Crazy Dave:

My old man was great! He invented the necktie-sandwich press and the battery-powered battery – it never runs out of energy! I don’t know what I did with the blueprints for that one. I should find ‘em though, I could make, like, 50 bucks.

Zombie:

Zombie raised by Docotr Zomboss. He not biomological dad but he always made sure we had plenty of brains and gave me this swell coat. No pants, though but Zombie not complaining. He not very cuddly, but that okay because his skin is like a lizard’s. Still give Zombie the wibblies. Anyway, he always gave us rides in his giant Zombot. Sometimes he fergot to pick us up, though. Maybe that why zombies so good at shambling.

Bjorn:

Being a mythological creature, it’s hard to really communicate the concept of “father” as I understand it. So, please accept this short poem that captures my thoughts on the matter.

They come in many shapes and sizes.
Some are bums and some are prizes.
But it don’t matter what you say,
Sunday is still Father’s Day.

Lex:

Well, I can’t acknowledge my father without also giving a shout out to my mother. Mostly because I am not sure who was who.

In any event, we are happy to announce that we have launched our very own podcast, now available for your listening pleasure. The PopCast, as it is called, is an Internet radio show, scheduled for at least twice a month, give or take, in which we will take you behind-the-scenes at PopCap, and get a closer look at our games and the people who make them. In each episode, host Jeff Green, producer Joey Trimmer, and a rotating cast of PopCap employees gather in a Chuzzle-filled conference room to blab about PopCap, gaming and game culture in general, as well as to share their darkest secrets and occasionally break down and cry.

If you’ve never listened to a podcast, do not panic. It’s easy. You can listen to our first two episodes below just by clicking on the play buttons for each below.

The PopCast: Episode 1: Hello and Welcome
In our debut episode, host Jeff Green forgets to introduce himself, but then he and this week’s guests — Giordano Contestabile, Stephanie Bayer, and Avery Alix — as well as producer Joey Trimmer, talk about the new Bejeweled releases, as well as life in general at PopCap. Oh yeah, and Giordano is the Archmage of Winterhold.

The PopCast Episode 2: Bjorn This Way
In this very special second episode of the PopCast, Jeff and Joey welcome PopCap cofounder Jason Kapalka, Peggle Franchise Director Joe McDonagh, and writer extraordinaire Stephen Notley for a wide-ranging discussion of topics from the eroticism of Peggle to the intellectualism of Twilight to the heretofore-never-revealed game design phenomenon known as “TTP.” Brew yourself some herbal tea, and listen with someone you love.

If you’d rather subscribe and listen in Apple’s iTunes you can click this to do so. Or if you would like to subscribe to the RSS feed (and just ignore this if you don’t know what that means), the RSS address is http://popcast.libsyn.com/rss.

However you prefer to do it, please give us a listen, and leave your comments and feedback for us! We’d like to know what you think!

Happy listening!

Michael Guillory, Producer of Bejeweled 3 for Xbox 360 and PS3.

Jeff: Have you had dreams/nightmares about jewels falling from the sky?
Michael: Yeah, I find myself making matches of 3+ everywhere I go. Fallen leaves, traffic signs, birds on a wire, you name it, I match it. It’s primal pattern recognition. Mostly my dreams are free of jewels though. Mostly.

Jeff: Let’s say you didn’t work at PopCap. I’m not implying that you won’t be. This is just hypothetical. What game franchise would you love to be working on?
Michael: Hmm, I’m going to say Final Fantasy, specifically XIV. The game is ridiculously beautiful and has been evolving after a messy initial release. It’s got a ways to go, but if I wasn’t working at PopCap, I’d like to be part of that continuing evolution.

Jeff: I don’t get why it takes so long to move the game from PC/Mac to console. Don’t you just press the “port” button on some machine? What specifically, are the biggest challenges in doing adaptations like this? Is it just about the controller, or are there other big issues?
Michael: The “port button” is sort of like… replicators on Star Trek. Maybe someday we’ll be able to say “Earl Grey tea… hot” (or rather “Bejeweled, new platform, perfect.”) and have it handed to us a few moments later, but until then, porting involves a surprising amount of work. For example, in the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, we wanted game menus to be on a single plane (like PvZ), because that’s easy to negotiate with controllers. Unfortunately, several of the PC menus were not designed with this in mind, so we redid a number of them (including the Main Menu — the tree is gone, replaced by the ring). In addition to this, and controllers, and adapting the game to different screen sizes, each platform has its own way of handling things under the hood. So, long story, long: there is a lot of work involved. But PopCap has been working to streamline the process, and I think you’ll find more and more simultaneous launches going forward than we’ve done in the past.

Jeff: A) Modern Warfare, b) Skyrim, c) Skyward Sword d) None of the above because I only play EA games.
Michael: I’ve been enjoying Skyrim quite a bit. I’ve also been playing a lot of The Sims Social lately, so I’ve got my EA base covered. Can you send me some Love so I can complete a doorframe?

Jeff: Do you think we’ll ever see a 3-D Bejeweled? Have you guys ever talked about it? Note that I don’t really care because I hate 3-D. But do you think it’s possible?
Michael: A 3-D Bejeweled is something that gets brought up a lot, and some day we may look at it in depth as things develop. But your eyes are safe. For now.

Jeff: Go-to junk/snack food while knee-deep in game production stress.
Michael: Tim’s Salt and Vinegar potato chips. They detonate in your mouth like salty, vinegar depth charges. Mmmm.

Jeff: I assume you’re going to take a vacation now that this game is finally out the door. Will you play Bejeweled 3 on this vacation?
Michael: I will. Diamond Mine, especially. I <3 Diamond Mine.

In Heavy Weapon, you will blow all these fake countries to smithereens. Fortunately, they deserve it.

The game is arcade-simple: You control an “atomic tank,” moving left and right, firing at enemy aircraft and ground vehicles as they enter the screen from both the left and right. Along with enemy aircraft, a white supply helicopter flies across periodically, dropping power-ups like shields and speed bonuses, as well as nukes that can quickly obliterate everything on screen. The game’s campaign has 19 missions of increasing difficulty, with an armory in between each mission where you spend points on permanent upgrades and power-ups for your tank. In 2007, PopCap brought the game to Xbox LIVE Arcade with 4-player co-op mode, and then later to Sony’s PlayStation Network for the PS3.

Blasting communists, the PopCap way!

Heavy Weapon was, to a great extent, a one-man project, helmed by longtime PopCap veteran Josh Langley, credited with the programming, design, art and sound on the game. So rather than continuing to blab about the game myself, I thought it’d be fun to talk to Josh about it.

Jeff: Heavy Weapon seems so completely different, in every way, from every other PopCap game — how in the world did you get this approved?

Josh: I threatened to expose Jason Kapalka for the pinko Commie that I know he is if he didn’t approve my right-wing Cold War-era propaganda machine. Aside from that, PopCap was still relatively young, naïve and flexible… that didn’t come out right. PopCap was still small at the time, and our previous successes provided us with a generous cushion that we could fall back on if we tried something risky and it didn’t work. We’re always looking for ways to expand the business, and we figured it wouldn’t hurt to test the creative waters outside of our own pond to see if venturing in to other game genres might give us an opportunity to do that.

Jeff: Did you have any particular inspirations for the title? It’s got a great 80s arcade feel to it — were there particular games that you were thinking about, or modeled it on?

Josh: That’s probably because it was inspired by a game from 1988 that I played on my very first computer; a Tandy Color Computer 3. I had subscribed to a magazine that frequently distributed software to its readers in the form of page after page of code that you would then type in to your machine to “install” it. CD-ROM technology was rare and expensive at the time, and even floppies were rarely issued with such publications. One of these pieces of software happened to be a game that, at its core, is very much like Heavy Weapon. I believe it was called “Blitz”, ironically enough. The principle was the same; you maneuvered a tank at the bottom of the screen, while bombers passed overhead. I had always wanted to expand upon it with the typical tenets of 80s arcade gaming: stages, bosses, power-ups, etc. Seventeen years later, I finally did.

Jeff: It seems, from reading the credits, that this was almost all you — design, programming, art. So how long did it take you to put all this together? And who else should get credit?

Josh: It took me about two years, I believe. It was my first project utilizing the PopCap Framework. I had been programming for many years before, but I started at PopCap strictly as an artist. Certainly Team Brian (Fiete and Rothstein) should receive credit for creating the Framework that made the game possible to begin with. Also Walter Wilson, for creating some of the vastly superior background graphic elements that show up randomly. Finally, the unsung heroes of QA who made my life a living hell (rightfully so) during the last couple of months of development; guys like Isaac, Shawn, and even that guy with hair, what’s his name… Chad.

Jeff: I’d like to know more about all those fake communist bloc countries.  Was there a lot more story that didn’t make it into the game?

Josh: Most of that came from Jason, who, as I mentioned before, is a closet Commie, so it came naturally to him. The XBLA version then came along, and Microsoft, who are also commies but like to pretend that they aren’t, made us change the names of the countries to dumb names. I’d love to go into detail regarding the 90-minute movie epic that we cut from the intro, but there wasn’t one.

Jeff: Was/is there any talk of a sequel? Or would that just get laughed out of the building?

Josh: There was, and the thought still crosses my mind once in a while. I learned a lot from the first one, and would like to think that I would be able to apply those lessons to a sequel. I think it’s the sort of project that everyone would love to see, but no one considers entirely practical, given our explosive growth and shifting focus over the past few years.

Jeff: The XBLA version came out in 2007, and my understanding is that it was super-popular, especially with the 4-player co-op. Were you also involved in that version? And are you happy with the co-op? It seems like now,  something like this would be even more popular than it was four years ago…

Josh: Honestly, XBLA is where it should have started. I wasn’t directly involved in the porting, but I did provide feedback from time to time. Our friends from the former Soviet Union, CTXM, did a fantastic job putting it all together and adding those key co-op components. Stalin is rolling over in his grave, and that makes me happy.

Jeff: I may just be older and a lousier gamer than I was in 2005, but playing it again now, it feels kinda HARD to me. In your head, at the time, did you feel like you were tuning it to be tough?

Josh: Balancing the game was tricky, as there was both a desire to keep it PopCap-casual, and a desire to make it challenging, as that is what arcade gamers would be expecting. During development, I always felt that it wasn’t quite challenging enough, but it’s easy to lose perspective when I’m playing it day after day for months on end. Going back to it now, I do find it rather difficult in the latter stages; probably because I too am now an older, lousier gamer than I was at the time.

 Jeff: When’s the last time you played it? Do you still like it? How does it rank on your own personal list of the games you’ve made?

Josh: I played co-op with my parents a few weeks ago when they were in town. My dad makes me watch terrible old movies when I visit them, so it’s only fair that I make them play video games when they visit me. Except I didn’t make them do it; my dad wanted to. I can’t say I’ve given much thought to ranking my own games, though I suppose I would have to say that playing Heavy Weapon ended up wasting a greater percentage of my development time than any other game I’ve worked on. I guess that’s saying something.

Jeff: What, if anything, would you change about the gameplay now if you could redo it?

Josh: First of all, I would go straight to console, and design it specifically to suit that audience. I would also implement a greater variety of levels, enemies, and vastly more powerful bosses. The challenge of being a virtual one-man team constrained the amount of content I could cram into the original game. I would want to expand the team considerably to make it the well-rounded game that I know it can be. I would also seek to make it less linear and more open-ended, adding some degree of exploration and making the upgrade path a deeper, more engaging experience.

Jeff: I’m assuming you are/were an expert at this game. So what are the “best” power-ups? Or were they equal in your head. Basically I’m asking you how I can finish this damn game.

Josh: I tend to favor the more direct offensive weapons; laser, rockets, flak cannon. They require more aiming, but they concentrate a lot of power into a small space, so I can dispatch the biggest threats on the screen relatively quickly. I’ve always felt that the best defense is a brutal offense, so I always save the defense orbs for last. On the last level, however, everything is maxed out, so you’re on your own by that point.

Big thanks to Josh for taking the time to reminisce with us. And if you’d like to talk about Heavy Weapon, or petition us to make a sequel, be sure to check out our forum!

Lee B. of Kirkland, WA, came up with a unique way to propose to his girlfriend Elicia L., a huge PvZ fan. Lee made a peashooter box that opened up to reveal an engagement ring!

The newly engaged Elicia gave us the rundown on how PvZ made it into their big day. Here’s how it happened:

Elicia, how did you start playing Plants vs. Zombies?

The first time I heard about PvZ I was at work, doing a haircut.  I have A LOT of clients in the gaming industry; Bungie, Valve & WB Games.  My fiancé, Lee, and I were trying to find games to play together.  I asked all my clients in the industry if they knew of any fun 2-player games for Xbox, and one of them recommended PvZ . I think it was still pretty new at the time. (That client also recommended Peggle, which I love as well, but hadn’t heard of either.)

Why do you think Lee chose to propose to you in such a unique way?

Lee made me the Peashooter ring case because, as he said, ”You are the biggest Plants vs. Zombies fan I know and this is an occasion that I wanted both of us to remember forever.”  He wanted it to be so special to me and he wanted me to know how much he loves me. He does not normally make clay-anythings, but he is a pretty creative and thoughtful.

What was your first reaction when you saw the peashooter box?

I was pretty speechless at that point.  Lee had this huge elaborate thing planned.  The first big date we went on was at Stevens Pass, where he taught me to ski.  So now every year we start and end the season on the Daisy run, just ‘cause it makes us feel like it’s our first date again. So he took me up to the mountain and all the employees at Stevens Pass were in on it.  We got to the top of the Daisy run, and there was a little table with a white tablecloth and a bottle of champagne.  He then set my gift box on the table and I opened it and saw the Peashooter. I could see that it opened, so I opened it, and there was the ring!  Then he asked me to marry him, and you know the answer…

How do you feel about the proposal?

I am pretty sure that I’m marrying the most thoughtful man!  The proposal was PERFECT!  I couldn’t ask for anything more thoughtful or meaningful. It was the best day EVER!

 Congratulations Elicia and Lee!

I decided to wander around the office and ask a few PopCappers to name their favorite PopStrip off the top of their head.  You can tell what big fans we all are by how quickly the answers came to mind, and how few words it took to describe the strip.

Both artist extraordinaire Noah Maas and Project Manager Kate Bavuso exclaimed instantly, “Gondola!”

I sat down with the man behind them all, Stephen Notley, to ask a few questions about the history of the PopStrip.

“When I started work at PopCap, I was hired to do the newsletter… I was pitching all these ideas… well I could draw a comic for it, I could take all our characters and put them in this sort of world together, and I thought that would be a useful use of my talents.”

In this world, Lex is apparently an attorney. Or he just likes the flavor of the letters A-T-T-O-R-N-E-Y. PopCap Ping Pong Champion Eric Olson names this as his favorite PopStrip.

Do you decide what to write about or are you asked to write about certain subjects or characters?

“I prefer to write on a subject if there is one, ’cause that gives me a starting off point, so I’ll usually ask if there’s some promotion, or… it’s Halloween, or Christmas… Winter Holiday, I guess… or you know, Peggle came out on the iPhone or something like that. I would try to do a strip about that, or sometimes it would just be something random like, okay, I feel like doing a comic about Heavy Weapon guy and a Chuzzle. As much of the time it’s just, what might be funny this time, and see if I can come up with something sort of amusing.”

A Halloween strip, obviously, and one of my personal favorites!

Are there older or lesser-known characters you like to use just to make people wonder what game that’s from and maybe want to play it?

“Not as much as I used to. Back when I first started I would do a lot of comics with Vector from AstroPop, because he is one of the only PopCap characters who has hands… you know, for gesturing or typing on a computer or anything like that, it’s kind of tricky to have other characters do that.  I haven’t done one with Vector in quite some time… these days, we’ve got zombies, and zombies have hands.”

...making this a very "meta" comic indeed. But unlike many in-jokes, this one's also funny from the outside!

“I always like Chuzzles, ’cause Chuzzles are just goofy idiots, they’re always fun.”

This was named by Brian Fiete, one of our illustrious founders, as his favorite PopStrip.

“Some characters are more difficult to draw than others, so I tend to stay away from them; the Zuma frog is really difficult to draw, to get it looking right, so it doesn’t look like a duck or something.”

"The other problem with the frog is that he doesn’t say anything, or rather, he only says Ribbit, so you can get like one joke out of that, and I did. I think it was the second PopStrip I ever did, and it was like, okay, I’m done. I’m done with the Zuma frog."

“I try to mix it up so I’m not relying too heavily on one or the other, but Lex is fun and easy to draw, and I’ve got a connection to Lex, because I wrote a lot, well all of his dialogue for the Bookworm Adventures games, I’ve got a good sense of his voice.”

Jeff Green's favorite PopStrip: "Lachrymose!"

“…though I guess I wrote all the dialogue for all of our games, really, so I’ve got a sense of all their voices, but… What was the question? Are there old characters that I sort of go back to? Not as a rule… I probably should, you know, it’d be kind of like, hey, I haven’t done anything with the Heavy Weapon guy in a long time, or I haven’t had Vector… I don’t think I’ve ever done anything with the Pixelus dude.”

Speaking of lesser-known characters, Director of Customer Support Aoife names this as her favorite. Um, I mean, King Midas is a lesser-known character. Not Aoife.

What are some of your favorite PopStrips?

“Well, certainly probably the funniest one was the one with one of the fish from Feeding Frenzy and the other one from Insaniquarium.”

“There’s one that springs to mind where Lex is giving a Chuzzle one of the PopCap surveys…”

“There was one I did a little while ago, probably almost two years ago I guess… when did Zuma’s Revenge come out? That was kind of a nice one, because after the introduction of all those enemy idols, it was finally possible to do a Zuma-themed strip without having to have the frog in it.”

“My favorites are just ones with sort of absurd gags, like ‘nobody wants to hear about your plans for spray-on beef.’ I’ve got most of them hosted on my site at Bob the Angry Flower.” *

*We must caution that this website may contain material not suitable for the entire family.

Many PopStrips are also archived on our (entirely family-friendly) Facebook page!

*****

If you’ve enjoyed this walk down PopStrip memory lane, I recommend signing up for the email newsletter.  Each edition brings with it the possibility of another PopStrip!

One recent day, after loading up on salad fixings, I was mesmerized by this painting.

The Hunt

I was stunned to learn the painter behind this gem works right here in Creative Lab — my very own group! So I sat down the other day with Lorie Ransom, artist and Web Designer extraordinaire, and we chatted about her work.

Eve: So let’s just start with the basics. What do you do at PopCap?

Lorie: I’m a web designer in Creative Lab. I started as a contractor last September and then became a full-time employee in January. I design pages for game promotions, new downloads, other platforms and interactive type projects.

Sap

What was your inspiration for these paintings?

I’ve always enjoyed pop surrealist art so that’s probably my biggest inspiration. I’ll start with a sketch and I won’t really know what it’s going to turn into. I’ll just start by drawing a single line, then I’ll think about what else is going on in the painting, and I’ll add that, and it just goes from there. I also have lots of sketches in my sketchbook that have never gone anywhere.

The Axe

Is there any aspect of your work at PopCap that informs your art?

Well, I have access to a lot of our game art and seeing the work of the game artists at PopCap is incredibly inspiring. I mean, when you look at the art in our games, and the technique involved in that art, I definitely feel inspired by it.

The Nursery

Do you have any favorite pieces?

Probably my favorites are “Sap” and “The Nursery”. I like Sap because technically I really like the way it shows the wing on the bug, and the drop of blood looks very three dimensional. “The Nursery” I like just because it’s weird. I started out just drawing these heads, and then thinking about what was around them, and then it just happened. It just grew organically.

Godzilla Lose Ice Cream

What do you hope to convey through your art?

I don’t know that I’m trying to convey anything. Mostly I’m trying to capture a moment in time. Like in Godzilla, you see Godzilla, and then the ice cream on the ground, and you just wonder what’s going on, there’s a story there. I guess that’s really it – I’m interested in the story. For example, when I think about a still life it’s not that interesting to me. I like to capture a certain moment within a story.

I can see that. I mean, you can feel it’s a more dynamic, interactive experience as a viewer looking at one of your paintings. You imagine the story behind the painting – what happened before this moment, and what’s going to happen next. It’s very cool.  So do you have any current projects you want to talk about?

No, not really. (Laughter)

Where do you exhibit or sell your work?

Random places…. wherever I happen to make a connection with someone! I know I’ll be showing more of my paintings at Walnut Street Coffee in Edmonds next February.

Thanks Lorie for taking the time to sit down and chat. It was fun!

My pleasure. Thanks!

So, what’s it like to be an attorney in the gaming industry? How convenient of you to ask! Because I sat down with one of PopCap’s chief legal eagles, Meredith Dorrance, to find out this very thing!  See how things work out?

Enjoy, and remember, kids: Obey the law!

Not Meredith Dorrance, but a zombie eating some important legal documents. This is how we resolve most of our problems at PopCap.

My title is Associate General Counsel. Basically, I negotiate deals with our distribution partners and vendors, meet with product development and management teams to review products and talk about new features and launches they’re planning, troubleshoot issues as they wash (or flood) over the transom, monitor legislation and newly filed lawsuits that affect our industry, and try to make smart decisions to manage real risks (instead of theoretical ones).

What is a typical day like for you at PopCap?

Typical?  There’s no such thing as a typical day at PopCap, but that’s a huge part of what makes it so much fun. But, if you really want to know, the average Tuesday might look like this: I sprint from the parking lot to attend a conference call with our Dublin office.   After the call, I read a few documents and review and reply to a ton of emails.  Then, I sprint to a meeting about a lawsuit in which we’re embroiled.   After that festival of fun, I return to my office and delete the emails telling me there are donuts in the second floor cafeteria, or that someone’s bubby baked chocolate chip cookies and left them on the 8^th floor for us.  Then, I sprint to a product review meeting (and pick up one of bubby’s cookies on the way).  After that meeting, I review opposing counsel’s redline of a deal we’re negotiating and curse at him/her (quietly, in my head of course). I insert new redlines into the contract and get on the phone with our business development director to review the new draft and commiserate about how the deal resembles the original term sheet about as much as Snooki resembles Audrey Hepburn.

When you were in law school, or even just thinking about becoming an attorney, did you ever imagine that you’d be working at a video game company?

Not in a million years.  My parents wouldn’t even buy us an Atari when I was a kid. (Oops, I think I just gave away my approximate age or at least my vintage).  When I was in law school, if I had known that a part of my job someday would be playing games, I would have gone ahead and slept through my corporate tax class instead of inserting that IV line into my arm to keep the triple espressos flowing directly into my blood stream to try and stay awake. Actually, I was a bit technophobic until Al Gore invented the Internet.  I think I was the last person in my law school class to get an email account.  A friend of mine put together a class roster, and listed my email address as mdorrance@get.email.com.

How do your family and friends feel about you having this job — as opposed to something more “traditional”?  Do they ask you if you play games all day for a living?

My friends who are also lawyers think I have the best job in the world (for a lawyer). And they’re correct.  I don’t track my hours in .10 minute increments and “client development” usually involves hanging out at the Two Bells Tavern with my PopCap friends.  More importantly, I’m completely immersed in our business, which is hard for lawyers working in law firms to do because they aren’t on site or in a position to sit down with a product manager and walk through a game and its features step by step. My family thinks my job sounds great.  They love the swag. Although, my father, husband and brother-in-law all were perplexed that I gave them PvZ beer sleeves. Their drinks don’t actually stay in a glass long enough to warm up.

Do you actually play games?  If so, what are your faves? 

I’m addicted to Bejeweled Blitz. I might need to enter Bejeweled Blitz re-hab. My daughter loves PvZ.  Her favorite character is the Squash (a.k.a. “Squashie”), and she does a pretty good imitation of it.  My husband claims to be the master of PvZ. He sings “There’s a Zombie on Your Lawn,” a lot, which is an auditory tort because singing isn’t one of his strengths.  Our cat loves chuzzles. She likes to rip off their eyes. She’s a gentle and cuddly feline.

What’s your favorite part of your job?  Anything that makes you think “I can’t believe I do this for a living.“

I really like supporting a team that’s launching a new game or launching one of our games on a new platform.  For example, when we launched on Google+, I had no choice but to check out the test site, create a profile, build up my Friend circles, start following various “new” Friends and start playing the games that would be available at launch, so that I could work through various deal terms with Google’s attorneys (great bunch of lawyers at Google, by the way) and advise the product team about complying with Google’s requirements.

Seriously, I have to play PopCap games so I understand the features, how the platforms work and what we’re doing to create a great user experience. That knowledge is invaluable. It’s my job to ensure we’re complying with applicable laws. It’s also my job to understand all aspects of our business so that I can document a strategic partnership in a plain English contract, evaluate which risks we can take and which don’t make sense for PopCap.

Who gives you more of a headache, as an attorney: people within PopCap, or without?

Actually, it isn’t a people, it’s a what. The candy bowl on the 5^th floor of our office building taunts me.  Occasionally, I give in to the siren song of the Twix bars.  There’s nothing “fun” about those “fun size” candy bars when you substitute them for dinner.

What’s the one thing you’d like us to know about you that I haven’t asked.

If you could be any kind of animal, what would it be and why?  I’d be a chuzzle because maybe then our cat would like me.

Thank you for your time, Meredith, and thank you for keeping us out of trouble!

This year, a number of our artists joined up to take on Emerald City Comicon, and in addition to their own unique wares, they brought a limited edition comic book anthology called Monsterpedia (the arty beast described above was not included, but that’s what sequels are for, right?).

Noah Maas’ charming tale of bonding with a bogeyman over the joys of dental hygiene makes you wonder if monsters might be friends you haven’t made yet.

Karin Madan’s sweet story plays on how we all feel a little monstrous at times… and how we can make peace with that.

The first question may be: Why monsters?  Well, why not?  For one thing, they’re fun to draw.  They allow a creative freedom unique to the fantastical compared to the restraint of depicting the recognizable.  And yet they are recognizable to us, a kind of shorthand for the subconscious, a shortcut to metaphor.

Lynn Hogan tells a tale of a nightmare monster (literally, a monster whose role is to visit sleeping children and inspire their nightmares). If you want to hug these monsters, you’re not alone!

Dev Madan (whom BlogRiders may remember as the designer of the Wolfpack shirt!) has a history in comics and started this monster ball rolling.

Dev brings us an old-school hard-boiled private detective story… starring Frank Neil Stein, PI

Monte Michaelis: I thought to myself, "Monster stories are fun, but what if monsters were REAL? What would you need exactly?" That was the genesis of the "Queasy Street PSA".

Monte: The Monsterpedia was really Dev’s brainchild, and I credit him with really lighting a fire under the rest of us. We all met for lunch to hammer out the theme, and I remember everyone being on board with drawing monsters from the start. The idea of the “Monsterpedia” just evolved naturally from our discussion.

Monte: My photo of the whiteboard notes from this first meeting. And, for the record, I have no idea who "Ashley" is.

Another driving force behind the Monsterpedia is the “all-knowing, all-seeing beard of David Ryan Paul,” known as DRP.

DRP: Everyone was immediately excited about the book, and we all got to work on planning faster than any game production I’ve ever done.  Dev and Steve (Notley, of Bob the Angry Flower fame!) were incredibly helpful on the practical points of the process, both having experience with printing and publishing books. The entire group was helpful during the story creation phase. I remember bringing in different versions of my script for people to read, and got good help hammering out the flow of the story. It was exciting, because everyone had a different approach to creating their comic. Seeing all the stories in various stages of completion was invigorating and inspiring. I think that’s the biggest advantage of doing an anthology… you aren’t alone.

DRP: The inspiration for my story, stylistically, was Creepy, Eerie, and House of Mystery... basically comic book versions of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, of which I’m a huge fan.

Adrien Yorozu had what sounds like an unenviable task at the later stages of the Monsterpedia, but she pulled it all together like a boss!

Adrien: "Monsterpedia" is reference shelves meets shadows in the night and I wanted to convey that on the cover. My favorite is the "O"… she's so sassy.

Adrien: I really wanted to get involved from the start… I don’t draw awesome comics so I thought that I could contribute some of my print background to the cause while hanging around the cool kids.  It was exciting to see everyone’s work come together and nice to be part of making it really look like a collection.

Gene Blakefield’s Monster Pin-Ups are so hot, I can literally only show one panel: The Invisible Woman!

As a comic book fan, great visual storytelling knocks me out, and when there’s a single panel as gorgeous as this one by Misael Armendariz, I can get stuck staring at it for minutes:

(Check that out! You can almost *hear* that bell ring!)

And when I teased the notion of a sequel up top, I wasn’t just toying with your fragile monster-loving hearts!  A second volume of the Monsterpedia is in the works, so keep an eye out for PopCap artists at conventions so you can get a signed copy with nifty little sketches like this:

Emerald City Comicon 2012, here we come!

Of course, if you can’t wait till the next convention to get your mitts on this monster work, you can find it for sale here!  We must caution, however, these comics are not for all ages. As hinted by the “Invisible Woman” photo above, there are definite non G-rated elements to this book, not to mention some scary monsters!