The Book of Bill is a Gravity Fallsbook that released on July 23, 2024.[1][2] It follows series antagonist Bill Cipher as he tells the story from his perspective.
For all of you still living in the world of Gravity Falls, Alex Hirsch has brought back his most nefarious of villains – Bill. The Book of Bill is Bill's chance to tell his story, from his evil origin to an interactive array of puzzles and ciphers, all brought to you by the mastermind himself. This is Gravity Falls as you've never seen before. Even better, the Barnes & Noble exclusive brings you even more Bill.
Did you miss him? Admit it, you missed him.
The demon that terrorized Gravity Falls is back from the great beyond to finally tell his side of the story in The Book of Bill, written by none other than Bill Cipher himself.
Inside, Bill sheds light on his bizarre origins, his sinister effects on human history, the Pines family's most embarrassing secrets, and the key to overthrowing the world (laid out in a handy step-by-step guide). This chaotic and beautifully illustrated tome contains baffling riddles, uncrackable ciphers, lost Journal 3 pages, ways to cheat death, the meaning of life, and a whole chapter on Silly Straws. But most importantly, The Book of Bill is deeply, deeply cursed.
Alex Hirsch, #1 New York Times bestselling author, resuscitates this infamous villain and invites fans to a Bill's eye view of the Gravity Falls universe. There are many who believe this book is too dangerous for human hands. But if you can't resist, beware: Once you make a deal with Bill, it's not so easily undone . . .
Beware: This book travels to dimensions meant for older readers.[2]
Synopsis[]
"HI, FRIENDS!"
I'm Alex HuRzch, creator of Gravity TowN, and I'm definitely NOT posSessed by a dEMOn right now! I'm using my normal hUMAN HANDS to write a message in stupid human letters commanding you to buy The Book of Bill IMMEDIATELY.
The book contains the never-before-revealed true story of Bill Cipher, his most cryptic riddles, darkest deals, and GREAT adVICE for what to do with your sad pathetic LIFE! And it's written by the greatest writer of all time, Bill Cipher Alegz Hutrzpch, a human! A regular man made out of meat and goo! ALEX ISNt DEAD! HE'S FINE! HE'S FINE! HE'S FINE! HE'S FINE! HE'S FINE! HE'S FINE! HE'S FINE
HE'S FINE
I'M FINE
HELP ME
Reviews[]
"I thought I liked things that were weird, but I was wrong. This book was too weird for me. I feel nauseous just thinking about the horrifying psychosis contained within. I'm legally changing my name to ‘Normal Al' now and pushing all my Hawaiian shirts out to sea on a barge. Avoid this book at all costs!!" —"Weird Al" Yankovic
"I found this arcane volume in a musty aisle at the most accursed of libraries. Nightly visitations by foul spirits commenced almost immediately. It has infected my mind and my dreams, and it will destroy your sanity. For all that is good and holy—stay away from it, and whatever you do, do not read it." —Guillermo del Toro
"Look, I hate to disagree with Guillermo and Normal Al, but I love this thing! Ever since I read it, I keep hearing this screaming in my brain that won't stop! I'm buying a copy for everyone I know! We love Bill! We love Bill! We love Bill!" —Charlie Day
Contents[]
The Book begins with a passage from Ford questioning if Bill Cipher is really dead and encountering a book that will not leave him; The Book of Bill. It ends with a warning to not turn the pages, write names or believe a word of what is said. Bill then invites the reader to make a deal with him in exchange for learning secrets he retains. Following an introduction by Bill, he begins to reveal his story through various chapters. They are as follows:
About Me[]
Bill interviews himself and gives readers a rundown of his powers and weaknesses. Following a section of "required reading" of "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Bill offers to share his secrets of the universe after a test of worthiness.
Bill's Guide to Everything[]
Bill reveals secrets about the universe; Reality is an Illusion and the Universe is a Hologram. He then discusses humans and how disgusting the human body is. He then goes into detail about love and shares his thoughts on it and tips to dating. Following a game of how the reader will die, Bill discusses morality and parallel dimensions. He then discusses various urban legends. Bill then has an entire page dedicated to the discussion of silly straws (and reveals what happens if the reader rejects his deal at the start). After assuring readers there are no codes in his book (which is a lie), Bill shows off his horrible heads collection and talks about the Mindscape and dreams of various Pines family members and characters. Their dreams are as follows:
Stanford: Dreams about a pop quiz asking what he is attracted to.
Dipper: Nightmares about a fight between his parents he was not supposed to hear.
Mabel: Dreams are a mix between Hieronymus Bosch and Lisa Frank, however has constant nightmares about being unable to save a dying pig.
Soos: Mix of 80s movies, video games and pudding cups that eat. Dreams about legally changing his name to Pines and issues that may cause with his girlfriend.
Bill then proceeds to share embarrassing memories about Dipper and Mabel, as well as Dipper's internet history. After discussing the meaning of life, Bill proceeds to share his story.
My Story[]
Bill talks about the early days from when he was born and his 2D homeworld. He discusses his rare mutation that allowed him to see the third dimension and how he wanted to show it to his world. Although distorted, it can be seen that his attempts to show the 3rd dimension destroyed his world and killed everyone there. After escaping, he became the galactic overlord of the new dimension he went to and built his crew. After many years of good times, his dimension began to collapse and he tried to find a new one to take over. After a deal with Time Baby falls apart, Bill sends him crashing into Earth, where he is frozen. He now needed someone to open the door to the dimension to let him in.
This leads him to the valley of Gravity Falls where he attempts to get a Shaman to build the first portal. After finding out what Bill truly was, he burned the portal and banned Bill from the valley with a curse and prophecy. Banished from Gravity Falls, Bill attempts to get his portal built with the help of various other humans. These include the ancient Egyptians, Aztecs and Easter Island. Eventually he tries to get a wizard in the dark ages to help who instead traps him. Bill's escape causes the start of Cipherstitions; history's first full blown Bill panic. Bill eventually returns to America to try and get humans there to build his portal from witches to the US government during the country's founding.
Eventually his attempts at getting to people in America leads to the creation of the Anti-Cipher Society in 1901. Founded by Thurburt M Waxstaff III, he and various other victims of Bill try to defeat him, but are deemed a joke after trying to get funding to enclose America in a Bill-Proof dome.
Seeing that one-on-one human interactions were not working, Bill tries to use animation to get to the minds of the world to build his portal. After that failed, Bill tries to see if nuclear testing could make his portal work, only to have him be captured by the government before escaping. Bill then tries music, computer technology and even collectable figurines to manipulate the masses to his cause. Nothing worked until one day, someone reverses the Shaman's curse and summons him back to Gravity Falls...a moment that makes him laugh so hard that even NASA and the Soviets picks it up. That person is Stanford Pines.
Sixer[]
With Ford now his puppet, Bill began to work on him to make Ford the one to finally open the portal and let him into his reality. He also reveals that during their time, Ford would often make and then rip out pages from journals that had to do with issues of his or with others. With that, he reveals to the readers...
Journal 3: The Missing Pages[]
The pages follow Ford in his isolation in Gravity Falls and encounters with Bill convincing him to build the portal. It follows their early relationship and the ups and downs of it. One day, after seeing one of Stan's scams on TV, Bill advises Ford to forget the past and move on, revealing the only surviving piece of his dimension; a single speck of dust. When asked what destroyed his dimension, Bill replies that it was destroyed "by a monster." After offering to help him find and seek it out for revenge, Bill joylessly laughs and says, "Sixer, it would eat you alive."
Ford then discusses Christmas, when Fiddleford is home with his family, leaving Ford to try to spend it alone without Bill. After being rescued from Krampus by McGucket, who returned early due to issues with his wife, Ford makes it up to him by having a proper holiday party with him. However, Bill returns and after an argument, convinces Ford to be cautious of McGucket, planting in him the mindset to "TRUST NO ONE."
Ford eventually gets a warning in his dreams about Bill in an anagram that reads "I Grow Maddened," which arranges to say Weirdmageddon. Once realizing Bill's true intentions, he begins to consider destroying the journals and discovers evidence of Bill trying to reactivate the portal, such as injuring him while trying to open the door to the portal room. Ford then plans to rebuild an updated version of the Bill-Proof Suit that the Anti Cipher Society had tried to make over a century ago. However, Bill possesses corpses to try and stop him from gathering the supplies. After many attempts at stopping him, Ford awakes one morning on the roof of the shack to find a video tape Bill had made of various things he did to him while possessing him that night.
After warning him to not cross him again, Bill gives Ford 72 hours to restart the portal or his eyes will be stolen. Desperate, Ford plans out calling Stanley to help him out of this. This eventually will lead to the incident that leads Ford to be lost in the multiverse.
Having lost Ford, Bill is left without a new way into the dimension and eventually causes a drunken disturbance at an interdimensional restaurant. Eventually, he discusses how he did end up succeeding and tells the story of Weirdmageddon and eventual downfall. He then reveals his new plan.
The Big Plan[]
While reading the book, Bill had gone inside the mind of the reader and rewired their brain to be compliant with his plan for revenge. He then lays out the following mission...
Go to Gravity Falls and shake his statue's hand.
Bill enters the reader's body and uses it to restart one of the many portals still around.
Bill reassembles and the reader and gets their body back.
Weirdmageddon 2.0
Kill the Pines with sharp objects.
Fiesta Time.
you gonna be the king of the world HAHAHHAHAHA
Bill tries to convince the reader to help him, only for Stanford to come back to reveal his revelations about the Book of Bill: The book is Bill's last attempt at fighting his biggest fear of being forgotten. By reading the book, we give him attention, not power. By ignoring it, Bill is powerless. After passages from Mabel, Dipper and Stan telling Bill what they'll do to him if he ever comes back, Bill tries one last time to convince the reader to help him, only to realize the Pines' messages worked and he has once again been defeated.
Bill's Fate[]
A new poem from the Axolotl reveals Bill has been sent to a Neutral zone in Dimension 5150 called the Theraprism. There, he is undergoing mandatory therapy to try and rehabilitate him. The Theraprism apologizes to the reader, saying Bill managed to contact them through an arts and crafts project where he made the book, which is a violation of their rules against outside contact. They give Bill 5 minutes to finish telling his story and then will confiscate his book.
Bill finally comes clean and admits he's stuck in the prism. He states that despite it all, he's not changed and never will. He wants someone to break him out through the help of the book, but in the end, we are just like the rest who refuse to help. Stating there will always be another, Bill severs the connection between him and us and reiterates that despite what anyone says, he does not need or miss anyone. He's fine, and someday, someone will let him out.
The book ends with a dark image of his statue somewhere in the woods of Gravity Falls, as its eye starts glowing blue.
Barnes & Noble exclusive edition[]
This Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition features a gold foil jacket and includes 16 extra pages of Bill's twisted life advice![3]
The B&N Cover
Shortly after the initial reveal, Alex Hirsch revealed that, like with Lost Legends, The Book of Bill would also have an edition exclusive to American bookstore chain Barnes & Noble.[4] Like the Barnes & Noble edition of Lost Legends, it had 16 additional pages of content, but unlike it that just had a sticker on it indicating the difference, this variant had a brand new cover that carries a gold-colored Bill Cipher instead of a red one.
Exclusive Content[]
The exclusive content is found after Bill's head collection and before the Dreams chapter, called "More Secrets...".
The pages begin with Bill providing a guide on various ways to summon him. These include the "Fun Phone," spirit board, burning a letter, payphones and summoning circles. Bill then discusses cults and how he once created a cult around him in the 1950s called Ciphertology (a parody of Scientology). Bill provides a set of moral dilemmas that follow increasingly weird variations of the Trolley problem, that end with him expressing hatred towards Socrates. Following a guide to hypnotize anyone, Bill provides an advert on why him possessing a brain is a good thing to do (with a bad testimonial review from Dipper). Bill leaves a card that readers can sign to give him access into their mind. He then provides a list of various holidays that are way better than ones us humans celebrate. These include:
Nothing Day - A holiday where nothing happens
Paradoxmas - Celebrating all things contradictory
Weirdmaversary - Day to celebrate unsettling weird things
Bill Nog - Bill's guide to making Bill Nog. Ingredients include:
Nog
Bill
Whisper "It's Nog Time" into a glass to make drink congreal
Pour directly onto face! MM-MM!
Hit Your Boss With A Car Day - For legal reasons, the day cannot be given
Pain Day - AKA Christmas.
Bill then provides various secret facts. These include revealing that puppets were once real creatures that the Dutch drove to extinction, Minnesota not being real, the existence of secret numbers, the fact that readers are being watched by someone in a parallel dimension and a secret menu item at burger restaurants called the "King's Despair" and how to order it. The exclusive pages end with a series of messages on various TV products such as a hand, Bill-scented perfume and a sponge shaped like him. It ends with Bill suggesting readers to listen to the static of the TV.
Bill Cipher Q&A[]
The day before release, Barnes & Noble emailed out to buyers a Q&A by Bill himself where he answers various questions. The text from the Q&A follows.
Our booksellers had a chance to speak with a certain Dorito-shaped interdimensional demon at the dawn of his return. We asked some hard-hitting questions and got some … interesting answers.
Barnes and Noble Q&A with Bill
No booksellers were harmed in the making of this interview.
How are you back?
Ever tried shattering a triangle, pal? You just make more triangles. You can't keep a good man down, and you can't keep a bad idea dead!
Who summoned you back?
I'm here for a limited time only to promote the delicious new dog hair-flavored shake at participating Burger King restaurants! Burger King: Taste The Dog Hair!
Who is the Axolotl?
Gesundheit!
What can we expect from this book?
Expect the other books on your shelf to be jealous! They might try to rip my pages out while you're not looking. Keep my book in a bulletproof safe!
What's the weirdest dream you've seen?
Yours last night, creep! You might wanna see a therapist — but a therapist might not wanna see you!
Which of Mabel's sweaters would you want to own?
Why would I want to wear a sweater during the summer? Think for a second, Jack!
Can you apologize to Mabel?
For what? Making her Wikipedia entry worth reading?
If you had to pick a favorite dimension, which would it be?
The one where you think of more interesting questions!
Finally, any message for your readers?
Vxuh, exw lp qrw whoolqj brx! Brx'oo mxvw kdyh wr exb wkh errn! (Decoded from Caesar cipher to say "Sure, but im not telling you! You'll just have to buy the book!")
Answers courtesy of Bill Cipher. Created by Alex Hirsch.
Signed Copies[]
Many signed copies of The Book of Bill exist. Official online orders existed for copies of the standard edition at Books-A-Million and the exclusive edition at Barnes and Noble.[5] These special copies were signed by Alex on an exclusive, extra page containing a graphic of a taped-in scrap of parchment reading "Inspected By:". The inclusion of this extra page necessitated different printings of the books to be made, and so they have different ISBNs to the versions more commonly available. Alex confirmed a total 8,000 Barnes and Noble books to have been signed[6] which sold out in a matter of hours.
Image included in the restock email
On December 15th, 2024 (a day many fans were waiting for due to the mickeyleaks hint), some people received an email containing an image of a Christmas tree with several Bill themed decorations and presents. Text at the top reads SIGNED COPIES AVAILABLE AT BOOKOFBILL.EVENTBRITE.COM" when shifted forward 3 letters. The storefront description begins with "WELL, LOOK AT THAT. YOU DID IT, PAL. YOU’VE FIGURED OUT HOW TO GET A COPY OF MY BOOK WITH SOME OTHER GUY’S SIGNATURE IN IT. CONGRAULATIONS! READ A RUINED BOOK FOR ALL I CARE," before stressing that there is no in-person event associated with the release. Eventbrite has hosted events with Barnes and Noble before, so even those who did not receive the email were quick to believe its validity. Sure enough, after paying $37 USD (plus shipping), fans in the United States could once again order signed copies of The Book of Bill. It's unknown why these copies exist, as they are from the same printing as the original sale [Photo Needed], which sold out incredibly quickly. Without any other promotion, the new copies remained in stock for several days. [Citation Needed]
Info banners for TBOB events
In addition to the pre-signed copies of The Book of Bill, several meet-and-greet events gave fans the opportunity to meet Alex and get their book signed. Tickets for events at Barnes and Noble locations in Seattle, Washington,Hillsboro, Oregon, and San Diego, California became available on June 17th, 2024. Each ticket came with a copy of the Barnes and Noble exclusive Book of Bill, the exclusive art card, and a temporary tattoo sheet. Rumors have circulated of bookplates being given out at the San Diego event, and many are available for high prices online, but it has not been confirmed to be where they're from. In addition to meeting fans individually, Alex participated in a QnA with an employee from the store, and answered a few questions from the audience towards the end. The dates, times, and ticket prices for each event were as follows:
San Diego: July 23rd, 6pm PT, $29.08 USD per ticket
Seattle: July 25th, 5:30pm PT, $29.78 USD per ticket
Hillsboro: July 27th, 2pm PT, $26.99 USD per ticket
On October 11th, 2024, Alex gave a talk at In Motion London, and did a meet-and-greet with fans afterwards where he signed books. [Citation Needed]
On October 17th, 2024, Alex Hirsch, Ian Worrel, and Joe Pitt attended New York City Comic Con for a book signing and panel revealing behind-the-scenes secrets about The Book of Bill. The following day, they would return for another signing.[7] NYCC was the only event featuring artists besides Alex. During the panel, they gave out two sticker sheets: a glossy one asking you to "Put Bill on Your Bottle," and a transparent one sporting hats, eyes, and bow-ties telling you to "Turn Anything Into Bill."
This is the first Gravity Falls book to be marketed for adults and published under Disney's Hyperion Avenue Books brand.
It's also the first Gravity Falls book to not have the title of the series in its official name or on the cover or spine. Instead, it has a custom symbol of Bill.
It's also the first Gravity Falls book to have Alex Hirsch's name listed on the spine.
The book was hinted at first through cryptic tweets made by Oregon Parks Dept.; a Twitter/X account presumably owned by Alex Hirsch tweeting whenever there is a new major book related to the series about to release.
To celebrate the announcement of the book, the Disney Books homepage was "invaded" by listings for The Book of Bill for the whole day, except the "Latest Releases" section.[8][9]
According to storyboarder Emmy Cicierega, who was one of the artists for the book, she pushed to add an F-word to the book, but Disney rejected.[10]
As part of some promotional material for the book, Alex Hirsch released a series of Bill Cipher-themed Valentine's Day cards drawn by Joe Pitt, similarly to the Valentine's Day promotional cards for the coloring book in 2017.[11][12]
Alex Hirsch spent three days signing all the books, slipping a spinal disc a.k.a Disc herniation in the process, which got him an emergency trip to the hospital.[6]
In late April, Barnes & Noble added three reviews for the book. The reviews follow.
"FINALLY, A BOOK THAT READS YOU!" -BILL CIPHER.
"HELP! I'M A PROMOTIONAL BOOK QUOTE THAT GAINED SENTIENCE! WHO WOULD DO THIS TO ME? I'M IN INDESCRIBABLE PAIN! PLEASE, SOMEONE, END MY SUFFERING! BURN ME! BURN ME!!!!" -THIS QUOTE
"GIVE A COPY TO SOMEONE YOU HATE!" -BILL CIPHER.
The Book became a number 1 New York Times Bestseller of August, 2024 in the "Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous" section.
This makes it the 3rd Gravity Falls book to become a bestseller and Alex a three-time bestselling author.
When purchasing the Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition of the book at a B&N retailer, people could get a free Art Print card of Bill reaching his hand out to the reader, while supplies last.[13]
They later clarified that the art print card is randomly given out to Customers regardless if they buy the book or not.
A rare misprint of the Barnes and Noble Exclusive Edition colors Bill and the title silver instead of gold.
This variation only affects the dust jacket- the cover of the book itself is identical to standard copies.
It's currently unknown if this can happen to standard editions of the book.
Pyramid Steve
During a Book of Bill related costume contest for Halloween 2024, Alex Hirsch created a handless bootleg Bill Cipher-like character for a Halloween costume idea called Pyramid Steve, telling fans to not dress up like him.[14]The character quickly became popular among fans and has led to the creation of fanart, cosplays and even a Pyramid Steve plush.[15]
Originally perplexed by it, Alex would later share early Pyramid Steve concept art in 2025, revealing he was originally going to have hands.[16][17][18]
Alex Hirsch shared some scrapped pages from the book and donated several early sketches he made for it (including unused ideas) as part of a charity auction in January 2025.[19]
The cut pages included the following...
A detailed image showing the inside of Bill.
A guide by Bill on how to do open heart surgery that is interrupted by Ford. It would originally have served as the introduction to his origin.
