Stranger Things: The Bully is a graphic novel written by Greg Pak, illustrated by Valeria Favoccia, and published by Dark Horse Comics. It was released on September 1, 2020. Coinciding with the second season in the fall of 1984, it focuses on Troy and James and what became of them shortly after the first season.
Plot[]
A year after the events of the first season, in October of 1984, bully Troy deals with nightmares from El snapping his arm. His parents have become impatient with their son waking up at night screaming, and telling him it was all in his head. His only real "friend" is James, but Troy usually bosses him around and pushes him away. His bullying reputation has also subsided significantly, as the Party is not afraid of him anymore, and most of his peers have labeled Troy "Pee Boy" after publicly urinating himself in front of the whole school.
On Halloween after school, Troy attempts to slash the Party's bike tires with a rock, but James intervenes, causing a fight. Troy's father soon pulls up in his car and tells James to kick Troy's ass, but James backs down and walks away. While giving Troy a ride home, Mr. Walsh tells him not to back down ever again and to take on a fight, since he never backs down or apologizes for his actions at work. Troy reluctantly agrees.
Later, Troy is at Jame's doorstep, explaining to him that is was the Party's fault for the weird altercations that happened between them and the mysterious girl last year, though James remains skeptical. Troy however has a plan by scaring them with masks that evening.
That evening, Troy and James attempt to hunt the Party and find Will, but they are soon intervened by three teenagers who spook Will, and soon chase after Troy for being "Pee Boy". Troy bumps into Mike, who's looking for Will, but Troy punches him into a bush as they hide from the teenagers. Troy and James attempt to beat Mike up, but he threatens to bring back Eleven (or "my friend", as Mike refers to). One of the teens finds them and causes the three to run in separate directions.
The next morning, the boys ask Mr. Clarke about telekinesis, who says it's highly illogical without proving it, leaving the two to conclude that Mike is merely bluffing and the girl just had some sort of trick. As they bike out of the school, they stop and see El herself walking out of the school. They soon follow her to the woods but are scared off by her when El uses her powers to rustle the leaves around them.
That evening, the boys soon stumble upon a rotting pumpkin patch and come across what they initially mistake as a squirrel. As Troy throws a rock and hits the creature, the boys walk up to it and discover not only is it some sort of creature, more of them begin to swarm around the two. The creatures however scurry into the woods, causing Troy to scream out that it's still the boys doing some sort of trick. The boys begin to argue, with Troy calling James "useless", causing James to leave and Troy to run off.
Later at the Walsh home, Troy overhears his father drunkenly yells on the phone about his job at stake due to his attitude. His father soon waltzes into Troy's bedroom and asks what the situation is between him and James. Troy says James is a coward and he ditched him, and Mr. Walsh praises his son, saying he has nothing to be sorry about and that he can't count on losers.
The next night, Troy arrives at Jame's house with a rake, saying this will be their last chance to prove their worth, but James tells Troy he's not going to put up with his attitude anymore if he continues on with it, and soon grabs a shovel to join alongside Troy.
In the woods, the boys soon hear rustling and discover Demodogs charging at them. James knocks one of them out with a shovel and the two begin to run. Troy trips and notices uncooked bits of meat strewn on the ground as James helps him. The two continue running and hide under a log as the dogs eat the meat, but are soon discovered by one of them. As they sprint onto the train tracks, James trips, but Troy hesitates and hides behind a tree despite James' pleas. The Demodogs sprint past James and see an unknown figure at the junkyard fighting them off. James sees the Party is in trouble and says teaming up would help them, but Troy runs off, only for the two to be once again swarmed by the dogs. The creatures soon run off without any explanation. As the boys walk home, Troy says they must tell someone, but James, upset that Troy didn't help him when he was in need, leaves abruptly.
Troy comes home to find his parents arguing that Mr. Walsh has been fired from his job due to his attitude and his refusal to apologize. When he discovers his son eavesdropping, Mr. Walsh brings him to his room and tells him the family is moving out of Hawkins. The next morning, Troy arrives at James' house and, with tears in his eyes, says, "I'm sorry."
By around December, the Walsh family have moved out and are driving out of Hawkins. James, shoveling his driveaway, waves one last time at Troy, who waves back with a smile as the car drives off.
Characters[]
- Troy Walsh
- James Dante
- Mrs. Walsh
- Mr. Walsh
- Mike Wheeler
- Will Byers
- Dustin Henderson
- Lucas Sinclair
- Scott Clarke
- Eleven
- DemoFrogs and DemoDogs
- Steve Harrington
- Max Mayfield
Trivia[]
- The Bully directly coincides with the second season of the series.
- The book establishes that Troy has moved away by December of 1984, explaining his absence in the following seasons.
- In Troy's bedroom, he has movie posters of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Big Trouble in Little China. Oddly, Big Trouble was not released until the summer of 1986, while The Bully takes place alongside the second season of the show in the fall of 1984.
- Troy has drawings of Gizmo from Gremlins and He-Man from He-Man an the Masters of the Universe.