Gravity Falls: Journal 3

First half is fantastic, it does a great job of really showcasing what mcgucket was truly like before the show and it not only makes it more tragic but also later episodes in the show a lot more layered. The parallels between the Stan brothers and dipper and Mabel are made even more clear throughout and there’s so many tiny details that reference one off jokes or subtle moments in the show making everything feels so much more planned and tightly written (which is really saying something). The second half switches stories a lot, for the most part it goes episode by episode usually taking 2 pages to sum up the characters thoughts on each episode and adding a very small but still fair depth to them. As the show progresses (and therefore the book) Stanford eventually regains back the book and once again things become much more interesting, we get to see his thought process throughout the show and even get a couple pages detailing some of the dimensions he explore while he was away. We also get a decent fairwell in the book but it has nothing compared to the finale episode. The book is primarily strong in that first half as it’s the actual part that shows up in the show and it details the what was relatively mysterious backstory of Stanford and fully fleshes it out. But the second half is still a fun side piece when rewatching the show.

A work of genius that does nothing but justice to the show upon which it is based. Alex Hirsch’s physical adaptation of the journal from the legendary show delivers in big ways, giving us a perfect glimpse into the expanded lore of the universe, a better look into the emotions and lives of the characters and a fantastic look at the various creatures that appear throughout the show while simultaneously keeping that same humour and charm that we have come to know and live from Gravity Falls.