Advance Review: Stranger Things #1

A dark horrifying alternate world, absurdly amazing creatures, and a copious amount of references to the only band that matters (The Clash of course!) were gateways to attract my attention to Stranger Things when it was a newly released series. I stayed for the incredible writing, superb acting and seat of your pants excitement that made the series a can“t miss cultural event.

Dark Horse Comics is now bringing us a four-issue mini-series based on the events following that faithful night Will Byers rode his bike home from playing games with his friends, and they could not have hired a better writer for the job. Jody Houser, who is a Dungeons and Dragons champion in her own right, is giving us a comic series that runs parallel to the television program, but shows everything from a different angle. An Upside Down angle if you will. We are being given an opportunity to watch the story unfold once more, but this time we follow Will as he tries to navigate the Upside Down and find his way back to his friends and family in Hawkins, Indiana.

Before reading this first issue, I knew the comic was supposed to follow Will and show what happened to him as he fought for his life against an unimaginable foe, but I was unsure how this would work since most readers already know where the story is going to go. About halfway through the issue, I discovered something. There were no new characters, there was nothing I was completely unfamiliar with or shocked by. It does not reinvent the wheel (at least it hasn“t so far) and this is quite refreshing. Jody Houser stays true to the source material, and finds a way to freshly flip it on its head at the same time. If you wanted to learn more about what Will had to go through to stay alive, this is your chance to find out. How cool is that?

Visually the comic really looks like the Upside Down. It“s perpetually dark with muted tones and subdued images. Again, staying true to the television material, this is spot on. Great work all around by Stefano Martino (Pencils), Keith Champagne (Inks), Lauren Affe (Colors) and Nate Piekos of Blambot (Letters).
This comic adaptation of Stranger Things works quite well. I love the parallel story line we“re witnessing here. Gather your party, go on an adventure, and enjoy this comic. Dark Horse has rolled a twenty charisma with this one! 4.5/5

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Writer:Â Jody Houser Penciller: Stefano Martino
Inker: Keith Champagne
Colorist: Lauren Affe
Cover Artist:Â Aleksi Briclot

Publication Date: September 26, 2018

Format: FC, 32 pages; Miniseries
Price: $3.99
UPC: 7 61568 00341 3 00111

Author Profile

Bryan Spaulding

In his free time, other than reading comic books, Bryan enjoys listening to his ever growing record collection and driving his 27 year old roadster named Mingo.