The Woodsman

Before the events of Over the Garden Wall occurred, he was a municipal judge who made powerful enemies, forcing him out of the city and into a country house living with his wife and daughter. Although he was disturbed by the woods, they lived peacefully until his wife was injured by an unknown animal (possibly The Beast), and died of the wound. As winter approached, the Woodsman and his daughter began running low on supplies due to his lack of forethought and thorough organization. He woke up in the middle of the night to find that his daughter snuck out in an attempt to collect firewood. When the Woodsman finally made it to the scene, he found his daughter's cloak torn on the ground and the Beast looming over the evidence of an attack. Assuming the Beast killed her, the Woodsman fought the Beast and took the dark lantern as his own. The Beast made a deal with the Woodsman to put his daughter's soul inside the lantern and explained that her soul would live on as long as he kept the flame lit. To keep the lantern lit the Woodsman was required to chop down Edelwood trees as they possessed an oil secretly made from the souls of lost children.

The Woodsman only chopped Edelwood trees as the Beast told him to so that his daughter's soul would stay lit in the Dark Lantern.

The Woodsman is introduced in the Comics as an older man who depends greatly on his family for a sense of balance and security. Preferring a good book over the chance to explore the outdoors, the Woodsman is introverted and contently reserved. Once he and his family moved, he became wary of the Unknown's forest. He's fairly dependent and picky; previously relying on his wife to hunt, cook and tend to their crops while challenging the safety and edibility of the materials she brought home. When he lost his wife, he only became more paranoid of the forest; keeping his daughter strictly indoors. He prefers to abide to the safest route rather than taking risks to have a better outcome. When it comes to his daughter, he is determined and protective at any cost. He lacks compassion for strangers, quick to assume the worst until he can further assess their character. Upon his lantern bearing era, he became aggrieved and forlorn yet diligent in fueling the dark lantern's flame. Deep down he has a moral compass that makes him good at heart.

The Woodsman has short grey hair, black eyes and a scowling expression. He has a rounder build, seemingly not originally accustomed to activities involving the outdoors. He wears a grey hat and trench coat over top of a white collared shirt and black suspenders. His trousers are taupe brown with the hems tucked into a pair of dark shiny boots. Strapped around his chest is a harness for attaching stacks of Edelwood branches onto his back. His right hand wields an axe for chopping them down while his left hand holds the Dark Lantern which he stole from the Beast.