‘Plants Vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon’ Review: Hilarious

“Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon,” inspired by the critically acclaimed video game franchise, “Plants vs. Zombies,” is a fun read with bizarre, intriguing protagonists and an oddly told story that is just as addictive as the games it is based on.

You follow three main protagonists in “Lawnmageddon.” Nate Timely, a naive, overdramatic, aspiring cowboy astronaut; Patrice Blazing, an eccentric, cheery, impulsive young girl (who also happens to be a professional treehouse inspector, apparently); and Crazy Dave, or as Patrice likes to call him, uncle Dave. He’s crazy… seriously. He has his own language.

Our unlikely heroes task themselves with protecting the city of Neighborville from the sudden appearance of brain-craving zombies, and they do so with an army of plants. But not just any plants, no, these plants have been given “special plant food and unique fertilizers,” giving them the ability to fight off the growing army of zombies with an army of their own. That’s right, a plant army.

It may take a moment to wrap your brain around, oops, you probably shouldn’t say the word “brain” too loud; it tends to make the zombies more aggressive. Let’s start over. It may take a moment to wrap your “head” around the idea of plants battling zombies, but as soon as the idea sticks, “Lawnmageddon” is a comic that you will read cover to cover with no breaks in between.

It has a sense of humor that is well displayed throughout the entire issue, through both its writing and illustration. Paul Tobin (writer) and Ron Chan (illustrator) did an excellent job in collaborating and calibrating the tone for this comic. “Plants Vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon” is what happens when you take the survival horror genre and blend it with both comedy and well, plants.

It would be nice, though, for the comic to have a bit more intensity. It’s humor can at times get in the way of what could be some really suspenseful moments. Even when our heroes are surrounded by hordes of zombies there is still no sense of danger present, mostly because the suspense is almost always interrupted by a cheesy joke or punchline. However, it is these exact moments that give “Plants Vs. Zombies: Lawnmaggedon” its unique personality and grants its appeal.

There is no other comic that features driving plants, sasquatch ballerinas and life-sized, fire-breathing T-Rex’s all in one issue, it’s exciting to think of what’s in store for the remaining five.