Cara McGee

Warm up your body and soul this season with a steaming hot mug of feelings and coffee. Stories like the fabled "coffee shop AUs (alternate universes)," where licensed characters are imagined in low-key, romantic settings, have been derided by some as lacking drama or conflict, and to that I say: thank god. We don't need to fantasize about conflict or drama in all our fiction when we can just greet what's waiting on our front door. Sometimes, the soul just needs kindling. Share the gifts of feeling and warmth with this coffee shop AU gift guide.

Boom Studios' comic adaptions of Cartoon Network shows such as Adventure Time and Steven Universe, published through their KaBoom imprint, has resulted in some of the best all-ages comics in recent memory. Hot on the heels of a successful miniseries, this week sees the release of a brand new Over The Garden Wall ongoing series that delves into and fleshes out the world of the show. The new series is split into two, with Jim Campbell --- who served as a storyboard artist on the cartoon --- contributing to the ongoing adventures of Greg and his frog Jason Funderburker, while Amalia Levari and Cara McGee uncover the story of Anna, The Woodsman's Daughter from the show. We caught up with Campbell to chat about adapting the series from animation to comics, the freedom the medium grants, and splitting up the brothers. Plus, Boom has provided us with an exclusive preview of Levari and McGee's story in Over The Garden Wall #1

This April, Boom Studios' all-ages imprint KaBoom is launching Over The Garden Wall as an ongoing series, written by Jim Campbell and show writer Amalia Levari, with art by Campbell and Cara McGee. Over the Garden Wall began life as an animated miniseries created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network, which led to a one-shot tie-in comic from Kaboom, which led in turn to a comic miniseries, and now this ongoing book.

This weekend, I drove down to Athens, Georgia for Fluke, a one-day mini-comics festival held at the 40 Watt. It was my second time setting up there, and it's a great show that presents the perfect opportunity to meet the independent creators who are often overlooked in favor of mainstream writers and artists at bigger conventions, and check out what they have to offer...