Comics Review: Adventure Time Comics #9

Adventure Time Comics with its usual short story format.

Spoilers Below:

The first story is “Bad Radishes” by Rii Abrego. Finn and Jake are working hard in their garden, and are growing a patch of beets from a package labeled ‘Bad Boy Beets’. It is time for the harvest, and both of them are emotional. When Finn pulls up the first beet, he realizes that they are all alive and fully animated. All the beets begin to uproot themselves and start causing havoc. Finn frantically asks what’s wrong, and the beets reply that they were born bad, as per the package. Jake laments their bad behavior since he raised them with so much love, but the beets continue to make trouble. Finn finally has enough, and stops the fighting, insisting that the beets can be good if they try. The beets are moved, saying that nobody ever believed in them before. They set out for a new life, still causing trouble, but moved to do good.

Next is “The Lan Party”, by Zachary Clemente and Cole Ott. BMO is in the middle of showering when suddenly he is teleported to an alternative space. He awakens to realize that he’s surrounded by his family, who have teleported him to their hangout space. BMO suggests that they all play video games, and his family gets excited. When BMO wonders why they were waiting for him, his family responds that most of their games are boring, and BMO’s games are much more exciting by comparison. BMO notes that he has no idea where all his games come from and that maybe he makes them himself by having fun with his friends. The whole family plugs into BMO, and they all have a virtual food fight.

Third is “The Forgetting Tree” by Cat Seaton and Kit Seaton. Jake is digging by a mysterious tree, and when Finn approaches him, he starts growling like a normal dog. The story flashes back to a week prior,  when Jake discovers an old book. Inside is a picture of the tree, and some strange phrases about forgetting. Jake suddenly begins speaking about how nice forgetting could be, and Finn gets nervous. Back in the present, Finn tells Jake that the book brought him to the tree, and asks him what he wanted to forget. Jake can only reply that he doesn’t remember, and soon reveals that he does not even remember who he is. Finn realizes the tree is causing all of this, and tries to pull Jake away. Jake resists, and Finn panics, worrying about the tree affecting him too. With the last of his strength, he manages to pull Jake away. As Jake hugs Finn as a thanks for rescuing him, Finn mumbles about forgetting why he was there. Finn says that he thought he was trying to rescue someone, but doesn’t remember who it was, and asks Jake for help. Jake happily agrees, and the two walk away from the tree.

Last up is “Just Peachy”, by Jenna Ayoub, starring Treetrunks. Treetrunks is making one of her famous pies and narrates her recipe to the readers. The last step, which is the most important, is to share your food with your friends, and Treetrunks illustrates that by leaving her pie out for the woodland creatures.

Overview:

Adventure Time Comics tends to either be wholly comedic, or throws one serious story into its lineup, and it definitely does so again this issue. While “The Forgetting Tree” details the close relationship that Finn and Jake share, it is also quite terrifying. The tree itself is sinister and almost evil, and staying near it for too long is equated to death. It’s Finn’s determination to save his best friend that keeps Jake from wasting away forever. A significantly darker read compared to the rest.

On the other hand, the other stories are much easier reads. They all feature some sort of togetherness and the need to understand. Mixed with the dark “Forgetting Tree”, the issue creates an atmosphere of its own: comical, but with an inherent sense of danger, perfect for the world of Adventure Time.