Writer: Jody Houser
Pencils: Stefano Martino
Inks: Keith Champagne
Colors: Lauren Affe
Lettering: Nate Piekos
Cover: Aleksi Briclot
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Spoilers
It’s great to have a little Stranger Things at this time of year, no? It just feels right.
I like how we follow Will in this series, but it’s a tad slow, if I’m honest. The same sort of suspense just isn’t there that we had in the tv show. I suppose that’s because we already know what’s going to happen, but I also feel like the creators should have known that most of their readers would have watched the show, and so done something a little different with the comic. Alas, though, there’s not really anything that I didn’t know/expect happened to Will while everyone else looked for him.
I will say that the text is better this time around. The narration doesn’t seem as forced and contains some strong turns of phrase. I like how the sound effects of the walkie talkies added to the atmosphere.
I’d say seventy percent of the art was fantastic, but there were some panels that seemed ‘off’ for lack of a better word. Perhaps they were rushed, because the majority of the book seemed very thoughtfully designed. But there were definite drawings that had questionable posing and size to me, as well as moments when Will seemed very stiff and not quite as natural looking as other times. This surprised me, because I thought the art was fantastic in issue one. I am still really digging the colors; it gives the feel of everything happening in a haze, or even underwater, which is cool.
It’s not a horrible read, but for a comic book attached to such a huge project, I for one had higher expectations. However, as I said in the beginning, it just makes sense to have some Stranger Things, no matter the form or quality, at the end of October.
Overall: 6/10
Tee LaFrance Todd writes, edits, reads, explores, and creates whenever she can find the time. When she’s not engaged in some form of storytelling, you can find Tee traversing the world with her husband and her dog, making things, reading tarot cards, and generally striving to live a life beyond anything she can imagine.
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