanted to draw?
Patrick McHale: I like fairy tales and poems with goblins in them, so that just seemed like a fun direction to take. I pitched a bunch of vague ideas to J.K. (my co-writer) and she wrote a few rough outlines. One was about some goblins, and another was about a witch with two naughty children… so I combined them into one story. I knew Jim could design some adorable little troublemakers. I think we discussed Palmer Cox’s Brownies as a visual starting point.
DSTLRY pages are quite large, but with this being a collection, you only had so many pages. You of course being a storyboard artist earlier in your career, and your discussions with Jim, did you want to play around with the idea of lengthening out the story by fitting more panels in the extra space, or did you just want to feature Jim's art as much as possible?
Patrick McHale: The original script had more panels per page, but it was a little too cramped, so Jim adjusted and combined things to make it work. The final comic has more visual breathing room. Early on we’d considered ending the comic with a final page that included a witches brew recipe or some cut-out paper dolls… but the story was just a little bit too long for that.
Through the Boughs: A Yuletide Offering #1 Interior Art by Jim Campbell
Let's talk about your story more. There's this idea of subverting who and what Santa is up to on Christmas Eve by Mother Horrid. When you lay out the gist of what Santa is, it doesn't really get nice until you realize he's bringing toys, right?
Patrick McHale: Yeah I think Mother Horrid and the goblin children have an outlook on life that’s similar to the Addams Family. They may have traditionally macabre interests, but there’s a real love there… and a lot of skepticism about what the rest of the world considers normal or acceptable. I wouldn’t normally want to write a story about Santa Claus—I’m pretty tired of hearing retellings or reinterpretations of that guy—but this one seemed pretty cute so we just did it anyway.
I absolutely adored Putrid and Moldy trudging through the snow and then suddenly realizing they needed to cover their tracks. Is there a story behind this deliciously sweet segment?
Patrick McHale: Yeah I love that part too. J.K. came up with that. I don’t think it's from any specific experience, just plenty of time messing around in the snow over the years. We usually get plenty of snow.
Perspective is everything. You've captured the innocence of Putrid and Moldy quite nicely, from the difficulties falling asleep to being open-minded at the beginning that Santa is a bad man. By the end, despite their mischievous acts, Mother Horrid has nearly convinced them that he is an awful man, but maybe not?
Patrick McHale: I’d imagine Mother Horrid truly believes this red-suited weirdo really is a scary dangerous creep, but starts having doubts about her beliefs at the end. I don’t think the goblin kids care much one way or the other, they just wanna have a fun time.
Jim has been such a visionary with you in realizing your writing into something that feels familiar and harmonious. What does he bring out of you as a storyteller?
Patrick McHale: His drawings are just always so pleasing. Every pose, every expression, every line is just satisfying to look at. Everything has personality. I feel the same way about Jim’s art as I do about Walt Kelly or Carl Barks. It’s just so satisfying and fun to look at. It’s a comfort to read. So I try to match that with the writing. Plus I know all the visual and physical comedy will work no matter what, so I can rest easy and just focus on the dialog and story structure.
Through the Boughs: A Yuletide Offering #1 Interior Art by Jim Campbell
I also think that Jim's work as a colorist and letterer don't receive enough attention. His colors have such a warmth to them, and yet in this story, also places you directly in the ice and snow; could you talk about his color work and lettering?
Patrick McHale: I agree!! Again, his work is just so pleasing. The coloring and lettering is definitely part of that. It feels very cohesive and complete.
Do you find it funny or wickedly amusing as to how much we manipulate our kids, especially at this time of the year?
Patrick McHale: Maybe we’re mostly manipulating ourselves?
Have your parents ever gone to great lengths to keep the great lie going and do you recall the moment you figured out the truth?
Patrick McHale: Lie? What do you mean? No, my mom has never swayed from the fact that Santa Claus is real and I have no reason to doubt her.
Through the Boughs: A Yuletide Offering #1 Interior Art by Jim Campbell
Have you as a parent ever gone to great lengths to keep your own traditions and have they figured out the truth yet, and if so, what was that like?
Patrick McHale: Again, I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Okay, I wouldn't want to land you on a naughty list. For many, the idea or the process at making a comic book short story could be an intensely long process, but not necessarily for someone who worked on a stop-motion feature-length film (Pinocchio) or has been in the trenches of animation and serialized television. What was it like working with just Jim again on a comic story (Over The Garden Wall comics) and since your last graphic novel work (Bags)?
Patrick McHale: My first attempts at writing comics were a huge struggle because it’s so different from doing storyboards. They seem similar on the surface, but they’re very different mediums. Luckily over time I got a better handle on writing comics, so it’s just the technical story structure part that’s hard. Co-writing with J.K. made that part easy though. She did a rough first pass, and I just went in and organized it into comic book form. Then I could fiddle around with all the dialog and details until I was happy with it. Much easier than staring at a blank page.
Is there anything you'd like to dish on what you're working on next?
Patrick McHale: Probably can’t talk about anything specific. I’m working on a few small projects and hoping for one or two bigger things to happen. We’ll see, we’ll see.
DSTLRY's THROUGH THE BOUGHS: A YULETIDE OFFERING #1 is out now on digital and at a comic shop near you.
