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Plants vs. Zombies #1
Plants vs. Zombies Volume 1: Lawnmageddon
The confusing-yet-brilliant inventor known only as Crazy Dave helps his niece, Patrice, and young adventurer Nate Timely fend off a "fun-dead" neighborhood invasion in Plants vs. Lawnmageddon ! Winner of over thirty "Game of the Year" awards, Plants vs. Zombies is now determined to shuffle onto all-ages bookshelves to tickle funny bones and thrill... brains .
* The first Plants vs. Zombies comic book!
*
* The first Plants vs. Zombies comic book!
*
80 pages, Hardcover
First published November 19, 2013
360 people are currently reading
1536 people want to read
About the author
Paul Tobin
930 books407 followersPaul Tobin is the Eisner-award winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Bandette, Colder, and many other comic books and graphic series.
Bandette, drawn by Colleen Coover, was awarded the Eisner Award for Best Digital Series in 2013, 2016, and 2017; and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award for Graphic Literature in 2016. His original graphic novel I Was the Cat was nominated for an Eisner in 2015.
The Genius Factor: How to Capture an Invisible Cat , first in his five-book series of middle-grade books, came out in 2016 from Bloomsbury Kids. It was followed in 2017 by How To Outsmart A billion Robot Bees , and How To Tame A Human Tornado in March 2018.
Bandette, drawn by Colleen Coover, was awarded the Eisner Award for Best Digital Series in 2013, 2016, and 2017; and was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award for Graphic Literature in 2016. His original graphic novel I Was the Cat was nominated for an Eisner in 2015.
The Genius Factor: How to Capture an Invisible Cat , first in his five-book series of middle-grade books, came out in 2016 from Bloomsbury Kids. It was followed in 2017 by How To Outsmart A billion Robot Bees , and How To Tame A Human Tornado in March 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews
October 18, 2013
Plants Vs Zombies is one of the most addictive, entertaining games I’ve ever played. I played the first game to death, doing the challenges long after I’d completed the game (several times) and not a day goes by since Plants Vs Zombies 2 has been released where I don’t play at least one game of it (that damn Treasure Yeti’s lunchbox!). I love this gaming series, it’s so much fun.
The flip side is that the popularity of the game spawns further iterations of the franchise in other media, in this case a comic book version of Plants Vs Zombies written by Paul “Bandette” Tobin, the go-to guy for writing kid-friendly comics. It might be because this comic is clearly aimed at younger readers, but I could not get through it despite it being a short book of not even 100 pages.
The story – and I use the term loosely – is about a small town suddenly being invaded by zombies. A boy and a girl – because everyone else has disappeared, maybe they’re the zombies? I don’t know, I didn’t read far enough ahead but I doubt it – are the last line of defence against the hilariously dressed horde. Or are they? The girl’s uncle turns out to be Crazy Dave, the guy wearing a saucepan, who has been experimenting on plants and created a ton of mutant plants, all of which are scattered about town and are taking down the zombies. It’s up to the kids to marshal the plants in an epic showdown against the zombies.
The story, as far as I read it, was the kids running about town, encountering a type of zombie – and all of the plants and zombies used are from the first game, not the second – and then a plant showing up to kill it. This was repeated again, and again, and again, until I couldn’t go on any more. The novelty of seeing the plants and zombies that I know so well in a comic wore off a few pages in and after that I was left with the no-plot story and weak jokes. After struggling to keep my interest for nearly half the book I put it down and down it shall remain.
This isn’t entirely Tobin’s fault – Plants Vs Zombies is a tower defence game, it’s all about the gameplay and it doesn’t require a story. But transfer the game into a medium that requires a narrative and you can only do so much with what you’ve got. Plants Vs Zombies – the title is the story, like Snakes on a Plane, but it’s also not an interesting story. Fun to play, boring to read.
The Devil May Cry and Assassin’s Creed comics are awful, the Street Fighter comics are pretty poor, and added to the bunch is Plants Vs Zombies. Great games do not make great comics.
The flip side is that the popularity of the game spawns further iterations of the franchise in other media, in this case a comic book version of Plants Vs Zombies written by Paul “Bandette” Tobin, the go-to guy for writing kid-friendly comics. It might be because this comic is clearly aimed at younger readers, but I could not get through it despite it being a short book of not even 100 pages.
The story – and I use the term loosely – is about a small town suddenly being invaded by zombies. A boy and a girl – because everyone else has disappeared, maybe they’re the zombies? I don’t know, I didn’t read far enough ahead but I doubt it – are the last line of defence against the hilariously dressed horde. Or are they? The girl’s uncle turns out to be Crazy Dave, the guy wearing a saucepan, who has been experimenting on plants and created a ton of mutant plants, all of which are scattered about town and are taking down the zombies. It’s up to the kids to marshal the plants in an epic showdown against the zombies.
The story, as far as I read it, was the kids running about town, encountering a type of zombie – and all of the plants and zombies used are from the first game, not the second – and then a plant showing up to kill it. This was repeated again, and again, and again, until I couldn’t go on any more. The novelty of seeing the plants and zombies that I know so well in a comic wore off a few pages in and after that I was left with the no-plot story and weak jokes. After struggling to keep my interest for nearly half the book I put it down and down it shall remain.
This isn’t entirely Tobin’s fault – Plants Vs Zombies is a tower defence game, it’s all about the gameplay and it doesn’t require a story. But transfer the game into a medium that requires a narrative and you can only do so much with what you’ve got. Plants Vs Zombies – the title is the story, like Snakes on a Plane, but it’s also not an interesting story. Fun to play, boring to read.
The Devil May Cry and Assassin’s Creed comics are awful, the Street Fighter comics are pretty poor, and added to the bunch is Plants Vs Zombies. Great games do not make great comics.
December 14, 2019
Reading this series with my son and he is officially obsessed. We had to immediately jump into vol. 2
May 5, 2019
I was just looking through the catalog of books from my library's website and this popped up. I am not a comic book person but I LOVE Plants vs Zombies! this was the cutest thing. I need more......!!!!!!
November 4, 2018
Yeah. It's come to this. I do not particularly enjoy reading these to Squirt, but he likes them. There will be more, unfortunately.
February 13, 2016
Received an ARC from the publisher at Netgalley.
Finally this wonderful, epic game gets a comic book! I loved, no adored the game, it was a really brilliant idea to have plants fight zombies!
So in this book we meet Nate and Patrice (who also happens to be Crazy Dave's (yes THE Crazy Dave) niece), in the beginning everything is fine, until they look out of their tree house window and see ZOMBIES!
They soon hurry to Dave, because, well even though he is clearly crazy, he is also brilliant and knows how to stop the zombies! Patrice is the only one who can understand his garbled nonsense speak so she acts as translator.
It was really wonderful to see the plants again (they were soooooo cute in this form, especially the sunflowers), and to go: "Oh, look! There is the zombie with that traffic cone!" Or "Oh, look! There is the zombie who likes to dive!" My boyfriend also liked to watch with me when I pointed them out. :)
I loved the plot and how it worked out, not always do games make good comics because of how they are made, and I was a bit worried about this one. But after reading this I can say it is more than just garden fighting, no we travel through the whole town, we have to search for the plants, for new things! The characters are great, I really liked them and how they acted towards each other.
The illustrations are really fantastic and beautifully made, I was really pulled into the story.
I will be sure to buy this book, so that my boyfriend can read it too, since he had so much fun watching me point out zombies and plants. :)
Thanks for allowing me to read this comic!
Finally this wonderful, epic game gets a comic book! I loved, no adored the game, it was a really brilliant idea to have plants fight zombies!
So in this book we meet Nate and Patrice (who also happens to be Crazy Dave's (yes THE Crazy Dave) niece), in the beginning everything is fine, until they look out of their tree house window and see ZOMBIES!
They soon hurry to Dave, because, well even though he is clearly crazy, he is also brilliant and knows how to stop the zombies! Patrice is the only one who can understand his garbled nonsense speak so she acts as translator.
It was really wonderful to see the plants again (they were soooooo cute in this form, especially the sunflowers), and to go: "Oh, look! There is the zombie with that traffic cone!" Or "Oh, look! There is the zombie who likes to dive!" My boyfriend also liked to watch with me when I pointed them out. :)
I loved the plot and how it worked out, not always do games make good comics because of how they are made, and I was a bit worried about this one. But after reading this I can say it is more than just garden fighting, no we travel through the whole town, we have to search for the plants, for new things! The characters are great, I really liked them and how they acted towards each other.
The illustrations are really fantastic and beautifully made, I was really pulled into the story.
I will be sure to buy this book, so that my boyfriend can read it too, since he had so much fun watching me point out zombies and plants. :)
Thanks for allowing me to read this comic!
April 14, 2016
Crazy uncle Dave is my hero. He's the only one without a brain, doesn't gaf and invents the craziest pancake making machines.
Did we just become best friends?
Did we just become best friends?
March 22, 2014
Plants vs. Zombies – Lawnmageddon – by Paul Tobin, illustrated by Ron Chan and Matthew J. Rainwater – Graphic Novel – 4th grade and up (for anyone who will be amused) - So. I bought this book for my son knowing that I wasn’t very fond of the game but he certainly was… when the book order arrived, the kiddo immediately sat down and read it cover to cover. It sat for two days on the coffee table and I decided to pick it up and read it. Briskly. It was quite a hilarious book. I appreciated getting a back story on this obsessive game that I was slightly amused by before. Now, I accept that there’s some witty, nuanced, amusing elements. I also felt quite justified in reading this book because it was published by Dark Horse books, my old local publisher and included at least two Portland, Oregon graphic novel creators…
September 1, 2018
2.5 stars
I love PvZ games. I'm giving the first one another round, and I'm playing the second daily. The are one of the best casual games you can find. So when I discovered very late that there was a comic book series I had to try it.
The book itself is directed to kids, but it feels like the writer didn't even try to catch the spirit of the game. None of the game's humor and fun. It doesn't mean that there's no humor in the book, it just that it's not good enough to appeal to adults as other books manage to be.
It's not a bad kids book, but it is not a very good one
I love PvZ games. I'm giving the first one another round, and I'm playing the second daily. The are one of the best casual games you can find. So when I discovered very late that there was a comic book series I had to try it.
The book itself is directed to kids, but it feels like the writer didn't even try to catch the spirit of the game. None of the game's humor and fun. It doesn't mean that there's no humor in the book, it just that it's not good enough to appeal to adults as other books manage to be.
It's not a bad kids book, but it is not a very good one
October 8, 2021
don’t mind me, just reading a bunch of random comic books to help me catch up on my reading goal😅
This was actually pretty fun and brought back so many memories of the countless hours I played this game. Very tempted to download it again!!
This was actually pretty fun and brought back so many memories of the countless hours I played this game. Very tempted to download it again!!
September 7, 2024
If you're a fan of the Plants vs Zombies video game, you will certainly love this comic book. All of the same zombies and plants from the video game are illustrated in this comic. I loved the "sound effects" that mimiced that of the game. There were some new characters that made the comic a little more interesting, but for the most part the comic held fast to the video gameplay.
A fun and entertaining comic. Five stars!
A fun and entertaining comic. Five stars!
February 5, 2017
An entertaining start to a graphic novel series fit for longtime fans of the Plants vs. Zombies game; appropriate for kids of all ages.
All’s not well in the city of Neighborville. An eccentric zombie horde has been unleashed, and the only one’s seemingly able to keep their fighting wits about them are young Nate Timely and his new kick-butt friend, Patrice Blazing. Fortunately, Patrice’s Uncle happens to be a genius “top-notch scientist”…although, he’s otherwise known to the neighborhood as the babbling, pot-hat wearing “Crazy Dave.” It turns out Dave isn’t just good for fixing up Zombie-munching lawnmowers. He’s been engineering sentient breeds of plants in his secret green house. Plants he’s enhanced with “special” fertilizer and nurtured with his hilariously nonsensical singing. And now, his plants, niece, and her new friend may be Neighborville’s only hope.
This Lawnmageddon installment is a non-stop romp of genetically engineered fun. The humor is frequent, encompassing both witty dialogue and keen physical humor. The premise is a simple but effective one. The artwork is vivid, expressive, and true to the beloved game. (Arguably the most harmless and accessible branch of Zombie lore in existence.) My kids (ages 6 and 8) enjoyed reading through every last line and the plethora of onomatopoeia.
Not much chance for backstory or relational development amongst our three human characters, but here’s hoping the rest will gradually flesh itself out as the series progresses. We certainly intend to find out.
All’s not well in the city of Neighborville. An eccentric zombie horde has been unleashed, and the only one’s seemingly able to keep their fighting wits about them are young Nate Timely and his new kick-butt friend, Patrice Blazing. Fortunately, Patrice’s Uncle happens to be a genius “top-notch scientist”…although, he’s otherwise known to the neighborhood as the babbling, pot-hat wearing “Crazy Dave.” It turns out Dave isn’t just good for fixing up Zombie-munching lawnmowers. He’s been engineering sentient breeds of plants in his secret green house. Plants he’s enhanced with “special” fertilizer and nurtured with his hilariously nonsensical singing. And now, his plants, niece, and her new friend may be Neighborville’s only hope.
This Lawnmageddon installment is a non-stop romp of genetically engineered fun. The humor is frequent, encompassing both witty dialogue and keen physical humor. The premise is a simple but effective one. The artwork is vivid, expressive, and true to the beloved game. (Arguably the most harmless and accessible branch of Zombie lore in existence.) My kids (ages 6 and 8) enjoyed reading through every last line and the plethora of onomatopoeia.
Not much chance for backstory or relational development amongst our three human characters, but here’s hoping the rest will gradually flesh itself out as the series progresses. We certainly intend to find out.
August 14, 2020
Review-
I've always been a big fan of the Plants Vs Zombies games and other media so this was a delight. The read is very quick and enjoyable. I feel like I appreciated it more than some might since I know lots about the series and such but regardless, it's great! Dave is perfect from game to comic and the addition of his niece is fantastic. Overall, this is a great story and adds so much to the already amazing series.
I've always been a big fan of the Plants Vs Zombies games and other media so this was a delight. The read is very quick and enjoyable. I feel like I appreciated it more than some might since I know lots about the series and such but regardless, it's great! Dave is perfect from game to comic and the addition of his niece is fantastic. Overall, this is a great story and adds so much to the already amazing series.
December 24, 2020
An adorable must-read for any Plants vs Zombies (i.e. the game) fan. The art style is exactly the same as the original (first) game. The peashooters remain an important part of frontline defence; the wall-nuts and tall-nuts are unwaveringly self-sacrificial; the blovers try their best; the sunflowers need their sun; the winter melons smash & freeze... and turns out the squashes are actually good drivers!
January 27, 2017
Everyone played the games, but the books? Join the hilarious adventures of Nate Timely and Patrice Blazing as they fight the war to save NeighborVille from Brain-Hungry Zombies! However, they'll need a little help from Patrice's Uncle Dave. Will they win the war or will Zomboss' plan work? Find out in this action packed book!
October 10, 2019
As a veteran Plants Vs Zombies player, I think this book is amazing.This book takes me back to the old days when I used to play PVZ non-stop, and now that it has its own book and set of character, I'm starting to get interested in the PVZ community again, and I'll definitely get my hands on the rest of the books once I get the money too. :)
May 20, 2021
I love this game and freaked out a little when the library had these books on display for Halloween. I brought them home for my son, who also loves this game, which then led to Santa bring zombie stuffies. This book did not disappoint in the awesome kid department! And perfect follow up to a rotten day, I feel so much better. 😊❤️❤️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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December 10, 2020Am I adding this because I am behind on my reading challenge? Yes, yes I am.
June 9, 2021
Quick easy read. Not alot to say.
June 29, 2024
Fun read I like the pictures it gives nice nostalgia to the games but I was sad because some of the pages got stuck together when I smeared chocolate on them from my chocolate banana muffin by accident :(
January 9, 2021
Якщо вам 10 - буде в самий раз)
June 4, 2023
My grandson challenged me to read this book. It’s one of his favorites. If you like zombies being attacked by plants in graphic format, this book is for you 😂
October 20, 2024
I had fun reading it since I'm a fan of the games! I'm way older than the target audience but it was really a quick read and I enjoyed the entire time.
April 25, 2025
Good and funny.
April 3, 2022
I love plants vs zombies. I have played most of their games. I just happened to find this comic at my store and was thinking I didn't know they made a comic of this. I wouldn't have expected anything less than what I got out of reading it. In time I'll probably read all 19 of the comics. Til then all I can say is the first volume is cute and funny and CRAAAAZY DAVE is never too far away with his niece and her friend. Prepare for war over Neighborville.
August 10, 2020
As a huge fan of Plants vs. Zombies, I took a chance on this comic book that brings the beloved video game to a new medium. The backstory of the game, and this series, is that Zombies have overtaken the world but Crazy Dave built a Plant army to combat them. There are Zombies of all shapes and sizes - every zombie that appears in the various levels of the games comes into the artwork in these pages in rapid succession. Two kids, the only two to realize what is happening, apparently, work with Crazy Dave to get the plants into place in an effective counterattack on the Zombie army. The goal is to save the world and take down the Zombies.
The artwork in this comic book is amazing. The plants and zombies depicted are pulled straight from the video game, as is Crazy Dave. The kids obviously represent the game players, and they serve this purpose fairly well. I think the different kinds of Zombies were introduced too quickly and haphazardly - as if this was a one and done instead of the first in a series. I would have preferred they were introduced slower like in the game play, so that the kids learn to fight one zombie and then another, etc. This felt very rushed, and I'm curious to see how they take off with it from here since so much was packed into this first volume.
The artwork in this comic book is amazing. The plants and zombies depicted are pulled straight from the video game, as is Crazy Dave. The kids obviously represent the game players, and they serve this purpose fairly well. I think the different kinds of Zombies were introduced too quickly and haphazardly - as if this was a one and done instead of the first in a series. I would have preferred they were introduced slower like in the game play, so that the kids learn to fight one zombie and then another, etc. This felt very rushed, and I'm curious to see how they take off with it from here since so much was packed into this first volume.
November 20, 2021
“Plants vs Zombies Volume 1: Lawnmageddon” is a science fiction/fantasy graphic novel written by Paul Tobin. This series has multiple different volumes and was first published in November 2013 by Dark Horse Books. This book was written for children in the 3rd-7th between the ages of 8-12 years. In the book characters Dave, Patrice and Nate fight off a neighborhood invasion of zombies. This book is definitely cute and funny but, in my opinion, lacks a bit of substance. I read a lot of reviews on this particular book and other volumes in the series, and it seems that younger children really enjoy these books while their parents are not the biggest fans of these books. The illustrations in this book are cute but a bit weird, I’m not the biggest fan of this drawing style but I do like how vivid and bright all of the colors are and I also think that children would really love all the illustrations. I rate this book a 2/5 because like I said, it definitely lacks a lot of substance. I think the plot is okay but definitely a bit strange. I don't really see this book as one that can be used for any educational purposes but more so just for pleasure reading.
April 13, 2020
Sooooo fun! We loved it! The some parts are funny, like the time they thought that they defeated the zombies. That was ridiculous! But I had a hard time with reading the words they were so small.
The zombies were not to bad... But they probably won't be getting any beauty treatments for their faces. They were not to creepy. I would not think that the age of 3-5 can not handle it. But if you are a parent you can decide, some children are different in handle things differently.
Why did I pick this book?
Well, I really like the book series. And getting to read any one in the series is a treat. Also I like to creep myself out sometimes. But I am not a fan of zombies.
Is it scary?
No, not really but as I have already said some people handle things differently.
Will you read some more of the of the series?
Yes, I will. I will tell you about them later. I can't wait to get my hands on the next few.
Is there any chance that you will be reading it again?
Maybe, I don't know. Some times I do, some times I don't. It is a 50, 50. I thought it was kind of good.
The zombies were not to bad... But they probably won't be getting any beauty treatments for their faces. They were not to creepy. I would not think that the age of 3-5 can not handle it. But if you are a parent you can decide, some children are different in handle things differently.
Why did I pick this book?
Well, I really like the book series. And getting to read any one in the series is a treat. Also I like to creep myself out sometimes. But I am not a fan of zombies.
Is it scary?
No, not really but as I have already said some people handle things differently.
Will you read some more of the of the series?
Yes, I will. I will tell you about them later. I can't wait to get my hands on the next few.
Is there any chance that you will be reading it again?
Maybe, I don't know. Some times I do, some times I don't. It is a 50, 50. I thought it was kind of good.
March 1, 2023
Considering there are no comprehensible characters in the Plants vs. Zombies game, it's surprising that they were actually make a cohesive, coherent story here. Although they did it by creating two new characters (Patrice and Nate), and having Patrice able to understand Crazy Dave's ramblings, it kind of works. There's not a whole lot of plot going on here, anyway. It's mostly lots of shots of the Zombies, or the plants, and occasionally the two fighting, while the main characters run away or direct from the sidelines. There is enough of a bare bones for the plot to work, although there isn't anything resembling depth. And the artwork is well done; it very much catches the look and feel of the game, perhaps to its own detriment in that it has no personality of its own and trades on the game characters for a lot of cultural hidden object humor rather than actual jokes. So all told, it's better than it has any right to be, but that still doesn't make it a better-than-average comic.
November 21, 2020
This is an amazing graphic novel about the world of Plants vs Zombies! This is the first book in the series and introduces you to the characters. In this book zombies have invaded Neighborville and is being lead by the infamous Dr. Zomboss. Luckily a kid named Nate Timely stumbles upon Patrice, a future friend, and her uncle Crazy Dave. Dave only speaks in gibbrish but Patrice understands him. Dave has also come up with a revolutionary invention that gives them a chance to defeat zombies: Plants, and not just any plants, these plants have some serious firepower, like there's Peashooter who shoots peas, and Sunflower who produces Sun to provide energy for all the other plants. Something that's great about these books is the fact that you don't have to have read the previous one to understand what's going on. I would highly recommend these books to old and new Plants vs. Zombies fans!
April 25, 2015
Komiks je skôr určený pre mládež a tak je aj príbeh pre ne "prispôsobený". Je jednoduchý ale vôbec neurazí. A musím sa priznať, že som sa aj pomerne dosť nasmiala. Ja som bola spokojná, pretože to bolo príjemným oživením mojej pamäti a počas čítania som mala naozaj veľkú chuť hru zapnúť okamžite. Bohužiaľ v práci to bolo nemožné. Možno čo by som tak trošku vytkla je naozaj málo strán. Ako pasívny čitateľ, ktorý hru nepozná by som ohodnotila komiks tak tých 3/5 ale ako fanúšik hodnotím 4/5, pretože kto hru pozná a strávil pri nej dlhé hodiny tak komiks mu je o niečo bližší.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews