The Long-Awaited “Art of Gravity Falls” Is Finally Here as Alex Hirsch Begins Book Tour

There always seems to be another secret waiting to be uncovered inside “Gravity Falls.”

More than a decade after Dipper and Mabel first arrived in that wonderfully strange Oregon town, fans are still decoding clues, discovering hidden details and learning new things about the animated series. Yet some of its biggest secrets have remained somewhere considerably harder to explore: inside the archives of the people who actually created it.

That vault is finally being opened.

Series creator Alex Hirsch and writer Rob Renzetti are taking fans back to where it all began with “The Art of Gravity Falls,” the long-awaited definitive visual history of the beloved Disney animated series. Filled with development artwork, character designs, creator commentary, behind-the-scenes stories and material pulled from Hirsch’s personal archives, the book promises a look at how one of the most memorable animated worlds of the past two decades actually came together.

Among those treasures are early versions of characters and the world around them, lost episode ideas, jokes that never made it to the screen, hidden Easter eggs and even a look at every single one of Mabel’s wonderfully excessive sweaters. Considering “Gravity Falls” is a series where seemingly insignificant details could eventually become incredibly important, getting to explore what was changed, abandoned or hidden during production feels particularly appropriate.

Fans won’t simply be getting the book, either. Hirsch is heading out to celebrate its release with a series of appearances throughout September, giving mystery solvers several opportunities to hear some of those stories directly from the people who helped create them.

The tour heads to Philadelphia on September 16 for “An Evening with Alex Hirsch” at the Drexel Daskalakis Athletic Center. Beginning at 7 p.m., the event will feature Hirsch alongside “Gravity Falls” director Joseph Pitt for a moderated discussion exploring the making of the series, the creative journey behind the new book and the lasting legacy of all those mysteries hidden throughout Gravity Falls. Fans will then get their own opportunity to do a little investigating during a live audience Q&A, with admission also including a signed copy of the book.

The mysteries then head considerably closer to Gravity Falls’ fictional Pacific Northwest home on September 22. Barnes & Noble Northgate is bringing Hirsch and Renzetti to Seattle’s Meany Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Washington campus beginning at 6 p.m. PST. Tickets are $70 and include admission to the conversation along with a pre-signed copy of “The Art of Gravity Falls.”

Later that week, things return to California for something especially fitting for the release of an art book. Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra will host the opening night of “The Art of Gravity Falls: 10 Years Post-Weirdmageddon” on September 26. The gallery event will include Hirsch for a Q&A, live drawing and book signing, giving fans another way to celebrate the artwork and creative process behind the series.

There is something fitting about “Gravity Falls” receiving an art book—and a celebration—this extensive. The series was never content with only what viewers immediately saw on screen. Background details mattered. Codes mattered. Character designs could hide clues, and an image that seemed meaningless one week could suddenly have considerably more importance later. Its visual development is consequently more than a collection of pretty production artwork; it is another piece of understanding how the mystery itself was constructed.

For longtime fans who have spent years examining journals, cracking cryptograms and searching every corner of the Mystery Shack for answers, “The Art of Gravity Falls” is finally offering a chance to look behind the curtain at mysteries that began long before Dipper ever found Journal 3. Better yet, some fans will get the chance to hear those stories from the people who were actually there creating them.

Just remember: reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram—and apparently some secrets really do take more than a decade to uncover.