At New York Comic Con, WEBTOON announced that two Dark Horse Comics properties—Stranger Things: The Other Side and Plants vs. Zombies—would be reformatted for vertical scrolling. The move brings Netflix’s Upside Down horror and PopCap’s plant-versus-zombie comedy into a digital format built for phone reading, introducing familiar franchises to webtoon audiences while extending WEBTOON and Dark Horse’s growing partnership.
Two Very Different Franchises, One Vertical-Scroll Experiment
Stranger Things: The Other Side follows Will Byers during the events of the first season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. Rather than retelling the story from Eleven’s or the rest of the Hawkins group’s perspective, the comic explores Will’s experience inside the Upside Down—an unsettling parallel version of his hometown filled with isolation, danger, and the threat of the Demogorgon.
The original graphic novel was written by Jody Houser, with art by Stefano Martino, inks by Keith Champagne, and colors by Lauren Affe. Dark Horse classifies the book across action-adventure, fantasy, horror, and science-fiction categories, a combination that makes the title a natural fit for readers who enjoy licensed comics with a darker supernatural edge.
Plants vs. Zombies, meanwhile, takes a much lighter approach to its central conflict. Its story centers on brain-hungry zombies and the unlikely plant defenders who stand between them and total neighborhood domination. The WEBTOON listing expands that premise around Crazy Dave, his niece Patrice, and young adventurer Nate Timely as they face zombie invasions in Neighborville.
The series is built around quick reversals, cartoon action, and visual gags—qualities that can work particularly well in a scrolling format. Its planned WEBTOON debut was announced for November 1, giving readers a second franchise-focused release alongside the more atmospheric Stranger Things adaptation.
Why Reformatting Matters for Webtoon Readers
These projects are not original webtoons created from the ground up for vertical reading. They are existing Dark Horse comics being cut up and reformatted for WEBTOON’s scrolling interface. That distinction matters: the stories, page layouts, and visual rhythms were initially designed for traditional comic pages rather than an endless digital canvas.
Even so, the transition offers an interesting test of how print comics can be repackaged for mobile audiences. A suspense sequence from Stranger Things: The Other Side can gain new tension when panels appear one at a time, while Plants vs. Zombies can use the extra vertical space to emphasize visual punchlines, character entrances, and chaotic battles.
There is also a practical benefit for readers who may know these properties from television or video games but do not regularly visit comic shops. WEBTOON’s format removes some of the barriers associated with finding individual issues or collected editions, placing both series within the same digital reading environment used by millions of comics fans.
Another Step in WEBTOON and Dark Horse’s Partnership
The announcement followed the companies’ earlier work bringing Dark Horse titles to WEBTOON, including comics connected to Avatar: The Last Airbender. According to the announcement, that partnership had generated 13 million views for the Avatar comics, offering a clear example of how established print franchises can find a second audience through digital distribution.
The broader slate also included Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins, The Witcher, new stories from Nickelodeon’s The Legend of Korra, and Cyberpunk 2077. Taken together, the lineup shows Dark Horse and WEBTOON pursuing recognizable entertainment brands as a bridge between traditional comics publishing and the habits of mobile-first readers.
For WEBTOON, the strategy adds licensed genre variety to a platform already associated with romance, fantasy, action, thriller, and drama series. For Dark Horse, it creates another avenue for catalog titles to reach readers who may be more comfortable scrolling through episodes than browsing a monthly comic rack.
What Each Series Brings to the Platform
Stranger Things: The Other Side is likely to appeal most to readers who enjoy horror, science fiction, and stories that revisit familiar events from an overlooked character’s point of view. Its focus on Will’s unseen ordeal gives the television mythology a more intimate and claustrophobic perspective without requiring readers to follow a completely separate continuity.
Plants vs. Zombies offers a very different entry point. Its accessible conflict, colorful character lineup, and comedy-driven battles make it suitable for readers seeking a lighter all-ages-style adventure. The current WEBTOON presentation identifies Dark Horse Comics as the creator and lists the series with a regular Sunday update schedule, underscoring how the property has been adapted into an episodic digital release rather than treated solely as a static graphic novel.
Editorially, the pairing is an effective showcase of the format’s range. One title leans into dread and survival, while the other depends on slapstick timing and visual absurdity. Their arrival suggests that vertical-scroll editions do not have to belong to one particular genre; they can serve as a new delivery system for everything from licensed horror to game-inspired comedy.
A Digital Future for Familiar Comics?
The New York Comic Con announcement is significant less because either property is new and more because of what the format change represents. WEBTOON and Dark Horse are treating vertical scrolling as a way to reintroduce recognizable comic stories to audiences who may encounter them first through an app rather than a bookstore, comic shop, television series, or video game.
The experiment also raises an important creative question: can comics designed for the page preserve their original impact when reorganized for a phone screen? The answer may depend on how carefully the panels are paced and how effectively each series uses the pauses, reveals, and momentum created by scrolling. For fans of Stranger Things, Plants vs. Zombies, and digital comics alike, these releases provide an opportunity to see how established franchises change when they move into a distinctly webtoon-shaped format.
Sources
- bleedingcool.com
- digital.darkhorse.com
- webtoons.com
