Stranger Things: The Other Side #1, also called Stranger Things #1, is the first issue of the comic miniseries, Stranger Things: The Other Side. It was released on September 26, 2018, by Dark Horse Comics.
Synopsis[]
Will Byers is missing. The town of Hawkins, Indiana, including Will's best friends and family scour the area looking for him. What they don't know is that he's lost in the Upside Down, an impossible dark parody of his own world. This grim realm seems desolate and empty, but Will isn't alone.
Plot[]
The story opens with Will being chased by a fearsome monster on his way back home following a Dungeons & Dragons campaign with his friends Mike, Dustin and Lucas. As the Monster continues to chase him, he runs to take shelter in his backyard shed. There he finds a hunting rifle and attempts to load it to fend off against whatever is coming for him. However, the light overhead begins to glow brightly, ultimately powering down. Will starts panicking as the Monster looms before him.
The Monster reminds him of the D&D campaign he played with his friends some time before. Drawing a parallel to his attempt of casting "fireball" in the game, he chooses to attack the Monster and shoots it. However in an instant, the Monster disappears.
Will is confused whether he actually hurt it or not. He smells a rotten odor and goes to check back at his house. He finds the power gone and can't find his mother or brother. He takes rest hoping that they will find him.
Will recalls Dustin and Lucas blaming him during the D&D campaign when his character "Will the Wise" couldn't cast a spell. Mike reminded them it wasn't Will's fault because the two were still on level one and warned them the only way they could survive and level up was together. Will wakes up only to find that everything around him is strange with a foul smell everywhere. He later realizes it wasn't his home and he wasn't actually in the real world.
An event back at the campaign reminds him that splitting the party can have tragic consequences. Will wanders out in Mirkwood looking for a way out. Everything around him is dark and his flashlight doesn't work. Suddenly, he sees flashes of light glowing among the trees and starts hearing voices. Following the light, he is surprised to see the apparition of a young girl. While he realizes his situation is not a game, after recalling how their campaigns would often include characters to guide the party, he decides to reach out to her. Before he can, however, she vanishes. After starting to hear the voices again, Will returns back home and attempts contacting his friends via his supercom. He hears his mother's voice, but before he can say anything else, the Monster finds him.
Characters[]
- Will Byers
- Eleven
- Demogorgon
- Mike Wheeler (appears in Will's memories)
- Dustin Henderson (appears in Will's memories)
- Lucas Sinclair (appears in Will's memories)
- Jonathan Byers (mentioned)
- Joyce Byers (mentioned)
Variant covers[]
Promotion[]
Ashcan[]
To promote the comic, an ashcan copy of the issue was available prior to the comic's release at Dark Horse's booth during San Diego Comic-Con. The ashcan was subsequently made available for free on Dark Horse Digital.[1]
Preview pages[]
Trailer[]
Trivia[]
- The issue's first cover resembles the theatrical poster for the 1982 film, The Thing.
- Kyle Lambert, who created two cover variants for the issue, also drew the main posters for the first, second, and third seasons.
- Over 60k copies of the issue were sold on the month of its release according to a sales estimation made by Diamond Comic Distributors.[2]
External links[]
References
- ↑ "GET YOUR FIRST LOOK AT DARK HORSE’S FREE STRANGER THINGS COMIC BOOK (EXCLUSIVE)" Nerdist. July 16, 2018.
- ↑ "PRINT RUN FOR DARK HORSE'S 'STRANGER THINGS' #1 WAS 136,000" ICV2. October 15, 2018.