Alex Hirsch may have closed the door on Gravity Falls, the animated series, but he’s not turning his back on the fans and their feverish demands. Demands that must keep him up at all hours of the night, which is why he offers a new book that is actually a graphic novel that offers four never-before told tales of the odd and hilarious. In Gravity Falls: Lost Legends – 4 All-New Adventures!, fans are in for more laughs and stories that lend themselves perfectly to this art form.
Shmebulock the gnome is your host for these tall tales. Once every thousand years, the curse that forces him to only speak his name lifts and he uses his time wisely to talk about his obsession, chronicling the lives of the Pines family. He proves to be the ultimate super fan with his own theories and speculations. His segments that introduce and conclude each story are full of humor, like when he talks about all of the seasons of the year and how he wishes there was one more like all of us.
Three of the four lost legends take place during season two after Stanford Pines returns. When Dipper is left in charge of the journals, they end up in the wrong hands causing Mabel to lose her face in “Face It.” The comic medium is parodied in “Comix Up” when the Pines family end up in a comic universe, flipping through styles that parody classics like Peanuts, Justice League, Uncle Scrooge, and Garfield. Mabel ends up in her own dimension in “Don’t Dimension It,” where she meets a variety of other Mabels including Table Mable. The final story, “Pines Bros. Mystery,” is a bit of a prequel with a flashback to Stanley and Stanford’s childhood. At the very end, Shmebulock offers a very, very, very, very, very special message to the fans.
It’s easy to get lost in these stories, which were also lost. The majority of them read like they could have been full episodes, although the use of the comic medium is brilliantly applied here. In addition to “Comix Up,” which pays homage and pokes fun at the art form at the same time, there are also jokes the play out simply because of the way comics force your eyes to move.
In just 40 episodes, Alex Hirsch’s Gravity Falls caused such a fervor amongst its hardcore fanbase. While Dipper and Mabel’s summer has come to an end, he’s not opposed to giving fans more of what they want. From Blu-Ray box sets, to Journal Three, to worldwide scavenger hunts, there’s no shortage of ways to reconnect with the series. Gravity Falls: Lost Legends – 4 All-New Adventures! offers additional stories that perfectly capture the spirit and humor of the series. Also, there are mysteries to be found. There’s not not a secret website that will haunt your dreams until you unlock its secrets.