Stranger Things (comic series)

This article is about the comic series. For other uses, see Stranger Things (disambiguation).

Stranger Things
Publisher	Dark Horse Comics
Published	September 26, 2018 - present

Stranger Things is a line of comics based on the Netflix original series Stranger Things published by Dark Horse Comics. The line of comics mostly consists of miniseries, with each miniseries having four issues. Beyond the various miniseries, Dark Horse has also published various 'one-shots' and graphic novels.

Overview

The first miniseries, The Other Side, depicts Will Byers' fight for survival after being taken into the Upside Down by the Demogorgon. The initial miniseries was originally known as just "Stranger Things" but was later given the "Other Side" subtitle.

The second miniseries, SIX, introduces a number of original characters, such as Francine, Ricky, and Marcy, whose stories continue in the third miniseries, Into the Fire. (The canonical status of these characters was notably called into question when the fourth season failed to acknowledge their existence.)

The fourth miniseries, Science Camp, explore Dustin's time away from Hawkins at Camp Know Where, where he meets Suzie for the first time and investigates a mysterious masked figure terrorizing the camp.

The fifth miniseries, Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons, shows the Party discovering and bonding over Dungeons & Dragons for the first time.

The sixth miniseries, The Tomb of Ybwen, focuses on a treasure map left by Bob Newby and secrets hidden in the hills of Hawkins.

The seventh miniseries, Kamchatka, follows the plight of a Russian scientist forced to weaponize a captured Demogorgon against his will; this miniseries in turn ties into the tenth miniseries, The Voyage.

The eighth miniseries, Tales from Hawkins, takes an anthology format and follows different characters in each issue.

The ninth miniseries, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Stranger Things, is a crossover with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This miniseries is assumed to be non-canonical by design.

The upcoming eleventh miniseries is a follow-up to Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons called Stranger Things x Dungeons & Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire. The miniseries will feature Eddie Munson as the lead character and will likely chart the origins of the Hellfire Club.

Another miniseries entitled The Many Ghosts of Dr. Brenner was slated to release but has now been shelved, possibly indefinitely.

Comics

Miniseries

Stranger Things: The Other Side (2018-2019)

Cover	Issue	Synopsis	Published
	1	When Will Byers finds himself in the Upside Down, an impossible dark parody of his own world, he is understandably frightened. But that's nothing compared to the fear that takes hold when he realizes what's in that world with him!	September 26, 2018
	2	Stuck in the mysterious Upside Down, Will Byers is cold, scared and starving. He uses his last bullet to temporarily drive away from the Demogorgon. Drawing on lessons learned from D&D, Will hunts for food and supplies to prepare for whatever lies ahead. After discovering he can affect the lights in his family home, brief excitement turns to terror when he realizes he isn’t the only one that wants to break through to the other side.	October 31, 2018
	3	Running from the Demogorgon in a twisted mirror of his own world, Will Byers still struggles to communicate with the other side. In a desperate race to stay one step ahead of the dangerous creature, Will must use all his wits to stay safe. But can he keep his friends and family safe, when he's stuck in the Upside Down with no way out?	November 28, 2018
	4	Exhausted and at the end of his rope, Will Byers seeks shelter in a dark mirror of the fort he created in happier times, Castle Byers. Will must fight to keep his sanity just as surely as he mush fight to keep out of the Demogorgon's clutches in this suspenseful conclusion.	January 2, 2019

Graphic novel
Cover	Synopsis	Published
	The hit Netflix series from the Duffer Brothers is now a spine-tingling comic that recounts Will Byers' harrowing survival in the treacherous Upside Down! When Will Byers finds himself in the Upside Down, an impossible dark parody of his own world, he's understandably frightened. But that's nothing compared with the fear that takes hold when he realizes what's in that world with him!	April 30, 2019

Stranger Things: SIX (2019)

Cover	Issue	Synopsis	Published
	1	Francine, a teenage girl with precognition, has struggled through a lifetime of exploitation: first by her parents, then by Dr. Brenner of Hawkins Laboratory. Dr. Brenner wants to harness her powers as well as those of the other gifted children that they held captive at the lab. Wracked by increasingly disturbing visions, she sees an opportunity to change her life. But at what cost?	May 29, 2019
	2	Trapped inside the mysterious Hawkins Laboratory, gifted teen Francine struggles with nightmares and dark flashbacks as Dr. Brenner attempts to truly unlock her precognitive powers. And an old friend tries to make amends—but can she really trust him?	June 26, 2019
	3	Discover the origins of Project MKUltra! Francine and the other gifted young people are being held in the Hawkins Laboratory by Dr. Brenner. Francine believes he will stop at nothing to harness their collective powers. Increasingly gruelling experiments unlock dark visions of the future, convincing her and her friends that they must somehow escape with the rest of the children--but will their opportunity arrive too late?	July 31, 2019
	4	Francine's precognitive abilities are put to the test when she and Ricky attempt to escape Hawkins National Laboratory and save the other children from Dr. Brenner's cruel experiments. Will the ensuing chaos result in freedom for all of the gifted captives....or will some be left behind?	August 28, 2019

Graphic novel
Cover	Synopsis	Published
	A prequel comic from Netflix's award-winning series, delving into the mysterious workings of Project MKUltra and the weird science that opened the door to the Upside Down. Francine, a teenage girl with precognition, has struggled through a lifetime of exploitation: first by her parents, then by Dr. Brenner of Hawkins Laboratory. Dr. Brenner wants to harness her powers as well as those of the other gifted children that they hold captive at the lab. Wracked by increasingly disturbing visions, she sees an opportunity for her and all the children to escape. But at what cost?	November 26, 2019

Stranger Things: Into the Fire (2020)

Cover	Issue	Synopsis	Published
	1	Years after escaping Hawkins Lab, two of Dr. Brenner’s former subjects seek to live normal lives. When news reaches them that the lab was shut down they go on a harrowing search for Nine, a powerful pyrokinetic, whose shattered psyche threatens to burn them all to ashes if they can’t find her and free her from her own malevolent imagination.	January 8, 2020
	2	Two former subjects of Dr. Brenner in Hawkins Lab learn the depths of his sinister ambition after tracking down Subject Eight. She reveals her unwilling role in keeping Subject Nine pacified. Their quest brings them closer to the broken and incredibly powerful pyrokinetic and reveals secrets to their own painful histories that originally brought them to Hawkins.	February 12, 2020
	3	A former Hawkins Lab subject is closer than she's ever been to finding her estranged pyrokinetic twin sister after tracking down a scientist involved in Dr. Brenner's experiments and forcefully prying her location from him. Can she reach her powerful sister before her twin loses control of her powers and burns down her surroundings . . . again?	March 25, 2020
	4	An escaped subject from Hawkins Laboratory discovers her twin sister has just burned down the mental hospital that held her captive and is on the loose. Hot on her trail, she tracks her dangerous sibling down, hoping to mend their familial bonds. Will the sisters be able to make up for the lost time and damage done by their time in Hawkins Lab, or have those bridges already been burned?	July 8, 2020

Graphic novel
Cover	Synopsis	Published
	Beyond Hawkins Lab, Starcourt Mall, Dungeons and Dragons, Monsters, and Mindflayers, the powerful children that have escaped from Hawkins Lab are out in the world, trying to live normal lives, but it comes at a steep cost. Nine was left behind in Hawkins Lab, comatose and alone. Now she lives in a fractured reality of her own creation under the watchful eyes of doctors who have no idea about the psychic volcano building insider her that erupt at any moment, obliterating their entire hospital. Three and Nine's twin sister both escaped Hawkins lab several years ago and have been on the run ever since. They had just settled down into a new life when, all of the sudden, the lab has made the national news. With the veil of normalcy completely shattered, they pack everything they have and hit the road, hoping to find and help any of the other kids they can. When Kali (number Eight) informs them that Nine is still alive it becomes a race against the clock to save a beloved sister, from the doctors that keep her, as well as the delusions that threaten to fracture her psyche beyond repair.	July 28, 2020

Stranger Things: Science Camp (2020)

Cover	Issue	Synopsis	Published
	1	As Dustin arrives for a session at Camp Know Where without the friendship or support of his Hawkins adventuring buddies, he'll navigate the complexities of a new social pecking order. While also faced with a tribe of nerdy bullies, an evil threat haunts the budding scientists and camp counselors. A strange figure with sinister intent arrives to disrupt the summer camp's serene woodland scene. While this problem's solution might not be in the same league as the dreaded Demogorgon or Mindflayer, Dustin still must get on the same wavelength as his fellow campers before tensions rise to a boiling point.	September 30, 2020
	2	Terror has struck Camp Know Where! A camp counselor has disappeared in the night with no clue but a distant scream. Suspicions arise, and as Dustin inadvertently passes the acid test to become the cool kid at camp, he must balance his newfound popularity with the rising tensions and try not to get his wires crossed with other campers.	October 28, 2020
	3	While Dustin continues to prove his mettle as a Dungeons and Dragons DM to prove a point to new-found camp bullies, the counselors of Camp Know Where have been disappearing one by one. When Suzie and Dustin discover the older teenagers running the camp are the targets of a sinister plot, they decide to solve the mystery on their own.	November 25, 2020
	4	The science-focused summer camp Dustin is attending has been besieged by a sinister figure wearing a menacing Einstein mask. While the camp counselors themselves debate what to do to keep the kids safe, Dustin and Suzie round up a crew of kids to get to the bottom of the mystery and protect themselves!	December 30, 2020

Graphic novel
Cover	Synopsis	Published
	The comics based on the hit Netflix series delve into B-movie horror nostalgia when Dustin goes to summer camp, confronts a sinister figure in an Albert Einstein mask, and joins forces with Suzie to solve mysterious disappearances. Dustin arrives at Camp Know Where to navigate the new social hierarchy without the support of his Hawkins adventuring party. While also faced with nerdy bullies, a new menace haunts the young scientists and camp counselors. A mysterious figure with sinister intent arrives to disrupt the serene woodland scene. When camp counselors start to disappear, the solution won’t take rocket science, but Dustin will have to get on the same wavelength as Suzie and the other campers before tensions reach a boiling point.	May 4, 2021

Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons (2020-2021)

Cover	Issue	Synopsis	Published
	1	Follow the crew from Hawkins, Indiana, as they discover the legendary monsters and epic adventures of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game together. Long before the dreaded Demogorgon took one of them to the Upside Down, watch Mike, Lucas, and Will bond with Dustin for the first time over the game that would define their childhood. See the party come together as a team through communal stories and perilous quests to learn important lessons about friendship and find the courage to stand up to the bullies that challenge their everyday.	November 4, 2020
	2	With Will the Wise rescued from the Upside Down, the party is finally back together again, but each kid has been affected by their struggle to save their town from real monsters. Mike strives to get Will and the others back into Dungeons & Dragons with the hope that they can find some normalcy in playing their favorite game.	December 2, 2020
	3	Months have passed since Eleven defeated the Mindflayer by closing a gate to the Upside Down, saving her friends and probably the world. Life is rapidly changing for the young group of friends and despite all they have been through they are finding time to play D&D again. This time, new members are joining the party.	January 6, 2021
	4	The young heroes of Hawkins find themselves swept up in a sea of change after saving their town from Soviet spies and horrific creatures. Their favorite bookstore has shuttered, and Will and Eleven are moving away, but before they go, the party has one last epic quest to finish.	February 17, 2021

Graphic novel
Cover	Synopsis	Published
	Follow the crew from Hawkins, Indiana, as they discover the legendary monsters and epic adventures of the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game together. Long before the dreaded Demogorgon took one of them to the Upside Down, watch Mike, Lucas, and Will bond with Dustin for the first time over the game that would define their childhood. See the party come together as a team through communal stories and perilous quests to learn important lessons about friendship and find the courage to stand up to the bullies that challenge their everyday.	July 6, 2021

Stranger Things: The Tomb of Ybwen (2021)

Cover	Issue	Synopsis	Published
	1	It's January 1985 the Hawkins crew survived their battle with the mind flayer, but Will and Joyce are still reeling from the recent death of Bob Newby. Will's friends have been too busy with their girlfriends to notice how much he is struggling. After he and Mr. Clarke discover a mysterious map Bob left in a box of old nerdy memorabilia, Will rallies the crew to investigate. Is there a secret hidden in the hills of Hawkins?	September 29, 2021
	2	Upon finding mysterious maps left behind by the deceased Bob Newby, Will takes off on his own, determined to find whatever pirate treasure is hidden near the riverbanks of Hawkins. As a heavy snow blankets the town, Lucas, Dustin, and Mike must find Will before he freezes to death!	October 27, 2021
	3	With fourteen inches of snow on the horizon and the boys already frozen to the bone, tensions run high! Will, desperate to unravel the secrets left behind by a young Bob Newby, presses on after finding the entrance to a mysterious abandoned mineshaft. Meanwhile, Mr. Clarke searches for the boys, but can he find them before something terrible happens?	November 24, 2021
	4	With the storm still raging outside, our group of adventurers have finally found the treasure inside the Tomb of Ybwen! However, when the contents of the treasure prove disappointing, Will's anger gets the better of him. Now, with Mr. Clarke's condition worsening and the gang still stuck inside the mine, Will must face the consequences for his actions and come to terms with his grief.	December 29, 2021

Graphic novel
Cover	Synopsis	Published
	It's January 1985 the Hawkins crew survived their battle with the mind flayer, but Will and Joyce are still reeling from the recent death of Bob Newby. Will's friends have been too busy with their girlfriends to notice how much he is struggling. After he and Mr. Clarke discover a mysterious map Bob left in a box of old nerdy memorabilia, Will rallies the crew to investigate—but with a blizzard coming, they're afraid to follow. When Mike, Dustin and Lucas learn that Will has taken off into the freezing wilds alone they rush to stop him. When they all discover there may be more to this adventure than a fake treasure map, it's too late to turn back. They have no choice but to follow the clues further into an abandoned mine shaft full of booby traps and mystery.	April 26, 2022

Stranger Things: Kamchatka (2022)

Cover	Issue	Synopsis	Published
	1	A Russian scientist is kidnapped by Soviet troops, leaving nothing for his two teenage children but a mysterious case and a whole lot of questions. While their father is dragooned into weaponizing a monster brought back from the US, the two teenagers embark on a harrowing and perilous journey to find him with help from an unlikely ally: an old KGB agent.	March 23, 2022
	2	Dr. Orlov's time is running out as his children continue their frantic search for him, now aided by a deadly spy known as Mr. Frost. However, Russian agents are determined to impede them and capture Frost no matter the cost. The good doctor finds himself face to face with the monster he has been kidnapped to save..	April 20, 2022
	3	As a Soviet double agent breaks his cover to help a leading scientist's two children escape from the KGB, he takes a journey into his past to make amends for his biggest regret. Meanwhile, the Demogorgon's keeper uses her "pet" to test the scientists' loyalty . . .	May 25, 2022
	4	Young Russian teens Anna and Leonid are in a hurry to save their father, a scientist, from a top-secret prison in Russia. Luckily, they have a former spy on their side, protecting them from harm. But can they get to their father in time to save him from the maw of a KGB-controlled Demogorgon?	June 8, 2022

Graphic novel
Cover	Synopsis	Published
	Horror and espionage collide in the most bone-chilling Stranger Things comics collection yet. When a leading Soviet scientist is abducted to work on a top-secret project, he comes face-to-face with the Kremlin's new ultimate weapon—a Demogorgon! What his top-secret captors didn't count on was the resiliency of the doctor's children. While their father has been dragooned into weaponizing a monster brought back from the US, the two young teenagers are forced to embark on a harrowing and perilous journey to find him, with help from an unlikely ally: an old but extremely deadly retired KGB agent. Things are getting Stranger in Russia and all four of these characters will need to battle impossible odds in order to survive. If they survive.	January 10, 2023

Stranger Things: Tales from Hawkins (2023)

Cover	Issue	Synopsis	Published
	1	On the surface, Hawkins seems like the kind of town where nothing bad could ever happen, but in the fall of '83 it is anything but safe. When two friends head out into the woods with their rifles and a six-pack, the would-be hunters find themselves the prey of a nightmarish beast who has claimed the wilderness around town and everything inside it, including them.	February 8, 2023
	2	On the surface, Hawkins seems like the kind of town where nothing bad could ever happen, but to Murray Bauman it is an absurdly quaint slice of '80s Americana: too "normal" of a place to typically catch his eye at a glance. But Murray has never accepted the surface level explanation. Never. The two missing kids, and rumors of meddling Russians is enough for him to hit the pavement and dissect any clue he can find.	May 17, 2023
	3	Robin Buckley is always trying to mask her true self in the rural town of Hawkins as she coasts through days packed full of boring classes and band practice. That all changes when a love-struck Robin can't help but take on the role of director for a school project in an effort to get her crush Tammy's attention. She's determined to convey her deeper feelings through her script, even if she has no idea how it should end.	August 16, 2023
	4	It's a special time of year in Hawkins, Indiana, but especially for Merrill and Eugene, the owners of the two biggest pumpkin patches in town. After suspected sabotage, a confrontation between these rivals soon becomes a terrifying fight for their lives. Will they work together again or die bickering?	September 20, 2023

Graphic novel
Cover	Synopsis	Published
	An anthology of vibrant new stories woven into the larger tapestry of the hit Netflix series! Discover the hidden stories from Hawkins, Indiana. On the surface, Hawkins, Indiana seems like the kind of town where nothing too out of the ordinary ever happens, but in the fall of '83 two hunters head out into the woods with their rifles and a six-pack, and find themselves the prey of a nightmarish beast. When Barb Holland goes missing, Murray Bauman is on the case if only he can look past his own suspicious mind to solve the case. Robin Buckley's school film project gives her a chance to work with her secret crush, but does it only make it harder to come to terms with her feelings? And when pumpkins start inexplicably rotting, the feud between two farm families reaches a boiling point.	January 16, 2024

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Stranger Things (2023)

Cover	Issue	Synopsis	Published
	1	Eleven, Max, Dustin, Mike, Will, and Lucas are looking forward to a nonthreatening, fun-filled trip to New York City. With the gang hundreds of miles from Hawkins, they’re sure to catch a break this time! That is, until they encounter a threat both bizarre and familiar…and some allies that are just bizarre! This summer, the kids from Hawkins meet the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!	July 12, 2023
	2	Escape from TCRI! With Eleven in the grasp of Baxter Stockman, it’s up to Raphael and Donatello to devise a plan to bust her out before her powers can be used by the evil genius. Meanwhile, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Will, Lucas, and Dustin brave the depths of the NYC subway system, getting closer to a portal to the Upside Down that’s been unleashing Demogorgons into the tunnels. And what they’ll find on the other side is something not even NYC has seen before.	August 23, 2023
	3	Enter the Upside Down! Leo, Mikey, Will, Lucas, and Dustin enter the Upside Down to learn more about the Demodogs running around NYC. However, as the Turtles enter new territory, they’ll find something familiar. And in Baxter Stockman’s lab, Eleven must wrestle control of her mind away from the mad scientist. Luckily, she’ll have help in this battle of minds from the Turtle with the most mental restraint: Raphael! …Wait, what?	September 20, 2023
	4	Demodogs have overrun the city! New Yorkers are being rounded up like cattle! The only hope of salvation? Four talking Turtles and six schoolchildren on a class field trip. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Hawkins kids convene on Times Square to send the Upside Down back to the Upside Down! But can they face something this big and walk away?	October 18, 2023

Graphic novel
Cover	Synopsis	Published
	The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meet the Stranger Things crew in this epic crossover graphic novel event that everybody has been waiting for! Eleven, Max, Dustin, Mike, Will, and Lucas are looking forward to a nonthreatening, fun-filled trip to New York City. With the gang hundreds of miles from Hawkins, they're sure to catch a break this time! That is, until they encounter a threat both bizarre and familiar...and some allies that are just bizarre! This new adventure brings together the best of Stranger Things supernatural horror and TMNT martial arts for a butt-kicking, fan-pleasing crossover.	April 23, 2024

Stranger Things: The Voyage (2023-2024)

Cover	Issue	Synopsis	Published
	1	Captain Jacoby is too broke to reject a shady deal from a group of Russians looking to get from Alaska back home on his freighter ship The Persephone, but things get turned upside down when a crew member gets butchered, suspects something far stranger at play.	November 1, 2023
	2	A storm descends upon The Persephone as people continue to disappear. Captain Jacoby and his crew confront the mysterious Doctor and her team, but soon learn that the Russians might not be the most dangerous thing on their ship.	December 6, 2023
	3	Captain Jacoby and what's left of his crew go on the hunt, determined to kill the monster aboard The Persephone. Suddenly, the ships' navigation system goes haywire, veering off course, the crew runs the risk of being lost at sea even as they fight for their lives.	January 17, 2024
	4	Jacoby leads the remaining crew of The Persephone to an explosive confrontation with the mad scientist who unleashed a monster onboard their ship. But Dr. Karine is determined to get her Demogorgon specimen back to Russia by any means necessary.	March 20, 2024

Graphic novel
Cover	Synopsis	Published
	In this new Stranger Things story arc, the Demogorgon is a long way from Hawkins, Indiana and a Russian scientist is desperately trying to get their quarry home aboard an ocean freighter. Captain Jacoby is too broke to reject a shady deal from a group of Russians looking to get from Alaska back to Kamchatka on his freighter ship, The Persephone. Things get turned upside down when a crew member gets butchered. The captain and his crew suspect something strange is at play and must root out a monster while a vicious storm rages all around them in the middle of the ocean.	July 16, 2024

Free Comic Book Day

Cover	Issue	Synopsis	Published
	FCBD 2019	Following Eleven's disappearance, Nancy and Steve find a way to lift the spirits of a despondent Mike, encouraging him to get the adventuring party back together again. Perhaps all it takes is a roll of the dice.	May 4, 2019
	FCBD 2020	The Scoops Troop discovers that young Erica Sinclair smuggled out a dangerous object from the Russian facility below Starcourt Mall and they must once more come together to find a safe solution before government authorities discover the threat they pose!	July 29, 2020
	FCBD 2022	Eleven, Will and Jonathan go to a Drive-In Theater for a Double Creature Feature, but the local festivities and scary costumes bring back haunting memories.	May 7, 2022
	FCBD 2024	Argyle and Jonathan swap fantastical and scary tales as they make one last pizza delivery for the night.	May 4, 2024

Holiday Specials (2020-2022)

Cover	Issue	Synopsis	Published
	Halloween Special One-Shot	In the days before season one of the hit Netflix original series Stranger Things, less than a week before Will disappears, it's Halloween in Hawkins. Comics all-star Michael Moreci (Wasted Space, Star Wars), Todor Hristov (The Forever Maps, Soul Trader), Chris O'Halloran (Ice Cream Man, Immortal Hulk) and Nate Piekos bring you the Stranger Things Halloween Special One-Shot. It's Halloween night in Hawkins, Indiana and Will, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin gather in Castle Byers to eat candy and scare each other with spooky stories. Little do they know, they'll reveal the quaint town's deepest kept secret—the Child-Eater of Hawkins.	October 21, 2020
	Winter Special One-Shot	The winter holidays are upon us and the kids of Hawkins are in full spirit. As they recall stories from their childhood to teach Eleven about Christmas, tensions run high as Dustin swears he saw something lurking in the forest outside.	November 3, 2021
	Summer Special One-Shot	Officers Powell and Callahan patrol the mean streets of Hawkins, Indiana with the enthusiasm of two hefty dachshunds pretending to be bloodhounds. Typically, they don't have to chase down more than the occasional petty theft and teenagers smoking reefer but lately the town has been getting weirder, and while they might not get to the bottom of it, they just might be lucky enough to survive it.	July 6, 2022

Graphic novel
Cover	Title	Synopsis	Published
	Holiday Specials	Get all three Stranger Things holiday specials in one package! In the Halloween Special, Will, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin gather in Castle Byers to eat candy and scare each other with a spooky story, revealing the quaint town’s darkest secret: the Child-Eater of Hawkins. In the Winter Special, Eleven and the kids of Hawkins are getting into the full spirit of the season. As they recall their favorite stories from their childhoods to teach Eleven about Christmas, tensions run high as Dustin swears he saw something spooky lurking in the forest outside. In the Summer Special, Officers Powell and Callahan patrol the "mean" streets of Hawkins, Indiana with the enthusiasm of two hefty dachshunds pretending to be bloodhounds. Typically they don’t have to chase down more than the occasional petty theft and teenagers smoking refer but lately, the town has been getting weirder, and while they might not get to the bottom of it they just might be lucky enough to survive.	December 20, 2022

Graphic novels

Cover	Title	Synopsis	Published
	Zombie Boys	It's spring in the normally quiet town of Hawkins, Indiana. Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will are still grappling with the traumatic encounters with the Demogorgon and the Upside Down in season one of the hit Netflix series. As tensions rise and fractures begin to form in the group, a new kid shows up to AV club with a Betamax Camcorder and an idea. The new Spielberg-wannabe friend, Joey Kim, wants to make a horror movie based on Will's drawings, and in the process they come to terms with the real horrors they've already faced.	January 22, 2020
	The Bully	Troy has been having nightmares about El ever since she embarrassed him in front of the school and broke his arm in season one. Powerless and anxious, Troy is determined to prove that what happened between him and El is only some form of trickery. That is until he and James encounter demodogs!	September 1, 2020
	Erica the Great	The storyline finds Hawkins, Indiana still plagued by more strange events. With the Starcourt Mall's recent destruction, Erica has lost her favorite hangout spot and her sweet "free Ice cream for life" deal at Scoops-Ahoy. To make matters worse, her brother is too busy for her and her mom won't let her play Dungeons and Dragons anymore. This is the tale of an ambitious, bossy, brilliant 10-year-old kid dealing with boredom and the complexities of maintaining friendships through tough times.	February 22, 2022

Development

Following the critical success of Netflix's original series Stranger Things, on June 18, 2018, the President of Dark Horse Mike Richardson announced a multi-year partnership between Dark Horse and Netflix to publish a series of comics based on the TV series "to bring the world of Stranger Things to comics," which will give the fans "an opportunity to explore the mysterious world of Hawkins, Indiana."

Jody Houser, the writer of the series stated it was her love for the show that encouraged her to take on the project. "The hardest part was not breathing a word about it for six months!" she told. Penciller Stefano Martino revealed that he was excited working with Houser and also to take on this project giving the right respect to the fan base.

Writing

The team had to work closely with Netflix to figure out on what areas of the world they could expand on. Due to Stranger Things being an ongoing show, they had to tread carefully. Eventually they decided to explore Will's story. Regarding the decision, Houser explained that "Will was less a character" in the first season and "more of a treasure that the adventuring party was trying to find," and the team wanted to explore the Upside Down from his perspective.

The use of D&D was a core part of the boys' friendship and their understanding of the monsters they faced in the show and she wanted to continue that in the comics as a means to "bring Will's friends into the book via his memories of playing". Besides, she was excited to use her gaming experiences to highlight other characters, particularly Mike. "Mike's seen as that leader and making sure that his players are feeling comfortable and doing at least a shadow of what they're supposed to do," she told.

Illustration

Taking Houser's suggestion, colorist Lauren Affe designed the book in the style of '80s comics while adding brighter tones to give a retro feel.

Since the miniseries focused on Will's time in the Upside Down, Martino got the opportunity to explore some of the nuances of the show's visual landscape. He focused his art on "the more natural and emotional storytelling" so that readers could feel "the fear of Will in his face and his entire body".

Each individual issue contains a back cover illustration created by Fruiz which, when aligned together according to issue number, forms an overall interconnected image.

Notes

Canonicity of the comics

When discussing her approach to writing Stranger Things: The Other Side, Jody Houser explained:

“

A lot of it was working with Netflix and figuring out what areas of the world we could play in. Since Stranger Things is still ongoing, both in terms of the show and in other media, we have to tread carefully. — Jody Houser

”

The extent of the Duffer Brothers' influence over the comics and expanded media is unclear, though they sometimes set hard limits on what other writers can explore. One notable example involves the child test subjects at Hawkins Lab. Prior to the reveal of the first test subject's reveal in Stranger Things 4, the Duffers told the Dark Horse writers to "stay away from One". As a result, Jody Houser introduced the original characters Three, Six, Nine and "9.5" in the prequel miniseries Stranger Things: SIX, but avoided One.

Over time, the canonicity of the Stranger Things comics - and the expanded media overall - has grown controversial, especially when the fourth season failed to acknowledge Houser's original characters from Stranger Things: SIX while introducing different versions of Three, Six and Nine.

This and other inconsistencies prompted the creation of Stranger Things Wiki's Canon Policy, instituted in early 2023. Under the Canon Policy, elements from expanded media that conflict with the main series are labelled as being of "questionable canonicity".

External links

• Stranger Things on Dark Horse Comics