STRANGER THINGS
released OUT NOW! Publisher dark Horse Comics
Writer Jody Houser Artists stefano Martino, Keith Champagne
Given that Eleven feels like an X-Men homage, and its references to Uncanny X-Men #134, you’d have thought Stranger Things would have been ripe for a spin-off comic. Neatly utilising outmoded devices like thought balloons, there’s a wistful, vintage feel to Jody Houser’s script, which understandably dials down the Merry Mutants references but adds plenty of evocative nods to Tolkien.
Harking back to the first season, it charts Will Byers’s initial experiences after finding himself lost in the Upside Down. It’s essentially a solo outing for Will, with Mike, Dustin and Lucas restricted to flashbacks. Other characters are only mentioned in passing or, in Joyce’s case, reduced to an eerily disembodied voice on the other end of a telephone, desperately trying to guide her son to safety. The sight of a broken pair of glasses drops sinister hints about Barb’s grisly fate, while issue one’s brief sighting of Eleven is excellently captured in a full-page splash by artists Stefano Martino and Keith Champagne, who also draw a mean Demogorgon.
Three issues in, the lack of any serious threat results in a sluggish pace, so while it’s always an engaging read, it’s disappointing that this four-parter doesn’t add anything substantial to the mythos. Stephen Jewell