Plants vs. Zombies: Timepocalypse (Halloween ComicFest Comic) - It's About Time

For those who don’t know, Free Comic Book Day is an annual event where, on the first Saturday of each May, participating comic shops are given special comics by participating publishers to give away for free (this can also extend to figures for the popular Heroclix tabletop game); these comics are mostly reprints of a company’s older comic, but can also feature original material (IDW has used the event twice recently to kickstart a Transformers-related series). Each year, there is also a (lesser-known) follow-up event on the last Saturday in October called Halloween ComicFest, which is essentially Free Comic Book Day Part 2, but usually features different free comics for distribution, often featuring Halloween-themed books in the line-up (this is also a mixture of reprints and original material). Today was one such Halloween ComicFest, and one of the comics up for grabs was a mini-comic from publisher Dark Horse, a print preview of a digital series called Plants vs. Zombies: Timepocalypse (in a similar fashion to the SDCC version of Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon). Aside from having a funny subtitle, this series is meant to tie in with the mobile game Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time. Though this is only the beginning of a larger story, I decided to review it anyway to see how well this comic does with interesting the reader in wanting to read more. Having read it, I can say wholeheartedly that this does the job well.

Following the events of Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon, Dr. Edgar Zomboss builds a Sun Vaccum that will, as the name implies, absorb all sunlight so that zombies can feast on brains unimpeded. However, when he tells a zombie to make some Pop Smarts (Strawberry flavor), the zombie puts them in the Sun Vaccum instead of the toaster, causing it to explode and open a portal, scattering the Sun Vaccum’s pieces throughout time. Zomboss then orders the zombies to go through and retrieve the scattered parts.

Paul Tobin returns as the writer for this comic, which he revealed to me when I got Lawnmageddon signed at Comic-Con, and he does as amazing a job as ever. There’s plenty of humor abound in this snippet of Timepocalypse, and I enjoyed every moment of it, since it’s the kind that fits within the Plants vs. Zombies universe. We also get to see how Nate, Patrice, and Crazy Dave are doing in this, as they are the main human characters, and so far the story does well with fleshing them out from the previous story. Ron Chan also returns as artist (and presumably Matthew J. Rainwater as colorist; the credits are listed in an ad for the digital release), and they again prove to be a great compliment to Tobin’s style of writing and add greatly to the humor value of the story, in addition to making the characters very lively and accurate to the source.

The Halloween ComicFest version of Plants vs. Zombies: Timepocalypse is a great way to get fans of the Plants vs. Zombies comic a reason to come back and make them want to see what happens next. The creative team from Lawnmageddon returns for this series, which is good as I think they did a wonderful job with the previous story and it seems the two will share a similar tonality and enjoyment level as a result. As a preview, I think it managed to hook me once again and I would recommend Plants vs. Zombies fans check this out via its digital release or the inevitable physical hardback; I personally am going to wait for the latter before I review the full comic in the future, mainly because I prefer physical releases. In any case, if you haven’t already and are interested (especially as a fan of the games), I would also recommend checking out the Lawnmageddon comic, as it, while not entirely required, provides some background on the events of Timepocalypse.

Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon (Full Comic)

I have previously covered the comic Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon, based on the popular PopCap game, on this blog, although it was a print preview from SDCC of the digital comic that was coming out at the time. I am covering that same comic again, only this time it’s the full package after reading it from a hardcover collection. I have also mentioned a desire to play a couple of Plants vs. Zombies-related games that were then coming out, Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare and Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time; my interest on those games has since waned, with a complete disinterest in the former due to lack of an offline multiplayer function and being unsure about the latter (despite the fact that I now have a smartphone) due to it being a free-to-play game with micro-transactions (I was somehow lead to believe it would also come to PC, my preferred platform for using plants to kill zombies). I recently acquired the hardcover collection of Lawnmageddon at the last San Diego Comic-Con, even getting it signed by writer Paul Tobin (I wasn’t really aware of when he was signing stuff, I just happened by his signing on the same day I got the hardcover). After having waited to read the comic until it came to print (my preferred way to read about using plants to kill zombies), I would say the investment was totally worth it.

In the city of Neighborville, a large horde of zombies has risen from the sewers in search of brains to devour. Meanwhile, a boy named Nate Timely arrives home and goes up to his treehouse, unaware of the approaching zombies. In his treehouse, Nate hears a noise and, mistaking it for a threat, attacks. However, he receives a counterattack and it turns out to be a girl named Patrice Blazing. The two quickly become friends, but soon afterwards the zombies begin to invade the treehouse. As the two flee from the zombies, they are saved by attacks from sentient plants while Patrice leads Nate to the home of her uncle, known to everyone else as Crazy Dave.

Nate and Patrice's first encounter.

Paul Tobin’s writing definitely captures the spirit of Plants vs. Zombies, working in the various plants and zombies of the game while still managing to tell an interesting and humorous story. While the story can be somewhat serious, its setting allows it a sense of humor that lets it not take itself too seriously. This works in the comic’s favor, since the game itself never really took itself that seriously to begin with. What helps sell the tone of the comic is not only the personalities and interactions between the central characters, but also the occasional gag involving some of Neighborville’s residents, which are always good for a chuckle.

Ron Chan’s artwork does an amazing job replicating the general art style of Plants vs. Zombies, with any new characters drawn such that they seem to fit in with everything else from the game. While everything is represented from the games really well, there is a great range of emotion in many of the plants, allowing you to feel bad for them when something goes wrong while fending off waves of zombies. This is helped by the coloring by Matthew J. Rainwater, who gives the comic a suitably brighter color palette to match the look of the game and give the art more life than it already has.

Crazy Dave is crazy.

Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon is a comic I would highly recommend to any Plants vs. Zombies fan. The writing has a good amount of humor to it without detracting from the story and the art accurately represents the game while still being fun to look at on its own. If you are interested in reading this comic, I would suggest picking up the physical hardcover collection since you can have the entire comic in one spot. Those that read the comic when released digitally might also want to consider the hardcover if they desire having a physical copy. Though I would recommend this to fans of the series, the comic does a good job of holding up on its own, so those looking for a good laugh may also want to consider checking this one out.

Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon (SDCC Comic) - The Seeds Have Been Planted

If you've ever been to San Diego Comic-Con or read our post on it, you know that the convention can be like hell if you let it. One of the good things about it, though, is getting exclusives that you couldn't get anywhere else, be it a special edition of a toy or a comic book among many, many other things. Today, I am going to cover something from the latter, a comic called Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon. For those unaware, Plants vs. Zombies is a game series developed by PopCap, the same company responsible for the popular and successful Bejeweled puzzle franchise. The gameplay involves planting plants in a garden as you try to protect your house (and your brains) from waves of zombies. I've played some of the game before and I enjoyed what I've played of it, and I plan to play the upcoming sequel titles, Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time and Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare (the latter when it comes to Xbox 360, since I have absolutely zero interest in owning an Xbox One). Getting back on track, Lawnmageddon was an exclusive $2 comic at Comic-Con, via the Dark Horse booth, and with the help of my parents, my brother and I managed to secure a couple of autographed copies right when they were running out for the convention (on Preview Night no less) and I thank them for their effort. I actually got to reading the comic last night, and I can say that I liked what I read...so far.

The story of Lawnmageddon, written by Paul Tobin, follows two kids, a boy named Nate Timely and a girl named Patrice Blazing, as they deal with an invasion of zombies that emerge from the depths of the sewers. The comic itself is only 12 pages long, so I don't think I can say much about the story, but I do think it's an interesting set-up. The introduction of these kids to the world of Plants vs. Zombies may seem odd since there was maybe only one important character in the original game, Crazy Dave, but I do think they're good at their purpose of moving the plot along, since I'm not sure how else you can create a coherent comic out of a game like that (plus, there is actually an interesting way Crazy Dave is worked into the story). Either way, I think Paul Tobin did a good job with the writing from what I have seen.

Then there's the art by Ron Chan, with colors by Matthew J. Rainwater. I think Ron Chan does an amazing job capturing the art style of the game, particularly with the designs of the titular plants and zombies, enhanced further by Rainwater's colors. The new child characters, along with the other humans you see in the comic, also look like they fit right in with whatever shows up from the game. There is no doubt here that Chan and Rainwater did an amazing job in the art department.

Quick, buy it before they run out!

Now the reason I said "so far" and "from what I have seen" is because, when I finished reading the comic, I found out exactly why it was an exclusive: at the back of the comic, on the inside cover, there is an advertisement for Lawnmageddon being a digital comic, which from the ad appears to be a six-issue deal. I decided to review this comic anyway because of the way it was packaged as a one-shot book, but I do plan to revisit this comic later once it finishes its run.

The Comic-Con version of Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon serves as a good first look at the digital series and gives those that bought the exclusive a good taste of what's to come. For those interested in checking it out, especially if you are already a Plants vs. Zombies fan, I would suggest doing so, either as it is released or, for those who prefer print material (like me), by holding out for the eventual hardcover collection, which can be pre-ordered on the Dark Horse website. I think the print comic that I read is enjoyable so far, but as for the overall quality of the finished product, we shall have to wait and see.